Thoughts on Gaming Journalism

Recently, Dan Hsu has been posting articles examining all of the behind-the-scenes details of game journalism on his blog. About a month ago, he asked for readers to submit their opinions on the subject. After the deadline, he selected a few to post on his blog. Since I'm interested in doing game journalism, I figured I'd submit an article. Unfortunately, my article was not one of the few chosen to be published on Dan's blog. But, everything is a learning experience, and since I've started my own gaming blog in the intervening time, I decided to post my article here so I can get some feedback on what works and what doesn't.

For proper context you might want to read Dan's articles first:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Article submission announcement

And here's the article I submitted (AGAIN! FEEDBACK IS MUCH APPRECIATED!):

October 5, 2008

Game magazines have always been present in my life, even when I was young. Often, I would sit down with a copy of Nintendo Power or EGM and absorb every detail in that month's issue. As I read, I thought of how cool it must be to be a game journalist. You spend all day playing video games and then write about them! How could that not be a cool job? Of course, as I got older, I realized such thoughts were naive. There's much more responsibility required of the job than I previously thought.

As a reader, I feel the most important responsibility of a game journalist is to write for their audience. There must be a strong bond between the writer and the reader. The writer ignores any outside persuasions and biases, providing the reader with an article as honestly written as possible. The minute a writer makes an article for a game company, or in order to reach some weekly article quota as instructed by their employer, the journalist loses a portion of their integrity and the quality of their writing suffers.

I understand the role of PR events and press conferences. They're a way to get the press, and the public informed and excited about new games, and they're simply a part of the game journalist job description. There is nothing wrong with attending these events as long as the main focus is the game or something that compliments one's understanding of a game. I agree with Shoe that there may be some merit in being treated to a UFC match if you're reviewing a UFC game. Living the experience can help a writer judge how accurate or realistic the atmosphere of the game is.

However, there are a few problems with this corporate relationship. One problem is the events where the main focus is not about the games, but rather throwing lavish parties for the press in hopes of swaying their opinion. Treating clients and business partners to fancy dinners or a night with a female companion are just cultural methods of doing business. The problem is that even if the journalist knows the old song and dance, there's still a possibility that these events will compromise the integrity of that person's article. It might convince a writer to be a little more lenient on that company's game, or even worse, make them believe that if they write a harsh review, the company will use their free dinner or swag as leverage against the writer or the company they work for. In the latter case, it would be comforting to know that your supervisors would support your opinion. Yet, they may not support your article at all, especially if the game company threatens to pull their advertising over a bad review.

Journalists are not innocent in this relationship either. In order to maintain an unbiased opinion, journalists must take caution in what gifts they accept and what requests they make. Making outlandish demands of a company's PR group is not only unprofessional, but also brings a journalist's moral values into question. It feels a bit like a black market trade. If the company gives them free tickets to a baseball game, or a five star meal, or washes all their clothes for them, then the journalist will write a more favorable review of their game. Therefore, the journalist is no longer writing for their audience, but for their own personal gain instead.

The main thing a reader wants is honesty. As long as the writer provides a fair and truthful opinion about a game, the reader will be content. Shoe's advice on dealing with PR groups is great. It's okay if the writer partakes in a free game or a fancy event every now and then. If they're straightforward and honest with readers, then the readers will be respectful to the journalist. That being said, working for a company that appreciates your honesty doesn't hurt
either. Even if a person gets fired for reasons irrelevant to a score they gave a game, if the company isn't honest about what happened, readers will assume the worst. This is why game journalism must maintain a strong and truthful relationship with its most important subjects: the readers.

Written by Colin "Satchamobob" Wheelock