Game Journalists Need To Get Over Themselves

Yay, another Adam Sessler/Entitled Gaming Journalists blog, wooohoooo!!!

First, watch this video which is the reason behind this blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

And now here's the twitter feed.

https://twitter.com/AdamSes...

Wow. Drama Queen much?

Ok, so what is this about? Why did Adam Sessler compare gamers to psychopaths and why did Tara Long engage b*tch mode where it wasn't called for?

The answer is Resolutiongate. You see, Adam Sessler is part of the waves of gaming journalists who, at some point in their career, talked up how games should be a standard resolution and framerate only to then later downplay or avoid talking about that once the very real fact that the Xbox One couldn't play Call of Duty Ghosts at 1080p/60FPS reared it's head. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a conspiracy blog or anything, it's just a fact that many have seen and a few have already discussed. I mean, just read these two articles...

This one is about the media downplaying or apologizing for the Xbox One being more expensive yet less capable than the PS4.

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

And this is an article talking about how Adam Sessler first mentioned months ago that games should be at 1080p/60FPS AS A STANDARD, but yet tries to get everyone to change the subject the second the Xbox One can't cut it.

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

Gaming journalists, you all need to remember something important. This is the internet age, and everything you put on the internet will be there indefinitely. This means that you can't get away with hypocrisy and you will be called out for it. Adam seems like he wants to be at the center of controversy and that he believes his opinion matters to anyone but himself simply because he gets paid to give it.

We don't see all the behind-the-scenes nuances of being a game journalist, so we don't get to see the day-to-day grind of meeting deadlines and coming up with relevant and interesting topics, travelling, etc... however this goes out to Ms. Long.

Your job isn't, comparatively, difficult. You literally do play games for a living and then get paid to speak your opinion about said games. If you think your job is anywhere on the level of difficulty, or importance, as say a doctor; then you're completely deluded. You don't need a college degree to play games and give your opinion, you don't even need a degree to be able to write up said opinions properly, so to turn into a b*tch because you can't handle being criticized in your very public position speaks more volumes about you than those criticizing you.

Being an internet game critic means accepting that your critiques and opinions are subject to critiques and opposing opinions. Yes, there are many individuals who use colourful language and threats, but this aspect isn't new or isolated to gaming. For Madam Sessler to get his panties in a bunch because people called him out on his hypocrisy in typical online fashion merely reinforces the following 2 ideas.

The first is that he thinks too highly of his own opinion and likely can't conceive of anyone having legitimate issues with what he says since he's been paid to say it for so long people should just bow down to it. The second is that he doesn't have a grasp on the fact that he's on the internet and will be criticized.

This goes for all gaming journalists. You aren't special people. You are as average as the rest of us. You don't deserve special treatment just because you suckered some company into paying you to spew off your opinion, and you're not untouchable to public opinion. Stop acting like spoiled, entitled brats and take responsibility for what you say.

When you post hypocrisy, you'll be called out on it. When you post entitled cry fests, you'll be called out on it. When you try to hide behind anonymous sources so that you can post bullsh*t, you'll be called out on it. Get used to it.

It's not the gamers' fault that you can't handle backlash. You caused the backlash, you have to deal with it. If you don't want to deal with it, then act like professional journalists and not editorial columnists.

Adam, you're not a part of the industry. You don't make games, you don't fund the development of games, you don't sell games. All you do is play games and then give your opinion on them. You report ON the industry, you're not IN the industry. Forgive us if your embarrassment is misplaced and we don't care about it. When people like you go around saying "THIS IS HOW GAMES SHOULD BE" and then when they aren't that way and we get mad because we agreed with you and then you go "You are all entitled crybaby psychopaths" then you deserve every bit of backlash that you get.

So either suck it up, be an actual journalist, and stop having twitter meltdowns where you generalize and blanket insult an entire demographic of millions of people, or frickin' retire since you don't have a thick enough skin to be called out on your bullsh*t.

Gaming journalism needs a massive and immediate overhaul, and gaming journalists need to realize that they aren't special, they are powerless, and they are subject to critique as much as the games they talk about.

First it was making a big, falsely misogynistic deal about a trophy name taken out of context. Then it was crying about not getting a free, early PS4 debug unit to review. Now it's resolution hypocrisy. I can't wait to see who, and what, gaming journalists cry about next.

[zerocrossing]

Honestly, the guys a joke and an attention whore.

He's another one that makes the whole video game journalism profession look bad by being petty and appearing self important.

[BlueShirt7749]

lol I love how people love him one day and now he's a joke the next. Man you "gamers" sure are judgmental when you're the exact same way. Specifically, "petty and appearing self important".

[xHeavYx]

@Blue
Judgmental? Based on your comment history, if it was the PS4 the weaker console, you'd be doing the happy dance.
If you are a public figure and make a statement, you can't just decide to change your mind when your console of choice is weaker (there is a video of him saying that he prefers the 360 over the PS3)

[admiralvic]

One day? Adam was liked a year ago, but he lost some serious creditability over the Bros before Hoes trophy fiasco and continued to dwindle till the PS4 stuff.

[SilentNegotiator]

Yeah, who would have guessed that when he showed his hand so blatantly and suddenly, people would dislike him suddenly?

Stop trying so hard. There's no hypocrisy to expose here.

Sessler, a veteran of the industry, claimed to not be able to tell the difference between Xbox One's 720p/900p games to 1080p, downplayed the issue of Xbox One under-performing (what happens when a multiplat can only do 720p30fps on PS4?), and trying to distract from the issue...all in one video. Yes, people are going to suddenly dislike an obviously biased journalist when they display their bias so hard and fast as in the latest Sessler's Nothing.

Less than a year ago, he was pretending to be the industry's watchdog, making it clear that 1080p60fps was a necessity at SGC 2013. Less than a week ago, he decides that 720p30fps is perfectly acceptable because it's Xbox that's doing it.

[EXVirtual]

Gaming journalism has regressed in my opinion.
Too many of these journalists think so highly of themselves and are too scared to ask the hard questions to developers and publishers or give harsh reviews just to keep their guaranteed freebies.

Very few journalists actually do their jobs and pull punches and, like Adam Sessler, still think they are in the industry and entitled to free hardware and games just to give their opinion on them. Good blog Dragon.

[Pintheshadows]

The guy from the Metro who interviewed Mark Rubin the other day showed what gaming journalism needs to be. Uncompromising and biting.

We need more of that. We need more Jeremy Paxman style interviewers.

Someone willing to cut through the scripted PR answers by knocking a developer off balance. Then knowing how to glean information by intelligent usage of questions.

[ravinash]

DragonKnight says that you don't need a college degree to play games or to write about them.

That’s exactly what I think they do need.

It seems to me that these people need to go back to college and do a reporting degree.
If they did, then maybe we would see more articles which a balanced, insightful and revealing.

Seems that all these reporters only have their own opinion to go on, and that’s not journalism.
In fact I would say that journalism does not exist in the gaming industry.

[Pintheshadows]

With the growth of the internet a lot of poorly educated people who like games will create a website. Then they will proceed with hammering out meaningless opinions filled with needless and unwarranted diatribe. They have no knowledge of what 'journalism' is. They have no idea what an actual critique is or the structure a review should take on.

And that is the situation we find ourselves in. Even at the big publications.

I remember when gaming journalists used to win awards that encompassed all areas of the media for their great writing. People like Kieron Gillen who has gone on to be a very successful comic book writer.

[DoctorJones]

Kieron Gillen was a great reviewer, but he also had a tendency to write some complete guff sometimes as well. Do you remember that Deus Ex 2 review, God that was bad.

I did enjoy most of his stuff though, and Pc gamer had a really good team around that time. Seems to have gone downhill lately, I rarely buy it anymore.

[Pintheshadows]

I have not purchased a copy in years. Probably since around 2005. You are right. The quality did go downhill fast once the team that was there moved onto different things. Haha. I remember an angered Gillen when he talked about Halo going exclusive for Xbox. That was amusing.

[HammadTheBeast]

Sessler MASSIVELY contradicts himself in relation to the XBO time and time again. With the trash policy's, then their reversals, he basically proved he can't formulate a proper opinion, and it's just fishy how hard he's justifying MS' actions.

Now, he's blaming the gaming mass market for being like every other media form.

Gaming as an industry is struggling because these shill and market hacks can't handle their jobs, and start b***ing at individuals in a mass market industry. Movies, music, TV all handle it, but these guys.... SMH.

Sessler quit his last job because he didn't believe in a broken and paid-for industry, yet with his whining over not being able to review a PS4 same day as others, he's doing the EXACT same thing he quit his last job to avoid.

[majiebeast]

Very few journalist left just mouth pieces that are affraid to lose their free stuff and swagbags. Jim Sterling is really the only one i still watch/follow, he might be a gigantic troll but atleast he speaks his mind and doesnt care if he gets blacklisted for telling the truth.

We living in a dewmocracy.

[solidjun5]

In dew time, Geoff will be called out for being a shill. Wait, that has already happen.

I like JimEquistion (spelling is wrong), but I still think he's annoying.

[majiebeast]

Difference between Geoff is he is a hype man he doesnt review games like Sessler.

[DragonKnight]

@zero: Completely agreed. He makes Tara Long look more masculine that him, and he's bald with stubble.

@EX: Gaming journalism these days isn't about reporting on the industry. With so many sponsored stories, cry fests about not getting free stuff, and the silencing of the REAL journalists who call the crybabies out on their entitlement, gaming journalism has been reduced to propaganda campaigns paid for by publishers and the occasional trailer videos.

@Hammad: He is a known Xbox fanboy but tries to sit on the edge and fails at it. He's said before that he prefers the Xbox, which is fine until he tries to appear neutral and just looks like an apologist. He had no problems bashing the PS3 at its launch, and yet the Xbox One deserves how many chances to get something right from people like him? It's quite pathetic.

@majie: The only real journalists left are relatively unknown, that's why they are journalists. Gaming media has changed from actual journalism to bloggers with a high opinion of themselves and a lot of time. The Doritocracy permeates the whole of it.

[MRMagoo123]

If you go looking you can find every single journalist that says it now doesnt matter, once said it did matter but only when it was the 360 with the advantage, check out DF articles where 2 frames per second less was a reason to not get the ps3 version of a game, but now having a GIGANTIC 125% more rez doesnt matter.

I hope every single one of these journalists get pointed out and we can ask them what has change from a couple months back when it was pretty much all that mattered.

I have a fair bit of time on my hands at the mo, so i might go looking back at older articles, the closer to this date the better tho, cos that will make the point a lot more valid that but any will do and i will find them lol.

Also Off topic , i dont think there should be a limit to bubbles on blogs really imo, it makes it hard to have proper convos.

[DestinyHeroDoomlord]

Nag.co.za has the best journalists hehe ;)

[iceman06]

Where was Mr. Sessler when the PS3 was "struggling" with similar issues as Xbox 1??? I'll tell you. He was on Xplay making jokes at the expense of the console over and over again. The same "minor" gap, as he puts it, was there with the 360 and PS3. Yet, when it came time for a recommendation, there was a litany of reasons (all having to do with "performance" and "frames" and "graphical touches") why he would constantly give 360 the nod. I am NOT knocking him for having a preference. Lord knows that we all do. I AM knocking him for bringing this bias into his work as a "journalist".

[Pintheshadows]

Gaming 'journalism' (it isn't journalism) has been dying since the late 90's as advertising revenue has become the overriding factor in everything. Gone are the days of factual objectivity.

Hypocrisy, lack of knowledge, dubious agendas, and a real want to pour petrol onto a smoldering baseless rumour as they know it will bring in the hits has taken over.

Sensationalism makes me sick. And these kinds of people having been doing it for years and now we call them out on their crap and start standing up to them we get called things like 'entitled' or 'psychopaths'. Ha! It is them who are the entitled, deluded, psychopaths who do not live in the real world.

I mean Tara Long's tweets basically prove that. I see that kind of thing on '20 stupid things that have been said on the internet' lists.

The gaming industry is like nothing else. It is a bizarre, overly secretive, rumour fueled, twisted monster to anyone who has worked in ANY other industry. It doesn't seem to have a grip on itself for most of the time and it breeds things like this. Dvelopers and publishers are so scared to admit things that the media grasps hold of it and turns it into a flame war for more ad revenue.

I hate everything about it and to think when I was but a wee boy reading PC Gamer UK when the likes of Kieron Gillen was a writer their all I wanted to be was a gaming journalist. These days though, HELL NAH!

[Pintheshadows]

I'm chatting to Tara on Twitter right now and whilst she isn't helping by antagonising angry internet gamers (I told her this) she is also getting some really awful replies. The lashing out just escalates when something stupid like this happens.

And it is stupid.

It is a spoilt adult with delusions of grandeur making a mountain out of a molehill and introducing a very specific brand of contradictory hypocrisy that no intelligent person would get tangled into. It is like a web of lies except the lies have been published for eternity on the internet.

I only listen to TotalBiscuit these days (and AngryJoe when he can be bothered to post videos) as he just tells it like it is. If something is bad there is no pussy footing around it, it is just bad.

Oh, don't get me wrong DragonKnight, I know she did, I was basically trying to get her out of there before things got really ugly. Diffuse the situation as she just kept antagonising people. You know what some of our community can get like and I didn't want to wake up to 'female gaming journalist receives death/rape threats.'

Agreed also on TotalBiscuit. He can be a bit trying at times but I always feel like he is honest and his WTF series is very very in depth. He says 'eh' too much though.

[DragonKnight]

Firstly, Well Said bubbles.

Secondly, Tara brought on the nasty replies on herself. She posted in Adam's tweet without provocation; pretty much agreeing with, and supporting his insult of an entire demographic of millions of people. I have no sympathy for her at all no matter how cute I think she is (lol).

People need to be held accountable for the stupid things they say and how childish they act.

I love AngryJoe, he tells it like it is but isn't stuck up. TotalBiscuit can be an a$$ though.

[SilentNegotiator]

He's "truly embarrassed" for the game industry because of the feedback?

I'm truly embarrassed for the game industry that we have journalists that "can't tell" when a game is 720p/900p instead of 1080p. Either he needs his prescription adjusted, he's a lying fanboy idiot, he's afraid of losing free stuff, or a combination of those.

'PS4/Xbone games had better be 1080p60fps!'
-sgc
'Xbox One games at 720p? I couldn't even tell!'
-Sessler's Something

[DragonKnight]

Not only can't he tell (lie), but he's downplaying it as though it doesn't matter when he himself said before that it should be standard and thus does matter. It's only because it's the Xbox One and he either is taking pity on it because MS has been having nothing but bad PR for so long, or he's just a closet fanboy that can't admit to it.

[solidjun5]

Closet fanboy is more like it. I knew he had preferences and that's fine - everyone has preferences - but his hypocrisy was so evident, I'm surprised he's fighting back like a caged animal.
I'm actually waiting for the next Sessler's something to see if he addresses the controversy.

[wingman32x]

Real journalism is something that the industry is largely missing nowadays. I was around for the Gamespot/Kane and Lynch fiasco, and that was a real eye opener for a lot of people. I know I applied the proverbial grain of salt to a lot more things after that.

I also agree about some journalists having a false sense of equality in terms of their role in the industry. I remember the Phil Fish issue was an example of that. Now, I am not a fan of Phil's personality, but when the journalist that pestered him said Phil has to realize that "It's a two way street" in relation to dev/media relations, it pissed me off.

So yeah, things have been going downhill IMO. I sometimes get a little depressed when I come here and see sensationalist hit-seeking stuff all over the front page. Seems like the business side of it is overshadowing everything else.

[Ravenor]

That was wassissname from Gametrailers, you can't expect anything good from gametrailers.

[Majin-vegeta]

We need more people like this.

http://n4g.com/news/1387625...

[cyguration]

Wow DragonKnight, this post was amazing. But most of your blogs are. Well done.

Sessler just can't catch a break these days. I guess it's best he hide for a bit and come out and say something really, really, really smart.

[Ravenor]

To be perfectly honest I just don't listen or value most "Journalists" opinions about this kind of stuff. I'm at an age where it's just incredibly unimportant what some guy/gal thinks about hardware or software. I know from experience that launch titles aren't an indicator of anything, and I know from experience that a high review score doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to like a game.

I just "listen" to Jeff Gerstmann and the rest of Giantbomb, that's about enough for me. Jeff Gerstmann is still a threat.

[HonestDragon]

It is such a shame that Adam Sessler has fallen to the kind of lows that he has. I used to follow him on G4 through X-Play primarily and before the channel became "less geek, more chic".

*shudders*

It was a dark day indeed when I heard that quote. On topic, Sessler has fallen under the same strain of video game journalists who believe they are owed some form of entitlement from the industry and gamers. Said strain also pumps sensationalism without thought. After all, Sessler got on many a gamer's bad side when he claimed God of War: Ascension was misogynistic over a trophy. It would be physically impossible for me to facepalm any harder than I already can, but I'd be willing to give it a try given the levels of stupidity Sessler keeps seething out.

[Nicaragua]

Whoa, everyone needs to chill with the pitch forks a little bit.

i have an intense dislike for Sessler but this video which twists what he tweeted into calling the gaming community "mass murdering f**kheads" is total crap - thats not what he said.

he said that the gamer community has become intolerant, and that intolerance has matched the intolerance of those people who are very intolerant indeed - ie taliban-esque intolerant nuts.

Thats not the same as saying we are "mass murdering f**kheads"

There is plenty of reasons to hate sessler with the crap he actually does say, lets not twist shit just to jump on the hate train.

DragonKnight - this is the very sensationalist, tabloid, word-spining nonsense that you usually rally against.

[DragonKnight]

Please. He literally compared gamers to being worse than the kinds of psychopaths that buy chemical weapons. Those are his words you can see in his tweet. The youtuber that made the video admitted to embellishment, and that was his point. Adam Sessler exaggerated heavily, and his reasoning is weak. It's just one example of how he has frequent Twitter meltdowns over non-issues.

This can't be called sensationalist when Adam said what he did and claimed embarrassment for the industry because of it. Sensationalist would be if his words were vague, and then twisted to have a meaning that didn't exist.

Word for word though...

"I think chemical weapons dealers have a more tolerable consumer base than videogames."

What kind of people buy chemical weapons? Psychopaths, power-mad dictators, essentially the most evil or vile kind of people to exist and Adam Sessler says that gamers are worse than those kinds of people.

He said that. How is the video sensationalist if the embellishment is actually quite minor/tame compared to the source material?

Also, I only said that the video was the reason behind the blog. It pointed this out to me, but I went to his tweet before I posted this blog and found that there wouldn't have even been a need for embellishment given what his tweet actually said.

[Nicaragua]

He's talking specifically about tolerance -not killing people, not being a power mad dictator - tolerance. We both know its a hot topic in recent gaming news with all the "Marcus Beer: Blowfish" incident so there is a context for what he is saying.

That video is taking it out of context, twisting it, and exagerating it into something absurd that can be used as a tabloid headline -"Adam Sessler calls all gamers mass murdering f**kheads".

Thats complete crap in my opinion. Twisted, tabloid, sensationalist crap designed to get hits and provoke a big reaction.

If you think the original tweet is as bad as what it was embellished into then to be honest i have no argument for that. People will see what they want to see but i am surprised at your lack of objectivity.

[DragonKnight]

It doesn't matter if he's talking about tolerance or killing. Swap out chemical weapons buyers for KKK members, or homophobes, and does it sound any better?

The point is that he compared gamers to the kind of sick, mentally unstable, or evil people that want to have things that cause painful death. Whether that was to say that gamers want to kill, or gamers are as mentally unstable as those kinds of people, it's still out of line and uncalled for.

Adam brought all of this on himself and there wasn't much embellishment needed to make his tweet a bad one.

[MacDonagh]

Interesting blog DK but I would like to address a couple of points. Sessler's assertion with comparing chemical weapons' customers being more tolerant to the gamer fanbase is not equivalent to comparing gamers to psychopaths. There seems to be an incredible lack of self-control which is baffling considering that the average age of gamers is 30.

Gamers have gotten increasingly intolerant of any level of criticism that is either aimed at their hobby or at themselves and it's understandable. The internet has caused the playground arguments to fully crossover in all it's improper nature and it's utterly shameful.

Instead of having constructive dialogue or debate; it's reduced to nothing more than point-scoring, non-sequitur and reductio ad absurdium because the gaming audience is too immature to allow for the medium to be taken seriously. The same can also be said for gaming journalism because it's not so much that it's journalism; as it's more akin to fanzines or at worst consumer catalogues for the masses to jump on to due to arbitrary scores.

What really gets me about this whole "Resolutiongate" thing is that it's over two derivative FPSs that should be beneath the notice of most self-respecting gamers. Although, it is rather galling to me that both consoles are struggling to hit 1080p, 60fps (XboxOne COD Ghosts, PS4 Battlefield 4) despite the PC architecture that was supposed to make programming for the consoles easier.

[DragonKnight]

"Sessler's assertion with comparing chemical weapons' customers being more tolerant to the gamer fanbase is not equivalent to comparing gamers to psychopaths."

It is though. There are only certain types of people who want to buy chemical weapons. Comparing gamers to them in any way, whether it be tolerance or something else, is still comparing gamers to evil and twisted people. Tolerance is just the buzzword but the fact is that he compared a demographic of MILLIONS of people, all of them, to a group of people who are looking for things to cause painful deaths. There's no "good" in that, no justification, no way to say "yeah but, he meant like this.."

"Gamers have gotten increasingly intolerant of any level of criticism that is either aimed at their hobby or at themselves and it's understandable."

Gamers are also attacked constantly by gaming, and non-gaming, media. Sessler compared gamers to chemical weapons buyers, but even disregarding that how many times are gamers told they're ticking time bombs just waiting to shoot up a school, or a movie theatre, or that they condone the oppression of women? And even disregarding all of that, if this is about gamers being intolerant of criticism, that's still a load of bull. Adam is upset because people called him out on his hypocrisy. That's what people were upset about. His downplaying of something he previously said was important and should be standard. He's playing a victim card.

Gaming discussion is no different than the kind of discussion that goes on for any hobby. If you think the gaming audience is too immature to have reasoned and logical discourse about criticism, then seek out any forums about soccer, american football, hockey, baseball, cars, movies, music, it's all there. "Rap sucks," "Shut up country music fantard," "Go pimp some hoes rap loser." These discussions are everywhere, happening between all kinds of people of all ages all the time. Gaming is just a lot more noticeable because it's a young medium that only recently became more mainstream.

At the end of the day, Adam's comparison was wrong, uncalled for, and due to the fact that he himself can't handle being called out for his hypocrisy. He thinks too highly of his own opinion and that's where his meltdowns originate.

[Sleet]

"and due to the fact that he himself can't handle being called out for his hypocrisy. He thinks too highly of his own opinion and that's where his meltdowns originate."

Its funny because thats how i picture you - constantly on the verge of a meltdown, feverishly writing overblown blogs about non-issues and then filling the comments sections with quote/paragraph/quote/paragrap h of your fanatical blinkered rantings.

[Meep]

You sure have a hard-on for anything Adam Sessler says. Anytime Adam says something controversial or just bad, I can be sure you are writing a blog about it. Yes I do think he was being hypocritical about the whole resolution debate (which it could have been avoided if he explained himself more clearly and refereed back to his original video). Also why the hell are you going so in-depth on the whole chemical weapons tweet? The tweet with the whole chemical weapons thing was just that, a tweet. Some people take everything so personal. He was obviously referring to people who probably harassed him of the hypocrisy. Also Calling him Madam Sessler (Or making insults in general) makes your point carry less weight to me.

[MacDonagh]

@Dragonknight "There are only certain types of people who want to buy chemical weapons. Comparing gamers to them in any way, whether it be tolerance or something else, is still comparing gamers to evil and twisted people."

We'll agree to disagree on that but there is one thing that chemical weapons' customers can be happy about and it's that they actually get what they pay for whereas gamers have to pay out more money for add-ons, DLC etc.

"Gamers are also attacked constantly by gaming, and non-gaming, media. Sessler compared gamers to chemical weapons buyers, but even disregarding that how many times are gamers told they're ticking time bombs just waiting to shoot up a school, or a movie theatre, or that they condone the oppression of women?"

I understand the frustration of gamers when it comes to how the mainstream media seeks to heap blame upon the gaming medium. Both TV and newsprint are reaching obsolescence and need to bash gaming at every turn because it's continually stealing their market share. TV and newsprint actually have a much more active role in indirectly influencing would-be killers than gaming because they go into lurid detail into how a killer planned his crime, what he wore, what weapons were used etc. Unfortunately, they have yet to take responsibility for their continual perpetuation of influencing potential killers and I doubt that will ever happen.

The way that the gaming media tackle particular issues like sexism is ridiculously juvenile, lacking in fully-formed opinion or facts. Basically it's all become very Kotaku with every mainstream gaming site making mountains out of molehills, belittling fanbases with legitimate grievances, or launch obnoxious attacks on developers.

"If you think the gaming audience is too immature to have reasoned and logical discourse about criticism, then seek out any forums about soccer, american football, hockey, baseball, cars, movies, music, it's all there"

That is more of a symptom of the internet age more than anything else. The lack of accountability allows for idiots with no self-control to say whatever they want to say, even if it's bereft of any value whatsoever. I always remember the first time that I was aware of gamers losing their minds was when Kojima was getting death threats over MGS 2 back in 2001. I was actually really shocked by it because I thought it was the greatest game that I've ever played/experienced. I still do actually and it's a great shame that so many people completely missed the point behind the game.

The closest comparison gamers share with a fanbase would probably "music" fans or more pointedly; metal fans. The amount of stupidity is so overwhelming; I don't even want to be associated with that fanbase and I'm getting that exact same feeling when it comes to gamers. Perhaps I'm an elitist contrarian but it's difficult to sympathise with a group of people that send death threats over something as trivial as a video game.

[DestinyHeroDoomlord]

Entitlement... entitlement everywhere...

[TransientDreamer]

"Yes, there are many individuals who use colourful language and threats, but this aspect isn't new or isolated to gaming."
'It is what it is' is not a valid argument. Certainly not for this type of immature and disrespectful behavior.

[LoveOfTheGame]

First off, can not and does not are two different things. COD ghosts does not run 1080/60FPS, that does not necessarily mean it can't.

Second I agree with the fact that people like Sessler and Tara feel self-entitled and don't really deserve the things they believe they should have, i.e. special privileges and immunity. But, Sleet is right, you do tend to burst out in the same manner as they do, although not as often, and then write these overblown blogs in which, not all the time but quite often, you harass the people trying to counter-argument.

[justSumDood]

Perhaps if everyone just stopped referring to them all as "journalists"

[thebudgetgamer]

Gamers should also get over themselves.

[chaosdemon09]

This was all true. Thing is I think he's biting his tongue about the xbone. I don't think he's allowed to speak his mind about the xbone as much as he wants to. Remember his twitter rant and everyone thought he was going to quit? Or be Fired? Guess he realized its either go with the flow or get blackballed by a major player. Maybe once other reviewers that aren't tied to the evil mircosoft say how much the xbone sucks...Adam will be able to speak his mind. I think he got neutered by his bosses hence the flip flop.

[Garrison]

Great blog, loved it and I agree with everything said.

I think the fanboy wars really got out of hand this last gen. The hate the ps3 got at the beginning of the gen by the media is unlike anything I've ever seen in any medium. How sony has bounced back from all that is the best comeback I've ever seen in gaming. The doritocracy has been around for a while now, it's only that now people are actually starting to notice it.

I remember when according to the media all sony could do was roll over and die. The xbox brigade (Either paid or non paid to be fanboys) invaded the gaming media and now since the tide has changed the theme is like:

http://26.media.tumblr.com/...

[MadLad]

95% of the time, Adam Sessler's opinions hit home and are something worth paying mind to.
I hate how we are treating that 5% as defining the man as a whole.

I still have much respect for the man.

[supes_24]

I was watching a game on twitch.tv last night and Adam was sitting next to the person playing the game and commenting. He was such a moronic douche bag I felt awkward watching him! He was trying to help his friend find a key, every time his buddy mentioned something about the game Adam would say "oh yeah, try going there for the key" after his buddy already mentioned it but he did it in his loud crybaby voice that irritated me to the bone. It was beyond horrible and he would scream like a lil bitch at the scary parts.

[izumo_lee]

Totally agree with the direction 'gaming journalism' is headed & it isn't the direction that we want to see them going.

Remember 7 years ago when the PS3 was launched? Remember the backlash & no problem of kicking it when it was down the gaming media was throwing at it. Sure some of it was justified but the amount of negativity towards the early days of the PS3 was insane. Xbone fans think that they are being made fun of now.....imagine what PS3 fans were enduring during those times, 10X more ridicule than we are seeing now.

When the PS3 early multiplatform games were being compared to XB360 the gaming media had no problem making a BIG deal about how bad PS3 games were. Look at all the Lens of Truth articles back then but funny we haven't seen anything from them since the PS4 games are being shown. Digital Foundary would recommend a 360 game cause it has minor frame rate advantages over the PS3.

Now a more expensive system with less of a hardware advantage over one that is cheaper no longer matters? We gamers buy a system for the best way to experience games the best it can be made. Frame rate & resolution were such a big deal when the 360 had the advantage over the PS3 but that stuff no longer matters?

So Xbox fans welcome to how PS3 fans felt 7 years ago. What goes around comes around. I guess PS3 fans & 360 fans are even now.

[QThornton]

I agree with your article Dragonknight.

Sadly, popular gaming media journalism is a mere reflection of the sorry excuse for news journalism in America and other countries. Journalism itself has been dumbed-down. There's a handful of journalists that actually do amazing work.

I didn't really consider myself a journalist because I thought I had to have a degree in it, but you don't necessarily need a degree in journalism to be a journalist. (I have a Bachelor's though)

I think the real problem is some people calling themselves journalists when they really aren't. They are more like critics. The journalist's main goal is to uncover what isn't publicly known that MUST be made known to the public. Rehashing the same information that PR people posted isn't journalism.

Then there's the natural journalist. I have experience interviewing lots of different people, collecting lots of personal and non-personal info so I know the stress of interviewing. And then you have to apply the knowledge into something that your clients/consumers can understand. Another stress.

Recently I interviewed my first indie game dev. It was mega fun but I asked lots of questions that really threw off the team. It was excellent. I walked away feeling like a real journalist. Not too many people can have those experiences so I won't say that Adam Seesler's job is a joke or anything but I do agree that journalistic integrity needs to make its way back home.