Surprise surprise. Yesterday we posted an Editorial about whether we should blame fans for Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk’s decision to leave BioWare and the games industry. As we said, we believe that fans are not to be blamed as those are the ones that made this company what it is today. Fans had valid points about ME3 – and the latest BioWare titles – and Ray Muzyka is of the same opinion, as he revealed that fans speak with ‘deep‘ and ‘honest passion‘ about their games.

As Ray tweeted:

“I respect/revere fans, because they speak with deep, honest passion. Journalists speculating on ill-founded rumors should reassess approach.”

This obviously means that Ray did not resigne because of fan negativity. Ray added later on that ‘good websites demand clarity and credibility – lesser ones enable ill-informed

individuals to make stuff up about other people‘.

Our guess is that those comments are addressed towards Trent Oster or NowGamer. Even though Oster had a talk with Greg and saw his exhaustion, he did not had a meeting with Ray. NowGamer decided to put both of these guys into the same basket, suggesting that fan negativity was too much for both of them. And even though that might be true for Greg, it’s definitely not for Ray.

Ray concluded that this misinformation came ‘from speculation by lesser websites on ill-founded rumors from ill-informed individuals.’

http://www.dsogaming.com/news/ray-muzyka-backs-fans-up-journalists-speculating-on-ill-founded-rumors-should-reassess-approach/

Gaming journalism has become horrible over the past year.

" And even though that might be true for Greg, it’s definitely not for Ray."
Okay, so Ray doesn't see it that way, but Greg does.

So still, the journalism was crap, but there was a lesson to be learned, that some people just whine too much, while others actually offer deep and constructive criticism.

/controversy

That completely misses the point.

I know we are discussing the game industry here, but journalism in general is pretty awful lately. Just presenting the facts and letting people come to their own conclusion is extremely rare. Even readers/viewers have helped to ruin this by flocking to those with controversial opinions and judgmental editorials.

Gaming journalism in general has been pretty shoddy at best. This phenomena isn't that surprising and was made worse when the internet allowed any idiot to start a website. Luckily it also gave readers the tools needed to challenge bullshit. Overall though, gaming journalism really hasn't advanced much beyond being "enthusiast press" with a few exceptions.

This is true, though we have to look at the other side of the coin, namely that the video game industry is one of the most secretive of any business or government group this side of the military and/or intelligence. When the people, journalists included, lack facts to go on, our fancy must fill the gap.

Couldn't agree more. I think one of the worst things about video games, and I've written about this before, is the lack of a professional corps of video game journalists and critics.

When someone wants to seek out an educated, well-researched, well-argued review of a book or a movie, there are many professional outlets. When someone wants to seek out the same type of review for a game, God help him or her. It's not just score inflation (which is rampant) or irresponsible journalism, it's the absence of a clear line of demarcation between the gaming press and the gaming industry.

Good point.

That's exactly what I would say if I didn't want to be murdered by angry fans who had already killed my desire to make video games.