Hey so this is my first of many video game blogs and I was just thinking about a fairly important concept in today's video game sphere. (yes I like the word sphere...so should you!)  Last night I was checking the "Giantbombsquad" twitter and I found this "community" podcast called the Bonusexp podcast which was hosted by some guys that have a video game blog/website/thingy they are all working toward. It reminded me of many of the past small journalism squads I used to keep up with near religiously, before I kinda downward spiraled into one place for video games gamespot and then here. It also piqued a few questions in both my business mind and my journalist mind. the business question was "Is starting up a video game journalism hub profitable anymore?" which of course lead to more questions. My other question in my journalistic mind was "Do we need more video game journalists?" Of course this question harkens back to another idea of "does the world need more opinions?" and if you judge based off of the millions of people in tweetland, and facebookvillage one would argue that opinions are more valuable than anything today....if only we could harvest it for all of its energy....the world would be a better place. I was looking at IGN and Gamespot and Kotaku and Giantbomb and wondering what other part of the journalism market needs to or can be covered at this point? I have no firm conclusion on any of my questions at this point but I have come up with my own opinion based off of a little thing I read from a certain Jeff Gerstmann. He was responding to a question about video game reviews and said that "people should get as much information about a game until they are certain whether they should buy it or not" (he actually wrote much less than that) essentially stating that as long as there is more or different information out there about a game it makes the consumer more aware of what they are spending their money on. This industry doesn't have an Ebert and Roeper because Halo doesn't cost 10 dollars, and the more a consumer knows about what they are purchasing, the better the video game industry is as a whole. 
 
Now on the scale of profitability things are a lot different, so I won't go down that rabbit hole just yet, but I think I am coming to grips with the fact that we don't need more journalism, but the more outlets for one to understand a product and get the most out of it there are, the better. 

We need more good video game journalism but a lot less of it in total.

We don't need more video game journalism, we need better video game journalism. 
 
Novelty or enthusiast sites are one thing, but when it comes to actual genuine news, there seems to be a lack of creditable sources.

Christ no. There's way too much chaff already.

I say yes, but only on the weekends because I am sick and tired of checking up on my favorites sites on the weekend and there is nothing new. The internet is 24/7 dude!

We need quality video game journalism in print, the same way that movies has. Having it all on the internet is nice, but it won't be taken seriously.

More journalism ... no we have enough of that  , but a certain group that catologues the videogame language , something a la new wave of french cinema in the 60's ( the people who gave the film directors the autorship of their movies) , the diferent types of genres so on so on etc.... yes

" @RankRabbit:  My new websites tagline will be "We only write the best stuff....ON THE WEEKENDS" "

I just want to know if a game is worth playing or not....

Quality not quantity.

" We need quality video game journalism in print, the same way that movies has. Having it all on the internet is nice, but it won't be taken seriously. "

I just want opinions from folks I can trust.

This industry's Ebery or Roeper is Jeff Gerstmann

" This industry's Ebery or Roeper is Jeff Gerstmann "

I actually find podcasts to be a more reliable indicator of whether I'm going to enjoy a game or not.  Someone writing a review has multiple boxes to tick.  He or she is trying to write well while espousing the virtues of the game, and while some reviews are both creative and informative, there's little as authentic as listening to the back and forth of multiple people who have played the game recounting their experiences on a podcast.

" @yoshimitz707 said:

" This industry's Ebery or Roeper is Jeff Gerstmann "

Who the fuck is that? "

" @yoshimitz707 said:

" This industry's Ebery or Roeper is Jeff Gerstmann "

Who the fuck is that? "

I don't think it's up for us to decide if we NEED more video game journalism. If anything, the question should be how can we achieve good/great gaming journalism while maintaining the same line of integrity. Generation after generation we are going to be greeted with new blood, people who will devote their life for this line of work and the industry they work for will pave the path for others to follow.