The problem is, even gaming "journalism" is hobbyist journalism and has deep ties to the media. You don't have hobbyist/enthusiast journalism without enthusiasm, which leads to certain ethical sites promoting the hell out of broken games like The Division without any sort of critical or journalistic eye.Seth Carter said:The question I posed to this (or similar things) when it was bouncing around on Twitter.
When did LPers ever claim to be objective journalists to start with?
Now, there are some who do that, making reviews or covering game news. But you're primarily looking at an entertainment medium where it'd be more akin to seeing someone drink a coke or drive a toyota on a TV program. Which are usually paid product placement, but also not required to put giant emphasis in their opening credits.
It's all journalism in the same sense homeopathy is medicine: most people don't give a crap and some people take it way too seriously.
However, I think the idea of disclosure of direct sponsorship is a good thing and should be prominently displayed. I don't even mind that it exists: several of the YouTube channels I follow will do sponsored reviews or ads from time to time. This is not some incidental element of a video, it is the core. It's more akin to an infomercial, which does have FTC requirements.
Not really weird, no. They likely didn't know they had a game that would be well-received and as such did what they could to make sure it was treated positively. Which would be fine if they didn't, you know...break the law.Worgen said:Its weird that WB was so shady with shadows of mordor. I mean the game was really good, but they went to some really weird places for the marketing.