Ombudsman Reader Chris Daniel writes:
"Its that time of year again where every video game publication tries to out do the others by forming some huge lie and fooling enough of their fan base to believe it. Sure in most cases the lies are obvious, but regardless, doesn't it undermine the crediablity [sic] of the entire industry when you have to second guess every piece of video game news for two months before April?
Isn't it about time that the industry grow up and quit playing mind games with its readers? If video game journalism hopes to be legitimate doesn't it have to quit lying, even if it is April Fools? After all, you don't see hard new [sic] journalist or even sports, tv, or movie journalist paid to lie any time of the year so why do video games get a pass?"
My enjoyment of a good April Fool's joke is well documented, but I definitely understand why people would feel differently. For web sites, I think anyone who gets fooled by a story on April 1 itself deserves to be misled. The problem is slightly different in magazines, though, where the April issues might actually come out in February, when people are not expecting a joke. And what about archived joke articles on the web, in which readers might miss the date? How soon, and in what manner, should publications correct the record on their falsified articles?
As for difference between game writers and established "hard new journalist," I think the prevlance of April Fool's jokes in the gaming media shows that we feel more comfortable laughing at ourselves. And that's a good thing. I realize that I often come off as pretentious and overly-serious on this blog, but I do understand that there is plenty of room for light-heartedness in game journalism. If reading about games isn't at least a little bit fun, people are going to just go and play games for fun instead.
Think April Fool's jokes are a scourage upon serious game journalism? Think some people need to just lighten up? See any good jokes this year? Hit the comments link below and share your thoughts.
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April Fools Day is a horrible excuse to play these practical jokes on readers.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with it is that the stories are just believable enough (most of the time) that they could be true. And you want them to be true. Only to see a new article the next day with the words APRIL FOOLS DAY SUCKAS in big print dashing the hopes you had to play a great sounding game yesterday that now will never exist.
For a good AFD joke just look at Wikipedia. On the front page was the news that Wikipedia had been purchased by Brittanica. But then you read the article, including the big link to the AFD entry at the top, and the whole thing is so ridiculous you know it's a joke.
And then the real news of the day is buried under a pile of fake news. I almost don't know why companies even bother announcing things today.
Magazines are even worse, but Kyle has already covered the February thing.
I will never run an April Fools Day joke in my news section and I hope others will join me.
Whew, I feel better.
I'm definitely in the camp that hates the april fools jokes. Aside from the fact that very few (and this includes websites) can actually get the joke on april fools, it undermines the credibility of the 'game news' industry.
ReplyDeleteIf we ever hope to be taken seriously by larger media and the public at large, we need to stop playing games with our readers. As I said today on my blog (shameless plug! heh):
"You don’t see CNN or BBC posting april fools pranks, so why every game news site think it’s hilarious to post fake news is beyond me."
Awww... that's really rough Zonk. I feel for you, I do. If you want to trade jobs, you just let me know. =P
ReplyDeleteThe bbc is listed numerous times on that list btw...mr. Rob Walker....
ReplyDeleteIt was like the EGM one this year...they post the screenshot of realistic Wind Waker as a free bonus disk. Let's see, the realistic version is using a modified Wind Waker engine, Nintendo has a history of offering such bonus discs...it seems all to reasonable. Thus it is believable but it isn't a good joke.
ReplyDeleteTheir past jokes...Gandalf in a LotR kart game in a thing with fireworks or something...that is just silly. The DoA Volleyball nudity code...perhaps believable but still funny because it takes advantage of the well known lonely male gamer pervert population.
So there is a fine line where it is a joke and where it is misleading journalism.
The difference with the BBC jokes (and others, like NASA) is that they usually pick one really good prank and run with it. One that is VERY OBVIOUSLY A PRANK. And even then I personally don't agreew with doing it, but I understand most people just see it as 'having a sense of humour'. I'll have to look into ordering one of those.
ReplyDeleteMy big beef with the game industry is that many sites (look at gamespot or slashdot) spend their entire day posting mostly fake news. It's like a day off from work or something for them, except they're still posting news, it's just all fake. No other industry does it to the extent of the videogame industry.
If you don't like magazenes playing april fools jokes...then don't buy them. It's a really simple concept.
ReplyDeleteGranted, no one likes a prank played on them. But if video game magazenes are such a big part of your life (this doesn't include those in the industry, mind you. If your job is in the buziness, it is your life, naturally) that a once a year joke ruins your life, I just can't express how sorry for you I feel. When it comes down to journalism, you really should not believe everything you read. The media is constantly rivaling in terms of accuracy. Read more than one magazene or newspaper will easily prove such a fact to you. But...in times like these, when people complain about concerning material in published work, I refer to the same mode of knowlege presented by the wonderful Maya Angelou: "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."
I must say...some attitudes, in this case, probably should be changed. It's just a prank, and it's once a year. Honestly, get over it!