Gamasutra survey: Paying YouTubers and press to cover your game (8-11 questions)

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Q11 What is your opinion of traditional
press asking for payment (rev share, flat-
fee or otherwise) to promote games?
Answered: 171 Skipped: 154
# Responses Date
1 Same as wi th Youtubers, they want to get pai d as everybody does. 7/16/2014 6:36 AM
2 al so fucki n dumb 7/16/2014 6:13 AM
3 Shoul d be the same, fl at fee whi ch hel ps the si te keep doi ng what i t i s doi ng. 7/16/2014 6:04 AM
4 Cl earl y l abel ed adverts are fi ne. Anythi ng el se i s mi sl eadi ng thei r readershi p. Readers depend on
curators and revi ewers to be i mparti al and hi ghl i ght qual i ty games that they mi ght otherwi se mi ss.
Si mi l arl y, readers al so rel y on revi ews to warn them away from games that do not del i ver on thei r
marketi ng promi ses. Di l uti ng these two mechani sms hol ds games as a medi um back from reachi ng
i t's true potenti al .
7/16/2014 5:54 AM
5 It seems fai r to pay them a fl at rate. 7/16/2014 5:35 AM
6 al so asshol es 7/16/2014 5:30 AM
7 It erodes al l accountabi l i ty. It's terri bl e. 7/16/2014 5:23 AM
8 i nsane 7/16/2014 5:15 AM
9 We normal l y avoi d those si tes and try to reach our audi ence on a di fferent way. 7/16/2014 5:08 AM
10 I thi nk i t i s unnecessary, and I woul d not accept. If I wanted to pay to get my game featured, I
woul d ask. Peopl e don't need busi ness-peopl e tryi ng to mani pul ate them for cash. It j ust moves
games further from art and cl oser to busi ness.
7/16/2014 5:06 AM
11 It al ways tempers the coverage of the game and does no one any good. 7/16/2014 5:00 AM
12 they sti nk! 7/16/2014 5:00 AM
13 Same as the other poi nt. Your tal ki ng about sel l i ng adverti sments, not press. Press i s i ndependant.
It shoul d be. Getti ng money i nvol ved i n and sel l i ng yoursel f to the hi ghest bi dder wi l l make press,
youtubers and j ournal i sts j ust the same ki nd of pri ck that googl e now i s. Al l about money.
7/16/2014 4:59 AM
14 It depends on the game and the press... If I'm not expecti ng a bi g success wi th a parti cul ar rel ease,
I thi nk that press promoti on can hel p a l ot and make a bi gger revenue.
7/16/2014 4:59 AM
15 It's not press anymore, i t's PR agency work :/ 7/16/2014 4:57 AM
16 Money-di vi de 7/16/2014 4:56 AM
17 Seems l i ke a bad deal , as YouTube woul d probabl y move more uni ts. 7/16/2014 4:55 AM
18 Same as the l ast questi on. A game shoul d be promoted because the game bri ngs somethi ng to the
tabl e whi ch was otherwi se not found. Such as an uni que artstyl e, new setti ng, spi n-off etcetc
7/16/2014 4:53 AM
19 I don't thi nk i t's obj ecti ve j ournal i sm. 7/16/2014 4:51 AM
20 Al so, sketchy. They shoul d cover what they see fi t i nstead of aski ng for payment for somethi ng they
don't real l y care about. They shoul dn't be pai d to pretend.
7/16/2014 4:50 AM
21 Agai n, val i d marketi ng strategy. However a fewer amount of peopl e appear to be readi ng wri tten
press rather than watchi ng the l i kes of youtube.
7/16/2014 4:48 AM
22 The same as YouTubers - there's j ournal i sm and there's adverti si ng, they need to be transparentl y
separate.
7/16/2014 4:47 AM
23 Same as for YouTubers. How can you remai n i ndependent i n your coverage when you are
recei vi ng cash to promote a game?
7/16/2014 4:45 AM
Gamasutra survey: Paying YouTubers and press to cover your game (8-11 questions)
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24 I thi nk a maj or revi ew si te aski ng money for adverti si ng your game and aski ng for a fl at fee, makes
sense, as they're a busi ness and obvi ousl y need i t to stay afl oat and i f they attract a l ot of traffi c,
that's a l ot of potenti al customers they can attract you. They have way more expenses to cover,
staff to empl oy etc whereas You Tubers don't. They make vi deos on You Tube i n thei r free ti me,
because they're passi onate about vi deo games and l ove them, or so we're tol d.
7/16/2014 4:45 AM
25 Di d i t once, some smal l usel ess mobi l e si te of course.. Never agai n. 7/16/2014 4:45 AM
26 No opi ni on. 7/16/2014 4:45 AM
27 Same as wi th youtubers, once money changes hands i t becomes pai d-for adverti si ng. If that i sn't
di scl osed by the j ournal /person i n questi on, i t i s mi sl eadi ng and untrustworthy.
7/16/2014 4:44 AM
28 Same as for YouTubers. Revi ews shoul d not be pai d thi ngs. 7/16/2014 4:43 AM
29 Pi sspots 7/16/2014 4:41 AM
30 If i t contri butes to the cost of runni ng the publ i cati on we woul d consi der i t. 7/16/2014 4:40 AM
31 It i s okay. 7/16/2014 4:39 AM
32 Usual l y i t's been for revi ews, i n whi ch case the content wi l l be compromi sed by the exchange of
money.
7/16/2014 4:39 AM
33 Agai n, don't mi nd payi ng for thei r ti me i f what they wri te i s honest feedback about my game, that's
what matters to me!
7/16/2014 4:37 AM
34 not keen (unl ess i t's very cl ear that's happeni ng) 7/16/2014 4:36 AM
35 Absol utel y and compl etel y ethi cal l y wrong. 7/16/2014 4:34 AM
36 No? 7/16/2014 3:00 AM
37 As tradi ti onal press normal l y have adverti si ng spots on thei r si te, I see no probl em wi th thi s as i t's
cl ear what are ads and what are not. Pai d adverti sements are not uncommon. But i f money has
exchanged hands (or wi l l ) and an arti cl e i s presented as somethi ng other than a pai d
adverti sement, i t's unethi cal .
7/16/2014 2:55 AM
38 Same as wi th youtubers: i t's another adverti sement posi bi l i ty for devel opers. In both cases, though,
the press/youtuber must cl earl y state i n the same arti cl e/vi deo that they are bei ng pai d for that
feature (I forgot to menti on thi s i n the other comment).
7/16/2014 2:38 AM
39 same as youtubers, though I'd be a bi t more scepti c on the neutral part. 7/16/2014 2:34 AM
40 If the game i s good enough i t's i n thei r i nterest to cover i t. They make money through other means 7/16/2014 2:27 AM
41 Somewhat worse than Youtubers, onl y because I know that there are ethi cal gui del i nes i n pl ace
that, whi l e not maki ng "advertori al s" and the l i ke i mpossi bl e or i l l egal , makes i t feel di rti er and
more compromi si ng to do so. Especi al l y gi ven that a number of wri ters and j ournos make a poi nt of
avoi di ng them. (Anecdotal , but sti l l ) It's strange, gi ven that the same shoul d be true for Youtubers,
but i t tends to not be sai d out al oud as much from ei ther them or game makers.
7/16/2014 2:25 AM
42 Same as YouTubers - i see them as an organi c extensi on of the same system of "i mparti al " content
revi ew and promoti on.
7/16/2014 2:12 AM
43 If I have to pay someone to l i e i n a cri ti que of my game then perhaps I shoul d make a better game. 7/16/2014 2:10 AM
44 Outsi de of the mobi l e devel opment space I thi nk the maj ori ty of tradi ti onal press understand that
cash for features i s a dangerous ethi cal l i ne to cross. I thi nk there are other avenues (such as
promoti ons and adverti si ng) that can sti l l be probl emati c for thei r own reasons, are better at
mai ntai ni ng j ournal i sti c i ntegri ty.
7/16/2014 2:09 AM
45 Same as YouTubers. 7/16/2014 2:07 AM
46 Agai n, once i t gets out that a promoti on has been pai d for, the accuracy of the work i s put i nto
questi on. There's no way of guaranteei ng that the opi ni ons presented are honest and i mparti al
7/16/2014 2:04 AM
47 Trust i s l ost on the si tes where thi s happens. Smal l devs can't afford to pay. 7/16/2014 2:02 AM
48 Waste of money. 7/16/2014 2:02 AM
49 No. nonononono. 7/16/2014 2:00 AM
50 I don't see i t any di fferent than YouTubers. 7/16/2014 1:58 AM
Gamasutra survey: Paying YouTubers and press to cover your game (8-11 questions)
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51 It's unfai r to devel opers that don't have budget, pl us these arti cl es are supposed to be wri tten
wi thout confl i ct of i nterest...
7/16/2014 1:57 AM
52 See YouTubers comment. I'd never do i t, but i f i t's cl earl y denoted as adverti si ng, I suppose I'm
fi ne wi th i t exi sti ng.
7/16/2014 1:54 AM
53 Whi l st I hate the very i dea of pay-to-revi ew, exposure and coverage i s absol utel y cri ti cal for app
di scovery - i f you're not di scovered, you're not downl oaded.
7/16/2014 1:54 AM
54 They can pi ss off too! 7/16/2014 1:54 AM
55 A tradi ti onal press outl et aski ng for payment for coverage i s pai d adverti si ng. Due to the
expectati on of them bei ng cri ti cs, thi s i s a seri ous bl ow to reputati on i f i t gets out, and general l y a
terri bl e i dea. Most of the compani es most desperate for coverage (smal l i ndi es) l i kel y coul dn't
afford i t anyway. Woul d l i kel y skew coverage towards AAA even more heavi l y than i t al ready i s.
7/16/2014 1:52 AM
56 It has al ways been free. I was j ust on Ign yesterday, for free. But i f I had to pay, and I coul d afford i t
(I can't), i t woul d be worth i t.
7/16/2014 1:51 AM
57 That's not somethi ng possi bl e. For me, press = j ournal i sm, even the bad ones, and I can't pay a
j ournal i st.
7/16/2014 1:50 AM
58 Shoul d be di scl osed cl earl y as adverti sement and separate from edi tori al content. 7/16/2014 1:50 AM
59 Despi cabl e. 7/16/2014 1:50 AM
60 I woul d pay i f I had al ready been featured and the audi ence of the mag al ready recogni sed my
game. If I was havi ng a spread wri tten about the game i t woul d j usti fy payment.
7/16/2014 1:49 AM
61 Up to a poi nt okay maybe. But I'd probabl y never do i t. 7/16/2014 1:49 AM
62 Same as before, i t's j ust general l y more common practi ce and general l y works on conni ng
begi nners to rel easi ng games.
7/16/2014 1:49 AM
63 Wi th tradi ti onal press, the whol e conversati on seems hi l ari ous. How coul d a revi ew si te ask for
money to revi ew your game? Woul dn't they be pressured i nto gi vi ng i t a good score? Adverti si ng on
thei r si tes / magazi nes seems l i ke i t shoul d be ok, but even then we've seen edi tors fi red for gi vi ng a
bad revi ew score to a game that was bei ng aggressi vel y adverti sed on thei r si te.
7/16/2014 1:41 AM
64 Same as you tubers. If I want to pay, I'l l buy adverti si ng space 7/16/2014 1:08 AM
65 They are al so pr. 7/16/2014 12:54 AM
66 Once more, fl at fees and affi l i ate are al l fai r busi ness. I woul d absol utel y consi der usi ng thei r
servi ces. But i f you aren't a member of the team and MAKING THE GAME EXIST, you don't
deserve ful l bl own profi t shares. Aski ng for thi s makes you sound greedy and l i ke a bad partner. I've
got no i ssue wi th busi ness. But I have i ssues when peopl e try to pul l BS.
7/15/2014 6:59 PM
67 I feel about the same. Ful l di scl osure and fl at fee seems acceptabl e. Rev share feel s l i ke
dangerous ethi cal waters, or maybe I j ust thi nk i t i s unfai r to devel opers? I thi nk no di scl osure i n any
opti on i s a vi ol ati on of trust. Unfortunatel y, my fear wi th tradi ti onal press and Youtubers i s thi s new
potenti al revenue model wi l l drown out the outl ets dedi cated to more i n depth materi al and
j ournal i sm/cri ti ci sm. However, I do not have enough i ndustry i nsi ght to know how much i f thi s
al ready goes on i n the tradi ti onal press.
7/15/2014 5:44 PM
68 Di tto. 7/15/2014 5:27 PM
69 Possi bl y worth i t but general l y seems l ess effecti ve than payi ng a YouTube personal i ty for the
same.
7/15/2014 3:17 PM
70 I woul d be very dubi ous of such an offer. The tradi ti onal press are generati ng revenue through
adverti si ng and subscri pti ons by sel l i ng news and features whi ch i nterest thei r readers. If al l they
were coveri ng were pai d arti cl es then i t i s the readers who woul d be the vi cti ms.
7/15/2014 2:43 PM
71 I di dn't thi nk i t happened often and woul d probabl y not be wi l l i ng to do i t. I may pay a fl at fee
perhaps but have not consi dered i t unti l now
7/15/2014 1:56 PM
72 Bad. 7/15/2014 1:47 PM
73 Pai d coverage can be seen from a mi l e away and general l y makes si tes l ook bad i f i t i s done too
mi ch
7/15/2014 1:26 PM
74 Bi t of a sti nk move. 7/15/2014 1:17 PM
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75 Cockwagons 7/15/2014 12:42 PM
76 No 7/15/2014 12:22 PM
77 Agai n, total bs. If they want to cover a game they can feel free to do so, but no way I'm payi ng for
i t.
7/15/2014 11:36 AM
78 I'd pay for certai n si tes, I guess. Sadl y there's too much sensati onal i sm i n vi deo game "j ournal i sm",
woul d rather promote my game on my own.
7/15/2014 11:34 AM
79 Seems reasonabl e 7/15/2014 11:33 AM
80 Wankers 7/15/2014 11:27 AM
81 No i ssue wi th i t. 7/15/2014 11:26 AM
82 Adverti si ng fi ne, edi tori al wrong 7/15/2014 11:14 AM
83 I thi nk i t woul d be more expected by both fans and devel opers because press i s a more tradi ti onal
career where profi ts are the goal unl i ke YouTubers where fun i s seen as the mai n obj ecti ve. I don't
real l y have a probl em wi th i t but as a smal l i ndi e wi th l i ttl e adverti si ng budget, i t sucks.
7/15/2014 11:04 AM
84 Pai d content i s arguabl y unethi cal , whi l e genui ne ads (that appear as such, e.g., i n a si debar, are
fi ne.
7/15/2014 10:59 AM
85 Agai nst i t. Pay to be featured i s a great way to starve the Indi es out of exi stence. Al l ows those wi th
the deepest pockets to control the market.
7/15/2014 10:56 AM
86 I'm fundamental l y and ethi cal l y agai nst such thi ngs and woul d never consi der i t under any
ci rcumstance. Addi ti onal l y, there are al ready establ i shed methods to adverti se on websi tes shoul d
we wi sh, vi a banner / si de ads, etc. where the di sti ncti on between content and adverti si ng i s
abundantl y cl ear.
7/15/2014 10:56 AM
87 If they were effecti ve at dri vi ng sal es we'd pay. In general peopl e vi si t these si tes to be entertai ned
not to purchase a game.
7/15/2014 10:55 AM
88 Wrong. 7/15/2014 10:45 AM
89 It was shi tty and I deci ded I woul d rather not pl ay that way. If someone doesn't want to revi ew out of
i nterest (or di si nterest/mal i ce even) then I don't real l y care about the opi ni on. I am wi l l i ng to pay
for adverti sement as l ong as i t i s not under the gui se of opi ni on. Marketi ng i s si mpl y a part of the
process but I don bel i eve press (i ncl udi ng YouTube personal i ti es) shoul d have vested i nterest i n
both camps. It shoul d be easy for consumers to di scern between opi ni on pi eces and pai d
promoti on. Muddyi ng that water doesn't benefi t anyone i n the l ong run. Tradi ti onal press has been
sl i ghtl y more forthcomi ng i n that regard but i t seems to be turni ng i nto a grey area.
7/15/2014 10:42 AM
90 Al so unethi cal as money can al ways i nfl uence the revi ew of a game. 7/15/2014 10:42 AM
91 Depends. If they're aski ng for payment to wri te a revi ew, then that's okay PROVIDED they gi ve i t an
honest revi ew.
7/15/2014 10:41 AM
92 Not cool , payi ng i s l obbyi ng. 7/15/2014 10:39 AM
93 I understand i t's hard runni ng a websi te, but i t's equal l y di ffi cul t for an i ndi e to devel op thei r game
and keep up communi cati ons wi th tradi ti onal press. So why woul d we pay the fee? we both have a
si mi l ar dream. So my answer i s the same as wi th the youtubers. You have ad revenue.
7/15/2014 10:37 AM
94 Same than previ ous one. 7/15/2014 10:37 AM
95 No way Jos!! 7/15/2014 10:28 AM
96 Agai n, It depends on the money they ask and what they can offer. If i t i s transparent enough that
thi s i s thei r servi ce, so I feel Ok wi th i t
7/15/2014 10:27 AM
97 Same as before. I don't see much di fference between "tradi ti onal " and "new" medi a i n thi s regard. 7/15/2014 10:25 AM
98 What a si l l y i dea! 7/15/2014 10:19 AM
99 We've seen where that sl i ppery sl ope l eads al l too often wi th pri nt medi a. As an ex-games-j ourno,
I've seen i t up cl ose... Every publ i cati on that's tryi ng to uphol d a good reputati on can't be seen to
be taki ng money for promoti on. If they get thei r reputati on management wrong, adverti sers dry up
AND thei r audi ence gets annoyed. The bi ggest di fference between youtubers and tradi ti onal press
i n thi s case i s that youtube manages a constant fl ow of ads - youtubers don't have to worry about
chasi ng away adverti sers as wel l as thei r audi ence.
7/15/2014 10:18 AM
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100 I don't gi ve a damn. 7/15/2014 10:17 AM
101 Tough questi on. Tradi ti onal press tends to focus on consumer cri ti ci sm, whi ch i sn't appropri ate to
remunerate. I'm not sure about actual "promoti on", vi a features. previ ews, etc. Tradi ti onal press
al ready regurgi tates press rel eases and reposts vi deos wi th apl omb, so i t's ki nd of wei rd to consi der
payi ng for that servi ce.
7/15/2014 10:16 AM
102 ?? 7/15/2014 10:16 AM
103 Woul dn't they want to cover my game? 7/15/2014 10:15 AM
104 Whether true or not, the percepti on i s that vi deo content i s typi cal l y more expensi ve and ti me
consumi ng to produce, and that many YouTubers who woul d ask for payment are havi ng to subsi st
off thei r Ad revenue. Then agai n, whi l e typi ng that I real i se there's no practi cal di fference and both
shoul d treat payi ng for content i n the same way, and so shoul d we; transparent and honest.
7/15/2014 10:14 AM
105 i suppose i f i 'm open to i t for youtubers, i shoul d be open to i t for "tradi ti onal press", whi ch, you
know, ki nd of stops meani ng press at the poi nt of accepti ng payment. i dont know. ful l di scl osure for
sure. the rest of i t seems very greasy.
7/15/2014 10:13 AM
106 Al so wankers. 7/15/2014 10:12 AM
107 It's the same, Game devs are provi di ng them wi th content i n exchange for promoti on, I thi nk
keepi ng i t free i t's sti l l wi n-wi n and fai r.
7/15/2014 10:11 AM
108 Same answer as wi th vi deos - j ust needs to be cl earl y stated that i t i s a pai d promoti on /
adverti sement. After that, I have no i ssues wi th i t.
7/15/2014 10:10 AM
109 I thi nk the press shoul d earn somethi ng for reporti ng on games. I don't thi nk they shoul d earn i t
di rectl y from the devel opers. Pri nt ads and si te ads have been consi dered i ndi rectl y enough, but
I'm uncertai n about them.
7/15/2014 10:09 AM
110 Same- free copy onl y seems reasonabl e 7/15/2014 10:09 AM
111 Thi s i s worst than YouTubers because there i s an expectati on from the reader that tradi ti onal press
i s reporti ng an unbi ased opi ni on unl ess stated otherwi se.
7/15/2014 10:09 AM
112 I'm not i nterested i n payi ng for getti ng press. If i t's your l i ne of busi ness fi ne, but I'm not i nterested
i n i nfomerci al .
7/15/2014 10:01 AM
113 Vi ewershi p i s the bi ggest thi ng here 7/15/2014 10:01 AM
114 Same as before. I'm okay wi th the practi ce as l ong as i t's di scl osed, but i t's not for me. 7/15/2014 9:56 AM
115 Li ke wi th YouTubers, i t seems di shonest. If the press doesn't want to feature i t wi thout payment,
then the probl em i s wi th your game.
7/15/2014 9:54 AM
116 It's unfortunate si nce the money wi l l l i kel y i nfl uence thei r opi ni ons on the ti tl e i nstead of provi di ng
a report wi thout an i nherent sl ant.
7/15/2014 9:54 AM
117 If i t was ad space or sponsored content (not that I l i ke the concept) agai n understandabl e for
anythi ng el se I'm agai nst i t.
7/15/2014 9:53 AM
118 Agai n, i t j ust doesn't work that way. We don't need the press or youtubers as much as they seem to
thi nk we do.
7/15/2014 9:53 AM
119 Nop. 7/15/2014 9:53 AM
120 The same as my opi ni on of YouTubers aski ng for payment. 7/15/2014 9:52 AM
121 Total confl i ct of i nterest and shoul d not happen. Unethi cal unl ess i t i s publ i cal y di scl osed. 7/15/2014 9:51 AM
122 Not good. The revi ews appear l ess honest. 7/15/2014 9:51 AM
123 Because i t's not a stream of the game, i t i s easi er to hi de the facts. I'm fi ne wi th the YouTube users
getti ng pai d, because they sti l l have to show the game. You can't cover up bugs when you show 2
hours of a game bei ng pl ayed.
7/15/2014 9:51 AM
124 If i t's cl earl y marked i t's okay maybe? But sti l l ki nda crappy. 7/15/2014 9:51 AM
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125 I assume thi s questi on means outsi de of the context of adverti si ng. Agai n, I thi nk i t's okay so l ong as
i t's cl earl y branded as PR, and not presented as say, j ournal i sti c or cri ti cal content. It's not enti rel y
cl ear to me whether you mean "sources that present themsel ves as doi ng j ournal i sm and cri ti ci sm"
or "any source of wri tten words on the i nternet" when you say "tradi ti onal press." It's not okay for the
former, i t i s okay for the l atter (agai n, wi th di scl osure).
7/15/2014 9:50 AM
126 The ethi cs of thi s are very troubl i ng. I was asked one and I reacted rather poorl y, as he had asked
for payment *after* I sent hi m a key.
7/15/2014 9:50 AM
127 Never goi ng to happen. 7/15/2014 9:49 AM
128 It's horri bl e payol a. 7/15/2014 9:49 AM
129 Agai n, payi ng for content mi si nforms readers 7/15/2014 9:48 AM
130 That has more ri sk then youtubers. It's a focused press. Has more vi si on to show up or be destroyed
by them. GodHand i s al ways a exampl e of game not promoted and wi th bad aval i abl es. But i ts a
good game.
7/15/2014 9:47 AM
131 The same as my opi ni on on YouTubers doi ng thi s. 7/15/2014 9:47 AM
132 "Ha!" 7/15/2014 9:47 AM
133 Same as before. The l i ne between the two needs to be cl ear otherwi se trust between customer and
devel oper/press erodes.
7/15/2014 9:46 AM
134 It woul d be strange to pay for adverti si ng that woul dn't qui te be adverti si ng. If our game i sn't fun
enough to pl ay AND want to wri te about then sad ti mes.
7/15/2014 9:44 AM
135 Probl emati c - how can you know i f the revi ew i s an honest one? 7/15/2014 9:44 AM
136 No, I thi nk press i s supposed to remai n an i mparti al source. I see the di fference as.. you can watch
a youtuber do a Let's Pl ay, or the youtuber can SAY they are part of the game. Press i s di fferent as
an adverti sement. Li ke.. i f you want an adverti sement on a web page i t shoul d be through an
advert. I don't know why I make that arbi trary di sti ncti on, but I.. guess I j ust see press as more
"professi onal ".
7/15/2014 9:43 AM
137 Publ i shers or devs never shoul d pay them (thi s i ncl ude travel s for presentati ons, gi fts, etc). Press
shoul d get thei r revenue from other type of compani es or from thei r audi ence to be trul y
i ndependent and to buy the games they revi ew. They woul d wri te about they consi der, not about
who pai d. Thi s woul d i mprove the qual i ty of thei r work.
7/15/2014 9:42 AM
138 I've no probl em wi th i t i f i t's di scl osed properl y to thei r audi ence. 7/15/2014 9:42 AM
139 aski ng for i t seems to me to be bri bery but we have offered on our own terms 7/15/2014 9:42 AM
140 It's pretty awful , as tradi ti onal press typi cal l y puts hi gh stock i n the appearance of i mparti al i ty. 7/15/2014 9:39 AM
141 See previ ous statements regardi ng payi ng YouTubers. I understand the need to pay the j ournal i st -
I j ust feel that i t coul d be vi ewed as underhanded.
7/15/2014 9:38 AM
142 fl at-fee: ok i f di scl osed but the key pl ayers i n that space are pretty much settl ed and not doi ng i t, so
a new outl et woul d have a super hard ti me goi ng there rev-share: l ol . tradi ti onal press does not
have the power to push si gni fi cant adopti on l i ke youtubers have
7/15/2014 9:38 AM
143 Agai n, i t's a vi ol ati on of the press-creator rel ati onshi p. They are decei vi ng thei r readers and my
customers, and to make such an arrangement woul d be tantamount to fraud by both parti es.
7/15/2014 9:38 AM
144 I feel that thei r revenue i s al so, si mi l arl y to youtube, made from ad sal es not from the devel opers. 7/15/2014 9:38 AM
145 If i t provi des a return on i nvestment, fi ne. 7/15/2014 9:37 AM
146 They're al so scum, but more so because the press are supposed to uphol d ethi cal standards. 7/15/2014 9:36 AM
147 The tradi ti onal press has al ways stood on thei r j ournal i sti c credenti al s and I'm gl ad they've l argel y
avoi ded that model . I know the i nternet bel i eves they're al l on the take but I know from fri ends i n
the i ndustry they're not.
7/15/2014 9:36 AM
148 The onl y press who seem to be aski ng for thi s are smal l fi sh rather than reputabl e press. A si ngl e
revi ew has never made a bi g di fference for sal es of my i OS games, and so payi ng for coverage i s
general l y wasted money. Press and youtubers who ask for thi s, i n my eyes, come off as cowboys
l ooki ng to make a qui ck buck, and I usual l y di smi ss them as I expect thei r coverage to refl ect that.
7/15/2014 9:34 AM
149 I thi nk i f they revi ew games, then i t's a confl i ct of i nterests. And I woul dn't want no part of that. 7/15/2014 9:33 AM
Gamasutra survey: Paying YouTubers and press to cover your game (8-11 questions)
7 / 7
150 It's abhorrent and onl y done by skeesy si tes set up to support the busi ness model and not thei r
readers.
7/15/2014 9:32 AM
151 Hi ghl y questi onabl e, anythi ng that i n some sense rates the games shoul d not be payed for at al l . It
shoul d al so al ways be made cl ear that i t i s a promoti on that has been pai d for.
7/15/2014 9:31 AM
152 It i s i mmoral and gross. 7/15/2014 9:30 AM
153 Same opi ni on as wi th YouTubers. 7/15/2014 9:28 AM
154 Agai n, no probl em wi th affi l i ate schemes (obvi ousl y al l games shoul d be l i nked, not j ust the good
ones!).
7/15/2014 9:28 AM
155 In the ol den days I had ti tl es on Edge covers that were pai d for by publ i shers - that was defi ni tel y
wrong as wel l . Possi bl y shoul d have answered yes to previ ous questi ons i n the secti on, but i t wasn't
me i nvol ved i n that deci si on.
7/15/2014 9:27 AM
156 I feel l i ke most press fal l s on the other si de of the entertai nment/ethi cs bar and i t's not appropri ate. 7/15/2014 9:27 AM
157 Not sure i t woul d work as wel l as you tube 7/15/2014 9:27 AM
158 Li ke YT I probabl y woul dn't consi der thi s, I'd j ust conti nue to pursue other channel s. Rev share
woul d once agai n be a non-starter
7/15/2014 9:26 AM
159 Di sl i ke. 7/15/2014 9:26 AM
160 I suppose i f tradi ti onal press promotes games i n a fai r way (poi nti ng out both good thi ngs and bad
thi ngs about i t), i t woul d be ok. It shoul d al so be transparent, i .e. everyone shoul d know that they're
pai d to promote games.
7/15/2014 9:25 AM
161 Si mi l ar statement to the YouTube questi on. Payi ng to get pri ori ty revi ew ti me i s somewhat
acceptabl e. Payi ng to get a revi ew i n general i s not acceptabl e. Once revi ewers start aski ng for
payment to gi ve a revi ew, that causes the revi ew to be tai nted. Anythi ng posi ti ve the revi ew has to
say becomes cl ouded. Is that the money gi vi ng the posi ti ve remarks or i s i t an honest revi ew gi vi ng
the posi ti ve remarks. Can that revi ew be trusted once money exchanges hands?
7/15/2014 9:25 AM
162 I woul dn't pay someone to promote my game i n thi s way. 7/15/2014 9:25 AM
163 As l ong as i t's di scl osed and i n the open and done purel y as a promoti on. I.e. not a revi ew or an
assessment of the game's qual i ty.
7/15/2014 9:24 AM
164 Tradi ti onal press i s, hi stori cal l y, more di stanced from the experi ence of pl ayi ng the game i tsel f
than YouTube l et's pl ays. Agai n, how much of the experi ence i s spoi l ed by the promoti on, and how
much i s added to by i t, i s key.
7/15/2014 9:24 AM
165 It has never seemed worth i t - but al so I thi nk i t's fi ne as l ong as i t's cl ear i t's a sponsored post. 7/15/2014 9:23 AM
166 If i t's for j ournal i sti c purposes i t's not cool . 7/15/2014 9:23 AM
167 I thi nk i s si ck. I get emai l s of press aski ng for money to cover my i OS games on thei r si tes every
month.
7/15/2014 9:22 AM
168 I'l l happi l y send them keys for my games and I'l l pay out of my own pocket to travel there i f they
need me.
7/15/2014 9:22 AM
169 If they present themsel ves as j ournal i sts then i t i t obvi ousl y unacceptabl e. 7/15/2014 9:21 AM
170 Unacceptabl e... 7/15/2014 9:21 AM
171 same as before 7/15/2014 9:20 AM