EA controls the gaming media?

[Scrubking]

In more than one article covering this story, editors mentioned that EA pressured publications to pull stories (it's hinted that stories were indeed pulled) during the past year that predicted this exact outcome. Pressure is to be expected, but when the videogame companies are able to control and determine which stories are printed, the enthusiast press loses its relevance.

Like many inside the enthusiast press, Media Coverage (before we were a column) had heard rumors about EA's NFL exclusive plans much earlier this year. Still, the company was able to stifle any serious hard news about the story, which was definitely in the EA's best interest. The fact that no one broke the story before it was officially announced is more than a little embarrassing considering how many people knew about it. (http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=8608&section=media&email=)

This supports what I have been saying for along time - that reviews and other gaming media can't be trusted from publications that depend on good publisher/developer relationships.

Although it is easy to focus on the EA aspect of this, but let's also look at the big picture and think about how many reviews have been influenced in a similar manner from who knows how many publishers.

[Scorch]

It's scary how much control they're starting to have over the industry. It's starting to become JUST EA. If EA were to suddenly go bankrupt.. the game industry could possibly be in danger, and that's a scary thought..

[dafoomie]

This happens in the real media a lot, they will tend to not run negative stories about big sponsors. For example, a few outlets weren't allowed to run the firestone tires story when it became big news, because they were a sponsor. Or a story about synthetic hormones injected into cows to produce milk, that are banned in Canada and Europe for causing cancer, that was pulled when the dairy company threatened to pull their ads.

The gaming media is even more susceptable, because they aren't really considered journalists. With the massive amount of advertising that EA does, if EA pulled all its ads from your publication, you'd be out of business pretty quick. Its all about the dollars.

This happens every single day in the mainstream media. Don't trust a single news source solely for information, just like you wouldn't trust a single gaming site for reviews.

[Death2Sanity]

and yet they remained silent too.

[bmulligan]

You mean you can't trust the media? OR the gaming media?

I can't believe it.

Next you'll be telling me we can't trust politicians...

[jaykrue]

Bu...but I BELIEVE everything I see on CNN!!! And I think this new online newspaper called The Onion has some real riveting news. Why just the other day, I found out that scientists all over the world do experiments on mice since they just really don't like them (http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4049&n=1). Where are my tax dollars going??? </sarcasm>

[Scrubking]

You people act like this is common knowledge while gamers keep buying games based on what reviews say and people keep making the monthly [insert mag here] review threads on the review board.

[craven_fiend]

i have learned to take anything i hear/read with a grain of salt. so i am only partially surprised by this. i just hope that there is some publication willing to stand up to EA and not solely base reviews on who's the biggest advertiser, but how the game handles and feels. but even then, i'll play a game i want to play to see if i like it, not because Gamepro or EGM say its good.

thats my story and i'm stickin to it

[zionoverfire]

But its not just the game companies that are the problem, its the fans. Look at something like game rankings and notice how high the rankings are for games that were wanted but not all that great.

[lordxixor101]

Well, if this is true, its sad. But, if there isn't any proof, it might just be speculation (let's be honest, sure you might have heard something, but Nintendo might have released information on that huge surprise a few years back that was suppose to change the industry, and nothing came of it). So, I'm sure journalists covering games here a lot of stuff, and they have to separate fact from fiction.

That being said, if this is true, this is sad. I think there is a lot of respect given to certain sites (IGN and Gamespot most notably). If they were caught not reporting information that will change the industry, that would be scary. The press has to be separate, or it doesn't work (how can you trust any review a site does or ever has done if they are caught in the pocket of a company).

The good part is, eventually, there will be sources where people will report the information, and they will eventually rise to become the most credible. This is why I don't think sites are holding information back, this is one area where "gamer backlash" could really effect something.

[bbfinster]

Here we go again......

Just to crush this thread....... Gamespot broke this story back in June, but couldn't confirm it.

[greendj27]

Eh, this shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone. If I were an advertiser and a tv station or newspaper or any other media outlet that I was advertising in printed a negative article on my company, I would pull my advertising too. The media companies are a business too and they need to keep their advertisers happy. I've seen it at the tv stations I have worked at were our news ran a negative story about a company and the advertising was pulled the next day. I've also eseen stories squashed because it would piss off a large advertiser. It happens all the time.