An Open Letter to Gaming Media

I have been on the sidelines observing the recent stories that involve everything from Anita Sarkeesian to Zoe Quinn to Phil Fish to Polygon to Kotaku to indie studios' attacks to corruption and finally to gaming media lashing out at gamers. I have recently commented that enough is enough and I'm not going to stand for it anymore. Everything that I have mentioned is going to get their fair share of my open dialogue concerning their individual strikes within the gaming community and at gamers. They have taken free punches at us without consequence. Anytime they are challenged, we get silenced and are left with having to let our voices be heard in a miniscule scale on random forums or comments sections. That is given that you don't get banned or censored. Not today, folks. Today, I'm opening up this series of blogs with an open letter to the very gaming media who have attacked gamers and why their attempts at misdirection is a poor effort that bore no success.

I can only really begin my opening statement with one direct question: What the hell are you self-proclaimed journalists doing? You sit at your computer screens and act all high and mighty, while belittling the dignity of the gaming industry with your convoluted and misguided notions of supremacy over everyone else. Case in point with this very situation regarding the relationship between gaming media and game developers, you are confronted about this story, yet you resist it and point fingers at us to proclaim that we are the problem. You sit there and attack gamers (the very people who help you keep a job mind you) and say that we are the problem? We are the problem for actions that you have done? We are responsible for the very real corruption going on in game journalism? Correct me if I'm wrong, but we are not the ones giving artificial praise to projects done by someone who voluntarily slept with us and we are not the ones accepting perks and bribes from publishers and public relations.

When someone has the gall to declare that an entire group of people is a problem, it speaks of both ignorance and megalomania. That person is so willingly blind that they do everything in their power to make others out to be the bad guys. When someone does this, they more often than not do it because they did something wrong. They are either in sheer denial and convince themselves that everyone else is the problem or they realize they are busted and attempt to use a scapegoat. Their attempts at reverse psychology is an effort to reduce the negative aspect of their actions, while reflecting an entirely different subject unto another party. In this case, when gamers unleashed their frustration with the recent corruption that was made public, the reverse argument made by you journalists is that the reason gamers are so angry is because we are misogynists.

Do any of you "journalists" who started that conversation honestly think that we are going to allow you to label us like that? Don't get me wrong, I'm not ignorant to the fact that there is sexism in the world. I've seen it firsthand. But what you "journalists" are essentially doing here is defining all gamers (including female gamers) under one of the many stigmas that we have been fighting against for years. People who have agendas (like Anita Sarkeesian, Jack Thompson, and Phil Fish) have been trying to convince anyone who will listen that people in the video game industry and gamers are testosterone-filled, misogynistic, disrespectful, violent brutes who don't deserve the things we have access to lest we end up disrupting the fabric of society. You "journalists" have successfully joined their ranks.

How can you conceive the idea that by reversing the polarity of the topic at hand (which is supposed to be about Zoe Quinn influencing game media via sexual favors or any other recent corruption for that matter) that it will result in you gaining favor? The topic is Zoe Quinn is accused of sleeping with a few journalists in exchange for positive coverage of her game. The rebuttal on your side? Gamers are overreacting and angry over nothing because we are misogynists. Seriously?! You just really wanted to commit career suicide there, huh? There is a plethora of information available that pertains to Zoe Quinn and her storied history, yet you have not proven or disproven your involvement and instead opted to attack gamers. You are actively avoiding the topic that started all of this and that makes us even more skeptical of you!

Your job is to report on the recent news of the video game industry. Images, gameplay videos, first looks, trailers, interviews, conferences, reviews, and many other topics that could be worked on via your outlet is what you should be doing; however, giving your opinion like it's law seems to be the going trend for some of you. Sharing your opinion is all good and well, but lately that seems to be the only thing you are doing. Attacking gamers seems to be the next best thing for you as well.

The ultimate problem that lies here is that you have no idea how to conduct yourselves publicly. You are already coming up from a high horse that you put yourselves on. Naturally, your egoism will show as we have seen countless times. When you write on the internet, that's technically public domain space, but on a worldwide scale. When you attack someone over Twitter, that is seen by hundreds of thousands of people. When you review a game and dock it by a whole point by bringing up a topic that is so insignificant to the game itself, that can be seen by everyone. When you lash out against gamers and tell them that they should be grateful to you for your contributions, people will see that. When you misrepresent an entire industry and its audience to bring up selective points to support your claims, you will have backlash. You have no one to blame but yourselves. You are creating your own hell. We have zero influence for what comes out of your mouth. If you cannot filter out what may get you into trouble, then that fault is your own.

You have prided yourselves as these great pioneers for writing in the video game industry, yet you have failed your audience. You failed because you accepted favors and gifts. You failed because you attacked the very audience who keeps you in business. You failed because any shred of dignity that you had is left to be questioned. Rather, you left that dignity at the door when you made the conscious decision to take whatever perk was offered to you. No one in the community can go by your word because of your failures.

I'm not ignorant nor is the majority of the gaming community. We are not stupid. We are not the fools that you think that we are. We do have bad apples here and there (as does every community in existence), but you single them out as the voice for all. We know there is corruption in the gaming industry. Whether you're on Youtube or any major gaming publication site, some of your peers have been offered something. If it comes to light that everything regarding Zoe Quinn is true (because barely anything involving her has been undeniably proven as fact given it's difficult to find any information), then every single journalist who attacked gamers through the pieces that I have linked here have lost all credibility.

http://kotaku.com/we-might-...

http://dangolding.tumblr.co...

http://arstechnica.com/gami...

http://www.gamasutra.com/vi...

Why? Because the yearly abuse that the gaming press does to the community at large is constant. They write that gamers are entitled, immature, and recently misogynists. There are multiple articles from journalists that detail how gamers are horrible people, yet gamers are the ones who help them have a job. Again, brilliant idea on their part by insulting the very audience to which is the only audience who can support them. Simply put, shame on you. Shame on you for letting go of your dignity and professionalism. Shame on you for turning your back on the very people who support you. Shame on you for plaguing gaming media with your sensationalist articles and hidden agendas.

I don't want this open letter to be misinterpreted. I'm not targeting every single writer out there. There are good people in the gaming media. Just like how we (the gamers) refuse a few bad apples to ruin our image, the same goes for those people in gaming media. There are good writers and workers in gaming media that work their fingers to the bone to help you be informed and entertained. They do what they do because they love it. The perks they get from being in that part of the industry is just a bonus for them.

I'm not merely talking about the big websites, but also Youtube and smaller sites. There are people worth supporting out there. Whether they go to PAX, Tokyo Game Show, and E3 to do interviews or if they review games or if they give helpful tips and tricks for games, there are many of them worth supporting. Those people who attack gamers by saying we are misogynists and we are the problem with the industry have their heads so far up their butts that any insult they hurl at us is equal to crap. Their egos know no bounds and they flaunt their position in our face.

From this point on, should I see any article or self-proclaimed "journalist" ever make a questionable piece or attack gamers again, be on notice. I'm starting a new series. It will be called "Journalism Failure" where I will dissect the same sensationalism, propaganda, clickbait, and hidden agendas that some writers are known for. I have the article below to thank for giving me the idea that the gaming press "are becoming obsolete". Stay tuned and stay informed, N4G.

http://www.slate.com/articl...