The first problem is simply a matterof saturation

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The specialist gaming press often gets a bad rap. Viewed as littlemore than hobbyists covering an adolescent industry, gamejournalists tend to get little respect from their peers, whilebearing the brunt of vicious skepticism from their audience.

This stereotypical overview is grim, but the gaming press is farfrom impotent -- it's got enviable raw readership figures to proveit, and even small publications can exert a considerable globalinfluence on the industry in a way that few other specialists can.

As part of a larger feature spotlighting the state of the games press in 2008, GameSetWatch spoke to a few leading editors on a broadrange of issues it faces -- for example, what's wrong with video game journalism, anyway?

Is It "Broken?"

Edge Magazine's Tony Mott says the first problem is simply a matterof saturation, especially in the internet age, which makes itharder to form a catch-all opinion.

"There's certainly an awful lot of shit out there, but there arelots of people happy to read shit about video games in the same waythey're happy to watch shit on TV or read shitty newspapers," hesays. "If if it's fulfilling their needs, such as they are -- thenit's serving a purpose, right? It's just different to what we tryto do."

For IGN's Tal Blevins, problems begin with the limiting -- andspecific -- classification of "video game journalism." It's nodifferent, he says, than any other type of entertainment reportingor product critique.

"Writing about video games is nothing to be ashamed of, and I don'tfeel the need to try and justify it as anything more than it is.Are we investigative journalists or war correspondents? No, but wedon't want to be, either," Blevins says.

"We strive to be just as accurate, in-depth, and compelling as anypublication in existence, but we're also very aware of ouraudience, and we write with them in mind."

Power To The People

Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell says relatively low salaries and adistinct lack of glamor in game journalism tends to equal a lowerquality threshold. Popularity is the currency by which editors canemploy better writers -- "that's how I try and fight that," hesays.

The concept of popularity-as-power, however, often courtsaccusations of sensationalism on the part of the games press,especially for sites that thrive on traffic dollars fromadvertisers.

IGN's Blevins prefers to see vociferous writer personalities as oneof his site's strengths. "Our voice is as if we are a friendsitting on the couch next to you talking about this game that youprobably haven't seen yet, so we want you to know when we areexcited." he says.

As editor of Edge's print mag, Mott says he's never had readernumber concerns, and that he focuses on things the writers areinterested in instead. And for Eurogamer's Bramwell, it's moreimportant to earn reader respect in the long term.

"As much as I'd like more readers tomorrow, I'm more interested inhaving even more readers on the same day next year," he says. "Theywon't come back unless you treat them with respect."

Courting Controversy

In fact, the article that each editor cites as his publication'smost popular is related not to a controversial topic, but to apopular game. Mott says Edge's big hit was a cover feature focusedon the making of the Grand Theft Auto series, while IGN's GTA IV review was its most popular piece, according to Blevins.

Metal Gear Solid 4 received near-perfect scores from most sites across the board, butEurogamer's relatively more measured opinion, according toBramwell, was the site's highest performer.

Controversy around reported "review guidelines" in force bypublisher Konami drew particular attention to early MGS 4 reviews, Bramwell says, although after discussing the matter withreviewer Oli Welsh, he felt that the review was not inhibited byobserving the guidelines.

"Oli's review also drew attention because he didn't give the game100 marks on a 100-point scale as some of our competitors did,"says Bramwell.

Welsh accorded MGS 4 an 8/10 review, as compared with competitors' 9s and 10s. When an8/10 is perceived as "negative," it's feasible to view thevolatility of the audience as a primary driver of sensationalism.

"Anything with a negative spin tends to get attention. It seemsthat youll always attract a bigger audience by giving something akicking," says Mott.

"There are people out there who seem to make half-decent livingsout of it, actually."

But to IGN's Blevins, building a strong community, "where readersfeel like they are a part of the site," is the largest readershipdriver, while for Bramwell, it's a simple matter:

"Writing about the biggest games every day and being honest aboutthem," he says. "I know it sounds obvious, but it works."