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Why are gaming sites like IGN don't have actual gaming journalists

I was confusing myself, I meant Game Reviewer. Most game reviewers are terrible at video games and shouldn't be giving other people advice. For example most people couldn't finish Returnal, how can they give advice on a game they never finished?

Oh lord, I agree with you on this.... wholeheartedly.

Game reviews these days are so bad that I don't even bother with them. Most either haven't even bothered to finish the game, don't even like the genre (and therefore shouldn't be reviewing) or are so pretentious that they'll spend more time talking about extraneous obscure literature that the game reminds them of in their review than the actual content of the game.
 

Fare thee well

Neophyte
I'm seeing a pattern here. It's almost lile the bigger and more widespread a company becomes, the more they start to suck ass. And it feels like we live in a time where the lifesupport on monopolized bland companies is eternal. I fully expect the smaller refreshing-take websites I have remaining to also grow to this point, get taken over, or fizzle away.

Gamespot and IGN are sites I havent used in 10+ years. They were better when gaming was a smaller community and industry.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Because these people just want access and free games/gear. Imagine how easy that job is, you literally play videogames write up a couple thousand words a week.
 
I think gaming journalism is in a really difficult spot. Companies can put out their own PR, and don't need gaming sites, metacritic has taken significant attention from reading reviews, and the younglings would rather have Joe-paid-by-big-company do a review on youtubes and talk about how good RAID SHADOW LEGENDS is and make horse noises into the microphone during the review. Those of us who have gamed for decades know that reviews are horse manure anyhow.

Even using this site is difficult for reliable gaming information because so many people are more interested in Alloy doesn't have a big enough thigh gap, or why is this game so woke, I'm offended, and I'm going to boycott X site!
 

Notabueno

Banned
Has many have pointed out, journalism is not really a thing anymore, most big media outlets have become propaganda tools, that's what their investors pay them for despite them having virtually no revenue.
 
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Dithadder

Member
There never really was such a thing as professional games journalism. The magazines and then the websites were just marketing devices, with 7-10 scale game reviews acting as a fig leaf (which is fine, i used to love computer gaming world). To the extent that journalists can support themselves via youtube, patreon etc. these days, professional games journalism may exist today.
 

Jsisto

Member
Theres plenty of great people at IGN that are passionate about games, but at the end of the day they're there to do their job. There is no appetite from investors and corporate advertisers for in depth, long form content when, as others have pointed out, it won't deliver the clicks. Those of us that have been around a while know it wasn't always this way, but nowadays with the advent of independent media sources to fill that niche, we are left with the most milquetoast, politically safe and uninteresting content from the big companies. Probably not a sustainable business model, but I think it's a net positive in the longrun.
 

Excess

Member
What does her personal pics for her social media have to do with her work at IGN?
Do you think that if you work at IGN you have to dress and act like a nun 24/7 and in every part of your life?

Alanah Pearce is like one of the last people I think of when I think of '' shitty game journalist ''.
All things considered she was pretty decent.
Some of her slacktivism online is pretty tired but so is dismissing women because they have breasts and don't cover them at all times.

I don't see the same vitriol towards dudes who take pics showing off their bodies because they have a nice one either then all of the sudden they're just chads.
If you see this pic and you think that using it is some '' own '' against her or game journalism then it really says more about you than it does her or IGN.
You actually made me defend IGN and a game journalist here......

I mean game journalists get upset and offended by the existence of fictional breasts ( I don't think she in particular ever has tho ).
And then random dudes online who probably mock game journalists for that get upset when real women have breasts.
Like why do people gotta be so stupid about this all the time?
Wow, a whole lot of assumptions made here, m8.

In my opinion, it's that she's often put on a pedestal because she is attractive. And those are few and far to come by in an industry filled with sexually repressed nerds with little to no social skills. This is why Twitch is filled with attractive women exploiting male audiences. But great, good for her; we'd all use our appearances to our advantage. Some of us, however, see beyond the ruse. I don't think I've ever really heard her say anything profound about a game or the industry that had me stop and say, "Hmm, that was quite a thought-provoking analysis." Yet, she is objectively more famous than most in the industry, and you already know why.
 

Jack Uzi

Banned
Filip Miucin was their best journalist. He researched other people’s work and articles and made it his own. A fearless man.
 

bender

What time is it?
Filip Miucin was their best journalist. He researched other people’s work and articles and made it his own. A fearless man.

Filip to his former boss and youtube audience.

RegularLeadingBillygoat-size_restricted.gif
 

Silvawuff

Member
Does it really matter? If you don’t like a specific resource for gaming-related stuff, there is no real reason for you to use it. I specifically use GAF and watch certain YouTube creators that I like. Don’t give the time of day to content you don’t resonate with.
 

Salz01

Member
IGN is horrible. Been thinking about unsubscribing from their YouTube channel for some time now. They just regurgitate what other channels already released. They don’t get original content anymore outside of smaller indie games. Most of their staff that release content just annoy me, especially Ryan. You know fuck it, I just clicked unsubscribed.
 

kyussman

Member
It's takes actual talent and integrity to be a proper journalist.....easier for these woke fuckface grifters to get a free ride at places like IGN.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
I was confusing myself, I meant Game Reviewer. Most game reviewers are terrible at video games and shouldn't be giving other people advice. For example most people couldn't finish Returnal, how can they give advice on a game they never finished?
One of the problems with being a staff game reviewer is that, in trying to cover everything, you sometimes get assigned stuff that isn't totally in your wheelhouse. It's not necessarily that they suck at games broadly, they might just not know the game they're reviewing very well because the guy who does know it well has to cover something else.

I have been in that kind of spot. Like I know my games, I'm good at games, but I'm not really good at RTS games, and then I'd have to review an RTS and like... I am not going to be able to discuss the balance issues in the high level online play, which might matter a lot to the people who play those games.

And, of course, game journalists are chosen more for their writing and communication ability than tournament-level gaming skills. For most games, you're reviewing for a broad audience and you don't necessarily want to assume god-tier gaming ability. But then there are certain genres like fighting games where the baseline skill you need to cover a game well is much higher because those games are mostly played by people with a higher level of skill, so there's a balance.
 
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iHaunter

Member
One of the problems with being a staff game reviewer is that, in trying to cover everything, you sometimes get assigned stuff that isn't totally in your wheelhouse. It's not necessarily that they suck at games broadly, they might just not know the game they're reviewing very well because the guy who does know it well has to cover something else.

I have been in that kind of spot. Like I know my games, I'm good at games, but I'm not really good at RTS games, and then I'd have to review an RTS and like... I am not going to be able to discuss the balance issues in the high level online play, which might matter a lot to the people who play those games.

And, of course, game journalists are chosen more for their writing and communication ability than tournament-level gaming skills. For most games, you're reviewing for a broad audience and you don't necessarily want to assume god-tier gaming ability. But then there are certain genres like fighting games where the baseline skill you need to cover a game well is much higher because those games are mostly played by people with a higher level of skill, so there's a balance.
If you're a professional reviewer, you SHOULD be good at EVERYTHING in my opinion. I can play any type of game at a high level, even if I don't like it. If you get paid for it, you should not be bad at video games - be it FPS, RTS, etc. You gotta be able to play everything, it's not a hobby, it's a job.
 

Bryank75

Banned
IGN has become worse and worse over the years, from an already pretty bad place.

If you're an Xbox person, I can see why you'd watch, with Ryan and Destin and the Phil Spencer interviews and all that.

But if you're a PlayStation person, I think you should avoid IGN like the plague. Absolutely terrible coverage and reviews generally.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
If you're a professional reviewer, you SHOULD be good at EVERYTHING in my opinion.
Literally no one is equally knowledgeable and skilled at every genre.


I can play any type of game at a high level, even if I don't like it.
No you can't, dude. And even if you could, could you also discuss all the changes relative to all the other games in the series? No one is an expert in everything. If someone told me they were in a job interview I'd probably know not to hire them. Like really, you're a tournament level Guilty Gear player, max level in Phantasy Star Online, play hundreds of hours of Madden every year, and know all the different waifus in Atelier? Get fucked, no you don't.

The absolute worst people in these situations are the people that THINK they know more than they do. As an editor you should be trying to make sure games go to qualified reviewers but shit gets crazy sometimes.
 
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iHaunter

Member
Literally no one is equally knowledgeable and skilled at every genre.



No you can't, dude. And even if you could, could you also discuss all the changes relative to all the other games in the series? No one is an expert in everything. If someone told me they were in a job interview I'd probably know not to hire them. Like really, you're a tournament level Guilty Gear player, max level in Phantasy Star Online, play hundreds of hours of Madden every year, and know all the different waifus in Atelier? Get fucked, no you don't.

The absolute worst people in these situations are the people that THINK they know more than they do. As an editor you should be trying to make sure games go to qualified reviewers but shit gets crazy sometimes.
Agree to disagree then. Because I entirely disagree with all of that.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Agree to disagree then. Because I entirely disagree with all of that.
Take it from someone who spent years in the industry, there are a lot of people out there who think they know more than they do. You might be one of them.

You can be competent at a wider range of stuff, but you can't be an expert at everything. That's just not real. If you asked me to write a review in a series I've never played or a genre I don't play as much, I could do it, but it's gonna be a different review than someone who plays a ton of those games. That's just how it is.

They also just don't have enough time, by the way, especially when embargos are involved or review copies arrive late. Like when reviewers don't beat games it's not because they CAN'T, it's because they had 4 days to do it.
 
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iHaunter

Member
Take it from someone who spent years in the industry, there are a lot of people out there who think they know more than they do. You might be one of them.

You can be competent at a wider range of stuff, but you can't be an expert at everything. That's just not real. If you asked me to write a review in a series I've never played or a genre I don't play as much, I could do it, but it's gonna be a different review than someone who plays a ton of those games. That's just how it is.

They also just don't have enough time, by the way, especially when embargos are involved or review copies arrive late. Like when reviewers don't beat games it's not because they CAN'T, it's because they had 4 days to do it.
Expert no, but I feel like being able to finish a game you're reviewing is essential, no? In a short time crunch, I can understand.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Expert no, but I feel like being able to finish a game you're reviewing is essential, no? In a short time crunch, I can understand.
Yeah, I think you should have to finish a game to review it and I think when that doesn't happen it's almost always the fault of time crunch and hitting embargo.

Which, to be fair, is also the responsibility of publishers. When they drop a game a few days before embargo like Cyberpunk, they know what they are doing.
 
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