Archive for Games Journalism
Strategy Informer – THQ in Kaos
Image Courtesy of Strategy Informer
Another day, another editorial over at Strategy Informer. This time it was an in-depth look at THQ and what’s going on at the publisher. This linked to the recent news that they’d closed Kaos / Digital Warrington in NYC / UK respectively.
THQ in Kaos? – Not a bad headline if I say so myself…
In fact a brief look at its share value can work wonders. When Homefront released its share price dropped an astonishing 20% in just 24 hours. That was in March, when its dollar value was at $4.75. Fast forward to now and it stopped trading on the NasdaqGS at $3.45. That’s hardly a recovery and if anything, even with the current state of the global markets, it’s even more worrying.
Furthermore, in the last four years THQ has closed, or sold, twelve internal development studios / partner agencies. Linking that to its games, a 2011 release schedule only really has Saints Row 3, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine as leading franchises. They also hold the poplar UFC and WWE sports games, but the licence fees every year are equally detrimental to potential profit.
Quoted on PR Moment and Other Content
Well haven’t I been busy (turning 23, etc.). Three content things to share with you today, all of which I’m very proud of.
- I was quoted on PR Moment talking about PR. Yes. Me. Quoted. How about that then.
- I really enjoyed Shadows of the Damned on X360 and wrote a stellar review on Strategy Informer.
- I banged out this opinion piece for photography site, Faces of London.
To save you scanning for my famous quote, here it is:
“If failing to target information to individual publications is a mistake, then sending out one mass mailing is surely a disaster! Yet this is a blunder the industry is sometimes slated for. Marco Fiori, account executive at agencyBamboo PR, says: “It comes up time and time again in criticism of the profession. Untargeted emailing, which is essentially spam, helps no one. We hate it when companies send us unsolicited mail, so why do we think that journalists appreciate it?”
Duking It Out On Twitter – Strategy Informer Feature
I seem to be on a feature spree this week. On Twitter yesterday, 2K games, Redner and some journalists locked horns. It was enthralling to see publisher, PR and public come together in a disaster situation that left Redner without the 2K Games account. It was so exciting, I wrote another editorial. The second in two days. Give it a go.
We’ve all been there haven’t we? Long hours at the hands of unappreciative bosses, jibes from demanding co-workers, delays on the daily commute – it’s enough irritation to make even the best of us crack. One minute you’re happily answering emails, the next you’ve snapped, thrown a stapler at your manager’s forehead and walked out the door with your novelty USB toy.
Back before the days of the ever omniscient web gods, the above was how it used to be. Nowadays work related tantrums take place in the online space where an army of people hang on your every word. Venting online has been around for some time, but it used to be hidden on forums deep in the bowels of the internet.
Strategy Informer: Top 10 Feature
Courtesy of Strategy Informer
It’s been a while since I shared any journalistic endeavours here. I am however very pleased with how my Macgasm trial is going, and of course Faces of London is growing slowly.
What this is really about is this top ten feature over at Strategy Informer. Not bad for a night’s work. Extract below:
Watch Out! Rock! Watch Out! Tree! Restart. Before the series took an adrenaline shot, Colin McRae was about rallying. Rushing along dusty tracks, relying on your co-driver, power sliding off slopes – it all seems a bit dull compared to the Ken Block in-your-face sequels.
However prior to its shift, it was much more punishing. There’s no rewinding time if you career off a cliff – this meant you had to be right on the money with your cornering and throttle. This is the gentleman’s reaction racer. While the other titles on this list place themselves in the land of what-if, DiRT was grounded in reality.
Me Talking About Games On Eurogamer TV
Courtesy of Eurogamer
So to counter the sad news that I’ll be travelling to Japan alone, I’ve got some great games journalism news to share (in case you’ve not already seen it). I consider PC Zone the highlight of my games writing career and the following news is up there with the best I’ve done. I was featured on Eurogamer, Europe’s largest independent video game website. Albeit it was as a consumer, talking about pre-owned games, but still. I’m featured twice for my views and th considering it was the first time I’ve been on camera, I reckon I hold my own. I’m sure that in the future I’ll be on video more and more as my PR career develops.
You can find it over on February’s Eurogamer TV here. I feature around 7.20 mins into the show and then at 8.18. I talk about buying habits and pricing of games.
Massive thanks to Johnny for organising it.
