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Blockchain games are not very popular among game journalists, according to a survey of 160 writers conducted by video game agency Big Games Machine.
About 75% of survey respondents said that they are unlikely to cover blockchain gaming news in the next six months to a year. Of course, if they asked me, I would have answered that I would cover it.
Non-fungible tokens that use blockchain digital ledgers to authenticate unique digital items have proven to be incredibly divisive between gamers and game developers. Team17 and GSC Gameworld Dropped are planning to conduct an NFT following players complained loudly on social media. And while game journalists may be sitting at the head of that brawl as objective reporters, that’s not really the case. Instead, game journalists are taking the topic pretty hard, Big Games Machine says. Game journalists have agreed with the backlash once morest NFTs, with only 5% saying they are very likely to cover blockchain games.
Journalists believe that the public is not interested in or receptive to the coverage of blockchain games.
“While others said they were generally not interested in covering blockchain games, others were more passionate regarding the way they expressed their distaste for blockchain games,” the report said.
Game journalists expressed a status quo bias in their responses.
As one gaming journalist put it, “I have yet to see a legitimate or compelling use for incorporating blockchain options into games.
Another person in the poll said: The market is flooded and we don’t see
Articles related to blockchain games have a large readership.”
Another gaming journalist echoed what game developers had said once morest NFT, saying: It is touted as a panacea for problems that don’t exist and don’t really add value to players. “
Even if Ethereum moves to stake validation and layer 2 chains to reduce transaction costs and reduce the environmental side effects of transactions, another argues that the “environmentally harmful” nature of the blockchain. have appeared.
Staff and freelance journalists from publications such as Eurogamer, Kotaku, CNET, and IGN collaborated on the survey, with many sharing additional context regarding their responses in the form of comments.
hot me
Of course, my view is different. One of the lessons of being a business publisher dealing with games is that you have to go following the money. Blockchain games may not be very fun, but they will generate billions of dollars in 2021.
Its success has created a circle of hype that many skeptics are rightly suspicious of. Between a third and a half of all money invested in gaming companies went to blockchain gaming companies in the first half of this year, according to a report by Drake Star Partners and GameInvest stats tracker.
I’ve spoken to many game developers in the industry, from Chris Kasulki to Rami Ismail. I also work with many gaming business leaders who believe that blockchain gaming is an opportunity to decentralize power in the world, including Gabe Leydon, Kevin Lin, Josh Williams, Justin Kan, Sebastien Borget, Will Wright and Mark Otero. I’ve been talking giving players ownership of the gaming industry and what players buy.
These leaders liken blockchain gaming to the beginnings of mobile and free social games a decade ago. Hardcore gamers and many game developers had a similar aversion to the free business model. It was fraudulent and associated with low quality games and get-rich-quick schemes. However, free games have helped increase the gaming audience tenfold and have become a major form of entertainment, now accounting for more than half of the gaming business revenue.
Proponents believe this might happen once more in blockchain games, and I am not here to agree or disagree with it. I’m here to cover one of the biggest sections in the gaming industry, so I can see who’s confused. I don’t think the role of a gaming journalist is to choose what kind of gaming he writes regarding. When the hype cycle started and when it ended and we moved on to something new like the Metaverse, we have to cover it. See if the blockchain plays a role in keeping the metaverse open.
I don’t think all blockchain transactions are good deals and I see a lot of scams. I write regarding them when I can. You have seen the consequences of the collapse of cryptocurrencies and the NFT on the markets and players looking to make money. But our job is to exclude potential fraudsters and leaders, we ask them regarding business ethics and how they can change their behaviour. Their answer is that when a high-quality game (a game that takes years to create) is materialized with the right technology and business model, mindsets change.
gaming journalism hurts
I’m not here to fight with my co-workers. Especially since we are in a deep recession. The survey also shows how companies are taking a huge hit and journalists are overworked. Sadly, FanByte, G4, and Future have been laid off this week. We’ve also seen old leaders leave publications like Game Informer.
With my deepest sympathies to those who have lost their jobs, it is easy to see why journalists are disappearing and moving to other industries. Most of the time, they see themselves becoming playmakers. I’ve been covering games for 26 years, and a few of my colleagues have lasted as long as I did. It is not an easy life. However, I have always been passionate regarding this work and it has allowed me to connect with a lot of people in the gaming industry. Many of them have spoken repeatedly over the years.
Obviously, the medium has changed with the rise of influencers, creators, broadcasters, and more. Nearly 76% of respondents admitted that there is a common space between influencers and gaming journalists. However, many point to the differences between the two and complain regarding giving influencers preferential treatment (token, access) over journalists, the report says.
The report says that with ever-increasing workloads, increasing pressure on KPIs, and shrinking resources to cover an endless roster of games, participants are sharing the reality of working in gaming journalism in 2022.
James Kay said: “The gaming industry is becoming more competitive, and we are seeing a growing and evolving media landscape as a result. The pressure on journalists has increased since we first conducted this survey in 2018. We’ve seen it in action,” James Kay, director of Big Games Machine, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the results of the 2022 survey show that journalists are working under more pressure, but nonetheless, they are getting the required amount to review titles from publishers and PR professionals. No leeway was given, which is a problem, especially given the scale for Triple A games and the additional time required to write these reviews and create additional content formats around them.”
With over half of respondents creating video content and 40% creating podcast/audio content, PR professionals must ensure that media collections/assets have adequate audio and video when pitching a game for review. You need to make sure it contains content.
While blogs and websites on the Internet remain the primary content medium for respondents, it is interesting to note that more than half of them also produce video content. It’s not clear if this content is specific to the site they wrote, or to platforms like YouTube or Twitch.
Either way, PR guys should include additional video content in their media collections beyond typical game ads so time-pressed journalists don’t have to spend extra time collecting footage. You may want to think
The life of a game journalist
According to the report, 42% of gaming journalists receive between 11 and 30 pitches per day, and 21% receive more than 30 pitches per day. I get over 500 emails a day, and I don’t know how many sales there are.
Journalists aren’t given enough time by game and PR studios to review games and do a good job. Most respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the short lead time, with more than half stating that three weeks is the minimum amount of time required to properly review the game before release.
The transition from “traditional” media platforms to “multimedia” platforms is in full swing. According to the report, more than 50% of participants create video content and 40% create audio content and podcasts.
The PC is the most popular platform for journalists, with more than 86% of respondents having reviewed the games on this platform. This compares to the Nintendo Switch (84%), PlayStation 5 (76%), and Xbox Series X/S (67%).
About 40% of respondents participate in podcasting, and BGM expects this to grow as podcasts attract larger audiences and services such as Spotify and Apple Music that heavily promote podcasts. PR representatives and studios should think regarding how to track podcast coverage and how to work with journalists to create it.
Podcast content, such as providing studio staff for interviews.
Less than 10% of journalists create content for print publications. It’s no secret that toy magazines are getting harder to find in stores. Unlikely to go back to the golden age of game magazines, but Wireframe, Switch Player and of course the cute Lost In Cult’s [lock-on] Game magazine.
More than 80% of respondents said it was “important” or “very important” to view their games directly from the developer or publisher, indicating how much they value the direct relationship and how important it is. We would like to stress that we appreciate the studios taking the time to do so however, 68% of journalists had the same reaction when contacting PR Epople.
Also interesting is the impact that other gaming media have on journalists when deciding which games to cover, with 40% of journalists saying it is somewhat important. For journalists, seeing competing publications dedicate so much time and space to a game they don’t plan to cover can affect them.
Access to VR hardware is a potential issue for game reviews, with only 35% of respondents having access to VR platforms.
Tips, guides and walkthroughs are becoming increasingly popular among journalists, mostly due to SEO factors. 34% of respondents participate in counseling/extension work. Let’s be honest, GamesBeat’s own revenue isn’t dependent on SEO factors, so it doesn’t cover many things that are popular with other game journalists. Our events generate revenue and help us focus on building a community among gaming business leaders.
Our next gaming event is GamesBeat Summit Next 2022, October 25-26 in San Francisco. Maybe we can learn a thing or two regarding blockchain games, the metaverse, and even traditional games.
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