After the whole THQN fuckup, I can safely say most of the gaming press is spineless.

[Siresly]

Bad coverage has been in the minority as far as I've seen. Most that I've read has been appropriately harsh and incredulous of THQ's attempted apology. Some of them should arguably update or post a new article as they may have missed some relevant info or context, like Pollice's response to the homophobic image for instance. Others have done a perfectly good job. And then there's Gamespot...where THQ's false apology was half the article, which failed to mention 80% of the relevant information. That's like, actively terrible.

The worst I've seen is Gamereactor.se. Don't know how relevant they are in the grand scheme. Still, I want to go on record.
Beyond uncritically quoting THQ's apology, letting that be the narrative, and failing to mention any other relevant information, their article said something like "this controversy overshadowed the fact that some interesting information was actually revealed during this AMA" and then proceeded to list these vague nothings of "we're doing things maybe". Like...jsesusfucking christ, this guy is leaping from this, straight into doing marketing for the company. He thought regurgitating shallow PR lines was of the same importance, deserved as much attention as this shitshow, and figured it was more relevant than what he omitted. The fuck is wrong with him? Reading that made me actually angry. What a fucking incompetent asshole.

Anyway, I reckon games media's responsibility going forward is to not let this blow over. The same as it is ours. Just people and society in general, really.

I don't think it matters when a site declares they're taking some action in the general direction of applying pressure to THQ, what matters is that they do it.
Whether it's continued coverage of this issue, ceasing coverage of THQ games, applying disclaimers to it, or whatever else.

It's because you can't make much talk if THQ doesn't respond to anything. Unless you go for a direct call to action for business partners to demand details and actions, there's not much you can report on.

Click to shrink...

it has gone relatively quiet yeah because there's not much else to cover. THQ N are keeping quiet.

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Whether THQ responds to requests for comments or not, you don't need THQ's permission as it were, to talk about and around this situation.
See Game Informer, Game Revolution

 

[Deleted member 41520]

Because the "gaming press" isn't real journalism. It's entertainment news, which is itself just more entertainment. And the "gamer" market broadly either 1) just doesn't want to bother caring and just wants their review scores, trailers, and unboxing videos or 2) widely intersects with fairly shitty demographics, which together defines not only the core audience, but many of those in the gaming press industry.

You will never see a major outlet refuse to cover major gaming releases or run a real campaign against a major publisher with deep issues, because that will decrease their volume of entertainment content, damage relations with effective business partners, anger large swaths of the "gamer demographic", and those producing content for these outlets are part of that very same demographic and thus themselves may not care or are actively against calling these things out for suspect reason. And ultimately, it's not their job. They sell previews of and reactions to entertainment products, not journalism.

People need to stop pretending the "gaming press" is anything more than it is, or that the "gamer" crowd's issues aren't as deep and wide as they are.

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It's not even "entertainment news".

It's "enthusiast press".

 

[Menx64]

To be honest, Games media know their audiences, for the most part, will not care one bit. Many people dont even know who THQ Nordic, let alone 8chan.

 

[Deleted member 3534]

Because the "gaming press" isn't real journalism. It's entertainment news, which is itself just more entertainment. And the "gamer" market broadly either 1) just doesn't want to bother caring and just wants their review scores, trailers, and unboxing videos or 2) widely intersects with fairly shitty demographics, which together defines not only the core audience, but many of those in the gaming press industry.

You will never see a major outlet refuse to cover major gaming releases or run a real campaign against a major publisher with deep issues, because that will decrease their volume of entertainment content, damage relations with effective business partners, anger large swaths of the "gamer demographic", and those producing content for these outlets are part of that very same demographic and thus themselves may not care or are actively against calling these things out for suspect reason. And ultimately, it's not their job. They sell previews of and reactions to entertainment products, not journalism.

People need to stop pretending the "gaming press" is anything more than it is, or that the "gamer" crowd's issues aren't as deep and wide as they are.

Click to shrink...

Nothing else to say, really. Gaming journalism isn't journalism.

 

[GhostTrick]

So, it's been more than a month. I'm not aware of it but did any major publication took a stance on it ? Did THQN brought far more answers than a lame apology ?

 

[Messofanego]

It would be nice that until THQ Nordic resolved this scandal, videogame websites blacklisted coverage of their published games such as BioMutant and Generation Zero.

 

[GhostTrick]

It would be nice that until THQ Nordic resolved this scandal, videogame websites blacklisted coverage of their published games such as BioMutant and Generation Zero.

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Well most of it, take a public stance on that blacklisting.

 

[GrrImAFridge]

It would be nice that until THQ Nordic resolved this scandal, videogame websites blacklisted coverage of their published games such as BioMutant and Generation Zero.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, GZ is self-published. Nordic just distributes physical copies, which is why there's no THQN logo on the cover.

 

[Lawr]

Pretty disgusted with how everyone in gaming has carried on business as usual after THQ Nordic left the news cycle.
Our voices amounted to little more than rounding errors at the end of the day; disheartening.
I'll continue to boycott their games and not give them a dime of my money even though I was looking forward to a few of their publishing releases this year along with the Darksiders remaster.

 

[Kareha]

The gaming "press" has always and will always be the PR department for the industry. Most of the time they just regurgitate press releases and badmouth consumers.

 

[SMD]

I'm a bit confused, are you confusing the press for a pressure group? Cos the press never have that role, even traditional broadsheet journalism. Sure they may have agendas or editorials but pressure groups should be consumer led. The press shouldn't be dictating morals.

 

[Messofanego]

To be fair, GZ is self-published. Nordic just distributes physical copies, which is why there's no THQN logo on the cover.

Click to shrink...

Was not aware, thanks.

 

[GhostTrick]

I'm a bit confused, are you confusing the press for a pressure group? Cos the press never have that role, even traditional broadsheet journalism. Sure they may have agendas or editorials but pressure groups should be consumer led. The press shouldn't be dictating morals.

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But the press is used to have opinions though.

 

[SMD]

But the press is used to have opinions though.

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Yes and more often than not they won't be the same as yours. You can't expect them to be moral arbiters, it's not their job and they're not qualified for it.

 

[GhostTrick]

Yes and more often than not they won't be the same as yours. You can't expect them to be moral arbiters, it's not their job and they're not qualified for it.

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It's not moral here, it's also legal.

 

[SMD]

It's not moral here, it's also legal.

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Genuine question, since I was very much against THQ's actions, but what laws did they break?

 

[TheUnforgiven]

The OP is pretty has many information I wasn't aware of, thank you.

I dont understand tho what's in for THQN to do that. I can understand the situation from "some high ups get asked to greenlight an AMA on a forum and because they dont know any they say yes to whatever is suggested by people under and this happens". But if this was indeed some very targeted move and such... why? To promote child pornography? So the narrative here is that someone in a executive position has put the reputation of the company on the line to publicly promote CP?

I dont understand. Maybe im still missing stuff.

 

[Ishaan]

I'm still not entirely sure what the creator of this thread expects the press to do. I'm sure there are members of the press that have gotten in touch with THQ Nordic for comment or an explanation, and have been shooed away. Beyond that, what do you expect them to do?

Do you expect them to:

A) Cease covering THQ Nordic products entirely?

This wouldn't help anybody, nor has it historically ever been the case that the press stop covering a company just because a couple of people within that company did something terrible. This is true of any industry, not just games.​

B) Keep banging on about the issue in more articles?

Beyond a point it makes no sense to keep doing this. Sure, you could keep writing the same article week after week about how THQ is bad, but after a point it's a waste of time if the audience has moved on. I mean, do you see the vast majority of people on this very forum harping on about the issue?​

​

To be honest, this feels like it's just meant to be another one of those "the games press is awful" threads, where people repeat the same thing over and over. Beyond that, it certainly doesn't feel like a particularly productive thread. The OP hasn't offered any viable/realistic solutions for how the press might deal with the matter (the keywords here being viable/realistic).

I suppose my point is, there's plenty of excellent videogame journalism out there. You just have to find it. Not every matter is going to get the attention it deserves, nor is there going to be an immediate solution for everything. There is nothing the press can do here. Something awful happened, it was covered, and people moved on.

 

[YuSuzzune]

Gaming press today is just another marketing device, nothing else.

 

[GhostTrick]

Genuine question, since I was very much against THQ's actions, but what laws did they break?

Click to shrink...

Since 8chan is hosting child porn, I think THQ doing an AMA and promoting 8chan can be related to sharing/distributing child pornography.

 

[cucholix]

Don't think is fair condemn the work of devs under THQ umbrella because a dumb marketing department decision.

 

[GhostTrick]

Don't think is fair condemn the work of devs under THQ umbrella because a dumb marketing department decision.

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It's also one of the head of THQ Nordic. The big THQ Nordic, the mother company.

 

[Atheerios]

Saying that the press should stop covering THQN products or blacklist them is ridiculous in a business sense. The reality is that most gamers don't care or even know the situation, if they don't find the latest review of a THQN game on IGN they will just look on another website, so that's lost revenue.

As business it was never an option for gaming media.

 

[Budi]

Saying that the press should stop covering THQN products or blacklist them is ridiculous in a business sense. The reality is that most gamers don't care or even know the situation, if they don't find the latest review of a THQN game on IGN they will just look on another website, so that's lost revenue.

As business it was never an option for gaming media.

Click to shrink...

That's certainly something to consider. For customers like us, boycotting by not buying their games or not "promoting" their games online has no risks at all. So it's very easy to boycott. But for games media, especially traditional media which already has been struggling, it could very well hurt them much more than the publisher. So it's worth noting that for us it has no risks and we can do it without a second thought, but not doing your job has consequences. We are just SAVING money, so it ends up as a positive. But I definitely would have wanted to see more pressure against THQ in other ways by media, now the issue has been mostly treated just as another news headline and then they moved on. There should be interviews with THQ execs where they would be questioning the lack of action, press should be more in contact with any THQ partners for comment. Of course anyone can just decline to comment, so that's bit tricky too. Nonetheless, press should had been better about this. The worst lack of action is still definitely on THQ:s part and this should be emphasized by the press. THQ didn't do shit to make up for their "mistake". Only reporting "this just happened", is only half of the job they should be doing.

Also THQ partners, like the distribution platforms they publish the games on. I think there was something from Microsoft employee pushing THQ on Twitter. But I don't think that was the corporation, but the invidual. Sony, Nintendo etc. haven't said shit either.

 

[SMD]

Since 8chan is hosting child porn, I think THQ doing an AMA and promoting 8chan can be related to sharing/distributing child pornography.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure that holds up. I wouldn't weaken your argument like that, it's enough that they're endorsing a horrible platform.

 

[Budi]

I'm not sure that holds up. I wouldn't weaken your argument like that, it's enough that they're endorsing a horrible platform.

Click to shrink...

Well they literally shared a link to a website which hosts that stuff, on their official platform. So why do you think it doesn't hold up? They also kept it up after the backlash, the Microsoft employee I mentioned in my earlier post was pressuring THQ to take that shit down.

 

[Windu]

Since 8chan is hosting child porn, I think THQ doing an AMA and promoting 8chan can be related to sharing/distributing child pornography.

Click to shrink...

yeah thats not how the justice system works.

 

[SMD]

Well they literally shared a link to a website which hosts that stuff, on their official platform. So why do you think it doesn't hold up? They also kept it up after the backlash, the Microsoft employee I mentioned in my earlier post was pressuring THQ to take that shit down.

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Right but I don't see how THQ broke the law.

I don't want to debate this point further, I thought there was something else I'd missed and I'm not defending them in any way. I copped a ban off the mods because I quite rightly pointed out that people supporting THQ were sympathising with the platform.

 

[Budi]

Right but I don't see how THQ broke the law.

I don't want to debate this point further, I thought there was something else I'd missed and I'm not defending them in any way. I copped a ban off the mods because I quite rightly pointed out that people supporting THQ were sympathising with the platform.

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Why intentionally sharing links to a website with child porn isn't breaking a law? Do you think it should be if it's not? The intention and knowledge about the bad stuff can be verified from how they were messaging about it.

Atleast there should be a criminal investigation for those involved. I'm not sure whose authority it would be in this case, but it should be investigated.

 

[Deleted member 12447]

Not yet, since I dont think there's a relevant actual information about an upcoming game. Did THQN released a press release or new media about an upcoming game ?
But can you name some examples of the press who came out and say "we wont cover them until actions are taken" ?

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Action was supposedly taken. They apologized and the matter was dealt with internally from there.

I realize it's a terrible f****** mistake that they made and it shouldn't have happened in the first place but it did. It's clear that no diligence was done with scouting out that site.

Absolutely no video game company would actively want to be associated with that place.

There's a difference between action being taken and you just wanting public accountability and firings.

This isn't a case where they're denying that it happened like so many other people in the media these days. They have apologized multiple times and are clearly too embarrassed to say that they didn't do their job properly in assessing the site.

If I made that mistake I wouldn't actively get in front of it either it's pretty f****** horrible to be attached to that forever.

I'd like to believe that the real issue is that 8chan is a f****** site in the first place and maybe we should be handling the root of the problem as a people. I didn't even know that place existed until this whole thing.

 

[cucholix]

Why intentionally sharing links to a website with child porn isn't breaking a law? Do you think it should be if it's not? The intention and knowledge about the bad stuff can be verified from how they were messaging about it.

Click to shrink...

They weren't sharing links to child pornography tho.

 

[Budi]

They weren't sharing links to child pornography tho.

Click to shrink...

Because they didn't share an image url? Is that a way around it "I only shared the website, not the actual porn" checkmate atheists.

 

[melodiousmowl]

there's sadly very little journalism in the gaming press. most of the content is regurgitated press releases, or other promotional pieces. even reviews toe the line.

who has a team that you would expect to tackle this?

 

[GhostTrick]

Action was supposedly taken. They apologized and the matter was dealt with internally from there.

I realize it's a terrible f****** mistake that they made and it shouldn't have happened in the first place but it did. It's clear that no diligence was done with scouting out that site.

Absolutely no video game company would actively want to be associated with that place.

There's a difference between action being taken and you just wanting public accountability and firings.

This isn't a case where they're denying that it happened like so many other people in the media these days. They have apologized multiple times and are clearly too embarrassed to say that they didn't do their job properly in assessing the site.

If I made that mistake I wouldn't actively get in front of it either it's pretty f****** horrible to be attached to that forever.

I'd like to believe that the real issue is that 8chan is a f****** site in the first place and maybe we should be handling the root of the problem as a people. I didn't even know that place existed until this whole thing.

Click to shrink...

Except they knew what they were doing. Once you visit the site in question, you KNOW what it's all about.
Heck they said someone would take care of the "nasty stuff".

 

[GhostTrick]

yeah thats not how the justice system works.

Click to shrink...

It depends. It can be up to interpretation of if such action is part of the act or not.

 

[Deleted member 12447]

Except they knew what they were doing. Once you visit the site in question, you KNOW what it's all about.
Heck they said someone would take care of the "nasty stuff".

Click to shrink...

Obviously they didn't. Literally nobody in any public position would want to willingly or actively promote a site like that if they knew because first and foremost from a company perspective it's bad business. It should have ALWAYS been clear that they had clearly not did their job properly in investigating the website in question in the slightest.

They've apologized, and claimed ignorance as well, which I absolutely believe in this specific case.

"This letter is to offer my sincerest apologies and regret for THQ Nordic GmbH Vienna's interaction with the controversial website 8chan last Tuesday, February 26. I condemn all unethical content this website stands for. Even if no one within the THQ Nordic Group would ever endorse such content, I realize simply appearing there gave an implicit impression that we did."

I do realize this is a very corporate looking response for an apology, but they're a corporation. That's how it's going to look.

As I've said, this went from you a lot of people here wanting action taken, to really just wanting a public hanging. The constant that's brought up is "I want X people fired for this."

I just think that WE can be better than that. Here at ResetEra as a community we'd like to think we're on the button when it comes to what's right and what's wrong, and if that's true then I challenge us to step up and try to give these people the proper guidance they need, and others outside of our bubble.

 

[Transistor]

They've apologized, and claimed ignorance as well, which I absolutely believe in this specific case.

Click to shrink...

I can't believe the ignorance part one bit. It's extremely hard to even get to 8chan through traditional means. Whoever set up the AMA there knew exactly what the site was and how to get to it. And yes, I think that person should be held accountable with more than a corporate apology.

 

[Deleted member 176]

Obviously they didn't. Literally nobody in any public position would want to willingly or actively promote a site like that if they knew because first and foremost from a company perspective it's bad business. It should have ALWAYS been clear that they had clearly not did their job properly in investigating the website in question in the slightest.

Click to shrink...

They did know. Even if they didn't know, the things they posted once they were there and the fact that they stuck around once they saw what was there is equally bad as if they knew in the first place. They joined in racist/homophobic talk for hours and hours and didn't delete the link to the AMA or offer an apology until the next day despite everyone immediately informing them the "mistake" they were making.

THQN is just run by a rotten group of people. People who likely sympathize with the white. supremacist who murdered people in New Zealand in cold blood.

Anyway, I mostly agree OP. Jason Schrier is basically the only real journalist working in the industry. Some youtubers (who aren't and don't. claim to be news) did a better job of handling the situation than the news.

 

[Azurik]

They apologised and claim they had no idea. That's good enough for for the press and they will move on to other stories.

People here obviously don't like it and expect THQ to be publicly lynched for it but that never happens and never will.

People need to move on and accept it or carry on whinging but nothing will change.

 

[Deleted member 12447]

They did know. Even if they didn't know, the things they posted once they were there and the fact that they stuck around once they saw what was there is equally bad as if they knew in the first place. They joined in racist/homophobic talk for hours and hours and didn't delete the link to the AMA or offer an apology until the next day despite everyone immediately informing them the "mistake" they were making.

THQN is just run by a rotten group of people. People who likely sympathize with the white. supremacist who murdered people in New Zealand in cold blood.

Anyway, I mostly agree OP. Jason Schrier is basically the only real journalist working in the industry. Some youtubers (who aren't and don't. claim to be news) did a better job of handling the situation than the news.

Click to shrink...

They absolutely should have instantly pulled out the moment the racism began. I will not disagree with that in the slightest. They mishandled the fuck out of it once they were in there. I'm not against action being taken. I'm for second chances when I personally believe it was a mistake. Based on the information we have available I feel they clearly did not do diligence with researching the website that they decided it was ok to host an AMA on. I accept their apology and will move on, but not forget this. Not everyone, or many will agree with me and that's ok. I take an apology as an apology and hope that things were handled internally. I do not need a public execution for this.

Now if it were to happen again, I would be right beside many of you asking for heads to roll. Despite how it may seem to you, I actually have a very low tolerance for this shit myself and I'm not defending THQN because they publish a lot of titles that I like. Rkelly makes a lot of music I loved as well but you won't find me listening to those songs anymore. I have a brother who is in jail for child pornography, and not only have I washed my hands of him, it's difficult to even admit I have a brother to people. My saving grace is we have different last names. Not only do I not want to be associated with him, I don't even wish to hear his name.

 

[The Hiveking]

I can't believe the ignorance part one bit. It's extremely hard to even get to 8chan through traditional means. Whoever set up the AMA there knew exactly what the site was and how to get to it. And yes, I think that person should be held accountable with more than a corporate apology.

Click to shrink...

The site is delisted from google, that doesn't mean it's at all dificult to get to it.

 

[Transistor]

People need to move on and accept it or carry on whinging but nothing will change.

Click to shrink...

So wanting accountability from a person who intentionally hosted an AMA on a site known to ally with terrorists and hosts child porn is whining?

The site is delisted from google, that doesn't mean it's at all dificult to get to it.

Click to shrink...

It's not only been delisted from Google, it's been basically removed from every DNS resolver, so just typing 8chan won't get you there. You have to know how to get there and if you know how to get there, you more than likely know what the site is for.

 

[svacina]

Action was supposedly taken.

Click to shrink...

Really? What action? Did they have a good laugh during their board meeting?

 

[Budi]

 

[deadman322]

They apologised and claim they had no idea. That's good enough for for the press and they will move on to other stories.

People here obviously don't like it and expect THQ to be publicly lynched for it but that never happens and never will.

People need to move on and accept it or carry on whinging but nothing will change.

Click to shrink...

yeh poeple need to understand that the people at thq who were behind this are so dumb, that a simple google search that would bring up the wikipedia entry for the site, is far beyond their capabilities.

 

[Wetalo]

Yknow when the incident happened, everyone was talking about the child pornography scandals associated with the site. Personally, it was the blatant Neo - Nazism and white supremacy that always shocked me in it. First time I visited 8chan, I didn't know what it was known for. When I visited the /pol/ board I was legit shocked by it.

And a few weeks ago, one of its members murdered 50 people and I legit was not the least bit surprised.

 

[GhostTrick]

So wanting accountability from a person who intentionally hosted an AMA on a site known to ally with terrorists and hosts child porn is whining?



It's not only been delisted from Google, it's been basically removed from every DNS resolver, so just typing 8chan won't get you there. You have to know how to get there and if you know how to get there, you more than likely know what the site is for.

Click to shrink...

Let's imagine they couldnt possibly know what they were doing, that head of PR and marketing department accepted to do an AMA on a site without even checking what it was:
Once you land here, you know what it's like. There's literally no excuse to not see it. So even in that crazy fantasy scenario where they didnt knew where they were heading to, they could see what it was at first sight.

But the reality is more crude:
1) When they announced it, they said something along the line "We dont know why we accepted, we must be crazy but we're doing an AMA on 8chan" which implies they knew the site's reputation
2) They then said "This isn't a joke" (which means they knew that it was questionable enough to be justified) to then say "it's been organised tightly (shoutout to Mark) and the nasty stuff will be taken care off".


They cant say they didnt knew. They knew. And even in the small 0.00001% possibility they've been misled, once they were there they knew what it was about. So fuck them.

 

[Transistor]

Really? What action? Did they have a good laugh during their board meeting?

Click to shrink...

I'm sure a finger wagging was in order as well

They cant say they didnt knew. They knew. And even in the small 0.00001% possibility they've been misled, once they were there they knew what it was about. So fuck them.

Click to shrink...

Yep, 100%. And they're not getting a penny from me until there are ramifications for the people accountable.

 

[GhostTrick]

They apologised and claim they had no idea. That's good enough for for the press and they will move on to other stories.

People here obviously don't like it and expect THQ to be publicly lynched for it but that never happens and never will.

People need to move on and accept it or carry on whinging but nothing will change.

Click to shrink...

Well as I said, the press has no spine if they keep ignoring that.

 

[Eumi]

They absolutely should have instantly pulled out the moment the racism began. I will not disagree with that in the slightest. They mishandled the fuck out of it once they were in there. I'm not against action being taken. I'm for second chances when I personally believe it was a mistake. Based on the information we have available I feel they clearly did not do diligence with researching the website that they decided it was ok to host an AMA on. I accept their apology and will move on, but not forget this. Not everyone, or many will agree with me and that's ok. I take an apology as an apology and hope that things were handled internally. I do not need a public execution for this.

Now if it were to happen again, I would be right beside many of you asking for heads to roll. Despite how it may seem to you, I actually have a very low tolerance for this shit myself and I'm not defending THQN because they publish a lot of titles that I like. Rkelly makes a lot of music I loved as well but you won't find me listening to those songs anymore. I have a brother who is in jail for child pornography, and not only have I washed my hands of him, it's difficult to even admit I have a brother to people. My saving grace is we have different last names. Not only do I not want to be associated with him, I don't even wish to hear his name.

Click to shrink...

I think you're lacking some of the "information we have available" if you think they didn't know about 8chan.

Go find and re-read the tweets that announced it. They were heavily leaning into the sites reputation. So unless you somehow want to argue that they had, like, all been lied to about what the site was like (a lie that still involved it hosting "nasty stuff"), then, well honestly if you do want to argue that then there's literally nothing that could possibly convince you that these people are responsible for their own actions and decisions.