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