No more than anywhere else, ultimately Xbox just has less fans, probably as a result as a that enthusiast shift forwards more Nintendo and Japanese skewing products.
We’ve hit full gaming fashion this generation with that type of thing , quite simply it’s cool. I was speaking to an 18 year old the other day who is a switch owner and was telling me the NES was also one of his favourite consoles.
The Geoff Keighley Xbox show was the epitome of this, almost all 9 guests prefaced their comments with “ I don’t really like/play Xbox/Halo.”
“I tend to me play on PS4/PC/Switch.”
The very fact that they couldn’t find a single person who said they liked Xbox or could even mentally separate that from the fact Xbox was briging all these games to PC says a lot about the sentiment toward Xbox. I don’t believe it’s some big conspiracy , just that these people don’t really behave any differently to the wider gaming public
Imo it’s not necessarily intentional media bias, but simply appealing to the larger fan base.
Take timed exclusives, for example. The entire gaming media had an outrage with the rise of the tomb raider deal (as they should have), but we don’t see anything similar for FF7, SFV, Deathloop, Crash Bandicoot, because it doesn’t affect nearly as many people.
If the majority of the readers and consumers of gaming media are playstation fans or own a playstation, then that’s where things will naturally cater towards.
It makes you wonder why MS hires these people for pre-shows or events. They have zero credibility with fans and aren’t going to show Xbox on a good light. Most likely they will drive people away.
Oh yeah, Phil is a nice guy and nice guys finish last.
Marketing is essential to selling your product and building up a larger fan base. Streamers, youtubers, etc all of them have an audience (that doesn’t overlap too much with the current Xbox audience) that’s beneficial for Xbox to target.
I fully expect Ninja to be playing Halo Infinite for quite a while at release, for example. And other big streamers.
Give them something good enough that even if they trash it, at least part of their viewerbase will retain interest.
Or pay them not to trash it.
Or a bunch of other things they can do. The goal is to target an audience you don’t currently have. Exposure is only one of the steps.
I get the impression that YouTubers do more to promote Xbox in the eyes of customers than any hired media person ever did. I have seen many people who didn’t know Xbox giving the platform a chance after watching someone on YouTube. The media is in lockstep with Sony, and they aren’t relevant anymore (they can’t even play games).
Overall message to this thread, it is against the rules of this forum to attack specific people or outlets. Regardless of feeling or desire to vent, this entire forum won’t be the right place for that. This forum will be better long term if we can hold to that. There are other places for venting and you can let it out somewhere else and come back when done.
If there is constructive general discussion on how you believe the general gaming media can serve you better, that’s one thing. If this turns into a venting ground, then this forum will benefit by closing this.
Yep, I agree. And then when companies target these youtubers, you get the typical response from the enthusiast crowd of “who cares about these people. I’m not here to watch them”.
Exactly. If you’re already here, MS isn’t targeting you with this.
Take the Preshow with Geoff for the july show for example. That had a slew of different youtubers, and you know they’ll also speak of the show or at least mention it on their actual channel too, marketing the word “Xbox” to many more potential customers.
The media will go with what generates more views. Playstation has more marketshare worldwide and their staple of IP’s is the Marvel Cinematic Universe of the gaming world right now. Everybody knows them, buys them, and discusses them.
Nintendo has the family and casual crowd in their grasps, with a range of classic IP’s that they’ve had 3 decades to build an audience for.
Xbox is a baby in this industry still, coming in 2001. Sony took 15 years to get a stable of first party IP and studios to get where they are today. Xbox took a bit longer to get there.
I do have to question the use of youtube influencers - I get it must work because companies pay them - and I can imagine how it works well in some instances. I just wonder how many high value item purchases these youtubers push? I just assume its different for online clothes etc…but the problem for a console is you need wall to wall coverage for months - and that’s impossible via youtube - at least via the sort of big influencer accounts. I’m definitely old and out of touch but whilst I think its an avenue I’m not convinced it fully replaces more traditional approaches.
I agree with this pretty much entirely. Glad we found common ground!
I think there might also be other elements of nuance at play here that aren’t being discussed, such as how the lack of investigative reporting in these main sites leads to them just spreading whatever rumors/“leaks” from “insiders” that get passed around forums as “news”. In a world where legit leaks take place, that tends to cut both ways overall. But in a world where so much of that is bogus, we end up with major news sites spreading FUD. Granted, this is most problematic during the transition between generations.
I also think that vids posted without editors checking what content was said, etc, is pretty problematic too. That is how most gamers get their ‘news’ now and the groups trying to make videos discussing that stuff (like IGN does) has to compete with the likes of CrapGamer, MBG, SupraNova, etc. And the up and coming gaming personalities springing forth from YT realize that the more outlandish their fanboy claims the more prominent they become. So in that sense, the make up of ‘gaming press’ is radically changing to something very unstable in terms of quality content.
Only other thing I’d add is that while I agree 100% wrt the anti-media rhetoric in general, we also should not lurch to the other end by presuming any perceptions of bias are unfounded. I do agree gamers should take responsibility to some extent, but part of that exercise is to not quash real concerns when gamers share such views on forums. Folks discussing that surely constitutes some measure of gamers trying to express and hones their thoughts, and for them to get challenged by others like you did.
Oh yeah agree 100%. Another potential issue is how these outlets are competing with each other, resulting in short deadlines, leaving less time to double check everything.
Also I agree entirely that there is bias, I just see bias and preference as being separated by a fine line so it’s sometimes difficult to tell who has a bias or who has a preference. I do agree that I shouldn’t presume perception of bias is unfounded though.
Glad you brought that up too. I remember Jason himself being the one that basically implied they were bribed. Anyone on Twitter calling him out for it ( or simply disagreeing with him in any way ) were blocked.
I just find it funny that while people claim their is no bias in the gaming media whatsoever, a game journalist claims DF was bought off.
At the end of the day playstation is the top dog and ad revenue is king. So if it gets more clicks you go with it. That’s not to say its bias because if xbox was on top it would be the other way around.
Not ALL members of the media have to be biased for there to be a prevailing and noticeable bias where one company gets the benefit of the doubt and good press while the other gets scrutinized in non equal amounts.
Not every member of the gaming media is biased but enough of them are and enough of them in decision oriented positions that it is pretty clear what is going on.
Can you provide any examples of this? It was pretty easy for me to provide examples of how the media went after Sony for the hack, blocking mods, and denying crossplay.
I think this is a large part of it. Sony has released hit after hit that have caught the attention of the media and community at large. We saw very similar coverage when MS was publishing equally high quality titles like Halo 3, Gears of War, and Mass Effect. This is one of the many reasons they need to really up their game with their first party content and I think they know this. The core of everyone’s interest is the games and Xbox has been sorely lacking in that department this gen.
