I think IGN fans the flame wars because it gets them clicks, but I’m more surprised at just how uninformed they are when it comes to Xbox, especially since they are the largest outlet of them all. They have a responsibility to report and discuss topics with accuracy, and for the Xbox side, that effort seems non-existent.
That’s why I’m excited that this forum and website exists, because the staff, admins, and the editorial team know their shit.
[quote=“Blast_The_Bass, post:22, topic:1904”]
I think IGN fans the flame wars because it gets them clicks, but I’m more surprised at just how uninformed they are when it comes to Xbox, especially since they are the largest outlet of them all. They have a responsibility to report and discuss topics with accuracy, and for the Xbox side, that effort seems non-existent.
That’s why I’m excited that this forum and website exists, because the staff, admins, and the editorial team know their shit.
[/quote] Well Said bud it's funny some say bias don't exist but it always feels jokes & memes are one sided thing......Thts Xbox.Yeah, a site like this where you don’t have to start every discussion explaining that Obsidian is an Xbox studio, or what Xbox Game Pass is, is kinda great.
Media “bias” in favour of the market leader tends to exist to get views. 360 last gen, PS4 this.
That said, there does seem to be a lack of due dilligence/research/knowledge when it comes to Xbox in some articles/podcast appearances from major publications that does rub me the wrong way.
And where 90% Ign employee wearing I love ps 
T shirt and you can’t even find one single guy who stand up and say I like Xbox …lol.Only Well informed for Xbox right now is Alanah 
How is this ridiculing the Xbox community? It’s not even targeting the Xbox community. It’s literally just a harmless meme poking fun at the price war using a popular new game for the format. The vast majority of the millions you claim it impacted aren’t as bothered by the gif as you think. It doesn’t make any platform look bad or good. It’s not a personal attack so I don’t why you’re taking it so personally.
Just because the media aren’t as pro-Xbox as you would like it doesn’t mean there’s some sort of industry wide bias.
PS fans outnumber xbox fans likely 2:1, maybe even more so when you account for the disparity between ps2 vs xbox and that most folks have attachment to their fave childhood systems. This includes journalists, especially on a site that tries to play up the console war for views and have to appease to their bigger set of fans or face flack. If there’s other “bias” beyond that it’s that enthusiasts hold grudges for a long time and there’s still stigma from the stuff from 2013, or many who even decades later see microsoft/xbox as a “invader” or you know general stigma about Microsoft (I remember a decade back where a thread didn’t get made without someone writing Microsoft as M$).
But there’s no conspiracy theory and I wouldn’t say there is an agenda against xbox, it’s just less natural fans and you cant undo unconscious preferences .
The PS4 was a far and away more popular system, so that mindshare is bound to cross into the media landscape. However I think there’s a difference between preference and bias. I see what you mean that they are catering to what will get them clicks and attention but that goes both ways. There were a ton of articles about the power gap between the PS5 and the Series X. It’s all about the clicks, not the bias. If GoT was a Xbox game, I’m sure the roles would be reverse in that meme.
To be fair, I do think that clip was unprofessional from one of the industries largest media outlets and I wouldn’t let that go out if I were in charge there but IMO unprofessional doesn’t equal bias.
Frankly speak, I think many here are seeing only what they want to see and are taking things too personally over a piece of plastic. Do I think some outlets have a bias? Sure! I think gamingbolt has a bias towards Playstation but that slant should be viewed on a case by case basis. Channels like EZA have members who openly admit they prefer or have only had PS consoles but that doesn’t mean they jump to the chance to slam Xbox. There are many professional people in the industry who do have integrity or at least try to uphold some kind of standard, despite what their preferences might be.
There is not a conscious effort to undermine Xbox among the major video game press. It’s like any press/media, they go where their audience is at the end of the day. Also, I think if a writer isn’t personally passionate about something, it’s hard to be consistently professionally passionate about it too.
I don’t write about Apple or Google tech, cus I’ve always just been interested in Microsoft tech etc. and that’s where my expertise lies. Luckily I don’t have to cover those other companies for my work.
It’s on Microsoft to win people over with quality of service, hardware, and games. Journalists are at the end of the day, only human.
This can’t be said enough. In general gamers should stop worrying about doing the megacorporations job for them. Talk about what we’re excited about, sure. Speak up when they’re not meeting expectations, absolutely. Fighting their fight to try to help a 1.4 trillion dollar corporation with their messaging and fighting against media for them? It’s got to stop. Attacking media has got to stop. Media are just people and putting them under a barage of attacks is bad for mental health and doesn’t make them any more enthusiastic.
I think there is a media bias but I feel it’s more innocent then we all think. If you look at all the most prominent journalist they grew up in an era of gaming that was dominated by Japanese console. So they are more likely favor Sony/Nintendo. I grew up in a different era when games like Ultima and Bards Tale dominated. So I favor cRPG which is more dominate in the west. So these journalist happen to have a warm place in their heart for Japan.
If the product they sell is populism, that is inherently biased by default as it serves up rationalizations for what the masses don’t want to hear and overzealous promotion of news they do want to hear. I think the disconnect in the thread comes down to what we consider bias to mean. Bias can be subconscious and subtle too. Someone mentioned a real good example already wrt review copies being predominantly PS4 this gen, which has the effect of reviewers associating the games with that platform and becoming more and more comfortable in that ecosystem.
In my view, populism is anti-thetical to journalism. Journalists should be finding facts that can shape public perception, not re-framing facts/rumors/etc to fit into whatever the fanboys demand to be true. It’s complicated a lot by the nature of the industry though, like Jez noted there are passions at play and that is understandable. At the same time, I would really value more investigative work like Schreier and Klepek.
This all makes sense but I’d say other areas of tech aren’t the same. The most popular and widely selling products often aren’t revered by the media covering them - often quite the opposite. So there is definitely something a bit different.
True and you make a good point. Regarding review copies, I think publishers just send out what the lead platform is. We saw the same thing with the 360 last gen. Like Jez said, it’s up to Microsoft to change all that.
I’m always surprised when listening to Podcasts like Giant Bomb and they don’t have a clue about Xbox basic features. I guess they just play mostly on PC or PS4 and just aren’t familiar with the Xbox OS, news or even some games that or on the system. Kinda their job to check out all this stuff tho.
News sites just do whatever gets them clicks and certain forms are one sided with bad moderation.
The press should not have to wait around for MS to steer ignorant mobs their direction before making efforts to check their own biases. That responsibility is not MS’s; it’s the responsibility of the outlet.
Yep, like greg miller and others, hes always been a playstation guy, where Ryan McCaffrey has been and xbox guy.
You are framing this poorly. Gamers, who make up the audience of IGN (et al), should have every right to speak up if they feel the outlets are not living up to their stated goals. It is not MS’s responsibility to cajole the press into biased coverage that slants their way, nor should that be seen as appropriate.
That’s the thing, the outlet cares about 1 thing really, money. Generate clicks. Now the people in that outlet have to figure out how they can produce that. There’s management that enforces how that is done. Places like Windows Central don’t use the console war tactic because they don’t need to and that is reinforced by their management. Other places may need “pick up the slack” so they use whatever tactics is necessary.
MS is responsible for how they are perceived by what they do in the market and how the market reacts to what they do. That’s why there is marketing. You do your best to control narratives because you are in that market that has them. You have to earn it. Phil stated these same things to their PC players in regards to how they are perceived in the PC market. So it’s up to them.
Gamers are just consumers. They do what they want. You can speak up towards an outlet, but the outlet can do whatever keeps making them money.
I don’t get this type of take. This is like sports. It’s like making fun of another guy because his team lost. Why is people so bothered by it? As long as it is made for fun, it should be ok.