The Question of the Week to gamers, that "What do you do when your not playing games?" The question came from the fact that we were supposedly in a "game draught."
Wait, what? This was back on 4/26/09. Which was, for all I remember a slow WEEK for games.
Xbox 360
Velvet Assassin
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition
PLAYSTATION 3
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition
Wii
Fantasy Aquarium World
My Horse and Me: Riding for Gold
Party Pigs Farmyard Games
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Nintendo DS / DSi
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Sony PSP
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
But it wasn't exactly horrible either. Perhaps they meant the week before that. I dunno, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that the average gamer doesn't buy a new game every week. In fact, from most comments on most message boards it strikes me that the AVERAGE gamer probably only buys a game every couple months or so. Perhaps, even just when an incredibly big title comes out like Halo 3, Wrath of the Lich King, SIms 3, Spore, Killzone 2, etc... And between these games they actually PLAY what they have purchased. A lot...
Because let's face it kids, games are expensive. REALLY EXPENSIVE. If I bought every game I reviewed or worse every game I've tried, I would NEED a MUCH better job and probably some kind assisted living situation where I didn't have to do anything but work and play video games.
Dan Hsu is the image you get when you put Video Game journalist into google images. Which isn't probably good because he was a game journalist then he was a Community Manager for the Forza Motorsport 2 guys and now he is AGAIN a game journalist. Which is crazy fun. But what his picture does represent are our old friends at Giant Bomb and their QOTW and also the words of Adam Sessler in the same week on X-PLAY.
"This week has been slow in game news and releases."
Which was interesting as they didn't SHOW a review for either Wolverine or Velvet Assassin which were the two games to come out that week. But maybe there was a programing schedule to keep and they are upcoming. Anyway these folks are all professional video game journalists. They get paid to report on the world of video games and review games. Unlike yours truly who doesn't get paid AT ALL for doing the same thing.
Anyway, these folks get games VERY EARLY! Probably anywhere from two weeks to two months. It depends a great deal on the game and the publisher. They also get paid to play that game to it's completion. Which is probably a little different from everyone else who doesn't get anything but enjoyment from playing video games and maybe a case of too little sleep.
What does all of this have to do with anything? Are Video Game Journalists really the best people to be listening to about things like reviews or first impressions of video games? Maybe not...
The very fact that the average professional game journalist has probably played at least 10 times the number of games you have probably changes their opinion of the game. Also the fact that they had to rush through the game to figure out a review for the game; probably doesn't help either. The more I hear from the professional journalists on certain games the less I agree with them.
However, unlike in most industries where there is a direct departure from what sells REALLY well and what is critically acclaimed. There isn't this divide in the video game industry by and large. The games that get 9/10 or 10/10 usually are the big sellers: Gears of War, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, etc... And the games that review poorly are usually the ones that do badly finically.
Why is this? Do reviews drive the sales? No, probably not. What I believe is that no video game reviewer is at her/his worst more than when reviewing a AAA title that has years of hype behind it. The game would have sold upwards of a million copies with or without their high scoring review rather than because of that review.
But in the end, the argument has been made about this sort of thing plenty of times before in even more explicit ways than I have. So yes, we NEED video game journalism and we NEED reviewers. But PLEASE don't take everything you read or see on TV as gospel. Play the demos if they are offered. Rent the games before you buy them. Because that is the ONLY way you'll truly know that you will like them.
Back to my earlier point however. Please guys on Professional Video Game sites; don't call this period of time a "slow time in gaming." Just because it is a slow time for YOU in gaming. Because as I've all ready stated. NO one has your schedule of games hitting their desks and certainly NO ONE but someone getting paid to play games could keep up on games like you do. That's why your jobs exist. Remember...
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