Huh? Who’s there? Oh, sorry…I was just taking a quick, 10-day nap to recover from the whirlwind of game-filled days and sleepless nights that was this year’s E3 Media & Business Summit. While the developers and publishers are the ones ostensibly driving the show with their “games” and “announcements,” I maintain that it’s us sleep-deprived […]
Read MoreIn a perfect world, every game reviewer would be able to play every game to completion before crafting a thorough and well-researched critique of the gameplay and narrative. Of course, in a perfect world every game would be perfect, so there would be no need for reviewers at all. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a […]
Read MoreEmbargo issues, trade-association conflicts, and a tantalizingly inaccurate source for game-sales data highlight the month’s game-journalism issues. (full article)
Read MoreThe media tend to come at video games from a lot of different angles. Various stories might alternately treat gaming as a multibillion dollar business, a growing cultural phenomenon, an art form worthy of critique, or the leading edge of a technological revolution. But there’s another potential gaming angle that gets comparatively little coverage or […]
Read MoreWhen a console maker and a publishing house get together to create an “official” editorial product, the result usually straddles the fuzzy line between editorial independence and official access. Even if the actual content is fair and duly critical of the licensing company, there’s still the problem of perception. Without clear lines of division between […]
Read More“This article is awful! The author is so biased!” It’s a quote that should be familiar to anyone who’s ever read a comment thread on a major video game Web site. The accusation can apply to a review (which is, by definition, supposed to be biased in one direction or another), a news story (which, […]
Read MoreI look at a few game journalism issues that almost feel through the cracks in May, including a game media firestorm around Headline News’ Glenn Beck, a dead rumor site written by a mysterious “Surfer Girl,” and an “Influencer Network” meant to subtly influence the influencers. (full article)
Read MoreWas it really just a few weeks ago that some corners of the mainstream media were warning about how Grand Theft Auto IV was training an entire generation of immoral killers? It seems like ancient history now that the video game coverage narrative has shifted over to Nintendo’s Wii Fit, the savior of a generation […]
Read MoreIn a previous life, Stephen Totilo helped create Hogan Knows Best. Seriously. It may seem odd to think about it now, but before he became MTV News’ first full-time video game reporter, Totilo was one of the people behind the idea for the pro-wrestler-based reality show. After his departure from the project nearly three years […]
Read MoreOn April 28, the front page story on the New York Times’ Arts section wasn’t about a new Broadway play or a hot new CD or even a blockbuster summer movie. It was a balanced, 1,100-word review of Grand Theft Auto IV that described the game as a “violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly […]
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