After Pulling Ads, Intel Tries To Stay Out Of #Gamergate Debate

In the latest sortie in the #Gamergate debate – a complicated and confusing battle over ethics and misogyny in the video game industry – Intel, one of the world's largest chip makers, is facing backlash after pulling an advertising campaign from a gaming site.

On Wednesday, Intel pulled an ad campaign for its RealSense platform from the site Gamasutra, a site that covers all areas of video game development. The move followed an organized email campaign allegedly formed to put pressure on companies who advertise on gaming sites that are critical of #Gamergate supporters.

#Gamergate began this summer after a female game developer was severely harassed online after allegations that she'd slept with gaming journalists for favorable reviews. #Gamergate supporters say the movement is squarely focused on ethics in video game journalism, but themisogynist language used by many supporters has put the movement at the center of the conversation about how women are treated in the gaming industry.

#Gamergate's push to target Intel began after Gamasutra published a piece from editor-at-large Leigh Alexander in late August. She declared that "gamers are over" and that the identity of being a "gamer" was no longer valid in today's marketplace and video game culture.

"Intel has pulled its advertising from website Gamasutra," Intel spokesperson Bill Calderconfirmed to tech site Re/code. "We take feedback from our customers very seriously especially as it relates to contextually relevant content and placements."

In a tweet, Gamasutra also confirmed that Intel had pulled their campaign due to complaints over Alexander's piece:

@BuckSexington Yes, our partners at @intel were flooded with complaints over a recent opinion piece, and they did pull an ad campaign.

— Gamasutra (@gamasutra) October 1, 2014

After the news, many criticized Intel for appearing to support the #Gamergate movement and all of the controversy that comes along with it. Some encouraged a counter email campaign:

In response, Intel issued a statement on Friday apologizing for the perception that it supported one side or the other:

"We take feedback from customers seriously. For the time being, Intel has decided not to continue with our current ad campaign on the gaming site Gamasutra. However, we recognize that our action inadvertently created a perception that we are somehow taking sides in an increasingly bitter debate in the gaming community. That was not our intent, and that is not the case. When it comes to our support of equality and women, we want to be very clear: Intel believes men and women should be treated the same."

Following Intel's actions, #Gamergate supporters vowed to continue putting pressure on other advertisers as well.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/10/04/353702104/intel-pulls-ads-from-gaming-site-amid-gamergate-debate

Don't you just love "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations?

No doubt.  I thought the whole thing was actually starting to calm down.

Everyone who is anti-gamergate seems to really like focusing on the harsh language of some /v/ users (no shit 4chan uses harsh language...they talk shit about everybody) instead of actually addressing the complaints and arguments of the gamergate supporters. This obviously isnt a piece about gamergate per se, but its still a weird scenario to watch...

Its like one side is making one argument and another side is making another argument, both perfectly valid arguments, but neither dispute what the other side is saying (although, the burden of addressing the complaints lies more strongly on the side of anti-gamergate)

Also, its funny how they linked to a 4chan page about #notyourshield when trying to use women as a shield...hm

Smart move Intel ... A smart move indeed ...

Yeah like in this article.

As abhorrent as some of the stuff has been said about Mrs. Quinn, you're spot on.  Did everybody just wake up one day and see the internet?  Or are we all fully aware that the anonymity of the internet allows for the worst of the worst to voice their opinions?  Normally, we just call these people trolls and ignore them...but somehow this is a new thing?  I guess maybe some folks haven't been around the internet long enough to realize not only are there hateful, sexist, bigoted folks out there, but also people who genuinely enjoy, trolling with shock talk.

Fuck them I say. if they really love their  gaming journalism , review scores and metacritic and don't know how they are corrupted 

Intel gamers inside

Know who's opinion isn't corrupt? Yours, use that as your decision to buy your next game. The entire gaming journalism industry is awash with scandals and corruption. I personally stopped caring unles i can verify facts on my own, I don't take journalist words as final say on the matter. I personally enjoyed Duke Nukem Forever, but it was rated poorly and heavily reviewed as bad. Didn't stop me from buying and enjoying it. :)