Over the past few days, I've been reading the comments in response to articles discussing the effects the Japan earthquake has had on gaming. Unfortunately, there is always a good number of people who rush in and condemn the website that posted the news and anyone who doesn't do as they do, all in the name of the victims of the earthquake.
Here's the reality of it. Discussing the impact the earthquake is having on gaming, whether that be PS3s and 360s floating out to sea, game servers being shut down to conserve power, or games being delayed or canceled, it does not mean that the human impact is suddenly forgotten, being ignored, or is somehow being seen as less important than gaming.
I care about what happened in Japan. I feel horrible for the people who lost their homes, or worse, their lives or loved ones. But taking an interest in the gaming side of things doesn't mean I suddenly stop caring or forget about the lives lost or changed forever.
Sure, there are a few on N4G that would use the opportunity to troll in the name of their console of choice, and there is no defending that. But there is nothing wrong with simply taking an interest in the gaming-related effects of the earthquake, nor is there anything wrong with a website posting gaming news as it relates to the earthquake.
Something horrible happened to the people of Japan. But ignoring how this earthquake affected gaming helps no one, and it doesn't divert from the attention the victims will receive. This is N4G. It is a website dedicated to gaming news. This website wouldn't have any articles related to the earthquake whatsoever if not for the gaming tie-in. Ignoring the less important aspects of this earthquake helps no one. Paying attention to the news as it relates to gaming hurts no one. If anything, it just gives us a greater understanding of how widespread the damage is, and generates even more awareness for what happened over there.
We all came to a gaming website for gaming news. At some point when we typed N4G's URL into our browser, gaming news our top priority. It doesn't mean we don't care about what happened in Japan or view it as less important than gaming. Nor does reading or writing about how the earthquake affected gaming.
So, please, next time you jump into a comments section, don't start with the whole "how can anyone talk about gaming when..." thing. Stop and consider the fact that we all know how bad it is. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do outside of donating. Ignoring the less important news doesn't make anything better or change anything. If you or I weren't reading an article about how the earthquake affected gaming, we'd just be reading an article about some other gaming topic, which is equally as pointless and unhelpful to the people of Japan. But it doesn't mean we don't care.
Those websites posting the news aren't "cashing in a tragedy" either. They are reporting gaming news, just as they always have. I for one would have less respect for a website that ignores news simply out of fear that they would appear insensitive. Sure, there are websites out their that like to generate controversy just for hits, but let's not confuse that with simply reporting the news.
We are all gamers. Let's not pretend that discussing the earthquake as it relates to our hobby means we suddenly stop caring about people.
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I complete agree with you posts.
You aren't going to see a death toll from the tsunami on n4g.
It's not the right audience for it.
Discussing loss of consoles /damage in gaming industry in Japan is good topic and should be discussed.
I don't know what the people yelling BLOODY MURDER expect..
It's a game site, the news is going to revolve around games no matter what happens.
But it does not mean the members of N4G do not feel for communities in Japan.
Atleast information about Japan is being brought to light. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the members did not know the current status of Japan.
As I said in the hot news post item, we're talking about millions of people adversely affected in every way, including in playing games, managing game servers, and developing new games and content for existing games.
This is a tragedy to everything that comes out of Japan, and to us a huge portion of that is games and gaming technology. If we aren't supposed to talk about this type of stuff, then I'm not sure I'd want to be around here when we only talk about the less important items that don't involve the safety of those who make it possible for us to even have these conversations.
I agree and come on where would the gaming world be without the Japanese? It would probably suck so bad.
I don't think people have an issue with discussing how the tsunami effects the gaming industry - I think people have an issue with the people coming out saying "I don't care about the huge loss of life etc, I just care about what this does to game x".
Agreed!