Anita Sarkeesian on Colbert Killed GamerGate and Made Gaming’s Future Brighter

Ricky from Twinfinite writes; "Anita Sarkeesian and Stephen Colbert may have taken GamerGate to the cleaners last night on national television, but the appearance could be the start of a brighter future for gaming."

[GodGinrai]

I think the author gives her too much credit. I am getting tired of these feminazis and SWJs.

[PeaSFor]

dem professional victims.

...thats how they get attention, go wonder why they fake death threats to get more publicity to preach their misandrist ideology.

its ok to be a feminist, but no need to be an eternal victim as "profession"..

[Glgh]

And you do have proof that they are fake threats?
I mean, they could be, yes. But declaring them as fake in such a declamative way is way beyond your knowledge.

Additionally, calling them feminazis is part of the overall problem. The "suffix" nazi is being used in such a sadly light fashion nowadays.

[morganfell]

And do you have proof they are real? Remember, the burden of proof is on the accuser.

[00]

people like anita can only cry wolf all the time and there going to find out happens if you keep on doing that soon.

[Abriael]

@Glgh: I don't know if they're false or real. That's for the cops to decide. What I do know is that it's hard for me to take seriously someone whose only argument seems to be demonizing and accusing the other side to be "evil."

Personally, I receive rather dreadful insults, personal attacks and often physical treats almost every time I post an article perceived negative for this or that platform. It comes with the journalistic territory in every field.

I surely don't use those as an excuse for not needing to support my arguments, or for demonstrating that I'm right because those that dislike what I say are evil.

[radler]

@Glgh

You can Google her name along with 'fake death threats' to find some compelling evidence, some of which is provided by her local police department who were utterly confused by the whole ordeal.

She stated she'd contacted them and that they'd said certain things, yet when questioned they basically debunked everything she said and closed by requesting contact details for her so they could find out what was happening themselves.

She's milking this whole thing to further her career, and it's a shame to see it working. She's been interviewed by the BBC and now Colbert, and nobody has questioned her about this stuff at all.

[ipach]

pretty sure the university was the one that got the latest threat, not her. you think that school in Utah is faking it too for the sake of attention and publicity? and how do you explain all the hundred if not thousands of comments and tweets and everything else?

so many people have it formed in their minds that she and others like her have such a disruptive agenda and are using unethical ways to achieve it - that's all fair to believe i suppose. but to invalidate these threats against her as falsified or fake takes a bit more imagination or ignorance.

and this whole, 'looks what she said in 2010! see! a fake!' bit. i grew up playing NES and SNES like mad and was PC gaming Doom and Descent and Dune 2 and what have you through much of the nineties. Then basically went the entire first couple 3D console generations barely playing anything. Finally got a PS3 around its launch and only after MW4 and UC2 came out did I really start getting into regular gaming. for much of the last decade I probably would've said I'm no way a 'gamer.' but hell, now I enjoy chasing platinums and building PCs and commenting on n4g for crying out loud. just because people weren't active gamers for a time in their lives doesn't make them unable to become one in the future - and certainly doesn't deny anyone the ability or privilege to share critique about games either. yeah, anita is probably not as hardcore a gamer as you. but even still, I know i learned a few concepts or two from her stuff. maybe because I didn't know about all the kickstarter drama and just watched one I didn't think much of it and moved on to a smooth mcgroove video or something. and then bam, who knew, this lady is like a devil or something. so strange to me, all this reviling and disgust people feel towards her.

[Amuro]

let's think about what separates a professional victim from a real victim.

A real victim goes to the authorities. There police, FBI or whatever will tell you to not tell anybody about it to not incite copycats.

A professional victim uses those threats to prove a point. And why he does that? Because that is his job.

And then we have this: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

And this: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[NewMonday]

another week another "gamergarte is dead" claim

[FriedGoat]

Wow, the desperation from the gaming media must be pretty big if they're getting SJWs on TV now.

This is only going to make things worse.

[theshonen8899]

Do you guys really believe these are fake death threats? I'm glad that you aren't hostile enough to write such things but I know for a fact that there are hundreds of people who hate her enough to kill her. I don't care where you stand on this issue, death threats should be a zero tolerance policy.

[Baka-akaB]

But that's the issue , death threats are already a big deal enough , without people making them up to lool good .

I dont care if you received a tons of true ones , once you start lying about one or a few of those and manufacture them , you've lost any credibility in my eyes . On top of the often poor arguments used when it comes to the real subjects .

Now he we are discussing those threats instead of discussing her arguments or lack there of

[abstractel]

I could only watch less than 5 minutes of that before I had to turn it off. Appreciating female beauty does not objectify them as this woman claims. Just as women, and yes women do, appreciate good looking men with great bodies. There's nothing wrong with that.

Of course it's wrong to harass someone however, but that isn't an issue of gender. That's certain individuals who are being assholes just as any person, female or male, can be an absolute asshole.

I don't see today's games as being harassing towards women -- except a couple of exceptions. Most games these days have strong female characters. Men look flawless with perfect bodies in games, so do women. Tell me the last time you played as a non-handsome fat guy saving the day? Same with women, they are idealized versions physically.

I can't stand her. Not because she's a "strong individual" but because I feel she's close minded and perpetuates rather than helps the segregation between men and women. I want an equal in a girlfriend/wife. It would be nice if she liked my physical appearance, and I would like it if she appreciated me liking her physical appearance. But it's just one aspect of a human being.

Can't stand this gamergate thing. It started as one thing and now it's something completely different and has completely blown up. Lost a bit of respect for Colbert for not arguing better as his satirical persona.

[paul-p1988]

@Abriael you get 'Physical treats' do you? I like the sound of that :P

[donthate]

For the record, I am for both causes, just not the extreme meaning more equal representation in games of sexes is necessary, but with developers having free choices to make the game they want without being persecuted.

In the same way, ethics should be upheld in gaming journalism, but acknowledge corruption will always happen!

morgan:

Only an idiot hell bent on ignoring the truth would ignore the fact that regardless of how we feel about people's causes, it is pretty damn clear Anite or anyone involved is receiving real threats on all sides.

The proof is in front of you, unless you close your eyes and shut your ears like a 5-year old because it doesn't fit your agenda.

[morganfell]

dont hate aka ms defender,

Everyone realizes at least some of the threats are genuine. But only an idiot would think that they are all factual or of the degree this known liar and sensationalist has made them out to be. But then again you have repeatedly demonstrated an inability to deal with reality.

[Neckbear]

Anita didn't even good on the show, ridiculously avoiding some key questions and making a ridicule out of herself (for anyone who expected a serious discussion, at the very least), I don't see how that made the "future" brighter in any way.

[Mithan]

And I am getting tired of the death threats and other shit from so called gamers.

[2cents]

This is basically saying, Yes, the gamers are not worthy of a voice nor opinion, UNLESS... it is that of hate and misogyny. The End.

The main positive of this, as others have hinted to is that now more non-gamer people may now look into what gamergate is about and find far more under the surface than the press is letting on. Possibly an avenue to actually get some real development on the MULTIPLE issues involving #Gamergate. Not just the 'Disgusting Troll' epidemic.

[MrSwankSinatra]

To the cleaners? If you equate third grade level remarks to that of the cleaners, sure I guess. Otherwise, no.....

[ShaunCameron]

Brighter for who exactly?

[Menkyo]

Corrupt journos, SJW and industry insiders. The problem is she did nothing to kill anything hopefully she just drives more people to the gamersgate cause;ending corruption,cronyism and nepotism in the industry.

[WeAreLegion]

I never thought I'd see Colbert talk to a guest without having done his research. What the heck?

[-Foxtrot]

I'd thought he'd support GamerGate, he's kind of a sellout in my opinion.

[Concertoine]

He's uninformed as to either side. This is not political at all and i think its ridiculous that shes even on his show

[-Foxtrot]

@Concertoine

I feel like money is involved

You don't think, for some crazy reason, that journalists or some higher person paid to get her on the show to try and stop GamerGate and even got Colbert to support her

I mean this whole thing is getting pretty deep, god knows how far down the rabbit hole it goes.

[Harold_Finch]

Does anyone even get how Steven Colbert acts?

I'm not even from America and i know he is a comedian and an actor putting on the persona of the typical American political pundit.

He knows exactly what she's their for, she's HIS guest.

[00]

just because you say something over and over doesn't make it true in fact gamergate has close to 2 million tweets in just this month and continues to get more and more.

also the people against gamergate have said it was killed multiple times over the past 2 months

[annoyedgamer]

Make a lie large enough and repeat is often enough poople will believe it. Adolph Hitler

[00]

these people are incompetent at everything they do it's not going to work.

[comebackkid9891]

I believe it was Goebbels but I digress...

[Menkyo]

Laughable

[bleedsoe9mm]

i'm not for hate or threats for anyone because of their opinion , but i'm not sure i like the type of gaming that is in Anita Sarkeesian bright future .

[-Foxtrot]

Apparently if they didn't get found out, Zoe and Anita were planning to change the term "Gamer" into something they had created which was apparently going to be pro female aswell....despite the fact Gamer means just a bloody person regardless of gender who plays games.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

regardless of what side Colbert takes....this gives national attention to Gamersgate which should make many happy.

[rainslacker]

While I agree, Colbert is usually much better than this when it comes to issues. He generally is pretty fair to both sides, but can tear down rhetoric and hyperbole faster than any real journalist out there. This interview to me was one of those ones where he just doesn't care about the issue, so it's a fluff piece for him. There's a huge difference in Colbert's interview style between those fluff interviews and the ones that have serious issues behind them.

I have a feeling that Jon Stewart would have ripped Anita Sarkeesian apart. He has some seriously hard interviews when people try to talk political BS on his shows, and he usually does a lot of research to know what all the talking points are.

Honestly, I don't really know what to think about the interview though. It's like he wanted to go further with it, but backed down for some reason. Like he had the hard questions ready to go, but decided against it. Very disappointing, as I generally really enjoy his work.

Edit@below

I think he backed down because he just doesn't care about the issue, or his people didn't research it enough. Colbert in general I would see as a pro-GG in principal. He's spent over a decade calling out unethical journalist and politicians, so it's not a stretch for him to do it with GG. The only difference I can see is that the issue just isn't that important to the mainstream except for the tabloid sensationalism that it provides to the mainstream presses narrative that gamers are terrible people.

[ShaunCameron]

He backed down so that he doesn't get accused of misogyny or at best being unsympathetic to the anti-GG cause.

[Baka-akaB]

to be fair he had to deal with ludicrous attacks and accusations of the sort already , not so long ago . While he completely ridiculous his assaillant , i'm guessing he isnt that keen on getting a repeat of that kind of crap , so he barely touch the subject .

If anything he sounded quite ironic and as if making fun of her "serious" reaction

[rainslacker]

Yeah, I remember that. Was a few weeks ago I believe. But even still, Colbert has never really backed down from stuff like that, no matter how much controversy it brings. He usually faces it head on in fact.

I agree, his questions were ironic, and if I had to guess, I would say he thought this women was a tool. For my part, I just wish he had been a little more persistent in his follow up questions to really trip her up to show what I'm sure he(and most people) know what she's doing, and exactly what kind of person she is. He just never got to that point for the sake of humor.

[il-JumperMT]

Anita is a professional CON ARTIST. Nothing more.

PS. You have idea how many death threats I get daily on DOTA2?

[Glgh]

LOL, DOta 2 is a hate factory :P

[ToneDeezy]

So that makes them ok? You should lament all death threats, not try to hand-wave the ones against people you don't like.

[-Foxtrot]

LOL...look at these sad writters kissing Anitas arse

She's a con artist who hates video games, said so herself....how can you support her

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Jesus blood Christ

I can't believe Colbert brought her on, I mean what the hell.

GamerGate has not been killed...hell most of the shit she was spewing out made no sense.

[Riderz1337]

This one is even better, albeit longer.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[-Foxtrot]

Nice

I find it funny how on the FRONT PAGE of N4G we have two "Anita killed GameGate" articles

More will follow and if they do then I'm sorry but that's not a coincidence

They are in collaboration with each other and smaller sites are probably following for more safer hits.

[killbillvolume12]

roflmao so what exactly were those 3 games bahahah. Well done ;-)

[DanielGearSolid]

welp, i'm done with twinfinite

[ToneDeezy]

Sorry to see you go! We love games and gamers, we just can't support a movement that creates so much hate.

Hopefully you'll change your mind someday.

[-Foxtrot]

If you really love games and gamers then you would do your bloody research and realise GamerGamer is NOT ABOUT HATE

The only reason I can think of for you guys to take the Anti GamerGate side is either

1) Your part of the corruption...you've done shady things yourself and don't want to support a side you know are out to get you

or

2) Your shit scared because supporting GamerGate might mean less stuff for your site. Whether it's hits, exclusive info, contacts etc

Hopefully you'll change your mind someday and not support a con artist who DOESN'T love games and gamers.

[ToneDeezy]

-Foxtrot,

I didn't say it was ABOUT hate, I said it CREATES hate.

Every time I've used the #Gamergate hashtag on Twitter, without fail, the people who respond to me have timelines full of hatred and trolling.

Neither of your two reasons apply. We are gamers, and love games so much we write about them EVERY DAY for basically no money.

Whether she actually loves games or not is irrelevant, considering many of #Gamergates most outspoken "leaders" on Twitter are people with a proven track-record of mocking gamers.

Nero, Mike Cernovich, Christine Sommers, none of them are "gamers" or play video games (or at least, they didn't start until they saw the opportunity that Gamergate provided them). Within the last year, Nero and Mike have both been on record calling gamers "lonely virgins".

I'm all out of bubbles, but if you want to continue this conversation elsewhere, I'm always open to discussion and seriously just want gamers to get along: Tony (at) Twinfinite.net

I hope this isn't the last time we speak, happy gaming!

[rainslacker]

Everything creates hate on the internet...even cute kitten videos get hate.

By your reasoning, you can't support equal representation in games either, because that movement certainly creates hate as well.

Hate is a by-product of change, and it's been exacerbated by the internet where everyone can be heard and seen, regardless of if they're worth being heard or seen. It doesn't help that anti-GG side goes out of it's way to point out the hate, instead of just sticking to the issue at hand. If they had done that from the beginning, GG wouldn't be a thing anymore, and a serious discourse may have followed.

The GG movement is about ethics in journalism. Nothing more, nothing less. It's had to try and become more than it was to try and prove that it's not a hate movement, but that narrative rest solely on the anti-GG side. GG goes out of it's way to denounce the hate, but you wouldn't know that unless you actually dig deep into it all.

[annoyedgamer]

So you dislike GG saying creates hate but side with a redical left wing feminist group that does the same? Seems legit.

[ShaunCameron]

So you oppose Gamergate due to the hate it creates yet support feminism despite the hate it creates. Okay.

[Deadpool616]

@ToneDeezy
Hi. I'm Deadpool616. You may remember me from such N4G article comments as...

"Zoe Quinn: GamerGate must be condemned"

"Dragon Age: Inquisition Lead Writer Defends Anita Sarkeesian's Right to Criticize Games"

"2 minus 3 equals Negative FUN!"

I just want you to "Listen & Bo-lieve" for a moment. #Gamergate is Gamers (people of all walks of life) questioning the media. Harassment has gone both ways in this discussion...or attempt at a discussion. There has hardly been any actual discussion about this topic. Just deflecting, sidetracking and media fear mongering. Media stomping out any and all who dare questions them. They say "Gamers are misogynist!" and that was proven wrong when women stood up against that only to be called "sockpuppets" (which is greatly marginalized by the opposition). They say #Gamergate is oppressing women from being in the game industry and yet for some strange reason #Gamergate helped fund a indiegogo (The Young Fine Capitalists) to help women get in the industry. They say #Gamergate are just bullies and of course #Gamergate funds an anti-bullying charity (Funny enough the #Gamergate opposition promoted bullying and lost Adobe).

None of this adds up when you take the time to research. Have you ever asked if people disagree with Zoe or Anita because of their actions instead of what they are? They've done some disgusting, misleading things to get ahead and many people see through that. They studied them. They looked at their past actions, interactions, and influences. They have been weighed & measured. We know who they are AS HUMAN-BEINGS. You think the Gamers were always against them just because they're women? Gamers don't like misinformation and misleading tactics with agenda so willing to take advantage of a school shoot to establish their stance on a subject. Gamers don't like talentless hacks to get praise while actual talent is marginalized. It has nothing to do with being a woman. You don't have to take my word for it. Ask Phil Fish.

[GodGinrai]

Deadpool summed it up perfectly. A lot of deflection and finger pointing.

And the way I see it, EVERYTIME a journo comes out and targets #gamergate, they are spitting in the face of their readership. You spit in the face of EVERY gamer. WE dont like what these people are peddling. We dont like corrupt journos. We dont like devs who use others to get ahead. These things are in bad character no matter what sex you are..and to then refer to gamers as "Mysoginistic man babies", "sexists pigs" and all else..how can sites like, this, expect us to ever really like them again? the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth and i dont go to kotaku, polygon and others who are involved. I see them as two faced rats. And any site that speaks against gamers is getting removed from my favorites list.

[Revolver_X_]

We actually dont need or want your support of GG. The whole point of this is to call journalists to task and be transparent. This is a community movement. Your a journalist. All we want is for you to be transparent. If hateful comments scare you so easily, then you must struggle in this industry. Then, you wanna continue a debate in a forum, where surely you will censor the opposition upon losing the debate. As per normal cop out, you'll cite the trolls as reason for censorship. Even though we all know trolls exist in every topic in every forum. The rhetoric spewed by anti-GG backers is comical. Your clickbait title just shows your predetermined position on the issue. GG Killed? How so? By the questions she half @$$ answered by repeating the same rhetoric? The verbal equivalent of beating a dead horse. Colbert making a joke after every question? Hardly. GG isnt going away. You can wish it all you want. Your mistake is thinking we wanted your support in the first place.

In conclusion, when you write about how GG is about feminism, further pushing the mudslinging propaganda, just remember. We dont forget what GG is actually about. Everyday GG support grows, and the ones you are against, are the ones that keep your website afloat. If you were smart, you would see that.

#GAMERGATE

[animegamingnerd]

seriously what happened on Colbert last night was as effective as #StopGamergate these people are seriously underestimating how loud gamers can be.

[Deadpool616]

Wooooow...and they call me delusional. This very funny stuff.

Next time, make sure you mark this as (satire) in the title. I almost believed you were actually serious for a second. No way any rational person could actually think like this without it being a joke.

I vouched for you to be level Twinfinite. Goodbye.

[leemo19]

Since we got one side of the story, how about getting the other side of the story say Christina Hoff Sommers to explain to Colbert what GG really stands for.

[GetSomeLoGiK]

I'll just post what I posted in the other article because it seems like some people misunderstood what actually happened, like the guy who wrote this article.

"Am I the only one who thinks Colbert was actually being ironic? Seriously, watch it again. Also she couldn't even name three games, dumb bitch and she kept deflecting every question with the same response pretty much (MUH OPRESSION, MUH WOMEN IN GAMES) and never addressed the question in hand (For example when he asked why she doesn't get games she wants to play be made while he can play the games he wants to play. She had no response other than to randomly blame GamerGate)

Colbert actually made a fool of her because he asked really soft questions for the sake of jokes and props which he normally doesn't do and she responded with the same shit every time. This is why you'll never see her in a debate, she can't handle it and she knows it."

[Baka-akaB]

This . he didnt outright made fun of her , but she didnt look empowered and looking smart coming out of the interview

[mochachino]

Despite what Sarkeesian says the majority of popular games these days aren't about saving the princess, they're more about saving the world. And as games largely revolve around killing things there needs to be a catalyst and a villain. Games are very different from movies, most are action fantasies. The basis of game is to live out hero fantasies in the most immersive way possible. The reason the protagonist is most often a young adult to middle aged white male with brown hair is because the majority of the market are young adult to middle aged white males with brown-ish hair.

The same feminist arguments could be applied to elderly people, minorities, homosexuals, and the disabled, etc. The black guy, if in a game, is always your buddy in a secondary role, old people are incapable of saving the world themselves, and the disabled are non-existent. I don't think devs are trying to be "ist" in anyway, but not many people trying to immerse themselves into a character would want to play as a disabled, elderly, asian female.

Right or wrong, it's the same reason they're no games about the special olympics, or all female sports games, etc. The market dictates whose fantasies to appeal to and because they're action oriented, need the hero/villain trope. When appealing to men and eliciting male emotions, they alway use avenge/save the best friend or avenge/save the family to justify the killing. It's not equally representative of all members of society because the market isn't. Not saying that's right, just a financial reality. Funny how no one commends how many games are trying are trying to be as inclusive as possible without alienating the majority of the market.

And shame on all these new agencies for supporting only one side of the debate every time gamergate is mentioned. It clear it's no longer a debate, every person who supported gamergate has now been labeled a misogynist that supports violence against women by the media, although, it's more likely that very few gamergaters actually would. Would it have been hard to have someone dismiss the people making death threats as the extremist minority. A democratic president gets death threats everyday from Republican supporters and vice versa, is every member of that group stereotyped as supporters of violence against the president.

http://www.shamusyoung.com/...

[protocol10]

I cant wait till this all blows up in their faces! This is why gaming as an industry isnt always taken seriously. Doesnt this chick understand that shes dealing with the internet? Death threats, sexist remarks, racist remarks, negativity of every flavor all sound like a tuesday stroll on the world wide web. Maybe we all should go play the victim!

[Gezmoyassine]

The leader of the Feminazis is at it again.She needs to get off her high horse!

[just-joe]

Really?
https://twitter.com/Kookro/...

Also somethings may not be what they seem.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Kot...

[ShaunCameron]

It seems that Colbert went in on her harder that what was televised. I like the follow-up question he asked her after she admitted that video games don't cause violence.

"Then how do they cause misogyny?"