Eldridg Chavez
MCS 214 Final Project
Future of Gaming Journalism
In gaming journalism, like traditional journalism, there were print publication, newspapers like the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, and magazines such as Xbox Magazine and Playstation Magazine. Today, journalism transitions into the digital age, the .com, with that, print publication are a dying breed. Newspapers still exist but not many people read them, as for gaming magazines, they too are slowly becoming extinct.
Magazines such as Official Xbox and Playstation Magazine no longer exist. As of September 2016 the popular game website Gametrailers closed their doors as well. Sites like IGN, Game Informer, and GameSpot are still gaining traffic to their sites but considerably low numbers compared to two years ago. Alexa Internet, an analytics site shows that IGN traffic is in the decline, page view time is down from 5 minutes to 2 minutes, and the time spent on the site is down from 8 minutes to 3 minutes, with Game Informer and GameSpot having similar results.
Just like traditional journalism had to adjust and transition to the digital age of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, gaming journalism too are in a transitional period. Popular social sites like YouTube and now Twitch tv are gaining more popularity in the gaming industry. Twitch is live streaming platform owned by Twitch Interactive a subsidiary of Amazon. It was introduced in 2011 and it’s primary focus was streaming video games, such as playthroughs and broadcast of competitive esports games. In July of 2016, YouTube was ranked the second most popular site by Alexa Internet and in 2015, Twitch announced that there were 1.5 million broadcasters and more than 100 million viewers per month.
YouTube content creators or online personalities make a living uploading videos they created to a wide range of audiences, YouTube gamers are no different. Like Twitch, Youtube gamers also post playthroughs or “let’s play” as it’s coined and give opinions on the game they are playing.
Felix Arvid Kjellberg, 27, better known as his alias Pewdiepie, a comedian and video producer on YouTube, has over 50 million subscribers – slightly larger than the population of Canada – and has 13 billion views on his YouTube channel. Forbes estimates his worth at $12 million and is the biggest star on the Internet. His over the top antics and high pitched yelling garners attention and has a huge following.
People like Kjellberg are exactly what Publishing companies like Activision and Betheseda are looking for. Someone with a huge following to promote their product. This is where I believe the future of gaming journalism will transition to.
In October of 2016, Betheseda Game Studios, the publishers of the popular game series The Elder Scroll and Fallout, as well as renowned games like Doom and Dishonored announced that they will no longer provide reviewers access of its unreleased games until 24 hours before launch. But they will work with Influencers (YouTubers) to promote their game. “We will continue to work with media, streamers, and YouTubers to support their coverage before and the after release, we want everyone, including those in the media, to enjoy the game at the same time,” Gary Simon, Betheseda Global lead, said in a blog post. But Betheseda contradicts this quote by sending early copies of Elder Scrolls Skyrim Remastered five days before its release to YouTubers Gassymexican, Grovada, and others to influence their game before its release date.
What separates influencers to critics is an ethical code that journalist rely on. Journalist have to be unbiased to what they are reporting and when giving an opinion or review, they have to be honest to their audience. For YouTube personalities or influencers, there is no such code. They can be biased and influenced themselves by companies that they are promoting for.
Everything is a business when it comes down to it. Betheseda aren’t worried about gamers or critics opinions, they are more concerned about the bottom line, how much money they can make day one of release. IGN is a business, and they rely on traffic for their sites. Even YouTube is a business and they too rely on traffic to make a living. The domino effect that Betheseda will create will leave an impact both negative and positive on critics and influencers. Sites like IGN and Game Informer will rush to get the first review up and it might not be the best review that they can put up, but it’s a race for traffic. YouTubers will be called out on for being biased on what they are promoting. Why would someone believe another person’s opinion that doesn’t have an ethical code.
Greg Miller 33, and Colin Moriarty 32, were producers at IGN and worked for the company for 9 plus years. In January 2015, Miller and Moriarty along with three others left IGN and created Kinda Funny. Miller with a journalism degree from Mizzou and Moriarty with a degree in American history from Northeastern University are the trendsetters for journalism ethics in YouTube. They talk about games from all publications on shows like the Kinda Funny Gamescast and give an unbiased opinion on current events that are happening in the gaming industry in Colin and Greg live.
Kinda Funny is supported by crowdfunding from patreon and through subscriptions and donations on their Twitch channel and by videos they upload to their YouTube channel Kinda Funny. Crowdfunding is huge for journalist or any artist working independently. Crowdfunding is the practise of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contribution from a large number of people. Also, sponsorships play a huge role for independent workers. Being sponsored by a company help pay travel expenses and equipments that donations or paid subscriptions won’t be able to cover.
Journalism will always be around. It will transition with time and those who don’t, will be left behind. Right now, it’s the age of the Internet, and sites like IGN and Game Informer can no longer rely on written pieces. They have to adapt to a video outlet like YouTube and Twitch. And with publishing companies like Betheseda already working with influencers, gaming journalism will have to adapt or become a thing of the past.
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