Big Gaming Journalism is Dying, and Here's Why

This is an editorial piece. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of, and should not be attributed to, Niche Gamer as an organization.

With the gaming community collectively asking for corruption in gaming media to end, a blogger named Daniel Golding published a blog post titled “The End of Gamers.” This post is a hyperbolic and completely baseless piece that basically set the grounds for a myriad of big, mainstream gaming websites to content scrape with and spin it to their hearts content.

So now we’ve come full circle with evidence towards actual corruption between the mainstream gaming press and the game developers they cover, and when the gamers ask them for truth and for action, what do these big name journalists do? They write all of these shaming and condemning articles, proclaiming that gamers are dead:

These are just a taste of the ignorant, agenda-charged vitriol that we’ve seen spewed out within the same 24-48 hour period towards the “gamers.” How are these journalists, writers, and critics so beholden to condemning the very hobby and industry that has given them jobs, and a way of life? I’ll tell you why – it’s because they simply don’t care about gaming anymore. Let me elaborate on that – they don’t care about “gaming for the sake of gaming” anymore, or rather, for fun.

I sincerely believe that big gaming media, or at least the ones who aggressively push for moral progressive themes, all inclusiveness, and so on, are going the way of the dodo. These so-called journalists don’t have the best interest of the gamers at heart, they simply want to continue to be relevant when most gamers have moved onto following Youtube let’s players, Twitch streamers, and so on.

These charlatans want gaming to grow up, and become socially conscious – for it to finally become an art form akin to arthouse cinema, progressive and contemporary art, and so on. Here’s the issue – the majority of gamers, especially the ones who frequent our website, simply just want to game. They just want fun, rewarding gameplay experiences – anything more is simply icing on the cake for us.

Having a game that provides the canvas for thought provoking or deeply emotional experiences is wonderful and everything, but why can’t these experiences coexist with the mindless pulp and silliness that many of us love and enjoy? Why must so many flapping heads that call themselves journalists keep screaming for games like Senran Kagura and Criminal Girls (both pictured above) to not exist, while demanding for more games like Gone Home (which we gave a 10/10 by the way)?

I think it’s because instead of having a civil discussion and pledge for more variety in games (something I’ve already been asking for), they condemn things which stand against their own bias and agendas, and they simply can’t/won’t trust that “gamers” can distinguish between fantasy and reality. Crazy, isn’t it? These people think that if you play a game like Senran Kagura, you’ll become a serial rapist, or if you play a game like God of War, you’ll go on a murdering spree.

So I bring you to the topic of #GamerGate, a retaliation by the gamers and games industry at large to fight back against the corruption, the hate, and the sheer lunacy spewed forth by the mainstream gaming press. We’ve been aggressively campaigning for #GamerGate since its beginning, and a recent tip off from a fan of ours (who wishes to remain anonymous) has shown us that ground has been won in the battle for gaming’s soul.

The following is an email exchange between Stack Social, a major advertising company that supports big name gaming websites. The response shown is part of a conversation submitted to Niche Gamer, which came as a response to the tipster’s deep concern for the gaming industry, and by those words, actions, and ethics shown by Kotaku.

Now, I know you’re going to say “but Brandon, that’s a pretty ambiguous statement. The representative didn’t say they pulled ads from Kotaku.” I’ll raise you a step further – we’ve gotten reports from our fans that completely nonsensical (i.e. not gaming or Stack Social) advertisements have appeared on Kotaku’s website, further corroborating the message that adverts are being pulled from Stack Social.

Big gaming journalists looking to bulldoze an agenda through are simply not needed anymore – in fact they were never needed. The problem with gaming journalism is that anyone can do it now – and the ones who have been doing it for eons have now been essentially depreciated. They’ve not only become the old model for how the gamers want their coverage to be, many of them have been involved in racketeering, corruption, and many other allegations.

So not only have we finally gotten real, tangible evidence of real corruption within big gaming media, instead of owning up to it or apologizing – they spit in our faces. They proclaim that we’re dead, and they’re the ones who are saving the gaming industry. I not only disagree, I believe we can all agree this is a completely ludicrous stance, one that some fans of ours have likened to the statements seen from pro-Communism propaganda just before the fall of Soviet Russia.

So please, if you care about the gaming industry – continue speaking out against the parties in charge and either get them to own up to their actions, or collectively blacklist them, because those Alexa ratings are definitely starting to decline! We’ve already begun to make an impact, we’ve made advertisers notice and start taking actions to reprimand these hooligans, and we can only go further from here.

Keep tweeting #GamerGate and #notyourshield hashtags, because the more we bombard them with collective reason, the less they have to use against us as ammunition. They’re looking for threats, baseless accusations, and even condemnation, but we have to fight the good fight if we’re to combat these imbeciles.

As a final note – I have contacted Stack Social for a confirmation that advertisements are either being pulled, or that the company is at least investigating that route as a course of action against Kotaku’s own carelessness.

gamasutra, kotaku, polygon, rock paper shotgun

Owner and Publisher at Niche Gamer and Nicchiban. Outlaw fighting for a better game industry. Pronouns: Patriarch, Guido, Olive.

79 comments

HQ
September 8, 2014 at 9:07 pm

This is ballsy, i love it
Ninezero
September 8, 2014 at 9:14 pm

Good article, i’m looking forward to see more people against them, they bring nothing more than bad press and unreasonable expectations based on lies, the only thing that we want to do is to play games.
STiger
September 8, 2014 at 9:20 pm

Ballsy? Seems more… boobsy.
Elilla Shadowheart
September 8, 2014 at 9:32 pm

/femgamers demand more ballsy stuff!

Joking aside, it was a very good article.
Elizabeth
September 8, 2014 at 9:36 pm

Awesome article!
J belmont
September 8, 2014 at 9:36 pm

The thing is gamers have ALWAYS been some of the least prejudicial people because they have always been the ostracized by society and scapegoated for whatever the moral panic of the day was. 25 years ago it was Ritual Satanic Abuse. 15 years ago it was Videogames Cause Violence. Today it’s “misogyny”.

Just ask Susan HedgeMage Sons if nerds really are such horrible misogynous monsters: http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/girls-and-software
Booooooooom
September 8, 2014 at 9:37 pm

Hello i was just wondering, the email that you say shows that stacksocial pulled from kotaku. Is there any chance that you can get a 100% clarifcation on it, so there is no doubts.
sanic
September 8, 2014 at 9:39 pm

Approva, could you place archive links besides the regular corrupt site articles so people don’t have to give views/ clicks? Or am I crazy?
Kain Yusanagi
September 8, 2014 at 9:46 pm

Don’t forget how many of us started as tabletoppers, too.
Kain Yusanagi
September 8, 2014 at 9:46 pm

/Malegamers demand more ballsy stuff too!
Agent Cat
September 8, 2014 at 9:52 pm

Nice to see a big dog essentially smacking the yapping little dog to let it know who is in charge. Now for the rest of the sites with shitty journalism to lose ad revenue.
Gaming Admiral
September 8, 2014 at 9:56 pm

Good work, Shinji.
Crazy_O
September 8, 2014 at 10:00 pm

The two paragraphs under the SK picture are what I always said. (This: “Having a game that provides the canvas […] or if you play a game like God of War, you’ll go on a murdering spree.”)

Kotaku and others treat it like a zero sum game. Every game a man (maybe lesbian woman) might like has to disappear in order to be “inclusive”. But it is not a zero sum game. I won’t suddenly spend my money on the games they promote because Senran Kagura or Akiba’s Trip disappeared.

Thanks for your role in all of this nichegamer. You gained one loyal visitor. It’s not much… but thank you.
Kra'ul Sheykhon
September 8, 2014 at 10:56 pm

Just Adblock/Privacy Badger, & it’s All Good…
sanic
September 8, 2014 at 11:13 pm

Huh never knew of privacy badger, I found this pretty funny though, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/nopat
ZeroxGT
September 8, 2014 at 11:28 pm

This! absolutely all of this!! Im hoping more devs step forward and speak their mind on the matter.. though id like to hear more from the big guys like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft as well as indie devs, and other third party devs.. and other sites as well
Badmojo7
September 9, 2014 at 12:05 am

Talking about P&P RPG? That is also been infested with SJW/PV stuff. RPG.NET, the biggest forum for RPG users has natorious mods who will ban/harass people who DARE mention anything that is not alighned with SJW/PV BS. An alternative would be the RPGsite.
Kain Yusanagi
September 9, 2014 at 12:06 am

Yeah, part of why I stopped going there.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 12:10 am

Seriously thank you!!! Your words mean the world to me.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 12:10 am

I’m waiting to hear back from Stack Social – I promise I’ll update you guys as soon as I do.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 12:10 am

You’re right I totally forgot to put the URLS into donotlink, apologies for that.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 12:11 am

Hnnnnghhhhh you consider us a big dog? :)
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 12:11 am

Thank you!!!!!
Ninefingers
September 9, 2014 at 12:24 am

Awesome article. I’ve sadly been sitting on the sidelines but you’ve expressed almost everything I have been thinking for years.

There should be room for all types of games. It is the part of tolerance that Progressives have all but forgotten. We should stop supporting sites that have writers who are actively looking to be offended or promote an agenda. They’ve forgotten that games are meant to be fun. To each his own and all that jazz.

Keep up the good work! I can’t wait to continue to support you guys in the future.
Junoh315
September 9, 2014 at 1:54 am

A bit of both, really.
Alistair
September 9, 2014 at 2:47 am

If I’m not mistaken that gone-home is 2 guys bumming each other right & the SJWs favours that right,.

Well there is a flaw, & proves that they a bunch of hypocrites.

They been spinning things of what is offenend & what is not so they don’t see the 2 guys as offenend only cartoon gals to be the must horribe.

But unlike monpiece, the Akiba trip, & the senran series none of them feature sexual intercourse.
Vesold Yaroslavich
September 9, 2014 at 3:03 am

I am finally glad the tipping point has been reached. These Sjw individual wanted take away peoples right for choice and critical thinking. It seems like never enjoyed games anyway but merely using the media for their own personal goals because they lack skills and talents to achieve it on their own. They mimic the same behavior and tactics the propagandist used growing up under the Soviet Union. Sorry for my English i’m from Russia.
Ano
September 9, 2014 at 5:07 am

Watch out, they may shut you down :)
landlock
September 9, 2014 at 5:54 am

This article on Eurogamer really annoyed me as well from a couple of weeks back. They’ve been posting more and more of this sort of stuff recently.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-04-dead-or-alive-5s-bath-and-bedtime-dlc-could-be-its-creepiest-yet
Phillikins
September 9, 2014 at 5:56 am

Thank you, Brandon. I know it mightn’t mean much, but I’m yet another that is glad I’ve found you and your website! Awesome article, Brandon! It’s good to see that not everybody in a journalistic/press sort of position has forgotten what gaming is about – it isn’t about agendas, monetary gain, nor is it even about art, though that’s definitely a part of it. It’s about having fun. Pure, simple fun and enjoyment. And that’s all any gamer, male, female, Caucasian, black, Latin, Arabian, European, etc. wants.
Thank you, once again!
Guest
September 9, 2014 at 5:58 am

WE DEMAND MORE STRONG MEN! FLEX! FLEX! FLEXXX!
Rupa
September 9, 2014 at 6:00 am

WE DEMAND MORE STRONG FEMALES WITH PULSING MUSCLES! FLEX! FLEX! FLEXXX!
Rupa
September 9, 2014 at 6:01 am

Goddamn it. Double post.

Edit: Damn it forgot the edit function.
JackDandy
September 9, 2014 at 6:19 am

Good stuff!
7-D Sensei
September 9, 2014 at 6:28 am

Cool Article, Found you guys cause of Gamergate thing.
7-D Sensei
September 9, 2014 at 6:31 am

I ain’t clicking that shit.
Alistair
September 9, 2014 at 6:33 am

On a side note the picture of senran girl it’s the first time I see a still of the moving clip of a trailer.

But this also proves my other point about the SJWs been saying over the years.

Take the senrans comic yuri faces cover the nipples, the monpiece that shows no visible nipples even that flower gal one. Whip cream cover them in Bon appetite

Because japan have to cover them in games but have a another look the right boob there no nipple in sight the bit of cloth doesn’t cover all of the nipple.

There is a nipple in the centre right but around that is a round part of skin that is darker to make up a nipple that tiny bit of cloth doesn’t even cover the whole of it.

So that tells she not got any nipples, another example is in a cartoon that shows a boob with out any nipples attach.
Alistair
September 9, 2014 at 6:49 am

I found this amusing this ad been banned for showing a visible nipple with dark round bit of it showing though the clothes.

But I cant see it I can only just see a bit sticking out but the colour or the round bit is not to be seen.
Grandadylongstik
September 9, 2014 at 7:47 am

Good article. Part of the reason why this is my fav site to go to now.
Xatulu
September 9, 2014 at 9:42 am

There seems to be Yaoi on your Editorial.

I like it.
Ano
September 9, 2014 at 10:33 am

I really tried to forgive Kotaku, i did. I was one of the few who thought that P. Hernandez had the right (freedom of speech) in the article about rape in Gears of War. But when they did (how you put it in here) spit in my face proclaiming me dead just because I identify myself as a gamer, I couldn’t anymore. It seems like this people think themselves to be Demi-Gods of video games making such horrendous declarations.
Ano
September 9, 2014 at 10:36 am

Someone already did:

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s8vcku
33
September 9, 2014 at 1:23 pm

Gone Home was lesbians and everybody likes lesbians.
33
September 9, 2014 at 1:35 pm

http://pastebin.com/qDWnbRRq

They’re talking about this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATJAKwqKwC0

I don’t believe any of the men got costumes in this pack (if only they got a pajama pack).
LickTheEnvelope
September 9, 2014 at 2:05 pm

Thanks Brandon
Alistair
September 9, 2014 at 3:07 pm

Oh I see which game is the 2 guys from then. & I don’t remember gone home is that on steam?.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:49 pm

That’s incredible for you to leave feedback as informative as this dude! Seriously, thank you. I mentioned the bit about Soviet Russia and these buffoons who just keep circling the wagons around angry gamers, preaching games that are morally progressive first and fun second, while condemning mindless pulp and titillation.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:51 pm

Precisely!!!!

Seeing articles or reviews where people have these reactionary, holdout and or kneejerk responses to games they don’t morally or aesthetically agree with is just stupid. It’s not only stupid but it’s disingenuous to fans of that game, and to the creators behind it as well.

We’ve never advocated for there to only be pulp or titillation, that’s not what we want at all. But for some people to condemn one form of fiction over another… it’s simply preposterous.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:53 pm

Yeah that blatant attack on the gamers at large seems to have been the final straw that drove so many gamers away from them.

We put up with it for so long, the rampant screaming, crying, and ridiculous agenda pushing over all other forms of gaming… and not we’ve had enough.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:54 pm

That was at the request of a fan of ours, via twitter :) We have to think of everyone when it comes to titillation in games. We’ve written about Dramatical Murder Re:Code as well.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:55 pm

Thank you for reading!! :)
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:56 pm

Thank you so much!! We try to keep all of the nonsense out, at least when it comes outside the realm of the games themselves. I continue to fight the fight for these games, to give them a voice when most other websites simply won’t, or can’t.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:56 pm

I was REALLY mad about this. It’s a silhouette of a breast, and yet the MPAA said it was bad. Who cares? Movie posters can have oodles of blood and such, why is the female form that much more offensive to the eyes?
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:57 pm

I’m ecstatic that you did find us :) Seriously, thank you for the kind words!
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:57 pm

Thank you!!!
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 3:57 pm

Wait….. like the Amazon from Dragon’s Crown? :)
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 4:20 pm

This is what just baffles me – so many developers, journalists, and enthusiasts are SO FOCUSED on trying to build gaming into “a respected form of art” when they lose track of the core source of gaming – fun.

Fun is a very ambiguous concept but most of us can agree that the best games nail that fun factor, that special something that keeps us playing. Games that completely focus on pushing a message over fun gameplay.

I’m not saying a game can’t have a great, thought provoking message and fun gameplay, but there’s a disconnect where lots of people/devs/journalists consider “fun” or “gameplay” toxic, and something that is holding back the industry.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 4:21 pm

Yeah more westerners having knee-jerk reactionary posts taking pot shots at Japanese developers for not “beautifying” sexuality in games. Who cares – writers who push that kind of stuff are one thing – hacks. Utterly shameful.
Brandon Orselli
September 9, 2014 at 4:21 pm

I dare them :)
33
September 9, 2014 at 4:48 pm

The two guys having sex in the bath is from Dramatical Murder, from Nitro+’s BL branch Nitro+Chiral.

Gone Home is the steam game where a girl goes home and finds out her lesbian sister has run away (or something like that).
Chaos_Alfa
September 9, 2014 at 5:27 pm

I want to issue one correction. Gamasutra is a developer focused website not a gamer focused one. If they lose the gamers who read their website it wouldn’t hurt them.
Aristides
September 9, 2014 at 6:44 pm

Art you say? Well their definition of art is rather cringe worthy. Given that they don’t have an ounce of respect for a content creator’s wishes/vision unless it’s strictly aligned with their own it’s more of a parody of Art and an excuse to “sound” superior.

Great Article, from a development perspective thanks for pushing for a world where content creators don’t have to censor their work in fear of the poor excuse of gaming press slandering their work. Everyone should have a right to play whatever they want after all.
MrHunterseeker .
September 9, 2014 at 8:12 pm

agreed.

all my clicks belong to you.
Alistair
September 10, 2014 at 11:14 am

But to fair it good to see men sex & good clean loli cartoon ecchi fun.

Even if I find that men sex is not my thing, does it make me a SJWs tit no it does not.

What I’m trying to say is unlike these SJWs I keep a open mind anything that makes my jaw reach the floor & tug on my heart in adult way thought provoking manner is a good thing.

Hell I like to play legend of zelda, & castlevania I don’t really mind the reboot of castlevainia I’m early please give us more ecchi with boobs & men sex & & others with out censorship I lap that up.
Vinzenz Stemberg
September 11, 2014 at 3:35 pm

the only reason to go to RPG.net is to see how many people will be baited by someone trying to promote FATAL
Vinzenz Stemberg
September 11, 2014 at 3:41 pm

Not to mention that game appears to actually handle the subject matter seriously. What ‘gay’ games have there been before? Cho Aniki? Kizuna? Gay characters in games? Ash from Bare Knuckle for one. Always overly comedic and utilising western or eastern comedy stereoetypes. It’s not something I would play but it’s nice to see certain topics done seriously when applicable.
Vinzenz Stemberg
September 11, 2014 at 3:44 pm

They said they wanted to be more like Hollywood, both Indie and non, and they did. They became the same rapacious award-baiting knuckleheads we stopped watching movies for. And they would piss off real artists with shoddy adaptions the way Hollywood pissed of Alan Moore and Gore Vidal too. Which is a goddamn shame from an industry that once was given notice and equal respect by the most famous of Sci-fi authors like Nimoy and Ellison and Card. We squandered all that respect chasing the almighty dollar from the late 90s onward.
nonscpo
September 11, 2014 at 7:08 pm

So I thought that this was interesting, NPR seems to be interested in this debacle. However not on the journalistic integrity side (go figure):

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/questions-raised-over-bullying-gaming-community
dodoking
September 11, 2014 at 9:05 pm

those picture oh dear god quick remove them before misogyny
Xanados
September 13, 2014 at 4:05 am

As I just tweeted out now. Artistic vision in how they want a game to be created and seen by the people is up to them. Not any agenda SJW narrative and while they are completly open to critism, with this being said it is good to see things from all angles, but with most “mainstream gaming journalism” it’s more sensationalism rather than objective writing. And this is sad because to me it feels like they are missing the point and taking away from the game itself.
Ben (Broken)
September 18, 2014 at 12:17 am

It’s an odd paradigm…a group that supposedly sticks up for LGBTs and minorities and yet somehow they repress the very creativity that is necessary to represent said people and to chart new frontiers in game design.

It’s also a strange era when many of the people above can watch something “gritty” such s Game Of Thrones for their entertainment yet if they see the same kind of content in a video-game they will completely freak out about it.
Jukka Paulin
October 17, 2014 at 5:34 am

Is the slash femgamers referring to … ? (a newbie here)
Elilla Shadowheart
October 17, 2014 at 6:51 am

Refers to a joke, nothing more.
Bob
October 20, 2014 at 8:49 am

“Hit pieces are bad! Now here’s a hit piece”
“We hate censorship so let’s censor kotaku!”

Yeah I’m sure you’re not hypocritical or anything
Hudson Bell
November 1, 2014 at 8:04 pm

You and this article epitomize everything we are fighting for in regards to ethics and more via #GamerGate. Thank you for being honest and for trying to keep GamerGate’s detractors honest.
Brandon Orselli
November 1, 2014 at 9:03 pm

Thank you!! I do it for the games, and the fans of these games :)
Mike Nieto
November 6, 2014 at 1:31 pm

Great article, I’m just getting to know this site and I’m already in love. I’m here to stay.
peasoff
January 20, 2015 at 2:41 pm

I’m a old gamer ,love gaming ,love the mods for pc games.(thank god for modders!)nnThis is one of the best arcticles i’ve read in a long time.ni don’t give a fig ,what goes on some of those forums u mentioned.ni rarely notice them,to be honest.njust give me the great story driven pc games and the great mods to mess around with too.
peasoff
January 20, 2015 at 2:45 pm

The websites i frequent are forums about the best way to get your game working,or how to integrate the latest cool mod ,so it doesn’t break your game,e.t.c e.t.c…nndoes anyone seriously pay attention to all that waffle that goes onn between numpty “gaming journos”