The demands for professional journalism are just "insincere veneer to embellish dissatisfaction..."?
Pray tell, what is an 'insincere veneer', and how is it distinguished from a sincere one? Also, how does one 'embellish' dissatisfaction? Do you mean exaggerate?
I think you need to put the thesaurus down and just say what you mean to say in whatever manner is easiest for you. I realize that may come off as snarky, but really you should be aware that verbosity is one of the most common and obvious ways of compensating for actual insight on the internet.
As for the rest of it, here's a good place to start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_(style)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodrama
I think that's where I'll leave this. I think we've come as far as we're gonna. Take care, and enjoy your shows.
I'm glad you understood that joke that I made there, but I'm afraid you mistake cynicism for aggressive apathy. It's not just that you don't care or expect nothing, it's that the idea of people wanting more, better things in this world seems to offend you to the point where you have taken it upon yourself to respond to pretty much every single person who had anything remotely negative to say about this show. I truly do wonder how a person comes to that sort of callous disposition because frankly it's kinda depressing to watch you revel so gleefully in it.
But hey, to each their own. :)
As for you second reply below, I'm not sure you understand what the concepts of 'melodrama' nor 'camp' refer to.
Why are you still talking about prohibitive measures, when you know (or ought to know by now) that we're not talking about invasive means to curb business practices? Please notice that no one is saying that Gamespot CANNOT do something. Neither legally or otherwise. But we're holding Gamespot accountable to a professional standard that we feel the usual level of writing on the site merits. In other words, we're asking the site if this is what it wants to be. If this is the best it can do.
You believe people who hope for actual integrity and professionalism in journalism deserve to have their hopes dashed and live in despair? Wow. I thought Austin Powers killed you in space years ago.
If you think this is a rights question, you're missing the point. We're talking about an ethical obligation, not a legal one.This is a question of professional integrity, not legality.
It's perfectly legal for the New York Times to run an article that's in actuality a paid advertisement. But if they did, one would hope its readers would think more highly of the journalistic medium (and of themselves as consumers of it) than to merely shrug and expect it.
But if people like you make up the majority of Gamespot's readership, then I guess this is exactly the type of programming we deserve.
I do have it in my head that Gamespot is more than just an entertainment website a la E! News for games. And I think so does Gamespot. This is evident by how Gamespot has done some excellent work in talking about games in other ways than simply features and mechanics in the past. It seems to me - and of course I could be wrong - that Gamespot, while of course striving to be entertaining, is interested in having actual discussions about games as not just mindless entertainment, but as art and a sociological phenomenon. Not merely serving marketing to the drooling masses, as you would have it.
This is different from a 24h livestream, because a live-stream is essentially COVERAGE, and this is ADVERTISEMENT. Think of it this way. A newspaper or TV station can cover and televise a sports game. They are dedicating time and airtime to the event. but they're doing it with the goal of informing their viewers of an event that is deemed of public interest (ie. in the interest of their readers/viewers)
This was done to MAKE people interested in it. It would be like covering a sports game and then have the commentators try to sell you season tickets for the one team every few minutes. There would be a conflict of interest, I'm sure you'd agree. You'll notice how everyone mentions XBoxOne and uses Microsoft talking points. This had a script. People had been coached. And yes, money had changed hands.
If you think this has anything to do with this being XBox or Microsoft then that really says more about you than anything else. I could not give a shit about either console, though I'm sure they're both terrific and whichever console you have, I wish you nothing but great times with it.
Gamespot, we need to talk. I really like you. I think you're...great. Really. You've got some excellent, knowledgable gaming journalists talking about games in captivating interesting ways.
But this. This was not journalism. This was an ad for Forza Motorsport 5. When you have your writers and on-screen personalities actually using XBoxOne campaign talking points verbatim, ("only possible on XBox One") and listing the back of the box features of games as 'facts'...you're no longer a journalist. You're a marketing rep. And what you're doing is a pitch. For your readers to buy a specific game that you have been paid to make.
This is problematic - especially considering your unfortunate history in this area - and this idea that people can act in a double-role as critics AND advertisers is a pretty damn dubious one. Similar to how Fox News asks us to separate their impartial "news reporting" and their "opinion reporting". Only, you know, a lot worse.
I like this site, and I think you have some of the best discussions and insights in the industry.
And I know you can do better than this.
Please be better. Please.
(for the record I neither own an Xbox or a Playstation, and I'm not crazy about racing games, so I really have no dog in this race, other than my interest in the site)
@RussianMeatClob @hund2110 @fzzywarbles That's fair. But then you should probably recognize that Gamespot - the Gamespot today - probably isn't going to be where you're gonna find them. Regardless of preference, I'm sure you'd agree that any publication can decide the manner in which they review - if they wanna talk politics or not - just like any reader online can decide where he or she gets their reviews.
The problem, in my opinion, is when people seem to feel a sense of entitlement as to what Gamespot ought to be. At the end of the day, GS offers a product, and we can take it or leave it. I don't see how it ever needs to come to nasty comments, or anger.
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