Ask a Dork: New Press Events
“With Nintendo using Nintendo Directs and Sony introducing the PlayStation Experience, how do you see the role of media changing/evolving to continue to serve their audience? Do you find these new informative initiatives competition for traditional media?”
I think, ultimately, large video game producers like Sony and Nintendo are starting to realize that their consumers require a more dedicated promotional effort. We don’t live in the age of video game magazines and large competitive events anymore. We live in an age of YouTube, NeoGAF, and external competition. Consumers expect responsive messages from the companies they support or they will likely turn to alternatives. They may speculate or try to leak information or they may invest in competing companies that will better suit their needs.
I think this is a good thing for everyone — consumers and traditional media. As someone who works for a video game journalism website, I can say that events like PlayStation Experience and Nintendo Direct make life a lot easier for news reporters. Sony and Nintendo basically hand them the hottest news stories of the month on a silver platter. If anything, these events just give newsies (what we call news reporters) a bit of grounds for editorial commentary on event news.
It’s a complementary relationship. Readers still turn to traditional media, like IGN or Game Informer, for their more regular needs, but these large events supplement the current offering.
PlayStation experience was a freaking joke. Almost all of it crappy indie games that are better on the PC and then the Final fantasy 7 PC port joke was even more cringeworthy like the Uncharted 4 downgraded graphics.