6 Comments
Mar 13, 2021Liked by Erik Kain

Thanks for being one of the only adults in the room.

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author

Thank you.

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Mar 13, 2021Liked by Erik Kain

in the end, i hope more folks temper their reactions and take time to get the details straight.

... but, that's hope found on the bottom of a big beer stein.

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Mar 13, 2021Liked by Erik Kain

I'm really beginning to wonder, and would be interested for your opinion: Should game developers, studios, and publishers, just cut ties with these sites and let them wither on the vine at this point?

Nintendo goes straight to the fans with their Nintendo Direct. Sony is following suit. Any game studio can go direct via YouTube or if they want to get review copies out there, YouTuber and Twitch streamers pull more views than the games media pulls clicks.

You've got gamers on YouTube and Twitch who just want to play video games and share their opinions on their hobby. You've got the games press who seem fixated on tearing down studios, publishers, their employees, and their products above any interest in touching a controller.

Do these sites even serve any beneficial purpose to the studios who give them review copies, advance console units, and interviews?

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I think it's still in the interests of publishers and devs to get as much coverage as possible. These sites still do big numbers (I routinely have several million visitors to my Forbes blog all by my lonesome) and written coverage is still valuable since a lot of people don't watch YouTube or watch it for very different reasons than news etc. I think publishers view these types as useful in their own way, and the bulk of games coverage remains very positive or neutral (guides, etc.)

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Mar 13, 2021Liked by Erik Kain

But why disregard journalistic integrity and write only to fit a particular narrative? He says he wasn’t for clicks but.... “engagement” increases with negativity and anger. But I suppose that could just be a byproduct of these “journalists’” behavior. At the heart of it they are writing from their conformation bias and actively not seeking the truth. Game journalists are unfortunately not alone in this.

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