The "Insiders" are not the mouth of the truth and do not justify the toxicity
Before we leave, let's take a step back and give context to the situation. What's going on? A couple of weeks ago, three of the industry's most influential insiders spoke out about the possible release date of one of the most anticipated video games of the year, PlayStation's new God of War. The reason is simply linked to the hype that has been created around the title and its "strange" silence that has discouraged many fans, leading many rumors towards a possible referral in 2023.
The insiders, trained by Jason Schreier, Tom Henderson and "The Snitch", have shown in the past to have reliable sources on their anticipated reveal and their "popularity" on Twitter have meant that users ran after them for every little information. Consequently, you understand well that if these three individuals hint at a possible confirmation of the release date of a highly anticipated game during a specific day and this, in the end, does not happen, it is normal that chaos is created on social networks, giving vent to the more toxic community and maddening comments to the developers involved.
Are you fucking kidding me with this now ???
I cannot believe I even have to say this but don't fucking send dick pics to ANYONE on this team, or anyone in this industry for that matter.
They are busting their ass to make some for you to enjoy.
Show some fucking respect. https://t.co/o0xEZkWouj
- cory barlog (@corybarlog) June 30, 2022
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A message of protest against a of the developers involved in the game project, which were delivered several messages, with attached sexually explicit photos, by numerous fans, both to annoy and to try to receive the release date of the game in exchange (we continue to ask ourselves how they thought I could do it with such a technique). It goes without saying that Cory Barlog immediately had to take a stand in defense of his team, asking not to send photos and to stop asking for information on the title.
The situation has been explained for those who have not read anything about it, it seems clear to us that the situation has degenerated and that the user has shown, once again, an intelligence on a par with a hamster (no offense to the hamsters), hitting randomly and with actions without any kind of knowledge of the facts. br>
It is important to underline, however, that this whole "circus" started due to the anticipations of the three insiders, who inevitably generated a real crawl space on Twitter, leading the main videogame press organs to expand even more. plus all this through the diffusion of more formal articles. But beware, it's not their fault (and Barlog himself reiterated this), the problem is cultural.
don't.
the answer is not to find someone to blame or focus hate on. maybe just pay it forward and treat the people that make the things we love with some human decency and respect.
this is not a battle, we are not at war. we are just trying to make + enjoy things together.❤️ https://t.co/o1X3WBQyKF
- cory barlog (@corybarlog) June 30, 2022
A community that is too toxic, and unable to understand that official information comes exclusively from developers and publishers, which relies on unofficial sources in the grip of hype and the exasperating need to be part of the "next big thing ", regardless of whether the information shared, commented on or feared as true, is real or comes from unofficial sources which, although authoritative in their sector, could prove to be unfounded.
We, as the press, do not we may not realize that the situation that has arisen, as well as many others (we just have to think about Abandoned for a moment), is partly our fault. The main idea had to be to keep the user informed in every context, certainly not that of being complicit in uncontrolled toxicity, and that is why I would like to write that the amount of repeated news and leaks reported has been exaggerated. , since, in most cases, they do not provide any kind of useful or real information, merely offering “something to chat about”.
Over the past three months, we at GameDivision have reduced (perhaps ve you will have noticed) the news of leaks and rumors of 80% but the goal is to get to eliminate them, almost completely, replacing them with editorials, and opinion articles, on what is happening. It will not be an easy path, but it is the first step to improve information and give the community something more credible. We are aware of the fact that we are just a speck in a sea of sand but reading every day of insults to developers, sexually explicit photos and death threats, does not represent what I decided to write about video games, making me think about what I really want from the editorial reality of which I am part and which I am lucky enough to manage.
Insiders must be "something more", not a replacement for an official source, rumors have always stimulated the industry and the specialized press, but to give life to complex and editorials, not just news for their own sake. Often the sources of the Insiders can be useful, but they must absolutely not be taken as "the mouth of the truth" and their exposure must not justify, in any way, the toxicity of users towards the videogame sector.
With regard to this increasingly rampant situation, we will devote another opinion article in the coming years that will analyze the entire industry and not just the specific crawl space that has been generated around God Of War Ragnarok but there is no doubt that we must all work to ensure that unpleasant situations like that of God of War Ragnarok, and what the software house is undergoing, never recap.
