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Aaron discloses some shocking secrets
of the gaming industry, like the fact there isn't enough graft to go
around, all the sex that happens behind closed doors at E3, and a
secret he has personally harboured for many years...
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Full Disclosure
With some interest, I've been reading the blog of ex-1UP and EGM staff
members Crispin Boyer and Dan Hsu (sorethumbsblog.com), especially the
entries that have concentrated on "Gaming Journalism" replete with tales
of gaming coverage bought and sold (mostly, just attempted, on both
counts), free liquor, PR shenanigans, baseball games, expensive gifts,
buffet lunches, and hotel stays. It brought about some serious thinking
on my part, mostly about integrity in gaming journalism. How we, in the
enthusiast press, should hold ourselves to a higher standard and turn
down freebies in an attempt to appear completely objective when it comes
to the games we look at; we should all be open books when it comes to
so-called "full disclosure." In that spirit of full disclosure -- or at
least as much disclosure I can make without opening myself to a volley
of lawsuits -- I thought I'd share some things with you, dear reader.
Not Enough Graft
We've always received the free t-shirts and the little tchockes that
often accompany a game. I've always welcomed these because a) I'm cheap
and b) I never know when I'll need a Conan sword letter opener. (Well,
when I'm opening mail.) But we've never received a bundle of cash or
playoff tickets or some other "incentive" for us to provide a high score
on a review. Collectively, the AE staff has been to a
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very small number of media events where the
publisher flies the writer out to a location, liquors them up, pays for
accomodation, and feeds them. Oh, and lets us play the game they're
promoting for preview or review purposes. I think the total number is
eight over the last eight years (and they've all been documented one
place or another on our site). That's an extremely low ratio. We're
always open for a free trip, free
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food, and free booze. And playing whatever
game is being promoted. But it doesn't happen often enough for us so, we
don't get the opportunity to fend off suggestions that coverage of the
game or our opinion was bought in some way. The simple solution -- the
way to help AE reach the moral highground of gaming journalism -- is for
the PR and Marketing folks to send us booze, a big screen TV, playoff
tickets, a trip to Hawaii for two... something, anything, that will test
our staunch principles when it comes to presenting our *snort* unbiased
opinions about video games.
Sex at E3
While most will instantly leap to the understandable thought that when I
write "Sex at E3" I'm writing about booth babes, some people will
recognize the title for what it really is. This wasn't so much the case
at E3 2008 because of the way the venue was arranged, but in previous
years going into an interview room unnannouced had the potential to
create one of those uncomfortable moments of the most awkward kind
imaginable, where you aren't sure where to look, what to say, and your
brain is firing one message: "Wash your hands! Now!"
There used to be a lot of backroom "deals" at E3 between journos, PR
folk, developers, and publishers (and judging from at least two reliable
sources sometimes all at the same time). The fact sex between these four
groups happens at E3 -- and I'm not writing about the after parties --
shouldn't be a surprise though. It's surprising that it doesn't happen
more often.
Those interview rooms are usually hot,
everyone is a little light-headed from lack of sleep and too much booze
the night before, and possibly they feel a little lonely from being away
from home. A funky baseline from somewhere outside the room kicks in and
from that point...
"So what do you think of our game?" she says.
"Well, it's shaping up nicely," he says. Their eyes meet. "Very nicely."
"That's good to hear because we haven't had a lot of good press the last
few months." She pauses. "I'd do just about anything to get some
positive coverage. Anything. And everything."
Bada-bing, bada-boom! Exclusive and positively glowing editorial
coverage. (The he/she roles can be reversed quite easily.)
Any industry insider knows this kind of exchange goes on all the time
but journos are less likely to report on such things because, well, sex
is sex and resisting the implications of suggestive motions with a
gaming peripheral and the uninformed promise that "The door is locked"
has proven to be too much for many (unnamed) people in the industry.
The Big Ape
I actually liked King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie. I know I got
1,000 Achievement Points to pad my gamerscore, but I actually enjoyed
the game and have in fact gone back and played sections of it ever since
I finished it. I especially like fight with a T-Rex.
More shocking disclosures coming soon!
- Aaron Simmer
(September 13, 2008)
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