Assignment 5 - Isn't Money Funny?
It seems that anything and everything in this life time is money driven. I guess that is capitalism for you.
Publishers devote funds to games that they feel are sure-bets to make a success leaving some innovative and 'different' games with no way of reaching the consumer.
Magazine publishers are also very money driven as are all businesses in life - it's a dog eat dog world and these dogs have a thirst for blood - with strict deadlines journalists have to meet and when games journalists "must" give praise to certain games sometimes it feels like journalists either don't know what they're talking about or they're giving haphazard bias opinions.
I guess that's freedom of speech for you.
Magazines are also losing profit under the slew of gaming websites which give the same - usually bias - reviews.
However now it feels games magazines are losing their edge that they once had; recently I was reading through some old Nintendo magazines I had kept in my cupboard (for cheats, walkthroughs and general nostaliga value...oh also, I just hate to throw ANYTHING away) and there was humour, appeal and indepth insights into games I was too young to fully appreciate.
Although this was during the golden age of gaming where everything was new and different with NES and Mastersystem control pads and games were truely evolving from their amoeba-like states on their large supercomputer shaped ancestors. Journalists were hungry and gaming wasn't exactly everybodies cup of tea; I guess for lack of a better term it was a 'cult' thing (although I was too young to remember...so forgive my ignorance if I am wrong).
I guess that's hunger for you. Nowadays game publications feel like they almost hate games with very few articles giving you the feeling that they actually sat down and played the game for more than 10 minutes.
I guess that's 19-day-an-issue deadlines for you. It seems journalists feel pressure to get their work in on time and they can easily be replaced by fresh, young, enthusastic faces straight of University without a clue in the world about what's in store for them. The Bigwigs want to make money - to make more magazines - to sell more magazines - to make more money and the viscious cheque-filled cycle goes on.
The horrid and GCSE styled 'The games graphics are very good, and the gameplay is also amazing' review is like needles on a chalk board to my eyes and ears.
New Games Journalism takes an objective approach which gives a more powerful insight into games and games have always been a very personal experience that can usually only be described by the average man as 'you've got to play it to understand'.
NGJ give you the exact thoughts and personality of the writer in a way that intrigues and provolks without having to resort to 'play this game because it has good graphics and you will enjoy its interesting story'.
While reading the Metal Gear Solid 2 review and analysis (which can be found here for those who have yet to read it) I found myself laughing and nodding in agreement at what Mr. Rogers (no, not the US TV legend) had to say.
Nothing can compare to that moment where you share a laugh with a complete stranger over such a personal thing as a miniscule detail in a video game you both happened to notice.
NGJ - despite originating on the internet, and therefore inheriting the title nemesis of game magazine medium - is paving the way for game journalists and gives a stronger, more personal insight into a medium that touches so many peoples hearts.
Journalists cannot simply get away with shoddy bias scores with 5 lines of description that barely scratch the surface of the game it tries to sell.
Then again that's the games industry for you. *wink*
Publishers devote funds to games that they feel are sure-bets to make a success leaving some innovative and 'different' games with no way of reaching the consumer.
Magazine publishers are also very money driven as are all businesses in life - it's a dog eat dog world and these dogs have a thirst for blood - with strict deadlines journalists have to meet and when games journalists "must" give praise to certain games sometimes it feels like journalists either don't know what they're talking about or they're giving haphazard bias opinions.
I guess that's freedom of speech for you.
Magazines are also losing profit under the slew of gaming websites which give the same - usually bias - reviews.
However now it feels games magazines are losing their edge that they once had; recently I was reading through some old Nintendo magazines I had kept in my cupboard (for cheats, walkthroughs and general nostaliga value...oh also, I just hate to throw ANYTHING away) and there was humour, appeal and indepth insights into games I was too young to fully appreciate.
Although this was during the golden age of gaming where everything was new and different with NES and Mastersystem control pads and games were truely evolving from their amoeba-like states on their large supercomputer shaped ancestors. Journalists were hungry and gaming wasn't exactly everybodies cup of tea; I guess for lack of a better term it was a 'cult' thing (although I was too young to remember...so forgive my ignorance if I am wrong).
I guess that's hunger for you. Nowadays game publications feel like they almost hate games with very few articles giving you the feeling that they actually sat down and played the game for more than 10 minutes.
I guess that's 19-day-an-issue deadlines for you. It seems journalists feel pressure to get their work in on time and they can easily be replaced by fresh, young, enthusastic faces straight of University without a clue in the world about what's in store for them. The Bigwigs want to make money - to make more magazines - to sell more magazines - to make more money and the viscious cheque-filled cycle goes on.
The horrid and GCSE styled 'The games graphics are very good, and the gameplay is also amazing' review is like needles on a chalk board to my eyes and ears.
New Games Journalism takes an objective approach which gives a more powerful insight into games and games have always been a very personal experience that can usually only be described by the average man as 'you've got to play it to understand'.
NGJ give you the exact thoughts and personality of the writer in a way that intrigues and provolks without having to resort to 'play this game because it has good graphics and you will enjoy its interesting story'.
While reading the Metal Gear Solid 2 review and analysis (which can be found here for those who have yet to read it) I found myself laughing and nodding in agreement at what Mr. Rogers (no, not the US TV legend) had to say.
Nothing can compare to that moment where you share a laugh with a complete stranger over such a personal thing as a miniscule detail in a video game you both happened to notice.
NGJ - despite originating on the internet, and therefore inheriting the title nemesis of game magazine medium - is paving the way for game journalists and gives a stronger, more personal insight into a medium that touches so many peoples hearts.
Journalists cannot simply get away with shoddy bias scores with 5 lines of description that barely scratch the surface of the game it tries to sell.
Then again that's the games industry for you. *wink*
posted by The Horror @ 11:03 pm
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