Written by: Maikel de Bakker
Edited by: Mark Lee

After many phone calls we are getting ready. Nintendo? Check. Sony? Check. Microsoft? Probably not this year but we’ll get there! Tickets, business cards, cameras and all other documents? Check.

Just like Starfox, we are ready to rock and roll! I just hope journalists will see through the glitz and glamour they are about to face and not be awash by it all. As a member of the gaming press you are offered the chance to go to many events littered with gifts, smooth talking public relations execs and marketing moguls. (Probably the best in the business.) Their job is to constantly remind you how good everything is going to be when their product hits the streets. Didn’t you know... It’s their best, their prettiest, fastest, biggest and best value gaming experience ever!

Someone wake me when we get to the good bits...

Surely every next gen game will look good and have “more” than previously thought. But would we expect anything less? Even the older generation of videogame consoles are still creating excellent graphical flourishes and we didn’t even get them to their peak performance. Case in point: Rogue Squadron still beats out many Wii games.

Most developers are ploughing through their software in an aim to put good looks at the top of their check list. If you can get the most out of a next-gen console your game has all eyes on it. Most developers have to learn programming skills all over again because the new generation of videogame consoles need new programming methods compared to previous generations. This obviously costs the companies their green and lays off many staff members that don’t have the company backing nor individual financial backing to update their skill sets.

A new generation not only forces mankind to update their skills but new hardware must be bought too. This is where the marketing people step in. They need to convince everyone this game is worth buying above anything else. Why? Because games (and developers) only have a limited time in the spotlight, so they need marketing suits to sell this “same as last best seller” game.

The turnaround is that marketing people need journalists. We need to write about their game and how great it is. Because they need to get back the losses they made by creating such a game. And what could be better to do for a journalist than to make them feel as comfortable as possible? We will be getting free drinks, free food and booth babes. Yeah and even a party with big stars like 50 Cent. Oh and let’s not forget the free gifts to bring back to our friends and family! It has been like this for years.

Rappers and games don't mix...

But is it getting worse or are gamers just becoming more aware of what goes on around them?

It seems that the marketing departments need journalists more and more to write great stories about their games. But I can’t forget last year’s developer’s headlines. More and more are teetering on the edge whilst the larger developer houses move in with pennies and pick at their franchises like vultures. By that logic it means a lot of developers titles are their next (and perhaps last) great thing.

So how can we make sure we, as journalists, aren’t blinded by all this marketing and PR hype? If we give them a critical reception will we be welcomed back next year? Or what if we let ourselves be led by the PR and marketing? Will the readers come back after the game is released to astounding reviews yet isn’t even good? It’s hard to draw the fine line between what is wrong and right. A fine balancing act indeed.

We all know a journalist needs to be neutral. And we all know PR people need to break that neutral. I have seen many journalists riding the marketing waves. I even dare to say that I rarely do see neutral journalists. Perhaps it’s a fa�ade – a means to get what they want.

Every year it’s the same. The new kids on the block spend the most money and bring the biggest promises. But it’s about time that a new generation of videogame journalists came along. A generation that will look through the marketing suits and shun the freebies. It’s about being an individual. About being honest for your readers. About being true to yourself. We won’t be swayed if Fifty Cent stands on stage “hollering” his latest run-and-gun title.

It is time to rate a game for where the true value lies! Gameplay!