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Death to the Fanboy Press
Kotaku has yet more commentary on the gaming press, where Brian Crecente complains about the childish nature of gaming magazine coverage. This commentary is based on an IGDA commentary piece by Matthew Sakey about the sad state of adult-oriented gaming press. From the article: "What about the magazine did I like the least? Maybe it was the jet lag, but I answered truthfully: 'Sometimes I think your magazine acts too childish. I could do without the stuffed animals and Godzilla jokes and Nerf gun battle pictorials. I'd rather see more in-depth coverage of gaming trends and the ideas that games produce, and less obsession with technology. If we want games treated as a hobby that's as much for adults as children, then we should act more adult. Fun, but grown-up.' This answer pleased them not, and in retrospect it occurs to me that had I shown a bit more tact - for which I am admittedly not famous - I might have gotten the job."
The magazines are too unreadable due to very poor graphic design. They are overwrought to the point where they make "Wired" look like "The New York Times" [registration required]. Too much white/orange/dark-green/etc on black ink.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
It's a bit sad that this comes across as being unusual these days.
Interesting find. I also agree that there should me more in-depth coverage, something game reviewers are missing today when they review games.
in-depth coverage of gaming trends and the ideas that games produce, and less obsession with technology
I don't think more tact could have helped you there. They're paid to obscess over hardware and technology. If they don't, they won't get access to the latest stuff to review and they won't get readers. Gameing journalism isn't about being accurate, or talking about what's good and what isn't. It's about making money.
I tend to agree that most of the game magazines are more interested in hype and cheat codes than in the inner working of the games business. Right now, I think EGM is the best in terms of writing and industry coverage, but I really miss Next Generation magazine which was the first games related magazine I ever read regularly. It was a high quality publication that told the inner story of the games industry in addition to coverage of the latest games and hardware. It felt like it was written by adults for adults. Does anyone know if the Japanese games magazines do any better? I think gaming is a bit more respected there as an activity that is okay for adults to engage in. I wonder if the magazines reflect this.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
I am all for frontier like 9 page reviews for wetting your knickers but:
:-)
:-(
All the reviews of Half-Life 2 that I've read go on and on about the gravity gun, the cool physics, the amazing water effects produced by the Source engine, and how good the level design is. Scarcely a word is mentioned about the potency of the urban dystopia so elegantly realized with City-17; about the brooding, ubiquitous Overwatch and the paranoia it foments; about humanity's growing despondency in the face of the Combine's relentless oppression
Give my jokes about godzilla and nerf gun pictorials over this!
No, I agree that some games you just wanna take to bed and read with you, like GTA:SA, I woudl like to read a lot about that game, the technology, from a developer point of view.
So I would read gamasutra. If I ama game head, which i am not, I would read the tripe magazines, like the one your were interviewed for.
I can't believe you lost the chance to work somewhere with nerf gun fights. Now google is your only chance (until the adsense fraud gets them all hungry again!!
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
Imagine if movie reviews were written like the average game review...
Ninety percent of the review would be a discussion of the special effects and technical details, with ten percent left for things like plot and characterisation.
Perhaps when every game has photo-realistic graphics and perfect 3D sound then reviewers will finally have to start looking at the things that actually make the game fun...
I don't know what gamers are like, but when I worked in an IT department with a 50/50 mix of *nix and Windows techies... it took all of a week from the first gun fight before we'd disassembled our guns and overridden every safety feature.
We had to wrap the foam darts in tape so the pressure wouldn't blow them apart the moment they left the confines of the barrel, and getting hit meant a welt.
This guy is right on. If you know where to look , there's plenty of trenchant, intelligent discussions of music and movies beyond the consumer reports that pass as reviews these days.
And it's not like there's a shortage of 'feature' gaming stories out there. I'd love to know what Bungie learned between incarnations of Bungie.net, for example, from the Myth days and what's been improved and why. Or more about the indie rock soundtrack to the upcoming Stubbs the Zombie. Are smaller bands now more likely to get on board with a game because it's harder to get signed to a major label? Because it's a good promotional tool? Economics or savvy?
I think the mags are just plain lazy.
talk about ironic
I got some bad news:
Print magazines are a business. They try to make money. How do they do it?
Well, one way is to sell to people who actually buy magazines. Who buys these things? Come on, when was the last time anybody actually bought a video game mag? Okay, here's a theory for you: video game press is like porn. Most people, given a choice, would rather participate in the acts depicted than read about them. So what are the barriers to playing video games and what demographics do they entail?
A) Arbitrary limits on time. This affects kids above all. Parents limit video game exposure. Sure, some of you will say, so do spouses/significant others/jealous dogs, but reading about video games pisses them off just as much.
B) Situations where playing video games is not appropriate. Teenagers have school, where the magazine format excels, discretely lining the inside of that boring-ass history book. Adults have workplaces; in the working class case, the magazine might still make sense -- though then one would be better served by bringing something everyone can enjoy, such as pornography. For many office types, vid web sites are not yet off limits.
C) Where cash is short, web access controlled, and the magazine can be a handy guide to what to expect -- again, the younger crowd excels here.
The other revenue source is of course advertising. Remember, automotive magazines don't shy away from tarnishing their journalistic integrity; many music mags don't either. So why should it surprise anyone that the bulk of video game magazines are basically shills for big companies? That's their business model! So it ain't called EA Weekly; that doesn't mean they don't make a living by pandering to Electronic Arts.
Now, on to the rest of it. I don't care about anybody else's "experience" with the game; give me your evaluation. I don't want some masturbatory prose and long narrative about how the dystopic vision of GTA:SA validated a life spent in the parents' basement, cold, with the body never feeling the heat of a woman. I'd like to hear the "Take" on the game; that can include commentary on the structure, the vision, or whatever. But I don't wanna see an egotistic ass hijack the prose.
Sure, there's a lot to talk about with video games, from the market, to how ideas are realized, to loading them full of Frankfurt School Marxism and making the players fritter away their only real chance to overthrow the oppressive system exposed by the game. So why beat up on perfectly legitimate bits of drivel?
By the way, the word "impactor" offends me on so many levels, it's making me question my sexual orientation.
If we want games treated as a hobby that's as much for adults as children, then we should act more adult. Fun, but grown-up.
./ conversation where we talk about women and video games, and you'll see plenty of immature posts talking about how the women should shut up, there really isn't a problem, and the incorrect assumption that the big buff, musclebound male-stereotype superhero appeals to the fantasy of the women gamers (wrong!). I keep talking about treatment of women, because that is one of my main measuresments for male maturity.
Well, that is largely because the majority of the male gaming population acts like 13-year-old boys--
You've know who they are: lusting after Lara Croft's boobs, gawking at the booth-babes, treating women like shit, spending most of their time inside playing video games munching on chips instead of getting exercise and meeting people. Look back at any
And these people probably spend the most money on video games.
But there is a substantial mature, adult gaming population out there. But chances are they are pretty busy with their lives, careers, kids, and don't spend nearly as much money on games, and don't always have time to read gaming magazines.
94% of Repubs and 21% of Dems voted to renew the Patriot Act
I now officially duck to avoid the hurled flames.
However, since we're talking about readability - try Official Xbox Magazine - just pick one up and look at it. It's my only subcription mag since Next Generation went away. I believe at least one OXM editor was from NG (Francesca?). And the quality of the writing is way above average in the gaming press. Almost all of the content is in grammatical English and they're not afraid to say a game is awful in no uncertain terms.
It probably has to do with the fact that Xboxen are marketed at a higher aged demographic (I'm 34 today, f'rinstance).
I was fairly blown away when Imagine(or whatever corp) took this baby off the news stands, i for one waited anxiously for my monthly arrival of this _excellent_ game magazine. since next gen has gone AWOL, all we have to read in the magazine dept. is this REHASHED, kiddie driven, hyper sugar induced twitch mag that has nor an ounce of real writing. I have always had the idea to scan/orc my next gen collection just to show people how pathetic the new magazines are.
Let's face it, they're a business. They do X and they do Y. If X generates more business, more companies will jump on the bandwagon and do X, and les and less will do Y (if any remain at all, it becomes a niche market). Eventually, all you can find is X.
I see a fundamental problem with claiming that gaming media is immature but gamers aren't. If that were true, they wouldn't pay for pretty colours and x-treme 'tude, they would buy more cerebral publications, and eventually smarter gaming mags would become X, and the current trend Y.
That's not happening. In fact, IMO the content is getting progressively more dumbed down. Looking past Mr. Sakey's petulant attitude, I don't see a company that didn't hire him because he said something that hurt their feelings, I see a company that didn't hire him because he doesn't get what the market wants.
Do I like the fact that most gaming mags are tech-porn? No, I would actually like a magazine similar to what he described. But I'm not conceited enough to think that the global gaming market agrees with me. Let Mr. Sakey find like-minded people and they can publish their introspective gaming mag - if he's right that people are starving for it, he should be on his way to getting rich by now, not bitching on the internet about the job he didn't get.
It's hard to soar like an eagle when you're surrounded by turkeys.
I use websites to check for the big points, sure. IGN can tell me if a game will make my computer crash or if it's got so much slowdown that it's going to make my GBA burst into flames.
The major websites tend to reflect this occasionally childish view, though, and the print magazines can't help me to find a game that I'm interested in if it's a new release or if it's months old and I don't have that issue anymore.
Talking to my friends does work. I know what their tastes are and whether or not I'll like the game if they do. Hell, I don't even need to talk to my real life friends. Asking people that I've met through message boards can work wonders too. I'd trust the userbase of Cheap Ass Gamer more often than I would XPlay or GamePro.
I wonder why more people don't think of doing it my way instead? Reviews aren't everything, despite what fanboys say. :)
Goo goo g'joob.
I am probably the 20th person to say this, but what sells, is what sells. They are a business, and it is unfortunate that your handcrafted product is not always in demand. Personally I disagree with his statement. Then again the only gaming magazine I regularly read is PC Gamer, and I find that pretty mature (generally).
--- "End Of Line" - MCP
And one of the reviewers said something - this was 1985ish - that really stuck to me. He referred to games not as "games" but as "software." As in, "the newest hot software."
I don't think magazines have gone much beyond that in their perception of gaming.
I understand the point he is trying to make here but can you imagine someone trying to do an in depth review on the way Polarium for the Nintendo DS accurately expresses the struggle and oppression that the black squares had to face in this puzzle game? A review normally consists of two things: how it looks and how much fun it is. For the most part I just want to know how much fun a game is. If the majority of reviews say a game is a blast to play I'll try it out. Graphics aren't as much of a concern for me. (Vib Ribbon, Katamari Damacy)
My Xbox Live Gamer Card
I agree. Next Generation was a very good magazine. However, running a magazine is a business, and the subscription numbers just weren't there to bring in the advertising dollars. They tweaked with their formula to grow their audience but this only hastened the decline.
In spite of the fact that market is bigger (and older) than it was 10 years ago, I *still* doubt the market could support such a magazine. I think the growth in the market has been due largely to the increase of "casual" gamers, vs. "hardcore" gamers that would be inclined to get a magazine subscription solely dedicated. I'd love to be proven wrong, however.
In the meantime, have you checked out Game Developer magazine? Not exactly a replacement for Next Generation, but it does cover a lot of aspects of the industry that the mainstream gaming press ignores.
This isn't irony, but it is hypocrisy.
Nerf guns are for sissies. In my company, everybody gets a red cap and a Glock pistol on the day he's hired.
Sincerely,
Steve Zissou
I have the dubious honor of having a charter subscription to Nintendo Power. They pretty much only print letters and drawings from the young ones (skip those), and they try to write to a 3rd to 5th grade reading level. However, Nintendo Power does some very adult-attractive things in their publishing:
1) They're cheap and they give you stuff for subscribing. Usually a hint book or demo disk.
2) They give you more stuff for subscribing. At least once a year, Nintendo throws music (like E3 Nintendo Orchestra) or some other minimum-value item to keep you hooked.
3) Ad control. This is mostly so that Nintendo products are represented and no adult (smoking, drinking) products are advertised. Nintendo used to be ad-free. I actually prefer the ads to be child-safe because I know where to get ciggies and beer.
4) In-depth reviews w/ maps. They show the map, they walk you thru part one. Next month, part two, and they leave the rest to you. They've done this from day one.
5) Loyal to product. The magazine is obviously all about Nintendo. It is a much more focused mag than the general interest ones. General interest mags are the same size as Nintendo Power, so they have to be practicing "less is more."
These are all advanced concepts that require taking financial hits for the overall product, but they still make a profit.
I can't believe no one's mentioned Insert Credit's lengthy series of articles on the state of game journalism yet. Pretty much any point being made in the parent story or the comments here were already made by it. Like the site itself, it may overreach at times, but it's certainly refreshing compared to the norm...
Hi everyone,
I hope you don't mind me posting anonymously but I'm sure you'll understand why. Working on a multi-format mag is an eye-opening experience. I too wanted to raise the tone of journalism but have faced an unexpected obstacle: the game publishers themselves.
Lots of publishers have told me how dissatisfied they are with the current state of game journalism. I've had senior PR people tell me they can usually influence journos if they need to. And I know other journos who have been offered inducements (read: cash) to give games good scores.
They like it this way. I've seen major publishers pull ads because we've written negative reviews of their games. They have control - as a number of people have said, magazine publishing is a business and when your publisher sees ads being pulled and phone calls not returned you can bet your bottom dollar that the panic button gets hit. The game publishers know this and use it to their advantage.
I absolutely agree that there are some terrible, juvenile mags out there. But let's not forget that at least some of these are perfectly targeted at a juvenile audience. It's much tougher to produce an adult mag that takes games seriously. The only two that do are Edge and gamesTM, both from the UK. And neither of them has ever sold many copies, which raises questions about the adult audience who are, I suspect, enjoying some of the excellent, no-holds-barred writing to be found on the web, where writers are not professionals and so aren't worried about ads being pulled or code withheld.
Any other journos out there want to comment?
Next Generation was the US edition of Edge. If you're after a quality mag try Edge or gamesTM (both from the UK).
For a counter perspective, check out 1UP's look at the issue.
Long story short, the lead designer for The Playboy Mansion and the lead product developer for Bloodrayne are female, and the lead designer for Beyond Good and Evil is male. Many of the people listed in the article cross the line between the traditionally expected viewpoints. Many female designers and artists are comfortable with a larger degree of sexuality in their characters, and many male designers take a more respectful "kid's gloves" approach to the issue. The designer most directly responsible for the look of Laura Croft left the company after the first game because they wanted to sex her up too much (Legend has it she is based upon his niece).
This is not as black-and-white an issue as "men are sex-starved, women are victims." Quite frankly I find that reductionism insulting. The majority of the male gaming population does not act like 13 year old boys. Have you been around 13 year old boys recently? If the current statistics are correct, the percentage of 6 - 17 year old boys playing videogames is holding at about 20%. Which means 1 in 5. Which means that the obnoxious kid that you bump into on the Halo 2 server is probably in reality an obnoxious kid. And if he understands that the behavior is unacceptable, he will change. But if you shrug and make gross generalizations based on sex, that makes it OK for him to continue and insults the rest of us unproductively.
And please lose the stereotype of the lifeless piply male gamer. It's been debunked. Multiple times. over and over again.
The ______ Agenda
If people want a grownup gaming magazine, then perhaps a magazine is needed which is characterized by what has long been considered to identify a book as being "for grownups".
No pictures.
Then it'd have to survive on the quality of the writing, and the thoughts expressed. The lack of screenshots would encourage a focus on deeper issues than graphics of scary monsters and explosions.
The lack of pictures would let it function on a lower budget, removing the need to whore for the vendors and the kiddies looking for pictures of CGI chicks who make them feel kinda funny down there.
Start it out as a low-budget zine, and build credibility. If interest rises high enough, move to a more traditional printed journal format with higher production values. Maybe even allow line drawing diagrams, when necessary.
(Note: I am not a person who thinks a book with pictures is automatically a kids' book. Graphic Novel readers need not respond with examples of Maus or Persepolis, etc)
September 2011: Looking for Cocoa/iOS work in Boston area Cocoa Programmer Quincy, MA
And that's all I ever buy magazines for. There might on occasion be something interesting or informative to read in between the grimacing macho caricatures, the assertions that 1.8GHz is "low end", the boobie-drooling, the frag-chick of the month and the garish ads for games with way too many colons and dashes in the title, but there's more of that found online and in conversations with friends.
Granted, I'm not much of a gamer (wonder why?), so they're probably right in focusing on folks who're too busy actually playing the games to take a step back and look at games in a larger cultural/artistic context. Maybe sometimes all it'd take to endear me to a magazine would be a reviewer differentiating more strongly between "visually appealing" and "expensive-looking"--I've not played Doom 3 yet (hm, don't I have a demo somewhere?), but from the screenshots I can tell it's not gonna impress me much. There simply doesn't seem to be much in it that I'd actually want to look at expect to test-drive my Athlon and Geforce. But then, I still think some C64 games are beautiful, so maybe I just don't get it in this new world.
Or maybe it'd just take a New Wave of original games to breathe some life back into it? Are they all on the consoles now? Eye-Toy, Rez, ICO, Katamari Damacy... (okay, Sims. Cool concept. But I'm already failing to have a life of my own; not sure I want to play one out with dolls right now.)
I keep talking about treatment of women, because that is one of my main measuresments for male maturity.
Whatever man - you and I both know that you "keep talking about the treatment of women" because you are a whimpy sand-in-the-face dude and being "sensitive ponytail guy" is your best hope of getting laid. The true mesurement of male maturity is simply not talking about women in this context at all. When little dudes go on about "bizitches and b00bs," you ignore them and do not participate in the discussion. Do you think that proselytizing makes you mature?
I've oft wished that at the top of the story (once selected) there were running totals of the mod points applied to that story.. anytime the balance was 50%> of all mod points went to funny, I could skip it.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
I don't use game magazines for anything more than a "new release guide" with pretty pictures and sometimes a demo cd. If I want to REALLY find out what the game is like, I look online in forums and try to make up my own mind based on the comments people make.
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