As I sat watching one of my favorite gaming discussion segments on Youtube, I noticed a terrible truth in gaming journalism, everyone is the same.
The Lobby is a fun filled discussion of upcoming games, issues in the industry, and a range of other topics. While watching one of Gamespot’s video personalities, Chris Watters, speak about the latest DLC expansion to Destiny, I noticed a trend. Aside from Erik Tay (who makes an appearance in video content from time to time), most content is delivered via subtle variations of nerdy white guy. Upon further reflection, I realized that IGN was pretty much the same.
Before I continue, this piece is not an attack on publications I have named, or the personalities themselves, but their use of talent and the subtle hypocrisy of the industry as a whole.
Many fans of these popular outlets will say “Well what about their female correspondents?”. And while this is valid, I challenge you to further inspect how they are utilized. Most female correspondents in mainstream gaming news outlets very rarely head up their own hard hitting shows, most of them are used in countdown segments.
I made the grave mistake of posting this opinion on youtube, in the comment section of a video in which Gamespot personalities discussed diversity within games. Within an instant, those who identified with the current lineup of gaming personalities were quite offended. Some ventured to make an interesting point though, “Does the group discussing diversity need to be diverse themselves?”. The answer to that is no, of course not, but this subtle hypocrisy is indicative of larger issues in the gaming journalism industry. The first is the “clickbait” issue. As just about everyone is aware, if you put a female into a gaming video, it will instantly get more views. And this is no fault of the gaming personality, but their employers, for simply using them as props and giving them two to four minute segments. Another issue that seems to be rampant within Gaming Journalism is nepotism.
Many people have asked me why diversity in gaming journalism even matters. The answer to that is almost identical to the reason behind needing diversity in the games themselves. Many gamer’s devote a lot of time to not only consuming games themselves but the culture around them created by podcasts, YouTube segments and the like. To have personalities you can relate to is to say, “you are not an outsider”, “we are alike”, “you belong as well”. As a gaming journalist, this resounds even deeper. In the end, it simply comes down to a desire to be seen.
What do you think? Have you noticed this trend? Is this even an issue?