Video games have often gotten flack from "truer" artsy-fartsy type critics who believe that the medium sinks too low to stand next to their own beloved meal tickets, and one "Culture Editor of a relatively large newspaper" says game reviewers are just pretending to be professionals.
Speaking with "one of us (our co-founder)" at Video Game Review Headquarters, this particular Culture Editor said many mainstream journalists and critics look down on those in the video game industry because "a video game critic is little more than an amateur pretending to be a professional."
"And it's not because of what they're critiquing; it's just because they're not very good. They don't come across as professionals. They too often come across as petulant, whiny teenagers, and that's not doing your industry any favors."
One member on the Video Game Review Headquarters staff suggested that this is the result of the industry itself and not the journalists and critics at the center of the previous comment.
You know, running around in circles yelling, ‘who cares what anyone thinks?’ actually isn’t helping. And it’s not really true because it does matter. Journalists and critics in this industry are woefully underpaid and most often, they go completely unrecognized. In fact, the only thing a game critic gets from the people he tries to service is hatred, and maybe some form of mainstream recognition would help.
This big newspaper Culture Editor should take a look in the mirror. Video Game Review Headquarters rightly points out that without out-castes like those writing criticism in the video game industry, there'd be no coverage to speak ill of.
If I had to put my finger on it, I'd say newspaper employees fear for their jobs in light of changing technology and the need for the medium to persistently update. The Internet makes that a lot easier, but it also makes things a little sloppy and that's certainly something video game outlets struggle with every day. Video Game Review Headquarters probably saved this editor's job by not sharing the source of the quote, but then our anti-game-critic editor has something to be thankful for in our lack of professionalism, doesn't he?
