The Issue of Online Journalism

As many of you know, being a video producer is only a small facet of what I do with my life. I identify myself as a Journalist, and I love it. Honestly, it's the first job that I've had for a long time where I have been able to put all of my passion and love into it, and actually see it come back to me. People appreciate the work that I put into it, and I see it reciprocated. I know people love to get the news from someone who is going to be honest about it. However, there are issues with online journalism.

I'd like for you to take a look at two different articles on the same subject. One is written by Daniel Kayser of EpicBattleAxe, and another by Jim Sterling of Destructoid. Have a look at the difference:

Jim Sterling -

Microsoft has today announced that, as of November 1, 2010, it will be raising the price of Xbox Live subscriptions in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
In the United States, twelve months of Xbox Live Gold will now cost $59.99 instead of $49.99. A three-month subscription will cost $24.99 instead of $19.99, while one month will cost $9.99 as opposed to $7.99. In the UK, a month will cost 5.99GPB, in Canada it'll be $9.99CAD and in Mexico, twelve months is listed at 599 Pesos.
There's been no word on twelve-month subscriptions for the UK yet. We'll update if there's any more on regional pricing changes.
So there you have it. Xbox Live now costs more. I'd comment on this, but I have a load of cheap subscriptions to go stock up on.

Kayser-

Hang onto your hats…and your wallets…Microsoft is raising the price of an Xbox LIVE subscription by $10/year in North America beginning November 1. 2010. Other regions will see a price increase as well.

As posted by Major Nelson, the price hike will affect Xbox LIVE members in Canada, Mexico, the UK and the US, with various yearly, monthly, and 3 month subscriptions seeing an increase. In the U.S. the one month Gold subscription will increase from $7.99 to $9.99 while the three month will raise from $19.99 to $24.99. After the change takes place, the 12 month will set you back $59.99 as opposed to the current $49.99. It’s worth noting that renewing your 12 month subscription via a special promotion being offered right here, right now, will allow U.S. customers to save $20 off the new price and renew for $39.99.
As for the regions outside the U.S., Canadian gamers can expect to pay $1 more for the monthly subscription, Mexico’s 12 month plan increases from 499 Pesos to 599 Pesos, and those of you in the United Kingdom will be charged 5.99 GBP for the monthly subscription instead of 4.99 GBP.

“Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same. We’re confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox LIVE Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry.”
So, do you think Microsoft has added enough new features and content to XBL to justify a price increase? Do you think the new rates are fair or unfair? Let us know your thoughts below.

As you obviously saw the difference (considering I bolded the text) you can see that Jim Sterling purposely left out the part about the consumer being able to save money before the price increase. Now, I know that many of you will initially think that this sort of thing isn't a big deal. I respectfully disagree. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of the regular Destructoid reader. You read Sterling's post, and get all fired up about it. Then, you go on Xbox Live, and talk to a friend of yours after the price increases, who tells you he renewed his subscription early, and saved himself twenty bucks, while you have to now pay sixty because your subscription is going to run out.

You see, this is a big issue in the realm of online journalism. Many people like Sterling do not give you all the facts of a story, they don't finish video games that they have been assigned to review, and essentially push their own agendas with what they write. Honestly, I don't really understand as to how this came about, but I do know that it is a big issue, and I know that I'm not the only one who outright despises it. Though this style of writing has dominated online journalism for a long time, I honestly believe that this is a large wave of backlash that is about to crash against it.

I have no problem with honesty. I praise it, because there aren't enough people in the world who are honest with themselves, and with what they buy. However, the big issue here is the passion that comes behind it. Passion is a beautiful thing, and can create some amazing works from people. However, passion can also be a poison if you aren't passionate about the right things. Essentially, passion can make you a moron if you're not careful.

If you remember back to the argument that I had with Angry Joe, and even before that in an episode of Insight that I did here on the corner, I pointed to Kane and Lynch 2 and told all of you who read this blog the truth. At the end of the day, Kane and Lynch 2 is nothing more than a game on a disc. The original was nothing more than a game on a disc. The game did not get Gertsmann fired from Gamespot. That's on the heads of Gamespot and Eidos. Thing is, if you let that taint your review of a video game, what have you become?

You see, at the end of the day, when you sit down in front of your game console, you're not really thinking about the big corporate stuff that goes on behind the scenes. You just want to sit down and have fun. I'm the same way. Though part of my job is to provide the facts about what's going on, my personal opinion has to be saved for editorials, and when I review a game, or do anything of the sort, I have to take the gamer's perspective. I have to ask certain questions.

Is this game fun? Yes/No?

Is this game well made? Yes/No?

Will the demographic this game is aimed toward enjoy it? Yes/No

and so forth. None of the questions that a reviewer has to ask himself when it comes to reviewing games has anything to do with corporations, or anything of the sort. Developers are just normal guys doing a job, and we're given these games to review to grade them on their performance. We let the outside influence taint us, and we've essentially lost any battle that we're trying to fight against the issues within the industry.

To anyone who reads this, I think that all games journalists want the same thing. We want the industry to improve because we love it, and we love being gamers. However, I think that we all need to learn from one another as to how to get that message across in the best way possible. The cool thing that I learned from my discussion with Joe, and Noah as well, was that I shouldn't be afraid to be passionate, and I won't be, for sure.

Now, would I still give Dog Days a six out of ten? Yes. Honestly, there are some things that game does correctly that other games don't, and it pushes a pace that is very difficult to do with a third person shooter. However, though I think it's above average in its quality, IO Interactive can do so, so much better with their talents. You look at a game like Hitman: Blood Money and you see exactly how good these guys are.

Anyway, to wrap this up, let me say this: Passion is fantastic, and it's the sign of someone who cares. However, if you let your passion control you, you will set yourself up for a fall. Tell the truth, but tell the truth in a way that will have an impact. It's like fighting Mike Tyson in a boxing match. If you've got the reach on him, work your jab, and pick him apart from a distance, like Buster Douglas did. You go in there winging hooks at the gaming industry, they're going to duck the blow and knock you out.

-Micah C

V-Log 08-28-2010: Angry Joe Argument and other scary stuff

ADHD - Batman: Arkham Asylum

Thoughts on Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Liberty City Stories pt 3 - Luis' Story

Insight - How to write a game review

Dumbest thing I've ever posted.

Johnny's Story

More thoughts on stuff

Sorry if I've been spending too much time delving into my thoughts on things, but as it stands, I'm having one of those points in life where I'm given a lot of time to think about what's going on in my life. Usually, I tend to bury myself in my work whenever I can, but lately I've had to force myself to take a step back to evaluate exactly what's going on in my brain, and the world around me. I don't like it, but here's the broad strokes. I'll go over specifics in my personal journal.

Every once in a while, something will cross your path that challenges the way that you think about things. I think that it's true for most anyone. As of late, another one of those "somethings" has crossed my path, and thrown me for a loop. You see, I'm the type of person who faces a challenge with pure mental toughness. I summon up every ounce of strength that my mind can command my body to have, and throw it as hard as I can until I can't move anymore, and my obstacle is nothing but dust. I'm a fighter. It's part of who I am.

Then, something came across my path that makes me wonder if I really need to fight to accomplish things in my life. Is it really necessary to stand against someone and be willing to throw down with words or fists? I'm not sure. On one side, while I was writing this I stood up for my mother and sister to some corrupt bank manager, and then afterwards contacted the main branch of his bank to get him punished. I fought him, and I won. However, what would have happened if I had just ignored him? If I didn't fight, would my life be more peaceful? I don't know, and to be honest, I'm not happy that I'm questioning it.

I hate these sorts of moments, and what's made me question it really isn't something I can discuss openly, but I need to simply get it off of my chest.

Second thing that I wanted to discuss was simply journalism in general. Part of me wonders if modern day journalists think that shrugging off the integrity that is asked of journalists is a good thing. The duty of a journalist is to report what's going on to the best of their knowledge, and in the case of editorials and such, give their opinion on a manner fairly and concisely. It seems that a few sites that I've gone to have completely given the middle finger to integrity and professionalism. The problem is that without the professionalism and integrity, the potential for well thought out articles dies, and makes way for fanwank.

I understand that some freedom comes with writing for a blog style webpage, but that doesn't excuse at type of writing that is only a half step away from a fanboy's mental masturbations. When it comes down to it, though some things are established due to a fear of change, other things are established because without them, we're nothing but barbarians. This is one thing that sickens me about today's society in general. Why are the words "intergrity," "morality," and "professionalism" dirty words? They shouldn't be.

Liberty City Stories pt 1 - Niko's Story

August is a rough month.....

Well, I figured that I would take a little time to update this sucker before I take a nap or something. I'm probably going to pop in The Dark Knight and then get some sleep while it plays. I just polished off a full cario/weight lift workout that I'm going to try and do every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and before that I finally got the last of the game footage I needed for Niko's Story.

By the way, since I haven't explained exactly what Niko's Story, Johnny's Story, and Luiz's story are yet, I'll boil it down to the basics. Essentially what I'm doing is doing a character study/character analysis on the main character of each of GTA IV's stories, from Niko Bellic, to Johnny Klebitz, to Luiz Lopez. I won't give anything away, but I will tell you right now that this has taken the most recording that I have EVER done in one of my video projects, and I really need to learn how to streamline it.

However, there's also a lot going on behind the scenes as well, and I figured that I'd blog about it a bit, rather than just tell people about it openly, since some of it is personal, and some of it is top secret, and neither are things that need to be aired out to the public. What I can do, however, is keep that stuff vague and just share my feelings on my own end of things.

First thing I'd figure that I would discuss is my first guest appearance on a podcast. If you haven't looked at it yet, check out the Detroit Metal Blog because I'll be the special guest on it. Truthfully, I had a lot of fun doing it, and to be honest, I was very much honored and humbled by the experience. Truthfully, I don't think I've really been anyone's favorite at anything during the course of my life, so people calling me their favorite journalist was a shock to my system. So, to Aaron and Sid, it was awesome being on the podcast, guys, and thanks so much for the compliments. Speaking of metal, here's a little fun fact about me. Every time I start writing a blog or script, I listen to "Man Made God" by In Flames.

Anway, the second thing that I wanted to talk about is relationships, just in general. Now, there's a couple things that I honestly believe (well, that I'm willing to share publicly anyway). The first is that though we are in charge of our own lives, and control how we react, and the other part of that is that there are some things that go beyond coincidence. Very Kierkeggardian of me, eh? Going with that in mind, I had an odd dream after a long workout late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning. I'm not going to go into detail, but the main idea that I got from it was that good things are going to happen in the future in regards to my relationships with people.

Beyond that idea, there's something a discussion with a friend brought up that I felt like sharing. I honestly think that, contrary to popular belief, a relationship is not a sacrifice of freedom. To be quite honest with you, a relationship is entirely what you make it, and there are dozens of variations to relationships, and we all have to approach them at our own pace, and talk to our partner about how things need to happen. If someone's talking about being the love of your life and you're by no means ready for that sort of talk, it's best to just tell them the truth, and find someone who works with your pace. Personally, all I personally want is just a girl to be sweet on that visits on the weekends when she can. When I'm ready for it, and whoever that lucky lady is (feel free to chuckle at "lucky") is ready for it, then let the next step run. I think too many people don't realize that the average human lifespan is a long damn time. Do not rush things.

Another thing that crossed my mind during this entire process of becoming a journalist and video producer full time (I lump the two together because in my case I can't have one without the other) is that I've become a hard bastard to keep down. Before I continue, let me just say that there are big, big, big things going down behind the scenes, but I'm not allowed to tell you what they are yet. Needless to say, I'm excited for them. Anyway, it seems to me that (for the first time in my life) the harder the work is getting, the more I'm enjoying the end result.

For example, I've absolutely hated my last two videos, mostly because they only took the course of three days to shoot and get all of the necessary game footage. You know what? I'm not a big fan of that, mostly because I personally think that both episodes turned out pretty crappy, despite the fact that they're laying the ground for future hijinks. Anyway, during this week of sweating, recording, writing, and certainly not sleeping much, I kept planning out how to edit together these character studies and whatnot, and I think that I can spend the rest of today and tomorrow (after some sleep) working and getting stuff done, and I honestly think that the end result will be freaking glorious. However, that's going to come late Sunday/Early Monday morning, so until then, I leave you with Bas "El Guapo" Rutten being absolutely insane and awesome in GTA IV.

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MMA Mondays! Fedor Tapping, Mayhem vs Diaz, and UFC 117

The Cynic's Corner - 1 Year Retrospective!