Redefining Mainstream Media
November 29th, 2008The mainstream press has a poor reputation in gaming circles; the games it covers are either the subject of controversy or extreme banality, GTAs or the latest Wii title (covered more for its console’s success than its own merits). I was surprised, then, to look at the New York Times buyer’s guide list for video games and discover that the list is pretty much as any gamer might piece together.
Sure, there are some oddities - Civ Revolution, Wii Fit - but each can be argued for inclusion and all the hallmarks of greatness are there: Dead Space, Fallout, Fable 2, Gears of War. Whether this matches a merging of mainstream and hardcore interest, or whether the press is simply getting better at reporting on games is anyone’s guess, but something seems to be shifting.
Posted in Geoff, Journalism |
November 30th, 2008 at 12:57 am
You may be right, but most of those are also the titles that got oodles of marketing dollars thrown at them and are therefore among the most visible. We may just be seeing the best games get the best marketing campaigns, which doesn’t always happen.