Game reviews, and game journalism ?

Hello guys ! So, in Bombcast nr 520, there was a topic of Game reviews, and game journalism.

To cut right into the chase, is Game journalism, and game reviews dying ? because of changes/patches to the games, and the form in general ?

Is it essentially pointless for me to start game review blog at this point ?

I would like to get some honest opinions about the field, from both, community and possibly from Bombcast crew :)

As long as there are people who want to buy something there will be a need for reviews. If you love reviewing games then start your blog.

I don't think its "dying". I think it absolutely is changing. Perhaps the "traditional" journalism is going away, but you see that across all mediums.

The way we consume our content has drastically changed. I think the concept of a "review" can now be seen in a video or through someone Twitch if you consume it that way. I do not feel this is a indication of it dying or going away, just that "game journalism/reviews" mean something different than they did even 10 years ago.

Pointless? Not at all. Some people will want to read critical analysis of games regardless of whether it remains relevant after patches and updates (discussions around games can still remain interesting even if the game has changed). But for a site like GiantBomb which needs to make money to survive, and aims to inform its users to make purchasing decisions, reviews are becoming less and less relevant.

If you're good at writing and have interesting input on games then people will read what you write. But for advising users whether a game is worth buying or not video content and podcasts are far more convenient (and informative) than written pieces now.

And if you can think of some novel written form to cover evolving games like the Dotas, Overwatches, CS:GOs and Leagues of the world that suits the written format and evolves as the game evolves then that would be well worth reading too.

Personally I only rarely read/watch reviews for entertainment purposes, to make purchasing decisions I prefer to watch a chunk of game play from what seem like independent sources.

The opinions in the reviews still have some value to me as long as I'm familiar with the writer's tastes/preferences to offset the obvious subjectivity but scores are useless imo (especially these days where games are released unfinished and maybe fixed later on).

If you want to write reviews there's value in that for you and I think you should do it, If it brings you pleasure / practice that's enough of a point for doing it.

I think that it would be unrealistic to expect to start a gaming blog and have it pay the bills.

But starting a blog because you WANT to? Go for it! I've been doing a podcast with friends for a few years now. We average 100ish downloads an episode. We don't make money from it. But you know what? We have fun doing it!

As you write more, even on a blog, you'll get more writing under your belt. You'll be building a portfolio of work. That means that you'll have examples of writing to show if you want to freelance somewhere.

I'm not an expert here, but I've heard from enough games writers over the years that the industry is different that it was in the 90s. Really, anyone who keeps up with the industry can see that. Your blog probably isn't going to get you hired at IGN or Giant Bomb. But here's the thing: it doesn't have to, and you don't have to have a byline at a big site in order to say something meaningful about games.

Best of luck, duder! Start your blog, have fun with it, and drop a link in here!

@someoneproud@bollard@maxszy@oursin_360 Thank you guys for the feedback ! I will consider in what form I want to make my reviews, and see if it would be possible for me to combine it with video/audio content for more "enetrtaiment value" :)

I can definetly see pros and cons of what I want to do.

@divinekataroshie:

Personally I don't think game reviews have to be dying. And games journalism itself definitely isn't despite how it looks at times. There's a decent number of places going strong (kotaku, Polygon, IGN etc)

But what is undeniable is that unedited video content is what pays the bills for nearly everybody, given the way Google has dominated the internet ad business and the way they price it. Text is a real hard sell, people are unwilling to pay for it thus far, the content is extremely easy to essentially "steal" and the banner ad market is basically non functional. So economics forces creators/critics into formats where they are only financially rewarded for quantity not quality. What does that mean? Well stuff that takes a long time to produce (like a written review or edited video content) is not a good ROI for most bya huge margin.

But again, I don't think it has to be that way at all. Arguably you could still review live games if you had the resources to afford the manpower do it. And I think there is still demand for out there for reviews (Steam wouldn't feature user reviews so prominently if they didn't feel they didn't offer value), especially on things like DLC where it's a lot less exposure as to the quality of the product.

Slowly but surely I've seen signs that people are willing to pay for premium content on the internet. NYtimes has a paywall as do other major newspapers. The Athletic is basically a modern version of SPorts Illustrated behind a paywall. It's inconceivable to me the same could work for games journalism. But you'd have to convince people that the quality is worth paying for and you'd likely need a fair amount of startup capital to really have a chance because you'd need a big staff and a big ad budget at the start.

It's just a question of adapting and finding ways to be able to offer the high quality reviews in a timely fashion. The timely issue is tough too, given how publishers don't release games in advance to journalists as readily these days. I think GB has decided they don't have resources or means to do reviews and thus decided to focus on stuff that's easier and more profitable for them.

Now if you just want to do a review blog as a hobby. That's a different question altogether.

I haven’t read a review or looked at a score in ages, unless it’s after finishing a game. I just don’t find reviews interesting.

I do read game/movie/music analysis if something really sticks with me after finishing it. Sussing out your own thoughts and considering other readings of the material is interesting.

I don't think they are. The site I work for has seen some growth in the last few years. That's partly due to the sheer amount of indie efforts but I feel the larger companies are in a more desperate position to gain as much coverage as possible. Reviewing scales with the industry.

If all you want to do is review games, you're kinda borked. Being good on camera, or podcasts, or an amazing editor is way more valuable than writing at this point. You should absolutely start a review blog, but try more than just straight writing.

To me, gaming reviews have been dead for a long time because it's so rare to find a reviewer who actually thinks differently than the rest, who can offer me a different perspective. The [very] few I have discovered over the years tend to give up after a while. Media reviews should die off, the only thing they contribute with is extremism and absolutism. The lack of tolerance in the gaming community is partly their fault, as they have cultivated an environment where you can only have one correct opinion of a game.

Gaming journalism is still very useful in my opinion, unless it's stained by extremist political gibberish and sensationalism, as with Kotaku, Polygon and the various TotalBiscuit spawns.

@danishingact: I don't think you are borked if you start now. Admittedly, you'd be starting from scratch but gaining that following is the hardest part. If nothing else, it's an outlet to get you comfortable about writing on the subject. Video gets a lot of importance because it's maybe easier to digest than writing but that doesn't mean it's good. That depends entirely on the person writing. There is a lot of shit out there.

I'd argue the quality on reviews doesn't have to be higher as the majority of consumers are looking for second, third, etc opinions or a consensus on whether a game is worth your time and money. You're not delivering a nuanced critique which is what video tends to skew towards.

I still write a review for myself on occasion but it's just for fun. Reviews are the least interesting and useful aspect of what we think of as "games journalism." Give me actual beat reporting, critical reporting like what the peeps over at Compete are doing with e-sports or long-form academic writing.

But, if it's fun and makes you happy? Do it for as long as you're able. You might carve out a space for yourself.

Yeah, this is about where I fall on this question as well.

I think written reviews have a place. If I'm bored at work and need something to read, I could read a review. There's a place for games coverage that isn't video, because otherwise I'd only be consuming this stuff while at home doing nothing else.

I think you can still review games which are being regularly updated, people still want critical opinions of games, DayZ has been in early access since 2012 and i don't think much in a review would have changed in that time, FFXIV (since it's re-release) is still a decent MMO, i don't think the expansions and additions have significantly changed that, it's still decent. I might say some of the Hero additions in For Honor have made the game balance worse, but things like that are worth covering in articles outside of an initial review, if there's a fixable problem with a game you can always say "this may be fixed in a future patch", but if the problem is to do with the quality of its content it's unlikely the game will be popular enough to warrant the publisher trying to fix it, i think a review can always be relevant.

Game reviews are not going away. The written ones might be, but that's an overall cultural change where everything is moving towards video. There are plenty of YT channels which put out what's basically a written review read out over gameplay video, and they are thriving. People will always be interested in if a new product is worth their time or not, and even if that product changes over time there will always be that peak of interest the first time it's available to the public. Reviews might not stay relevant 3 months down the line, but that was never the point anyways. How much traffic would a review for Wolfenstein 2 pull this month ? I'd wager it's fairly close to zero, and that's still pretty much the exact same game.

I think it's just important to discuss your opinion so if doing it in review format is what you want to do, go for it. If you're looking into getting into writing reviews for sites, while writing is good, you have to know more about other things as well other than just writing from what I understand. That said, about the topic of it going away, I doubt it. The scoring system will go before the writing if anything. Film critics are a thing and I assume will continue far into the future, and I think the same for games.

Not really. There's a LOT of game coverage, tho. So making yourself stand out is no easy feat. Give it a try, but don't get upset if success (or rather what you view as a barometer for success) takes a long time and requires a decent amount of effort (because it will).

I am the same way. Actually, Jeff said something similar in a previous podcast (sometime last year, I think?) He said he did not feel the need to do that many reviews, as people currently have access to so many different sources to view the game before it is released. Essentially, he was saying that people, in general, have already made up their minds before a game is released.

I still read reviews, but many times it is after I have already purchased a game, just to see what the pros thought. I will read a review before I purchase a game for a game genre/series that I am not familiar with, and is getting a lot of critical buzz.

@someoneproud: Completely off-topic: You must be a fan of Nick Drake.

@wollywoo: Time has told me he's the best singer/songwriter who's ever lived :) A rare, rare find.

@someoneproud I would definitely put him high on the list! I knew I had seen that avatar somewhere, although it took me a couple minutes to place it.

The connections can go along way, to be fair. Without them, you're scrapping for information from whatever sources you can and anything confirmed via news reports. You could get a warts and all account of Duke Nukem Forever from traditional media clout.

I think there's still plenty of room if you are dedicated enough. But I think reviews are not as large a portion of the overall picture as they once were. I think commentary, analysis and ongoing coverage is more of what people look for these days.

I do not think you need to look at it in the way that reviewers are a thing of the past. Yes its true you have seen others that have been reviewers branch out create their own channels and personalities to stand out in the crowded sector. II view this as just adapting to the current circumstances, if you are wanting to enter this field and havea passion for it then go for it.