Why is casual racism/sexism more accepted in video games than other forms of media (these days)?

#ethicsingamingjournalism question

http://kotaku.com/a-price-of-games-journalism-1743526293

I dont know what to think about this Kotaku article bitching about losing access from Bioware and Ubisoft? I feel like they should explain more about how they made their money being third party PR departments for these companies for years before they lost their sweet sweet access to news and info.

lol they're being blacklisted for leaking the existence of a video game and some early screenshots. oh and the exciting news that 2 assassin's creed games are coming out in the fall. obv they're still the PR department for these companies, they're just doing it without publisher oversight and the publishers are mad.

yeah they basically posted things in a chronology not blessed by their corporate paymasters. boo fucking hoo.

m@tt? would love an insider perspective here.

M@tt is no longer an insider

true enough. ex-insider then, like when the retired referees discuss calls on the field.

don't know if the game has changed this much in the past year after he turned over his secret insider pass

Totilo has generally seemed pretty straight-up to me, leaning to his side on this one. Surprising that Kotaku even does the the kind of non-flattering industry stories mentioned, we usually have to wait until a company dies before we hear these things

video game companies don't owe kotaku a thing

its the TMZ of video games

lol they're being blacklisted for leaking the existence of a video game and some early screenshots. oh and the exciting news that 2 assassin's creed games are coming out in the fall.

so, for journalism

https://boards.greenhouse.io/gawkermedia/jobs/127752?t=2ctqpi#.Vk_pUcso7qA
in some ways i feel like my life has been leading to this moment but in other more pertinent ways nah

why not dawg?

if not you then who? if not now, when?

alright, you've convinced me. i'll take the job.

i get what kotaku is trying to be but this idea that it's personal is kinda funny. like, of course they cut them off, and virtually anyone who says bad shit about them, because the literally DOZENS of dollars they were spending keeping places like kotaku on board are better spent on annoying youtube stars now. might as well give review copies to dorks with 4 mill subscribers whose reviews are easy to parse on a smartphone.

I respect Totilo. We weren't close or anything. Evan R. seems like a great guy & a much needed black voice in games can't be easy for him based on what I've seen the women at Game Informer have to take.

But it's like Gawker yes partially they are blacklisted because they are doing journalism, partially it's because they sometimes do it in the most dickish insulting manner possible. Sometimes they are treading ethical gray areas. I was in the Activision E3 booth getting a tour when Kotaku posted a big leak of Call of Duty assets. There Activision product manager I was with was furious and said the FBI was checking it out because the hackers had breached their firewall stolen the assets and - he believed - sold them to Gawker. (Like this is what dude said doesn't mean it's nec true).

So, I don't know is that journalism? Maybe?

Also the thing I wish they'd admit is that they know how this was going to go down. They went fuck it/slash and burn in terms of publishing anything, talking shit etc a few years ago and I think it's been good for traffic. Free advance review copies of games are ultimately nothing more than a courtesy, not a free speech issue. So I don't know. I feel a lot the same I felt about Gawker, there's some good work being done alongside some ethically suspect stuff, alongside just trollish shit.

But I really came here to show you guys this my final reward, posted on the the site run by Roosh one of the main Gamergate dudes. The shocking truth of my career as a Gamergate operative:

http://www.reaxxion.com/9032/why-are-game-informer-writers-spreading-lies-about-gamergate

I find it hard to credit kotaku with anything because the skeevy american dude who runs/used-to-run the Japanese side of the blog seemed to have moved there mostly because he heard he could buy schoolgirls' panties from vending machines. Like his every news story had some kind of weird sex tangent and a crepey "i am wanking as i type this" vibe.

Let’s just say that video game companies are transferring massive amounts of money to advertise on Game Informer.

haha revelation, companies must transfer money to advertise in magazines, you truly are the next woodward and bernstein

Also don't worry about me guys I have turned in my game journalist illuminati card but I can always like send someone a text if I for some reason need to know the scoop on the latest shitshow

Xpost Tim Rogers?
We almost got in a fight with that dude because his little sidekick came up to us and asked us if we knew who he (Rogers) was, then we said no (had no idea what he looked like (), Rogers freaks out and gets in our faces and was like OH WOW YEAH YOU'RE TOO COOL TO KNOW WHO I AM HUH? and yelling and shit we're just dude we're just trying to drink run along

Game Informer is intended to be a vehicle to advertise products at GameStop and getting embroiled in GamerGate could seriously damage the bottom line. I have a rising suspicion that it was a petty goodbye to a group of people he despises (GamerGate and it’s sympathizers).

Or maybe as we told you dipshits over and over GameStop did not have control over our editorial and we were actually making the magazine we wanted to make

the stupid in that article is almost breathtaking

xp no not tim rogers - i want to say Brian Ashcraft? But yes Tim Rogers seems like a hilarious douche.

It is an almost perfectly stupid article.

Lol Stevie otm

Its almost like .... they are trying to SELL us something...

Tim Rogers seems like he would call people out for gamer be to their face hence gets called a jerk in a field of jerk kings

Gamer bs

gamer gate is like lord of the flies except all of the gaters are piggy

I had never met Rogers before. I knew he was the dude who used to do like 50,000 word count things about getting waffles in Tokyo or some shit but boy he was mad we didn't recognize him. Most journalists were cool though most of them I would consider friend got out the game for good industry gigs before I did. I dunno, GI was kinda different cuz we were midwest and not so involved in the day to day Bay Area scene.

Also like why do it? There's terrible long term job prospects and most ppl just resent you anyway, like Adam for instance you seem like a reasonable intelligent guy but you make it pretty clear what you think about me in little sideways posts. So fine, now I'm just a marketing dude in Minneapolis being a dad. Not too bad really.

apparently it costs money to advertise in magazines. is this magazine particularly expensive to advertise in? I don't know, but these numbers sure look big in a chart1

I don't know if Adam meant to speak directly about you, a lot of his posts have this vague generality to them and he may have forgot he was calling someone on the thread a jerk king.

you hung up your crown, though

Yeah not the first time I've gotten the vibe but yeah overall it was great, a literal dream of a lifetime but the time has passed. The funny thing is that the industry itself is tons of great people! Was fortunate to be a part of a very special era in the medium even in a small way

most ppl just resent you anyway

this goes for music journalism too btw

I was talking with a friend who works for a company that does game community sites, does reverse engineering of games to publish stats, has chat tools, all stuff that exists around the periphery of PC games without being the actual game. And it's a big niche! Kind of blows my mind how big the community around such things is.

i wasnt calling anyone here a jerk king.

Sure pal

why would i call u a jerk anyways, i dont know who you are and you've never said anything mean to me.

i agree w you 100% on that post above where u say you respect Totilo and that advance copies are not a free speech issue so much as a courtesy.

Rogers is one of the more public faces of game crit, and in that realm i include youtube ranters as well, since people these days get their gaming news as much from Angry Joe or Jim Sterling as they do from Kotaku or Game Informer.

I would say professionally working in an industry and ignoring long-standing practices like waiting for press releases and not leaking game info early is a jerk move.

Or maybe as we told you dipshits over and over GameStop did not have control over our editorial and we were actually making the magazine we wanted to make

I am kind of amazed by this tho - like, you could have literally said "No good games this month, check back next time", and GameStop would be okay with that?

Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. There were a couple times we did not award game of the month. (Not that there were no good games I don't think that's ever the case but nothing great).

I mean if that's the case why would they allow us to review Steam PC indie stuff at all? I think they just gave Undertale have of the month? Why let me spend $1500 on doing a photo shoot of Anita? Where's the benefit?

Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. There were a couple times we did not award game of the month. (Not that there were no good games I don't think that's ever the case but nothing great).

Okay - that's neat.

I mean if that's the case why would they allow us to review Steam PC indie stuff at all? I think they just gave Undertale game of the month? Why let me spend I500 on doing a photo shoot of Anita? Where's the benefit?

That's an odd question though - like, even airline magazines have stuff in them not related to BUY FROM SHOP.

Thought the name of this site sounded like some sorta energy drink directly manufactured for these guys equally informed by a toilet wine mixture of Monster/Soylent/Mountain Dew Code Red w/ CoD-Halo 2xp codes on the label and Dark Elightenment/Gatergate/Pua/that wannabe Kane cosplayer,

and whaddayaknow:

About Reaxxion
Reaxxion is a gaming site for men that was created as a reaction to extremists infiltrating and corrupting video game journalism. It aims to be a community of men who want to discuss gaming without being fed propaganda or labeled sexist because of their interest in specific kinds of gaming entertainment. You may email the team by visiting the contact page.

Reaxxion Community Beliefs:
1. Men do not become more violent, sexist, or racist because they play video games. Gamers should not be shamed for a hobby that does not cause harm to others.

2. Video games are a form of entertainment that should be free of heavy-handed propaganda or ideology.

3. Video game journalism should not use its influence to change or manipulate the nature of games against the wishes of the gaming public.

4. A clear line must be drawn between advertising and editorial content (read our ethics policy). Site content must be free of bias or moneyed interests.

5. Gamers share a collection of values and beliefs that denote an identity which should be treated with respectful consideration.

6. Gaming sites should serve gamers by providing them with the type of content they want to read (send us your comments).

7. Heterosexual men should not be shamed for enjoying things designed to appeal to heterosexual men. There is non-harmful entertainment value in traditional story lines involving masculine men and feminine women.

If you share some of the above beliefs with us, consider having your work published on Reaxxion. Submit an article here.

Ha, "Gatergate"

http://orlandogroupgetaways.com/orlando_attractions/gatorland.jpg

These guys wish they had tenth of the charm of the gate you have to enter Gatorland thru

"For example, while the following things may be considered gay by lesser men, there is nothing for strong heterosexual man to fear in the following:"

Also lolz the site folded after nine months.

So painfully lame

Andrew take your condescending attitude and shove it directly up your ass