GameJournos Retires
Mission complete. We're all crap.
Published: 10:00, 14/07/2010 by Kovacs.
Ben Paddon, better known in these circles as GameJournos, has announced that his project of highlighting the inane ramblings, juvenile crassness and downright unprofessional antics of games journalists has come to an end. Commenting in his site, the meta-journalist has admitted how he actually doubted he would still be flagging such mindless drivel four months after starting the concept. Ben says:
“I’m surprised I lasted as long as I did, really. But I think that, over the last three or four months, I’ve made my point. Posting a link to yet another article about a sandwich or some woman with her knockers out is not going to tell you anything you don’t already know.
Game journalism is in dire straits.
Ben goes on to list some of the more offending publications when to comes to schlock tactics in order to garner a hit, how these sites treat their detractors and, in general, how poor the entire industry is. There’s particular vitriol reserved for Kotaku and GamesRadar, with only Destructoid fairing a little better for their transparency and willingness to not only take criticism, but likely bring such moments of user disdain to their wider audience. There’s at least a community there.
As a whole, however, we’re in the shit.
“There’s no quality control, no standards, no measuring bar by which to ensure you’re doing a good job. No one is doing research. No one is thinking about what they’re writing. No one, really, is passionate about games. This is deeply, deeply depressing.”
He continues:
But it’s not unfair to say that game journalism needs people with a passion for delivering gaming news and reviewing games honestly, truthfully and, above all else, in an entertaining manner. That site doesn’t exist yet. Hopefully one day that will change.
We’d disagree with this last part, if we may. We’re far from infallible, but everyone here at TheSixthAxis does their damnedest to make sure the articles you read are accurate, entertaining and, most of all, on topic. You won’t find articles on TSA about a sport-star switching teams, the thinly veiled pretence here that this is gaming related because of its impact on a bloody box-cover or in-game team selection.
We do inject opinion into our pieces, though. After all, we are a blog, but it is always our intention that such opinions are respectful and at least grounded in reality. In other words: you won’t find the same, hackneyed rhetoric here on TSA just because others expect us to believe one thing or another. We’ll voice our beliefs, sure, but you’ll bet we’ll also back them up with intelligent discussion.
Without wanting to turn this into a mouthpiece for how wonderful we are here at TheSixthAxis, we are constantly thriving to make TSA better, as impartial as humanly possible when it comes to reviews (remember, we’re one of the few sites that actually comprehends what “out of TEN” really means), while striving to keep you engaged, interested and happy to visit again.
Personally, I echo the majority of Ben’s gripes about this industry. It’s both depressing and at times unbelievable the state games journalism is truly in. I’ve seen things over the last few years that has made me both angry and despondent, usually at the same time. Rather than bemoan its condition, however, we’re going to continue to try and change it. Will the sensationalist, hit-whoring puerility of games journalism ever die out? It’s doubtful. It is acceptable to hope that people who do genuinely care about games and reporting on this fascinating and still somewhat nascent medium are recognised and whose works manages to climb through the foetid junk below.
Have I ever posted about boobs in games? Not directly or solely, but I have mentioned, however, when a publisher has decided to focus on mammary glands as the core selling point of their game. Which raises a particular point: the industry as a whole needs to grow up if its commentary offshoot is to follow suit.
We’ll miss Ben’s acerbic and frank dissection of what passes as games journalism these days, but we acknowledge that he has indeed proved his point. We’re in the gutter and we need to focus on quality and respect the work of writers – be they professionally paid or not – who are trying to drag us out if it. Hopefully such aspirations will see games journalism finally mature. We live in hope.
You can read our extensive interview with Ben here. It comes highly recommended.
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14/07/2010 at 10:08
Member since: Forever
The only thing worse than the state of games journalism is people talking about the state of games journalism. It will improve and mature as the medium does. Also yes there is a lot of shit out there, but if you know where to find the good stuff there is also a lot of it out there.
14/07/2010 at 10:18
Member since: Forever
Uh im grumpy…I think this comment was too bitter and ranty. I will try again. GAMES JOURNALISM IS SHIT SOMEONE FIX IT!
I wish totillo had never left MTV for Kotaku :(
14/07/2010 at 10:12
Member since: Aug 2009
Waste of time eh? I have discovered two websites with great writing and entertainment… the guy is simply a fool.
14/07/2010 at 10:16
Member since: Jul 2009
No. This guy is write 95% of the time. Thankfully we have TSA (and whatever site(s) you’ve found) to show that it doesn’t have to be this way all of the time. Most game sites I visit are pure dross.
14/07/2010 at 11:11
Member since: Jun 2009
A rare slip up by you Bunimomike. Right
14/07/2010 at 11:17
Member since: Jul 2009
I’ll not sleep for daze! Hahaha. :-)
14/07/2010 at 11:25
Member since: Forever
Says the person who can’t spell freaks
;)
14/07/2010 at 11:28
Member since: Jul 2009
*chuckles away to self* *tips hat in cc’s direction*
14/07/2010 at 15:45
Member since: Sep 2008
Which is the other site
14/07/2010 at 10:13
Member since: Oct 2008
Stopped Reading Kotaku and IGN ages ago. TSA, Joystiq and the Official EU/US Blogs are all I need!
14/07/2010 at 10:16
Member since: May 2009
‘Have I ever posted about boobs in games?’
Watch out Tuffcub.
14/07/2010 at 10:19
Member since: Dec 2009
Clearly everyone has their own taste regarding how they like to get their news/information.
I visit a lot of sites but i only joined one.
14/07/2010 at 10:23
Member since: Forever
I don’t like that bottle of wine, so I’m going to to tell everyone that bottle of wine is crap.
What if someone else likes that bottle of wine?
…?
Yes there’s crap out there, just like there’s crap restaurants, pubs, TVs, sofas, movies, t-shirts, shops, cars… In fact there’s crap everything. That’s life!
The one difference with videogame ‘journalism’ is that 99% of people in it, aren’t paid!
The big gaming sites where they do get paid, play to their market in the receptive niche they’ve carved out for themselves, when people think of Destructoid they usually think of Jim Sterling and some people don’t like him, but some people love him, and from both camps quite a lot of people respect him, he plays to his audience.
If anyone doesn’t like something, I suggest they don’t buy it, join it or read it, what good does sitting on the sidelines taking pot shots at people do, like an annoying camper in MW2? Life too short to get involved in something you think is crap, there is good stuff out there.
Anyone its done now, we can all get on with with reporting announcements of announcements without fear of being highlighted ;)
14/07/2010 at 10:39
Member since: Jul 2009
Without criticism (admittedly borderline-constructive at times) people often don’t learn. TSA shows how it doesn’t have to be the biggest gaming site in the world to churn out stuff that makes most other sites pale into insignificance.
There’s a lack of maturity in the industry as it’s still pretty young when compared to other forms of entertainment. Also, it’s a male majority (more so than normal) with an average age that reinforces the stereotype that outsiders perceive.
If his comments cause journos to stop for a moment and double check spelling, validity of the article, newsworthiness, etc, then it’s been for a good reason.
It’s not about a bottle of wine. It’s about the state of the wine industry as a whole (meant nicely).
14/07/2010 at 11:41
Member since: May 2009
Well said. *claps*
Game journalism isn’t often seen in a favourable light, perhaps because being a bad game journo who doesn’t have their heart in it is easy whereas keeping up varied, interesting content written to a consistently high standard (like TSA does! :D) takes a bit more effort.
People that do make this effort are often lost among those less passionate and it makes them lose interest when they see nobody around them shares their ‘spark’. Something like TSA happens when there is a group of people working together who truly enjoy what they are doing, and as a result they all continue to see the point in what they are building.
Games journalism is like any other industry in that there are talented practitioners who show an interest and there are those who don’t really care about it, and are well… a bit crap. When people learn to appreciate the good journos and ignore the bad ones, that’s when the image of the industry will improve.
14/07/2010 at 10:51
Member since: Jan 2009
Yup…..plenty of choice for everyone. Don’t like it? Then move on to something you do….
14/07/2010 at 11:13
Member since: Nov 2008
I dunno. I mean everyone has the right to point out the faults in something they are passionate about. If everyone just kept quiet nobody would know their faults and then continue down the road of unacceptable.
If you dont like something then dont say or do anything will get nothing fixed or bring it to the attention of the people that need to hear it….for their own good.
14/07/2010 at 11:24
Member since: Forever
It’d probably have far more impact if he emailed the writer of an article he found major fault with.
Four months digesting stuff you hate and taking time to snipe from the sidelines about what you don’t like, really?
If you don’t like eating broccoli, stop eating it there’s plenty of other stuff to eat. (IMO)
14/07/2010 at 11:32
Member since: Nov 2008
He wants that special pizza but with a few of the ingredients taken of the top. He still wants the pizza though, he likes pizza.
14/07/2010 at 11:35
Member since: Dec 2008
There’s a difference between pointing out faults and flogging a dead horse. The guy doesn’t like Kotaku, we get it. Spending four months going on about it and other sites that post news stories he doesn’t think constitute gaming news isn’t going to make a difference. Those sites getting hits on the stories they post is what will shape the editorial direction.
I also don’t like Kotaku. I found a far simpler method with dealing with that dislike was to not read it and find other sites that dealt with news etc. in a way I preferred. Consequently it makes absolutely no difference to me whether they fix the fault that I (but not others) think they have.
14/07/2010 at 11:40
Member since: Jul 2009
But what’s good about his comments is it’s pretty much industry-wide which means we have someone having a pop at the entire gamut of video-game journalism. With that in mind, it’s sparked debate and might help a few sites realise that they really aren’t up to scratch even though they’re getting the hits. Equally, it means that sites like TSA get a mention here and there. That has to be a good thing.
14/07/2010 at 11:56
Member since: Forever
It turned into something less about the industry and more a personal crusade about Kotaku and Destructoid’s Jim Sterling – there was occasionally other stuff in there but it was mainly them.
Jim’s apparently a really nice guy but when he writes he plays to his audience better than anyone in gaming ‘journalism’ if you’re not part of that audience I’m afraid you’re never going to like him.
And as for Kotaku… the less said the better, although the email address of authors are published on every single article they write – I’m sure some constructive criticisms via email would carry far more weight than a Tumblr blog. Although I’m confused why people think Kotaku is a news site it isn’t – Its called the Gamer’s Guide and hundreds of thousands of people flock there to read about a variety of stuff from a gaming point of view (within their gaming demographic, obviously).
I get what everyone’s saying that criticism can be a good thing, and it is but (of the major sites that were constantly criticised) they all cater for their demographic and look after their particular corner of the internet. If you’re not part of that demographic why keep flogging the dead horse? Plenty of people are part of that demographic
14/07/2010 at 12:51
Member since: Jul 2009
Fair enough, fella. I didn’t realise he’d hounded (as such) a handful of core sites so vehemently instead of trying to keep his comments fairly generic.
Random aside: Do the corners you speak of lead to alienation because of the tight demographic they cater for?
14/07/2010 at 13:08
Member since: Forever
Are they after a demographic or do people just happen across it and if they like it stick around and if they don’t move along
That’s how I found TSA, from a link somewhere else
From there, a community builds up of like-minded people, if you aren’t one of those people you probably won’t like their output
14/07/2010 at 13:25
Member since: Nov 2008
It seems we are down to the old faithful answer to everything. Opinion. Who is right? Who is wrong? I want change. Well i dont want change, its fine. dont like it? move on.
Seems that is the answer to everything. Shut up, put up or piss off.
14/07/2010 at 13:27
Member since: Nov 2008
Funny, that didnt sound so aggressive in my head. Oh well, ya know what i mean. I hope.
14/07/2010 at 13:30
Member since: Forever
LOL
Shut up, put up or piss off
That’s actually BT and British Gas’ slogan
14/07/2010 at 15:53
Member since: Sep 2008
While I agree with the guy that announcement announcements is non-news, but it would actually be nice to have a box at the side of the page listing upcoming announcements ordered by date. That way if there’s something I expect to be interesting I can check back at the right time. Just don’t make them front page headlines.
14/07/2010 at 10:36
Member since: Forever
I genuinely thought he provided a fantastic service for those of us who write about games. He held up a mirror to what we did and, although sometimes flippant or vague in his critique, he gave those in the industry a chance to see how an intelligent, mature, passionate gamer saw their work.
As I’ve said many times before: everyone makes mistakes but failure to learn from those mistakes is the definition of stupidity.
Of course, that’s not to say that everyone featured by this guy was stupid. Most of the dross he pointed out was entirely motivated by a pursuit of casual traffic which looks good to advertisers. They exploit their readership to make money by posting deliberately controversial (and usually poorly thought-out) content. Or they pepper the industry with a hundred tiny, inconsequential, unresearched and poorly edited “news” items (or copy and paste press releases) and rake in traffic like that.
It has long been a bugbear of mine that internet “journalism” has no quality control so it is truly refreshing to see that a number of our readers (and readers I’ve seen commenting elsewhere) are noticing it and moving away from the exploitative sites. Long may that continue.
14/07/2010 at 10:46
Member since: Apr 2010
I believe Ben is mostly right about gaming journalism as a whole. In general, video games are still considered juvenile by mainstream media, having not yet attained the same status as (for example) film and sports.
.
In my opinion, the games themselves are good enough to be considered art worthy of actual journalism. The reason they are not receiving worthy coverage is because the gaming community at large is still juvenile. They like to fight over things like whose console is better. Gaming-related websites recognize this and post ‘stories’ with headlines such as “Microsoft: New Xbox 360 technologically superior to PS3″ to attract hits and flamewars.
.
Which brings us back to problem #1 with game journalism today. The for profit sites all depend on ad revenue for wages, etc. so they throw up page after pointless page to maximize hits.
http://www.made2game.com/2010/07/01/daredevil-finds-his-way-into-lbp/
http://www.made2game.com/2010/07/01/mystique-brings-the-blue-to-lbp/
(easily could’ve been condensed into a single article)
.
Which is why sites like TSA are much better then for profit sites. They can focus on good journalism rather then fueling flamewars and attracting hits. Not that I don’t want you guys to profit from the excellent work you do. Sad to see him go.
14/07/2010 at 10:48
Member since: Apr 2010
Wow, that turned into a longer post then I’d thought. ‘Scuse me for rambling. *ahem*
14/07/2010 at 11:19
Member since: Jul 2009
No apology needed. Great reply.
14/07/2010 at 11:07
Member since: Oct 2009
For me, it didn’t make much sense to moan about everyone making mistakes and that.
And in his interview, he said gaming journolism is something he can’t fix.
Maybe not, but has he thought about starting his own gaming site and leading by example?
Gaming news with none of the problems he thinks the industry has?
14/07/2010 at 11:23
Member since: Forever
I think the workload involved in starting a new site (one which aims to do things to a high standard, at least) would make that almost impossible for most people.
The argument you raise was brought up many times (why tear something down, get in there and make it better yourself) but by that logic we would all have to stop criticising MPs, celebrities, car manufacturers, bands, etc.
It’s ok to point out the flaws in something without having to have the knowledge of how to fix it yourself. That’s the way the critical process works – we critique games but most of us wouldn’t have the first idea of how to make them. By saying “we don’t like when it does this” someone with the ability can come along and fix it for the next game and the whole industry improves incrementally.
14/07/2010 at 18:24
Member since: Oct 2009
I appriciate that it would be a lot of work to set up a new site.
I also fell into that trap of not liking any MPs at the election, yet not voting for a party that could have done things to make the UKs situation better.
But to put another point across, most of the TSA staff aren’t proper jounalists, yet you do a cracking job at giving us the news (in my opinion anyway).
Overall though, I agree that people new to the industry can breathe fresh air into gaming journalism. You’ll never change the old crowd though (Kotaku, IGN etc.)
14/07/2010 at 11:30
Member since: Dec 2009
“I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.”
14/07/2010 at 11:50
Member since: Aug 2008
I dont think this is really an issue with games journalism per se, I think its more web journalism in general. There’s so much pressure to get a story out first and get hits from it, that the quality of the piece is quite often a secondary issue. A good example is the metacritic scores for the new Inception movie. Most sites are loving it, but the two at the bottom are obviously hit-baiting, the disparity in review scores makes it stand out a mile. It may happen more in games journalism as its a ‘younger’ industry, but its by no means on its own..
14/07/2010 at 15:02
Member since: May 2009
I think the potential anonymity of web journalism is also a factor in the emergence of hit-baiting dross: you can be a borderline troll and hide behind your keyboard.