There has been some talk over the years about video game journalists and their bias towards certain developer camps or platforms because of the “kickbacks” they may be getting. This includes advertising on their website or even the swag that comes with certain review copies. As all of us here at Loot Ninja are up and coming game journalists, of course not of the same scale as some of the other large video game reviewers out in the world, we do strive to stay unbiased and give you what our thoughts on everything is, positive or negative.
Some believe that is almost impossible to remain objective of a medium if you are presented with gifts form the franchise you are about to review and I have to tend to agree with them a bit. This would be like receiving a bag of money before going to watch Iron Man, this may sway your opinion on the movie just a bit, the movie was fantastic as I sat on this big bag of money to see better. Of course game companies are not stapling checks to the review copies they send but they are sending extras like sunglasses, pimp cups, game systems, I even heard of a review copy that came with a remote controlled car. Some of the swag that is given is very cool, but entirely not necessary.
Some will even argue that it is difficult to stay objective when reviewing certain video games that are released on cross platforms because of an individuals personal preference or favoritism toward a certain console. The word “fanboy” gets tossed around and suddenly the views and opinions of that individual have become sullied and in-validated because of their gravitation towards a certain brand or console type.
Our reviews and articles here at Loot Ninja are our thoughts on what we have played, what we enjoyed or disliked as we ran through a particular title. We typically purchase all of the games or accessories we review and the give aways for contests as well, very small percentages of our titles are currently given to us from developers, which is good because we don’t have to worry about becoming biased in any fashion.
Even Penny Arcade made fun of this during one of their comic strips. Interesting how game companies send all kinds of things with their review copies of games, perhaps sending a Nintendo DS with a copy of a DS game is a bit over the top, what do you think?
Has some journalists lost site of what they are reviewing because of the freebies or because of a personal preference to one platform over another?
How reliable are the journalists of today in your eyes?
5 Comments
Write a Comment»Loot-Ninja does a great job at being un-biased which makes you a great source for info. Keep it up!!!!
Nope - I don’t trust mainstream gaming websites at all. Things like the Gerstmann situation, the Konami MGS4 boondoggle, Matt Cassamassina of IGN (Wii section) being married to the VP of Nintendo’s US marketing firm, etc. help explain how games like Smash Brothers and Zelda get anything over 80% scores.
Gaming websites that review games should refuse advertising and ANY gifts from companies whose products they are reviewing. There is absolutely no reason an $18 Billion industry can’t attract mainstream advertising to their websites rather than resort to lazy, incestous business relationships.
I stopped trusting people…other than me, myself & I.
I do trust your site more than others if that helps ya sleep @ night…LOL
Keep up the great work!
THANK YOU LOOT NINJA!!! websites that rate and review games are too much about opinion, swayed by perks, rather than technical acheivements or downfalls of the game. the fact of a game being good is largely in the eye of the player, however if a game is only going to display in 12 fps.. a reviewer should write about it.
im simply sick of reviewers saying, I didnt like the game cause of six axis or because all of the gears of war characters look the same.. if you are reviewing it it shouldnt be opinion it should be brass tax facts. IE; the game doesnt perform well, the graphic textures are sub par, it crashes.. etc..
i prefer user reviews than mainstream reviews. IGN is more biased toward Nintendo. Gamespot is more biased toward 360. I prefer less popular sites like gamerevolution.com for a more accurate review. coz no game is perfect and no game deserve a 10.