Mazder wrote:Seriously though, wanting better journalism/games coverage vs "turning off bad chats/media sites" are two very different aspects.
I mean, expecting the coverage to be better and wanting it to be better so everyone can have easy access to basic decent info on the games, business practices of their studios and aspects which help fund said industry is not something that should really be sniffed at as it makes all consumers a more informed and honest base for the industry.
Plus while it's okay to get the raw info from the source that doesn't necessarily mean it's okay to ignore the games media as a whole.
If the games media was ignored shitty practices like Lootboxes and paid gambling mechanics and predatory schemes would be absolutely more common as not only EA/Ubisoft/whomever else is employing those practices are big enough to dish out their info themselves but they're also big enough to quickly backtrack and cover up their steps if there isn't a big reveal.backlash from a community.
There are some things I can't get from simply watching trailers that I, as a consumer, definitely want to know about.
I want to know about which studios are treating their employees like shit so I don't purchase their games. I want to know which studios don't support certain rights of individuals (if any do) so I don't buy their games. I want to know of potential development issues/in-studio issues that might affect a game I am excited for.
Also "gaming youtubers/critics" aren't always just plain bad. One of the more professional ones was Total Biscuit/John Bain and he was never not "some guy on the internet". Some quality can exist.
There is a distinction between a critic and a media piece on gaming. The former is an opinion piece on a game. The second is not necessarily an opinion piece, it can simply be a report on facts that have been gathered or some announcements put into perspective. There is no such thing as "true objectivity", but journalist reports can be close to that.
Imagine a company that is used to delaying its games for years announcing that its next one will be released in May 2020.
A journalist can post an article on the announcement, while expanding on what it means (what the game is, what the previous opuses were if they exist, who the lead designer is, what other games in the genre exist), while also adding that the company has a habit of being super late. It won't be entirely objective because the last comment might indicate that the journalist has an opinion on delaying your releases - depending on how it's phrased, it can be good or bad. However, this type of article does not bring controversy.
Most controversies seem to stem from interactions regarding reviews, and people loving/hating a given game. Those are always opinion pieces, there is no absolutely objective measure of quality for a game. I think those can be ignored if you want to. At some point, if you have played for long enough, you have enough experience to know if, after an announcement, the company can be entirely trusted or not.
So all you mentioned on "wanting to know", you can know without reading reviews. Whether company A promotes gender equality, company B is led by a sexual harasser, or company C loves layoffs, has little to do with the final quality of their product. A few years back EA was voted the most inclusive company for LGBT people. Which doesn't mean that they aren't using super shady business practices.
And I know there are decent or good gaming reviewers - I follow a French one named Joueur du Grenier (but he really stays out of controversy, and reviewing is far from his main activity, or more accurately new games reviewing isn't). However, if overall watching youtubers and reading reviews, and subsequently following the rather toxic interactions in the community, is causing you only misery, then I think you can really cut yourself from all the ruckus without having to renounce your hobby, or even lowering your enjoyment.
TTTX wrote:Well here is some of the problems with that kind of view.
Like trailers and companies can outright lie as seen with Anthem and videogame journalists from major companies have a lot influence over games at least at the moment (and of course it's not always a good thing considering current social politics at the moment among other things).
But videogame journalist are necessary not because of reviewing games and such stuff, but also tell us when the companies are doing some shady stuff and treating their staff as garbage which we have seen a lot in these last few years.
Hell we wouldn't know how bad it is over at BW now if it wasn't because of a certain gaming journalist.
They have their place and we do need them for better or worse.
Indeed, I don't mean that companies should be trusted.
But I dont think Alien is an uninformed newbie when it comes to Video Games. Anthem came from EA, a company that has "a baggage". I doubt anyone remotely knowledgeable about video games in general ignores the issues with EA, so you can watch a trailer and guess that something might be off.
Nintendo on the other hand tends to produce quality and to seldom take its users for idiots, hence why I think I can go into FE3H without someone having to translate for me what the content means.
As for gaming journalists, I don't think they are unnecessary, but their reviews are. Reviews are quintessential opinion pieces, they are subjective by their very essence.
However, a piece on company X treating its employees like garbage, or the new microtransaction system used by company Y, does not have to be an opinion piece, it can be a simple statement of facts gathered by the journalist, one that does not come from his own opinion on said company - with the reader deciding whether what has been reported should color its opinion on the company.
But the "debates" that look like "It's great! - No it sucks. -No u. - You're boought. -You're a hater." you can go without knowing really. Those can be useful initially when you have no idea about the practices of various companies, but once you do and you have the experience to make your own judgment, reviewers and youtubers really shouldn't be required in your gaming life. At least in my opinion.
