You are not in the wrong - It is your right and duty to criticize

In the media as of late with the announcement of the mobile only Diablo Immortal, the failure of Fallout 76, the terribly intrusive and greedy nature of EA screwing us over and over, and even the (thankfully reversed) decision to censor Rainbow Six Siege to meet the laws of a Chinese dictatorship, that us gamers are being called "entitled" and "whiny" for expressing our concern and criticism over our mutual love of video games

This cannot be any further from the truth. We, the gamers, the players, the fanboys, the console gamers and pc gamers alike, spend our cold, hard earned cash for something that helps us unwind from the reality of life. We as consumers should never stop criticizing because it is how things improve. Without all of you expressing your concerns, we will be fed more and more crap, lackluster, mobile microtransaction filled "AAA" games.

We deserve more. Never forget that, my gaming friends. It isn't just about a sense of pride or accomplishment, it isn't just about having phones, it isn't just about in game assets being removed. It is about the morals, the honor, and holding those accountable to do the job they should.

No matter what we game on, we are gamers, and we must stand together to criticize the actions and question the decisions these multibillion dollar corporations force upon us. They don't need microtransactions to keep a game going, they don't need to milk a game engine old enough to legally have sex with. We must hold them to the standards they say they have.

Stay strong my gaming brethren. Together we fight not for greed, but the betterment for all.

[Arkworthy]

It almost scares me how quickly multimillion dollar corporations started getting treated like people. Reviewers tread on eggshells not to OFFEND EA, and a stream of thinkpieces of worthless editorials constantly talk about Blizzard of Bethesda like they're close friends.

It's time to stop.

[bluefox755]

Most journalists are afraid of losing access. There are perks to playing nice with these corporations, the problem is, they screw over their readers/viewers in doing so. Fortunately people seem to be waking up to it.

[Arkworthy]

We can only hope. "Gamergate" quickly became a dirty word. "Ethics" never should.

[rainslacker]

The gaming press is about protecting their interest. They play nice with the industry, and they get all these perks, like early access to games, free copies of games and swag, and the chance to get paid by releasing these companies press releases. Couple this with click-bait being a better way to generate revenue, and you have a recipe for mediocrity.

If the press didn't get all that stuff, or the readers started ignoring the click-bait, then they'd be required to be journalist to get their info, then they'd probably be much more critical of the industry and the games themselves.

[Arkworthy]

"f the press didn't get all that stuff, or the readers started ignoring the click-bait, then they'd be required to be journalist to get their info, then they'd probably be much more critical of the industry and the games themselves."

Maybe. Recent evidence suggests that they don't, though. They just get hostile at the gamers themselves, and politicise the issue unduly. Then they report on that instead.

[rainslacker]

I think the politics comes more from the currently inciteful nature of the click bait. The whole SJW stuff especially gets people riled up, and they get a lot of traffic through both those who want to be in an inner circle, those who want to argue, and those who just come along to troll others by shaming them because of the topic at hand.

It's actually one of those things that would go away if we stopped reacting to it every time.

I personally think the politics stuff is going to die down to a point of irrelevance eventually. But that's more likely because people will just grow bored with it as the culture surrounding our hobby adapts to either meet somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, or people just say screw it and move on.

Blaming gamers is just another extension of the base problem.

There is some valid defense of the industry in some of the blaming of the community, because I do feel the community is prone to hyperbole in general. But the press itself can't be taken seriously because, again in general, they spend too much time defending the industry when they should be neutral and both supporting and criticizing the industry at the same time. In addition, it's a journalists duty, IMO, to write their articles in the interest on informing the reader....not in the interest of shaping the readers opinion. Shaping is the reason for editorial, but even editorial needs to come from the viewpoint of fact, to express a certain viewpoint, with enough leeway to still allow the reader to form their own opinion. Most of the editorial I see is made up of absolutes, with fact being rarely adhered to, or even used. Most of the editorial I read in the gaming press is just made up of assumptions and personal bias.

[Gwiz]

AAAAHHH MOTHERLAND !!!!! :P. (obvious joke towards picture)

[AK91]

Damn Straight

[Fist4achin]

Some companies developing games feel like they are less about about the story development, art and overall production and more about the maximizing of profits. I understand the desire to make the most out of your products, but at the same time it can become a quick way to lose your fans.

[frayed]

Very much agree.

I don't mean to take away from your comment, but I think there's a related point to be argued here. Compaines should definitely pay attention to the complaints and opinions of their customers. Criticism though, well there's an argument that to be able to critique something effectively requires understanding and research. And that the loss of respect that we have for criticism stems from the loss of the art. Real criticism requires careful and thoughtful attention to craft, theory and intention vs outcome. Everyone has the right to complain, especially paying customers, and everyone has the right to a personal opinion. But to have your opinion considered 'criticism', you also have to step up and show others that you have some level of understanding or possibly scholarship on the subject.

We need to respect our rights as consumers, but also uphold the rights of creators to be subject to informed and constructive criticism. Just because you sell something bad doesn't mean you can be abused. It just means you should do better. Good criticism points that out. That's how it works in books, music and film. Great criticism is part of the artistic process. It informs the consumer and can be for the artist, or other artists. This is how we elevate the form of gaming.

I've heard a lot of talk about ethics in journalism and media. Part of that is being able to define an issue or articulate a problem without resulting to name-calling, slander or defamation campaigns. We're within our right to be angry, but they also don't 'have' to listen to that, unfortunately. Rehtoric and argument aren't seen as powerful abilities anymore, but that's largely because of how lazy social media has made us. But we and they have to value that stuff otherwise civilization is f**ked, let alone videogames.

[coolbeans]

Argh...there goes my user-submission streak! And with something I was actually interested in blogging about (R6: Siege visual design changes). EDIT: Maybe I'll still write something about it.

I don't want this to come off as too harsh, but I had to cringe at the tone set throughout most of it. I'm not really following this whole "Gamers Rise Up!" attitude whenever a few useless think-pieces come up from people you can't stand. I'm not deliberately throwing shade here whilst ignoring my own chest-thumping moments either. I've shared my own thoughts countered the "Entitled Gamer" rants in the past. But I guess at this point and time, being on a site like this for so long, I don't get why most haven't begun to reflexively ignore stuff they know they won't like (intentionally so too) upon seeing it.

But perhaps part of my apprehension also comes from the various items of interest you've listed:

-the announcement of the mobile only Diablo Immortal,
-the failure of Fallout 76
-the terribly intrusive and greedy nature of EA screwing us over and over
-and even the (thankfully reversed) decision to censor Rainbow Six Siege to meet the laws of a Chinese dictatorship

Not all of these things are equal in respect to either validity of criticism OR your personification of journalist feedback. B/c of that I'm able to totally agree with you in respect to the R6 Siege stuff & some of the "entitled gamer" bunk I've seen spouted by a few.

But for Fallout 76? You're really strawmanning the gaggle of journalists if you're saying their default response is "oh...those whiny gamers complaining again." I'd go even further to say even journos/reviewers that ENJOY F76 make a more pleading/respectful case in its defense while also understanding anyone who came away frustrated. I've yet to see any finger-wagging about how petulant gamers are acting over F76's seemingly awful state it's in.

Diablo Immortal? I mean...I don't disregard the variegated arguments against Blizz here, but the way some gamers have acted strikes me as being ridiculously petulant. The treatment certain devs have received--yes, by a choice few--is worth calling out.

And EA's greedy nature? I don't think it's fair to say journos have used the "whiny/entitled" insults against gamers for P2W mechanics in BFII last year or whatever other avaricious behavior; or, if that's the case, you're relying on the most extreme cases of obnoxious journalists. Whiny over the female over-representation in BFV? Yes, I've seen those pieces. But that's different from EA's greed.

/endofthoughts