330°

Exposed: The Secret Mailing List of the Gaming Journalism Elite

Several prominent gaming journalists across America are part of a secret mailing list on which they discuss what to cover, what to ignore, and what approach their coverage should take to breaking news, Breitbart can reveal.

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breitbart.com
Makroyale3525d ago

This is from an actual news site... I'm sure N4G is on this list, so this will be interesting...

-Foxtrot3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

Well I don't want to point fingers but considering the fact we get told constantly that we are a community and because of that we get to have a say in what gets approved on here and what fails...why is it Kotaku who users on here have been down voting for years haven't been banned yet

I mean surely with the amount of times users have hit that Story quality/Like this website tab to down vote them they should of been gone ages ago.

I'm sorry but it's not crazy to thing they have something going on with Kotaku. Especially with all these shady going ons with other sites latley

Now again people might say "Well why add their stories if you are against them", something I've done myself I'll admit...the easiest answer is that people do it because it's there...if you don't add them for points towards your rank then someone else is going to do it because Kotaku is allowed. If you see a bit of news then despite where it's come from you'll add it. Certain users on here seem to always have the big news covered and big news so obviously people are going to add small time stuff from whatever website it's from.

I hope this gets max coverage on here, and becomes a hot topic..not because I added the story but to show as many people as possible what's gone on.

dcbronco3525d ago Show
Th4Freak3525d ago

@dcbronco wth are you talking about? Your comment has nothing to do with the subject.

Cryptcuzz3525d ago

I agree, only the one above knows how many times I have down voted Kotaku and yet I still see articles from them on N4G.

Been wanting this for awhile and I don't know if you agree on this point or not, but with the recent Destiny low reviews from most major gaming media sites (for the same reasons other games lack or lacking even more, yet those games gets a free pass) I want the whole games media to be exposed and put on blast.

radler3525d ago

And this ladies and gentleman, is why the gaming media has come down hard on Destiny. Bitter journalists frustrated that they don't get to play the game before the general public does, and as such we suddenly start seeing very low scores from most major sites, obviously from mutual agreement amongst members of the press to punish Bungie/Activision.

ShinMaster3525d ago

@ dcbronco

Wow. It seems some people can't talk about any subject without turning it into some fanboy crap.

cell9893525d ago

@ dcbronco bro you went way out of context, I should vote you down for off topic. where is the proof that all sites are pro Sony? Anyway this is about shoddy dirty journalism where they no longer report news as they are, rather they get filtered first by a selected few who think they know best. Its like they are dictating what we gamers should know and what we shouldnt WTF?!? who gave these scum that kind of authority? I love it when corruption gets exposed

dcbronco3525d ago

I'm not turning anything into fanboy crap. This site is basically run by uninformed children. This whole story is a nonissue. Read something other than gaming sites for a change. This site is built on bias. Take that away and the site will disappear. Don't whine because the subject bias goes against your interest. If you don't like bias, speak out about it all of the time. If the truth is really important to you, read articles and comments and judge them fairly. If the writers and editors are mostly biased so what. Eighty percent of the comments are too.

gangsta_red3525d ago

Well lets be honest, the reason why so many want Kotaku or Polygon banned is because of this notion that those sites are pro Xbox and paid by MS.

I have never read any of that anywhere else until I got to this site.

If we just start banning sites just because they don't favor your console of choice half the time then what's the use of hearing the other voice? The one that has a second not so fluffy opinion of the majority's favorite.

It's a slippery slope when the community starts banning sites because they don't like the way they reviewed a game or gave another a higher score, has a less than popular opinion, gives praises to a console not well liked by the majority.

MadLad3524d ago

@shin

To be fair, this entire site is little more than fanboy crap.

-Foxtrot3524d ago Show
zerocrossing3523d ago

Congrats on getting this back up!

I'm disgusted it was taken down in the first place, but not quite as disgusted as I am with those journos in the mailing list...

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 3523d ago
Blacktric3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

"Maybe we should get a public letter of support going around decrying these kinds of personal attacks, signed by as many sympathetic journalists/developers as we can," he wrote. "Maybe we should just use this as an excuse to give more attention to her work... I know I've been meaning to review Depression Quest since its Steam release.""

Wow. Just goddamn wow. They ironically shit on everyone who supports GamerGate hashtag for being tinfoil hat wearing morons who are being controlled by 5-6 guys on a random 4chan IRC channel, yet they themselves indulge in conspiracy theory level shit like this to divert attention from corruption issue?

So much for the goddamn journalistic integrity...

Edit: From author's Twitter;

"Milo Yiannopoulos @Nero · 5m

A word of caution to list members: I've seen a lot more than we've published so far. So be careful with those denials. #GamerGate"

https://twitter.com/Nero/st...

IT'S HAPPENING!

-Foxtrot3525d ago

Milo Yiannopoulos is fantastic with this work

Not surprising though with his reasons on doing all this for gaming.

Apparently he finds it ridiculous that games journalism is in this state despite how easy it is, you know for someone like him who's done actual journalism and hard work on more serious topics.

It's like someone who has run their own business for years with all the stress and late nights only to go back to an average, standard job in retail part time where you see lazy people moaning about the smallest things.

viperman2403525d ago

Well this pretty much explains the whole "gamers are dead" articles all popping up at the same time.

This shits got to go, I'm sick and tired of these "journalist" who think they are on the high moral ground.

SuperBlur3525d ago

an actual journalist in the gaming industry ?

unseen/heard before !

must be a witch !

BURN THE WITCH

ALL THE WITCHES !! !

Emilio_Estevez3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

N4G doesn't do journalism, we don't make news, so that would be impossible. N4G is just an aggregation site, we don't even have domain emails (ie: [email protected] doens't exist)

@Fox - sites don't get banned b/c people don't like them. Plagiarism is basically the only reason.

edit: you guys are free to believe what you want, but facts are facts.

-Foxtrot3525d ago

LOL...you think it's just because people don't like them willy nilly. People over the years have said why they don't like sites like Kotaku

They've been exposed a load of times at making stuff up, exaggerate topics, create useless flamebait articles. I mean I don't know what else counts

But no...keep telling yourself we want them gone because "we don't like them".

Gh05t3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

N4G Mods can still fail articles it doesn't agree with. Not like there is a reason put next to the mods name when they fail an article.

Than whats the point of voting on a site rating or story quality? How does this at all impact anything?

Makroyale3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

"N4G is just an aggregation site..."

Not true. The day #GamerGate took place, story approved and online, that story was unapproved and censored by a moderator.

Subsequent #GamerGate stories were killed immediately with no reason on that day.

Emilio_Estevez3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

@Fox - the reasons for your proposed banning don't matter unless they involve plagiarism/theft.

@ghost - uh...no. Cat would de-mod someone so fast if that actually happened. And I'm not sure exactly what you're saying, but there is always a reason for a story failing.

Voting affects the site rating, which can in turn hide opinion pieces and rumors under the content filter (the little drop down above the story type in the front page news feed).

Next Q is why isn't X site under the filter: b/c people don't vote like you think they do I guess.

@mak - N4G still didn't make the news. N4G is just an aggregation site, so it's still true.

I didn't see it and I don't really care about #gamergate as I don't even know what it is. I just play games and I don't really care about stuff like that. I'm sure there was some reason, but I wasn't involved so I couldn't really say.

Makroyale3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

Fair enough, it might be "just an aggregation site..." but that assumes there isn't a moderator who can censor stories.

The point I'm making is, on that day all #GamerGate stories on N4G were censored by a moderator.

They were censored here, on NeoGaf and every other large gaming site.

EDIT: I'm sure they're on this list as well as they got the memo to censor everything related to #GamerGate on that day.

EDITV2: Story gone with a 404 error... Completely killed/Wiped/Deleted. So I shouldn't have said "Unapproved" I should have said the story was flat out deleted by N4G. So when someone flat out deletes a story then yes, there is "more happening" behind the scenes.

Emilio_Estevez3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

idk what to tell you other than that I wasn't involved with it so I don't really know.

Also, damn you for making me google gamergate, I'd really rather have not.

All I could really say is I'm sure there was a noted reason and said mod thought they were doing the right thing per N4G's rules. We don't get emails from anyone saying do this or don't do that. People seem to think there is a lot more behind the scenes here than there really is. We're literally just users with more site privileges.

Edit: @edit, lol, really? Whom did this memo come from and what email did they send it to, because we don't have official emails. I have 2 email addy's, work and personal, neither get anything N4G related sent to them. If you choose to just strait disbelieve me then that's you're choice, but that doesn't make it correct.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like more Q's answered as you're out of bubs.

-Foxtrot3525d ago

Emilio if that is true then what the hell is the story quality tab for

I've heard by other mods that it's for removing sites which we as a community find to be bad quality. Now your saying it sites only get banned if they do one of TWO things.

I'm sorry but I really think you guys don't seem to know yourself how this site works. One mod says this, the other says that.

So basically in a way that story quality tab is to just give us the illusion that we have a say on this site.

Emilio_Estevez3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

@foxy:

You've incorrectly determined what 'removed' means, that's not a mods fault. It would remove it from the front page header and hide the story unless you have the filter turned off. No one told you the site would be banned, you assumed that incorrectly. We all know how it works, it appears you're the one who doesn't. Sites only get banned for plagiarism, we're not going to just ban sites all willy nilly, that would be completely unfair and against N4G's all inclusive ideas. We've all seen how bubbles work and how heat works with the user base. The last thing we need is to let the community decide who to ban.

Edit: preaching to the choir, everyone knows the shortcomings and hopefully the next version of N4G addresses them all. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if it's dim.

gangsta_red3525d ago

"We've all seen how bubbles work and how heat works with the user base. The last thing we need is to let the community decide who to ban."

AMEN! We already have the community marking people as trolls for stating an opinion that goes against the popular majority.

I can only imagine the horror if this same community was able to truly control which stories or websites were allowed on here too.

strangeaeon3525d ago Show
viperman2403525d ago

@Emilio

Scroll down to where it talks about N4G, or just ctrl+f N4G.

http://knowyourmeme.com/mem...

I've noticed a lot of news around gamergate rarely getting through on this site. I'm not saying you are the one behind it, but I just find it weird that something this important is kept in the dark.

Emilio_Estevez3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

So...there's a few angles here as is the case with most 'controversial' stories here on N4G. Nothing is ever black and white.

1 - the link was broken at the time, that gets other stories failed so why not this one? (rhetorical)

2 - a report on the story: 'Making web traffic out of somebody's depression-fuelled break-up on the basis of one-sided allegations' - I feel this is very true. Grounds for failing? Probably not, but I think you walk a very fine line when you're talking about real people and allegations of this nature, especially from an ex. Would you want everyone to just believe and accept as fact everything your ex said about you on the internet after a breakup? (rhetorical)

3 - Generally we don't allow stories about gaming sites, this isn't news for gaming site enthusiasts. It's grey, but I've seen multiple articles about X site changing policies which were rightly failed as it doesn't matter to anyone but frequenters to said site.

4 - I think generally that article was failed on 2 basis' - The broken link and the fact this info was all based off a jilt-ed ex lovers internet posts. It's hardly a reliable source imo.

Thank you for taking the time to find that viper.

I like how that site said 'N4G has not made a public statement on why the article was removed.' - We don't have a PR person/company, if they wanted to see why all they'd have to do is be a contributor and look at the story. I didn't know we needed to do that -_O_-

I would also like to note that I don't think what happened with this story was 'right' or 'wrong'. Like I said above, we're just normal users with extra privileges. Everyone thinks it's so easy to make these calls when they happen. Every new mod thinks they can change the world with a few clicks and decisions. The truth is that being the one that has to make the call is really tough sometimes and we all just try do what N4G's rules dictate to the best of our abilities. No one says a word if we get it right. Maybe this was handled wrong, maybe it wasn't. I honestly couldn't say and I'm glad I didn't have to make that call. If people would just look at things in a realistic manner things around here, things would make a lot more sense.

Also: sorry for the novel, it wasn't even simple to explain *facepalm*

viperman2403525d ago

@Emilio

No problem, I found it funny how the site says N4G is a rumor site.

On your 2nd point I do agree that its not right to talk about someones private sex life and make it public. But there is a reason why this deserves to be talked about, the people who she had sexual relations with is a direct conflict of interest as they are part of the game industry.

Also it's not an alleged affair as one of the accused admitted to do the act and this was all screen capped on a FB conversation, her confessing to her ex in guilt.

Another point I'd like to bring up is that many people including yourself do not like the fact that her sex life became public. Even Kotaku themselves have said anyone talking about this is not welcomed to the site and will be banned.

I find that very hypocritical of them to make such a statement, seeing as they ran articles of rape allegations on Max Tremkin (creator of Cards Against Humanity) even though the allegation was false. They still spun the story as him being a rapist. That story was also published on N4G and wasn't taken down.

I can't find the original submitted article but here's a similar one talking about it that got through the submission process.

http://n4g.com/news/1550210...

Christopher3517d ago

***N4G Mods can still fail articles it doesn't agree with.***

Nah, we fail posts that we feel do not abide by our rules. If I was to fail articles I don't agree with, you'd never see a Kinect/Move/similar gimmick story on N4G ever.

***Not true. The day #GamerGate took place, story approved and online, that story was unapproved and censored by a moderator. ***

Emilio wasn't involved in that but I did review and approve of the action. The reason it was removed was because, at the time, it was all accusations and hearsay on a topic of one's choice in sleeping partner. That had nothing to do with gaming and just dragging a person through the mud. So, in the interest in not becoming a site that promotes rumor mongering about someone's personal life, it was removed.

What is funny is that only one such article was removed and yet hundreds of opinion pieces and follow-up submissions related to the topic were allowed solely because they were A) about gaming and B) did not solely just drag a person's personal life through the mud. Yet, we only get complained to for a single submission, not recognized that stories to this date are still being posted about the topic.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 3517d ago
Palitera3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

It would be. But it would be interesting to know how many commenters actually read the comment before posting...

There's nothing on those messages different than what we do here in the comments, just people talking about the s*** that hit the fan. There's no scheming, no agenda, NOTHING related to what the author made up!

This article is such a scandal made of nothing...

Please, before replying to this comment, take the time to read the prints filled with the same casual talk about the same stuff we talk here.

-Foxtrot3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

What you're missing in all this is why do these sites need to organize stories when they ate all COMPETING against one another

It's like two rival football teams chatting online about their game plan....you just wouldn't unless there's something going on

bleedsoe9mm3525d ago

@Foxtrot if you believe the conspiracy theory its more like a wrestler whispering his next move into his opponents ear

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3517d ago
OC_MurphysLaw3525d ago (Edited 3525d ago )

Did people actually think these journalists all live in a vacuum and don't talk to one another on this kind of level? It's not a hive mind mentality (although breitbart would have us believe that) but pretty clear gaming journalism circles are very connected and that at times has certainly flavored more than a few reviews in one direction or another as they discuss things. But you can say with a degree of certainty that same kind of conversation takes place internally at the game sites since often people in the work place will discuss their thoughts on a project with a fellow co-worker and that feedback could change a viewpoint.

edit: and I know my attitude towards this isn't going to be the popular view but honestly i am tired of it. I am tired of reading about fanboys, gamergate, personal attacks, and lack of review integrity... I just really want to read and watch coverage of games.

Makroyale3525d ago

The problem isn't so much "The List" IMO, it is the use of the list.

They're using it to push agendas, in this case, not covering/censoring a story.

Using a list to communicate to every major gaming site and tell these sites not to cover a story is wrong.

OC_MurphysLaw3525d ago

Actually the problem is that gaming journalism isn't journalism. Its an industry that effectively is made up of enthusiasts with no actual journalism background. I have no doubt that 99% of all the gaming journalists in the major sites would be laughed out of the offices of an actual News organization if they applied. Somehow we came to view these people as "trained reporters of the gaming news" when in reality the majority are just trained to repeat what they see and hear. There is no actual reporting, no verifying sources and no actual code of ethics. They have agendas just like those commenting in threads often do ( I will even include myself as I am not perfect). But they have access to coverage and because of that we listen more than we probably should.

Makroyale3525d ago

I didn't use the word journalist, you did. I instead indicated the wrong doing of these individuals/gaming sites.

Dolf0453525d ago

Agreed, lets put away the tinfoil hats people. The gaming community is too incendiary as it is, clickbait and blatant flaming is getting ridiculous. Lets just stick to the games

killacal133525d ago

Yeah, let's just stick to the games they choose to let us know about right.

Dolf0453525d ago

@killacal13 You think "they" are hiding games from us?

cell9893525d ago

yeah let them decide for us what news we should know about right ?

ShadowWolf7123525d ago

They outright say that they're going to decide what we need to know.

This is neither a conspiracy nor flamebait. This is documented proof. No tinfoil hat necessary.

azazel6653525d ago

D-did you even read the emails that got exposed? They literally admit to manipulating the gaming media.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3525d ago
Gh05t3525d ago

And who is forcing you to read this or stopping you from "...read and watch coverage of games."

OC_MurphysLaw3525d ago

Nobody is and its a fair comment from you. I saw the article, and I chose to read it and came away disappointed by what I read on a few levels. Most notably that these stories dominate our headlines these days vs things like videos of game play on upcoming games.

DC7773525d ago

Yeah I totally agree. I just want game press and game discussion not trolling fanboyism down votes, biased article voting, and all this other nonsense.

WilliamUsher3525d ago

You don't seem to understand what's at stake here.

There is a political minded group of individuals trying to hijack gaming for their own ends by pushing a sociopolitical agenda. They want gaming to turn into some sort of "academia" for intellectuals (whatever the heck that means).

THEY HAVE colluded to push games like Gone Home and Depression Quest (and for the longest I didn't even know what DQ was until recently and it turns out it's not even a game... like WTF?)

You can say you don't care and you're tired, but what happens when they come for the games you like? What happens when #GG subsides and you're left with media heavily pushing games that fit their agenda? What happens when games get censored or altered to fit in line with what they want? THAT is what they're doing.

The e-mails only scratch the surface, I should know because I'm also on that list (I got in when they went over my head to try to get certain articles on Gaming Blend altered... I still don't know who the beta-male douche was who went and complained to the managers). These people are NOT your friends, they don't have your interest in gaming in mind, and for more than a year (just Google up DiGRA and Silverstring Media) they've been planning to "kill the gamer" identity.

You not caring today will affect the games you play for tomorrow's future. Choose to ignore it at your discretion.

Peace.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3525d ago
Aleithian3525d ago

Lol. Am I surprised? No.

Conspiracies are all around us, people. A conspiracy is simply a concerted plan. This is a conspiracy if I've ever seen one.

Above all, I hope that this makes the 'gaming community' realize that we aren't a community at all. 'Community' in this context is just a word thrown around to grant certain individuals, such as gaming journalists, a sense of power and authority.

They're all playing on your desire to belong and to be just, people.

killacal133525d ago

Sir, I hadn't seen your comment as I wrote mine, please check mine out, I think we can assume that somethings just get downplayed or the opposite for bigger reasons than the obvious.

killacal133525d ago

I was just saying how there could be agendas for destiny getting such low scores all around. I don't think the game is a masterpiece, but a fV@kin 6/10, you gotta be joking, I think if it was on a particular green logoed platform exclusively, it would've got better scores, because a certain company doesn't want destiny to step on another franchise's toes. Just saying, just because people ridicule you for seeing something doesn't mean it's not real.

Aleithian3525d ago

It's certainly possible in light of this revelation. I haven't played Destiny but I'm not impressed with it from what I've seen. A 6/10 is an abysmally low score nowadays, and from what I've seen/heard it isn't THAT bad. No personal experience though.

But this news basically invalidates all implicating gaming 'journalists' and sites. Reviews, opinions, professed values, social crusades - all of it.

killacal133525d ago

That's what I'm saying, we should judge things by ourselves, maybe reading user reviews and stuff but always having our own criteria for judging things like the individuals I hope we are. We are not sheep.

Show all comments (75)
80°

Rolling the Dice: Do Modern RPGs Miss the Point of Team-Based Play?

It seems it was long time ago. A bunch of friends spending hours on end playing RPG games, sitting around the table with the box of cold pizza. Excited about the story, listening to the Game Master, they were completely engaged in the worlds only visible to them and their imaginations.

Read Full Story >>
gameskinny.com
Takwin2642d ago

The GM is the programmer, and in MMOs and co-ops, you can play with others. If you want to ONLY use your imagination for the visuals, read a book.

210°

Record of Agarest War 2 announced for PS3

Scrawl: "Looks like we know how that new Compile Heart countdown is going to end. The latest issue of Famitsu has confirmed that Agarest Senki 2, known as Record of Agarest War 2 in the US, is Compile Heart’s newest title."

Read Full Story >>
scrawlfx.com
Godmars2905087d ago

1) Hope they put it on disc this time.
2) Hope this is a positive for Neptune coming over as well.

Demons Souls5087d ago

If so, that's being developed & published by Idea Factory. Compile Heart has nothing to do with it (Thank God for that).

Godmars2905087d ago (Edited 5087d ago )

Thought Compile Heart was one of the companies lending characters.

Was also speaking in general as in regards to a US of Neptune. If these guys are offing a second game, NIS or Atlus, both of whom offer quirkier titles, will put that one out.

@kagon01:
My issue isn't - wholly - with the DL-only option, but the price. The first game should be $30. Maybe $40, and by that I mean $39.99. The only reason its $45 is the 360 disc version which has extras. Nevermind that by all rights its a PS2 game. Something that proabbly could have been done if the devs had the GOW2 engine or tools.

ClownBelt5087d ago

I approve of this god damn message.

Could have gotten my 60 bucks if they just put it on a disc.

5087d ago Replies(1)
Tripl3seis5087d ago

Another exclusive damnn the ps3 keeps on rollin wit games awesome ;)

Jack-Pyro5087d ago

Is this a half decent SRPG, porn aside, cause if it is, i might just decide to go and buy it for the 360.

Anon73495087d ago

There's no porn just some sexual innuendos but that's it.

Also it is a great game by itself, maybe not graphically but everything else is top tier.

RedDevils5087d ago

so it had some kind of "top tier" porn story jk

ThanatosDMC5087d ago

Yup, it's a decent game. I just hate that a move has to go first before any attack options.

Show all comments (33)
120°

Bless Online Korean MMORPG Gets Server Merge

This is not the first time that Bless Online receives a server merge in Korea. An announcement was made on the official Korean site.

Read Full Story >>
mmoexaminer.com
2678d ago
Bismarn2677d ago

Bless must be an amazing game to be on all these platforms (according to the tags): iPad iPhone Nintendo DS PC PS Vita PS2 PS3 PS4 PSP Wii Wii U Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One