What do you mean by game media? Game reviews, announcements etc? Or things like Facebook, Twitter?
Official game media tend to produce hype, and as an experienced gamer I know that not everything will be as great as promised. I like to watch announcement videos, and read info about planned features etc. But I do not let these things get me too excited :)
On the other side, if I'm interested in a game, I will get it and try it myself, regardless of reviews or other things I may read or hear.
Sarim said:What do you mean by game media? Game reviews, announcements etc? Or things like Facebook, Twitter?
Official game media tend to produce hype, and as an experienced gamer I know that not everything will be as great as promised. I like to watch announcement videos, and read info about planned features etc. But I do not let these things get me too excited :)
On the other side, if I'm interested in a game, I will get it and try it myself, regardless of reviews or other things I may read or hear.
Game media is any company that dedicates itself to covering gaming news, events, write-ups, interviews etc. it exists on multiple platforms, including websites, forums, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Twitch and so on. Good examples would be IGN, PC Gamer, MMORPG.com, MassivleyOP and the list goes on.
I dont bother with FB/Twitter/Twitch/You Tube unless it is directly from the developer. i do read all interviews on each site that you mentioned. Reviewers are usually garbage. I have found that very few reviewers can accurately asses a game to my tastes. Most play the game for a couple of hours and call it a review. One excepion - for those that remember was a.k.a Mikeb Phony. That guy nailed every game for its strengths and weaknesses and was entertaining to boot!
When I read a piece I have to take into account the source and how reliable it has been in the past for me. For games I have a casual interest in media may play a greater role. For games that I am really serious about I like to find out every scrap of info; for those games I am usually up on most information which comes from directly the source (developer).
Zarriya said:I dont bother with FB/Twitter/Twitch/You Tube unless it is directly from the developer. i do read all interviews on each site that you mentioned. Reviewers are usually garbage. I have found that very few reviewers can accurately asses a game to my tastes. Most play the game for a couple of hours and call it a review. One excepion - for those that remember was a.k.a Mikeb Phony. That guy nailed every game for its strengths and weaknesses and was entertaining to boot!
When I read a piece I have to take into account the source and how reliable it has been in the past for me. For games I have a casual interest in media may play a greater role. For games that I am really serious about I like to find out every scrap of info; for those games I am usually up on most information which comes from directly the source (developer).
Yeah nice Zarriya, I tend to be the same, game media can be good for early access reviews for extra inside information since they get to demo games before us but other than that, I read their articles and take it with a grain of salt and usually spend more time reading the comments from gamers who don't hold back and are usually more honest ;)
Personally I would say the two most influential types of media for me are youtube gameplay videos and dedicated preview articles that are more about listing features than telling the authors opinions about the game. I try to avoid the hype and just make a decision based on what I know I'm looking for.
ArchMageSalamar said:Personally I would say the two most influential types of media for me are youtube gameplay videos and dedicated preview articles that are more about listing features than telling the authors opinions about the game. I try to avoid the hype and just make a decision based on what I know I'm looking for.
That sounds like a very sensible approach :)
For me its web sites like Betawatch, Death by Beta, Massively etc, then go look at the offical company game web site, then go look at utube, then search their official forums to see if there is any activity and the tone of the members.Then see when pre alpha etc starts and save them on my bookmarks.
For instance the only 3 games I'm really interested in the long term are:
1) Pantheon
2) The Saga of Lucimia
3) https://www.revivalgame.com/
Hoping one of these will keep my attention for the next few years. Also do look out for alpha / beta invites on the web currently playing Atlas Reactor and Project Gorgon.
So basically its Reviews and utube...
Tru
x
Just FYI. Stay away from anyone who gets "paid" to review games. Angry Joe, IGN, etc all have the reputation of artificially creating drama on their sites because they know negative reviews garner more ad income through volume of views then good reviews ever go...
Definition of "click bait" advertising.
Tuhart said:For me its web sites like Betawatch, Death by Beta, Massively etc, then go look at the offical company game web site, then go look at utube, then search their official forums to see if there is any activity and the tone of the members.Then see when pre alpha etc starts and save them on my bookmarks.
For instance the only 3 games I'm really interested in the long term are:
1) Pantheon
2) The Saga of Lucimia
3) https://www.revivalgame.com/
Hoping one of these will keep my attention for the next few years. Also do look out for alpha / beta invites on the web currently playing Atlas Reactor and Project Gorgon.
So basically its Reviews and utube...
Tru
x
Yeah nice Tru :)
Big game media sources like IGN, MMORPG.com, etc are always a last resort for me. I'll only peruse those sites if I'm really digging for any info at all on particular games. Other than that, they are 100% unreliable. They're like the MTV of video games. How can I trust in a "gaming" site that praises run-of-the-mill garbage like Call of Duty, WoW, Wildstar, -insert any generic title here-.
Sometimes you find little nuggets of legit gaming information, but it's usually drowned out in a chorus of mass marketable drivel.
I think game media is pretty important. I found Pantheon from a suggested Facebook ad that linked to the article about the seed funding. It sparked my interest and got me here. I don't have a lot of free time to browse endlessly searching for games so I let game media weed through a lot of it.
Once I am interested in a game I will gather most of my information from the official site and forums. I will keep updated on articles in game media as they are usually the ones getting a first look at the game and mechanics. That being said, I do take reviews with a grain of salt. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it doesn't always align with mine. I won't necessarily toss a game because some writer had a bad play session, but several bad reviews can impact rather I will pre-purchase a game. Too many worried reviewers and I will usually hold off until release and I see some actual player reviews. It's a strategy that works well for me and has saved me from a lot of wasted money.
It also worries me when a devloper shies away from game media. If there is no information available I assume they have something to hide.
Once in release and I have some personal in game experience there is not much that game media can do to sway my opinion.
I mainly use media to see if it is a type of game that I would enjoy and then let me first hand-experience be the deciding factor. Much like other forms of entertainment reviews for movies, music etc. There's been many movies that have received bad critic reviews that I've thoroughly enjoyed.
For games like Pantheon that I'm extremely invetested in... well.. that's different :).
Kilsin said:Sarim said:What do you mean by game media? Game reviews, announcements etc? Or things like Facebook, Twitter?
Official game media tend to produce hype, and as an experienced gamer I know that not everything will be as great as promised. I like to watch announcement videos, and read info about planned features etc. But I do not let these things get me too excited :)
On the other side, if I'm interested in a game, I will get it and try it myself, regardless of reviews or other things I may read or hear.
Game media is any company that dedicates itself to covering gaming news, events, write-ups, interviews etc. it exists on multiple platforms, including websites, forums, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Twitch and so on. Good examples would be IGN, PC Gamer, MMORPG.com, MassivleyOP and the list goes on.
No. The Game Media does not influence me one bit.
Very few MMORPG "Web Sites" are legit most are like MMORPG.com... an atrocity for what is suppose to be RPG. None of these "sites" are grass roots or in the sense of the consumer/player, Or gamer..
These sites are NOT the news media, and even Anadtech over the years has ben commercialized, etc..
So has the Game Media. Endless games sites, are endless..
What retailers do not understand stand is, that we don't care anymore. We have our own network of friends to discuss these things. Good games will be good games, most poor attempts will flop, because WE can spread the misdeeds of these Devs, faster than they can correct them. People are so over marketed, that they don't care.
Most reviews are candy walks.. nothing of substance.
An good MMO starts with a core group of fans & spreads out from there.
A true & proper MMO has to have an entire envisioned world about it, so that One can imagine themselves wondering about it, immersed in their Character.
Nearly none of these Media Sites conveys that.
MMOs are kind of a special case. In order to really know a MMO, you must spend more than just a few hours or few days in it.
Most "journalists" in game media just look at the game, half of them play it to level 5 or so, and feel themselves qualified to write in-depth articles about the game.
That might work with, let's say, Diablo 1-2-3.
It certainly does not work with a MMO. I have seen any number of MMO "reviews" where it was clear that the reviewer / journalist / blogger does not really understand what a MMO is as a concept, and that he doesn't even grasp the fact that he doesn't understand it.
Based on that, and specifically for MMOs, I don't trust any reviews by game media. I would only trust player reviews, from players who played well-known MMOs for a long time, including raid content, and who then played the MMO being reviewed up to and including at least some of the raid content in that MMO.
Or for a first-impression, if they played that MMO for at least a month. That's ok for a "first impression" review, but for a complete one, I only trust those who actually played the content being reviewed.