The following is a reply to an article on StupidGamer.com:
The incestuous relationship between games journalists and PR
The incestuous relationship between games journalists and PR
I agree with everything Jeff Rivera said... to a point. What people have to realize (and remember) is that most game PR and game developers love games. They are gamers who found a way to earn a living while keeping involved in videogames. Members of the gaming media also love games and, often, have future aspirations of getting into game development or PR in the future. Some aren't just casual friends and acquaintances; some play games together online. The simple fact is that PR people are going to be more forthcoming and friendly with those who are friendly back, show interest in the product and, yes, are impressed by a given game. Something to bear in mind when it comes to previews, however, is there may still be changes made later, so a preview may point out the good points and gloss over the weak spots - especially if there is talk that those areas are still being worked on.
I have been flown in to press events where a nice spread of food was made available to everyone and seen a few members of the press sneak off with PR people to get some "real food" as Jeff Rivera recounts. However, I have also overheard a local journalist condemning other members of the media for flying in, accepting accommodations and eating the provided food, accusing those members of the media as being, "on the take," and "obviously biased." We'll presume for the point of argument that the local guy brought his own food, paid for his own gas and didn't accept anything from the company. For the sake of argument.
Do large mega-corporate gaming media outlets get scoops? Sure. Is this unfair? Of course not. If you went to work for the mega-corporate gaming media outlet, you too could get some inside information. If you start your own mega-corporate gaming media outlet, you could do so on your own terms. If you can put your opinions and analysis in front of bazillions of people, you'll find that people will shower you with money, gifts, perks, scoops... and be oh-so-concerned about your personal opinion. Why would those companies give an exclusive to a small site with a limited readership when they could give it to a mega-corporation who, for enough money, will say whatever they want? The only reason is that with enough elbow-rubbing, yea-saying, schmoozing and bribery, the resulting message is worthless. The first time some poorly-made game gets glowing reviews, it sells a lot of copies and the game developers, publishers and PR people are pleased with their sales, if not their product. As this happens more and more, however, the gamers will start to distrust the mega-corporate gaming media outlet. Soon, it doesn't matter what they say, because no one believes any of it, anyway. Then the mega-corporate gaming media outlet finds that their ad revenue begins to fall off, as fewer people think it's worth it to buy the magazines for the screen shots and look for other websites with information on the game. The problem is, companies want to control what gets said about their games, so behind every news story is a carefully crafted press release - the same press release is typically behind every story that comes out at the same time, regardless of the media outlet.
It would behoove PR companies to find ways to select some unique "mini-scoops" to divide up between the various media outlets they deal with. This could be details on character classes, character or vehicle models, game modes or even just unique screen shots. If every site had its own unique information, rather than the same press release, games would get more coverage and gamers would actually find useful information from reading articles from the game on multiple websites. In this way, the various media outlets could all get their little something "extra." Would it take effort? Sure, but the results could be coverage that's more valuable to the game companies, the media outlets and the readers. And the mega-corporations shouldn't get too bent out of shape; they still have their big scoops to tell everybody about.
