Behind the Scenes: Gaming Journalism (Part 4)
By Shoe
When I was young, way before I even knew writing about games was a viable career option, I remember seeing a critical TV report on how car reviews get done. The reporter asked something to the effect of, “Would you trust a reviewer who’s been treated to all this?” Pan to a posh palm-tree resort where one car manufacturer invited members of the press to a few days of poolside sunning, fine eating, and drunken drinking. Oh, and looking at a few of its vehicles. I was shocked. I don’t even read car reviews, but heck if I’d ever trust any from non-independent sources….
Years later, that’s me on the invite lists. Expensive meals, free booze, gift bags, and extravagant events…so where do we draw the line?
Some press events merely exist to educate game writers and editors; the finger foods and open bar are simply polite, professional, and to be frank, expected things a host should supply its guests (imagine attending a function for a few hours while hungry or thirsty — no thanks). If my ex-employers played host to anything (say, an E3 party), they’d do the same thing, so I don’t think this is a big deal.
Some events, however, are way extravagant. For example, companies have invited the press out to a day at Skip Barber’s Racing School at Laguna Seca Raceway, a live UFC fight in Vegas, and even a weekend in Hawaii, just like that car thing.
So would you trust a reviewer who’s been treated to all that? Some of you seem to trust me, and I’ve been to two of the aforementioned press days (Skip Barber and UFC — not Hawaii, though).
Funny enough, I do feel that some events are justified and perhaps worth attending. Why? The easy answer is to get that access to the game or games that company is showing off at those functions, but that’s a bit of a cop-out because you can still get that access through other means (company sends game to you, you visit their offices, etc.).
Another answer is to maintain positive business relationships with these companies. Yes, you should be friendly and cordial to the game publishers and developers if you want to work with them, just like in any other business or industry in the history of ever.
The most controversial answer, however (and I’d love to get feedback on this from other journalists), is to get that “experience.” No, you don’t need to sit on a beach with a Pina Colada in mouth to know how good or bad a game is. But can you really appreciate what a UFC game is trying to accomplish without ever seeing a UFC match? And can you get an even better feel for the real-life sport (and thus, be a better reviewer of that equivalent videogame) by attending a live fight? I argue…sure. But still, it doesn’t negate the fact that the attending press were treated to something nice. Were they “bought off” on a subconscious level?
My blog partner Crispin’s been to a jet-fighting school for a Namco Ace Combat press day. Extravagant? Absosmurfly. But does it allow him to be even more of an expert on jet-fighting games, way beyond the average consumer? Do you expect your critics to know way more about the subject than you do?
Another infamous example: Tecmo treating members of the press to a day at the horse track to help promote Gallop Racer. They even gave everyone $100 cash to make bets with. It may surprise you to hear that I was in full support of this event (provided all winnings or leftover money was returned to Tecmo, which I heard most or all attendees did). Why? Cause most average people have no idea how horse betting works — it’s not necessarily as simple as picking a pony and hoping its nose hits the finish line first. Odds, furlongs, win, show, place, trifectas, track conditions…having watched my dad do this for years, I know horse betting can be a pretty involved process, so what better way to get writers to understand Gallop Racer than to have them playing the real-life equivalent?
Or is this still bribery?
So I think some of these things can be cool for some journalists to attend…but if you’re gonna go, it’s gotta be with some conditions…which I’ll get to in part five! (Sorry I keep dragging these out — I keep finding more and more things to discuss here.)
Edit: P.S. Please read Crispin’s thoughts in the comments!