ELECTRONIC ARTS EXTENDS NFL LICENSING DEAL – WORLD WEEPS
In a move that is sure to be reviled by many gamers, Electronic Arts has announced that they have reached a deal with the NFL and the NFL Players Association to extend the exclusivity agreement signed in 2004 through the end of the 2012 season.
"REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – February 12, 2008 – Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) today announced an extension of its exclusive licensing relationships with the National Football League and NFL PLAYERS to develop, publish and distribute interactive football video games. These agreements – which were negotiated separately and are extensions of contracts originally signed in December 2004 – provide EA continued rights to NFL teams, stadiums and players for its critically-acclaimed and best-selling football videogames through the end of the 2012 season, which culminates in February 2013.
Both agreements include all aspects of the interactive experience, including console and handheld games as well as console-based online features. The agreements also provide EA access to both NFL Films and the NFL Network to enrich its game experiences. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed." – Electronic Arts press release
I can't begin to tell you just how disappointed I am right now. I've been waiting patiently for the original deal to expire in hopes that the at it's expiration, the NFL would come to it's senses and put an end to this "exclusive license" crap. Simply put, any company – whether it's EA, 2K or anyone else – needs to have competition in order to really move a series forward. All the NFL has done here is given EA carte blanche to sit on it's laurels making minor tweaks and changes to each year's edition of Madden knowing that fans will have no choice but to pick up their product if they want to play with current rosters.
Personally, I hope in response 2K chooses to scrap the All-Pro Football "legends" concept and simply release a game that has the same local teams and players just without using the actual team and player names. Let the players edit (and share) their rosters and team colors to whatever they choose or design and sit back and watch as the game becomes an unofficial NFL product.
*sigh* Check out the links below for more details and the full text of the press release.
- Electronic Arts – Company website
- National Football League – Official website
- National Football League Players Association – Official website
- EA Extends Interactive Videogame Agreements with NFL and NFL Players – Press release
A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE EYE OF JUDGMENT’S PROBLEMS
I'd like to take a moment to talk about the situation surrounding Sony's The Eye of Judgment and the use of photocopied cards in online play. A lot has been said on the internet about how the "pirating" of cards could well kill any chance for future expansion sets for Eye.
I'm going to take a bit of a counter-point stance here. I'm not saying the photocopying of cards is acceptable – it's not. Part of the balance of a game like The Eye of Judgment is that not every card is available to every player. You can make the argument that the game then winds up catering to the "rich kid", but I'd bet that even that rich kid doesn't have every single card.
You see, while the problem of card copying is certainly real and a concern, what I want to talk about is how much of this entire issue is due to a lack of thought and follow through on the part of Sony and it's partners. While there would always be a percentage of users who would try to find a way to beat the system, the problem certainly wouldn't be as prevalent if not for the following points.
- Security:
- For all the times Sony went on record as saying the card coding was secure and there would be no way to "copy" cards, the fact that on the very first day of release, a photocopy of a low-resolution scan of a card proved to work just as well as an original shows that, like so many other games in the current generation, no one really tested anything. Seriously, how much testing went into the security of this game when scans, photocopies and even hand-drawn copies of cards are working just as well as the originals. What did you think was going to happen when you price your cards at a premium and then make bootlegging this easy? This leads us into my second point…
- Greed:
- In many ways, Sony, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are now reaping the "rewards" of their greed. To begin with, the cards are priced at $3.99 for a booster pack of 8 cards or $14.99 for a pre-built "Starter-Deck" of 30 cards. That's well over the cost of other collectible card games, and when combined with the next fact, is actually quite a bit appalling. You see, if my data is correct, of the 110 cards available in the initial EoJ set, 50 cards are Rare, Ultra-Rare or Phantom cards. Fifty… 45 percent. This ranks right up there with the worst examples of greed we're seeing in the downloadable content arena. For those of you unfamiliar with the way the packaging for the cards works, that means that in every $3.99 booster pack of cards, you're going to get ONE of those 50 cards. Normally, that's an acceptable thing – except when there are only 60 cards that don't fall into that category. Hell, remove the 30 uncommon cards in the set from the equation and we're left with only 30 "common" cards. If you're a little lost at this point, here's what I'm trying to say – there are more "rare/ultra-rare/phantom" cards in the set than there are "common" cards. That's just ridiculous.
- Supply Issues:
- As if that wasn't enough, Sony and friends can claim that bootlegging is killing card sales all they want – however, those of us trying to legitimately buy the cards know another truth… the cards just aren't available. Whether there was some problem with printing or the demand for the game was just far more than anyone expected, you would have to look for a long time to find a steady supply of cards. If you look at online retailers, they have messages like "expected in stock in 1 or 2 months" listed for any of the card packs. eBay is almost barren of any card sales beyond individual commons and uncommons. Shortages like this can push even the most honest player into being tempted by those copied cards because they can't play the game they bought online competitively without a variety of cards. Then only people in good shape right now are those that grabbed cards on day one in anticipation of a shortage or fear that should the game bomb, no more would be forthcoming. (For the record, I've managed to grab all 5 starter decks as well as 5 booster packs, with all but the Wood Swarm booster being bought on the day the game came out. Beyond that one additional starter, I haven't seen packs available anywhere since launch. I've got more booster packs on order, but even online sellers are stating that WoTC is far behind in their shipments.) Here's a fact – if you want to sell cards, you have to have cards to sell.
So there you have it. Whether any of these issues can be solved before irreparable harm befalls The Eye of Judgment's card sales is really anyone's guess right now – probably because there would have to be cards freely available on the market to see if anyone is buying them.
Bottom line? People can claim bootlegging is the biggest danger to the game all they want, but in my opinion, it's the ineptitude and greed being shown on the part of the parties behind Eye that are the biggest problems.
- The Eye of Judgment – Official website
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Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
IF THESE GAMES ARE READY, WHY AREN’T THEY ON LIVE?
Gamerscore Blog, Microsoft’s in-house employee blog posted a story about their upcoming “Summer of Xbox Live Arcade” party in San Francisco. According to the article, in addition to the festivities, playable versions of several unreleased Xbox Live Arcade titles such as Frogger and Pac-Man will be available to attendees during the event.
Far from me to complain, but if these games are done, shouldn’t they be up in the Live Marketplace? It seems to me that Microsoft is missing a crucial slow summer period in which a good stream of Live Arcade titles could make up for the lack of retail releases. Further, rather than concentrating on the parties and such, how about an update to the Wireless Weekend or MU Monday contest winners list?
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the games are going to drop onto Live, because if they don’t it’s probably a good sign that Microsoft really has no clue what the hell they’re doing with the Live Arcade.
Check out the Gamerscore Blog story here and ask yourself what kind of a “Summer of Xbox Live Arcade” it’ll be if Microsoft doesn’t get off their asses and get some fresh content up.
JUST WHERE ARE ALL THOSE LIVE ARCADE GAMES ANYWAY?
I’m sure we’ve all noticed that there’s been a distinct lack of new Xbox Live Arcade games since launch. Sure we’ve gotten a few new independent games, but what happened to all those classic arcade games we were told were coming? Next Generation took the time to ask Microsoft’s Peter Moore just that question during a recent interview. Here’s what Peter had to say;
“Here’s what happened – people didn’t believe that Arcade was going to fly. So we went round a year and a half ago as we were doing the final plans for launching 360, and told our publishing friends that here’s what we think is really cool idea, where you could make games for hundreds of thousands of dollars instead of tens of millions, and at very low risk, but people didn’t believe it. And we released it and it blew the doors down. Now all of a sudden we’re in this phase where Sega, Namco, Konami, Midway… they want some of that. But we do have an important quality bar in place – we could probably throw 300 games up there quickly, and we are trying to get the independent guys going as well. It’s almost going to be like Pop Idol, where someone will pop out suddenly – Geometry Wars is a great example. But I love this forum, whether it’s profitable or not, this platform for indie developers, for four or five guys to put $100,000 into it, and we’ll publish it and see what happens.” -Peter Moore
While I’m sure the intitial hesitation was due to the relatively lackluster showing of the Live Arcade on the original Xbox, and I’m certainly glad that Microsoft is making sure everything that comes to Live Arcade is high quality, I still can’t help but wonder what the delay really is. You would think right now would be the perfect time of year to hit the Live Arcade with a bunch of new releases, as we’re entering that slow summer period and people are clamoring for just about any title they can get their hands on. No matter how you look at it, people want to see more games on XBLA, and I’m not talking about those overpriced, free on the PC game translations.
While I’m griping, can someone please call Capcom for me and ask them to kindly release Black Tiger for the Live Arcade? The lack of love that title gets from them is astounding. Anyway, check out the Next Generation article here and ask yourself if any day now Moore is going to tell us that no one cares about the Live Arcade too?
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
GAMING & THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Firing Squad has posted an interesting article on the way gaming is treated by mainstream media outlets, and how those outlets are trying to expand their coverage of the industry without turning off their core audiences. They pose an interesting question, if gaming is becoming as big of a business as the entertainment and music industries, why doesn’t it get the same amount of coverage from the press?
Obviously, the answer is because while just about everyone has watched a movie or listened to a CD, there are in fact, people out there who don’t play video games. I know, shocking, isn’t it? While many of the big news outlets are now rushing in to cover the gaming revolution, for the most part, they understand that a good percentage of their readership doesn’t particularly care about games one way or another. What they also understand is that those people that are interested in the subject probably already get their gaming news from a more hardcore source, such as the internet or dedicated game magazines.
Getting back to the article in question, Firing Squad contacted several major news sources to get some comments from them on how they handle gaming news and their approach to the industry as a whole. I kind of found it funny to hear many of those outlets discussing how they do in fact know a lot about the industry but “dumb-down” their articles for fear of alienating readers.
“But will gaming news ever be as popular as TV news? No way. A side note here, also… consoles will likely continue to grab a more sizable portion of the gaming news spotlight, since they have a lower price point and wider distribution as pure gaming machines.” -Chris Morris, CNN
I always thought that a lot of the hack jobs you read about gaming in the media were written by the uninformed. It turns out many of these “experts” aren’t just uninformed, but they’re trying to pass “uninformed-lite” on to the public.
I can only hope that as these reporters accept their roles as game columnists, they’ll begin to understand the industry a bit more and lean away from the tabloid sensationalism mentality many of them take currently. You can almost hear the screams of “I wanted to be the music editor” in some of the articles you read in the mainstream news. Before you start writing in, I’m not down on all of the game coverage in the media, there are some places that are getting it right, they’re just not the ones you hear about endlessly.
“A good question. It’s not as if we unaware of video games and their very real significance as both a pop cultural and economic force. Without giving away too much, we’ve discovered that game coverage is just not that important to our particular readership. And reader scores bear this out., There seems to be a public perception that console gaming is a pastime of the chronically adolescent or the perpetually stoned-that it is an artless product served up to a largely unsophisticated audience. And perhaps there is some truth to that. Another reason is pretty obvious: gaming is not a star-driven business. Movies, music, TV shows-they all have very public faces. Even books have their celebrity authors. People have heard of J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown and Tom Clancy. But Will Wright? Hideo Kojima? Cliff Bleszinski? Not so much.” -Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly
It’s that false public perception that hopefully will begin to change in a few years as more people who grew up with games take their places in the business world. Truth be told, I’m a little sick of the attitude people have about gaming and gamers in general, and the sooner people get past those false preconceptions of gamers, the better.
The Firing Squad article goes much deeper into the subject matter than I have here, and has quite a bit more to say on the whole thing. It’s a pretty good read and gives a good bit of insight into how the major media outlets view gaming. Check it out here.
PS3 COULD FAIL OVER BAD PR?
5:00am… Before my blanket leaps up, grabs me and drags me off to my waiting pillow, I want to mention this interesting article over at Curmudgeon Gamer where an excellent point is made about the way gamers get their information now as compared to the last console generation launch cycle and the overall affect it’s having on the industry.
“I think more importantly we have all changed and Sony’s playing catch-up. Six years ago most of us probably got our information and opinion from the big videogame media sites. Magazines were more important for breaking news stories. And as a result, I think people were a little too caught up in the Emotion Engine hype.
Now I almost never see news stories through GameSpot or IGN. Rather, I see them linked to by a blog, and along with that link comes some nugget of commentary. Actually, not just one blog, but dozens of blogs. The result of this filter is that I’m less likely to get the company line first and more likely to hear news with an instant shot of opinion.” -Curmudgeon Gamer
You know, I’ve got to agree with the guy. Back when the 4th generation started, I remember checking sites like IGN, Gamespy and Gamespot religiously, as well as relying on print gaming magazines for all my news. Over time, there’s been that subtle shift to where I find myself reading more and more of the news from the outskirts, where there isn’t as much apparent corporate interference and writers can feel free to give you their own, fully biased opinion just the same as your buddy next to you can. Hell, it’s part of the whole concept behind this site. Either way, the Curmudgeon article is a pretty good read, and if what I said sounds interesting to you, you can check it out here. As for me, I’m going to bed.
GAME CRITICS AWARDS: BEST OF E3 2006 ANNOUNCED
37 news organizations got together following E3, as they do every year, and collectively voted for what they felt were the best “hands-on” experiences from the current year’s E3 demonstrations. We’ve taken the liberty of listing both the nominees as well as the winners in each category. Check out the lists below – the winner is the game listed in bold with an attached link.
Best of Show
– Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
– Wii (Nintendo)Best Original Game
– Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC/Xbox 360)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
– Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)Best PC Game
– Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC)
– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
– Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)
– Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)Best Console Game
– Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)
– Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)Best Handheld Game
– Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
– Killzone: Liberation (Guerrilla/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Kojima Productions/Konami for PSP)
– The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)Best Hardware
– DS Lite (Nintendo)
– Logitech G25 Racing Wheel (Logitech for PC)
– PlayStation 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
– Wii (Nintendo)
– Xbox 360 Wireless Headset (Microsoft for Xbox 360)Best Action Game
– Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC)
– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)
– Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom for Xbox 360)
– Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac/SCEA for PlayStation 3)Best Action/Adventure Game
– Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
– God of War 2 (Sony Santa Monica/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
– Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)
– The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo for GameCube/Wii)Best Fighting Game
– Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory/Sony for PS3)
– Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway Games for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
– Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai Games for PSP)
– Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega for Arcade/PlayStation 3)
– WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 (Yuke’s/THQ for 360/PS3/PS2/PSP)Best Role Playing Game
– Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix for PlayStation 2)
– Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)
– Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Neverwinter Nights 2 (Obsidian/Atari for PC)
– World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC)Best Racing Game
– Excite Truck (Nintendo for Wii)
– Formula One 06 (Studio Liverpool/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
– Gran Turismo HD (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
– MotoGP 06 (Climax/THQ for Xbox 360)
– Test Drive Unlimited (Eden Studios/Atari for Xbox 360, PC, PS2, PSP)Best Simulation Game
– Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft Games Studio for PC)
– Sid Meier’s Railroads! (Firaxis Games/2K Games for PC)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
– The Movies: Stunts and Effects (Lionhead Studios/Activision for PC)
– Wii Music Orchestra (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Sports Game
– Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for PS3 / Xbox 360)
– Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for Nintendo Wii)
– NBA 2K7 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports for Xbox 360)
– NCAA Football 07 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts for X360/PS2/Xbox/PSP)
– Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Strategy Game
– Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ for PC)
– Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II (EA for X360)
– Medieval 2: Total War (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
– Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)
– World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra for PC)Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
– Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
– Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Red Octane for PlayStation 2)
– LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– Lumines II (Q Entertainment/Buena Vista Games for PSP)
– WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo for Wii)Best Online Multiplayer Game
– Battlefield 2142 (Digital Illusions/Electronic Arts for PC)
– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/ATVI for PC)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Huxley (Webzen for PC/Xbox 360)
– World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC)
For those wondering just who those 37 organizations were, here’s the rundown;
TIME, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Business 2.0, Wired, Giant, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Gannett News Service, San Jose Mercury News, Comcast Games.net, Computer Gaming World, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, Game Informer Online, Gamepro, GameSpot, GameSpy, Comcast GamesNet, Hollywood Reporter, 1UP.com, GamesRadar, IGN, Official PlayStation Magazine, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, Playboy, PSM, UGO.com, Yahoo! Video Games, Sympatico.ca, Game-Revolution, CNN/Money, G4TV, MTV & Electric Playground
So there you have it, congratulations to all the nominees and winners, glad to see Gears of War brought in a few awards and here’s to hoping someday this site is legitimate enough that we can add our hats to that panel. Check out the homepage for the Game Critics Awards here.
LATENITE’S BLOG – MY THOUGHTS ON … WII
I decided to try and put my thoughts regarding what’s been done to the Revo… Wii… in one place, and the blog seemed to be the perfect fit. Head on over to today’s entry to read more about my thoughts on Wii and add your own!
LATENITE’S BLOG – MY THOUGHTS ON … WII
I decided to try and put my thoughts regarding what’s been done to the Revo… Wii… in one place, and the blog seemed to be the perfect fit. Head on over to today’s entry to read more about my thoughts on Wii and add your own!
About
Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…
This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.
As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.
In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.
If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.
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