Transcript of: Future Editors and Bloggers debate

Enjoy a snippit of the transcript from the bloggers debate at the Golden Joystick Awards:

Treble Tee:
I've got a question which is a personal one: We as working in media we struggle a lot to get the message of gaming to people who aren't into it. Now its quite bizarre that gaming grosses more than music, films which are the kind of areas i'm used to. Why is it that main stream media don't get it?

It doesn't seem to have any TV programs no radio show its only people who have the passion who do blogs and stuff why is it so hard for mainstream media to grasp how important gaming is?

Panel:
I think it might be a generational thing you know, commissioning editors and those sorts of people maybe, the generation are people like us who actually grew up with gaming. So they probably don't get it quite as well as we do, but you know I think culture is changing, it really is a case that everyones a gamer nowadays. From people who play hardcore PC games, right the way down to kids who are playing on their DS' and stuff. So we're slowly coming getting there.

Treble Tee:
Alright, who wants to answer what makes the Joysticks "So" special?

Panel:
...Long Pause....

Bloggers have a giggle.

Panel:
Well, what makes them special is actually the fact that it is public voted, its the biggest thing we do for games and its the people who buy and play the games that get to vote. Whilst it can be predictable in that big games do often win, smaller games and developers do quite well for themselves. It represents what people vote for.

I sit there when the votes are piling in and its amazing to see where all the votes come from. Its not just the big main countries voting, we've got people from all over the world voting, so its become a really and truly global event we think.

It means a lot to us the developers, because its cool to be a part of.

Treble Tee:
I'll fire a question out to all you bloggers and websiters. How easy or hard is it for you to sell for example, this is the biggest gaming award, how hard is it to sell to your editors and your commissioners that this is an important event? Does anyone struggle? or is it easy for you?

Bloggers:
I find that one of the good things about it is, its got a sort of legitimacy surrounding it that nothing else really has quite the same impact. Its become a real global event, and its helps that its held in a really flash location.

...Laughs from the room...

That makes it seem very legitimate, so that's quite an easy sell in that respect. But in some ways it can also be a slight disconnect from your average reader who is very interested in playing games or hearing about games, trying to sell something to them that is glitzy and seems a bit mainstream, but in a way, what you're talking about why is it so hard to sell to mainstream television etc. I think that a lot of the game community. they don't care about that, they're so internet based that they don't watch television most of the time anyway. So you've got two very separate communities, so it can be quite hard to sell something like this, how we're going to write it up in a way that will appeal to the masses, which include hardcore gamers who are more interested in just playing games and a real gaming community than your average person who will only play some DS games this year. They will look at who won, and say yeah that was obvious, but how do we engage them?

Panel:
Well with the hardcore there is always going to be a cynicism. Because the general public are only aware of the stuff that is available to the generally, they just see the games they like and they vote for it. But I will say, for example last year, I think Rock Band won the music award, and you say well Rock Band didn't make the music, it was in the game. They won the award because they could afford the licensing for it. So I think that's something that can sometimes create a cynicism amongst hardcore gamers with events like these.

Bloggers:
Is that why there were no music based games short listed for that award this year?

Panel:
Well that goes back to you, we've changed the awards this year to reflect more towards gamers tastes, and one thing that was fedback to us was that there is a difference between soundtracks to games and a music game. So the awards this year try and reflect that a little bit better. Do you think that overall the awards are better structure this year?

Sparky:
Well it gives more games the opportunity to win with them being so specific. It can give the much smaller games a better opportunity.

Panel:
The awards have evolved and will continue to evolve, and we will always try to reflect how and what people are playing.

Sparky:
We constantly hear the term "hardcore" being used, how do you guys as editors, differentiate hardcore, core, casual gamers?Because I think hearing amongst the conversation today and in the general public, the idea is very different. I'd certainly say, I'm not a hardcore gamer, I do this as a hobby: blogging, I've got a full time job, and I do it in the evenings. Its fun. I'd say I'm a core gamer, I enjoy hardcore games, but you know its just fun for me. But you'd get a youngster online ranting and raving on Modern Warfare 2 shouting about how he's a hardcore gamer etc. etc. I think how people perceive hardcore and core is so different. What are your guys thoughts on that?

Panel:
Well we conduct a fair amount of research to understand our audiences who read our titles and things, and we tend to find that, from research, hardcore gamers are those that play games as their principle hobby, they spend quite frighteningly up to 20 hours a week playing games, and they buy 2 or 3 games a month. Which means they are investing a lot in that, that that's how we kind of see it. Whether or not thats actually the definition of a hardcore gamer...

Sparky:
Well its funny because that sounds just like a description of me to be honest with you!

...Resounding laughs from the room...

Panel:
Well "YOU'RE A HARDCORE GAMER" you just don't know it.

But yeah, we kind of define it as people where games are their first love, its always a part of their life. I would define myself a hardcore gamer, because I play something pretty much every week.

Sparky:
Well then in that case, how do you guys see the future of gaming coming along with Kinect and Move. The general feeling I'm getting from friends and readers is that, the games coming out for Kinect initially aren't targeting its current gamers, its target new gamers to take advantage of the christmas season etc. and they don't feel they are being catered for.

Panel:
Well that is the thing with Kinect. With hardcore games specifically, Microsoft announced at the Tokyo Game Show that new titles will be released that are much more hardcore focused. The launch titles are more approachable to new gamers, and I think that's how Microsoft have chosen to go with it. That's not exclusively however all the platform is going to be capable of. When playing Kinect I was actually suprised that quite a few of those launch titles are quite hardcore. They do scratch that itch. You are jumping around etc. which isn't typically associated to a hardcore gaming experience, but the way they're are structured certainly still appeal through achievements and high scores etc. and the platform will support explicitly hardcore gaming experiences. I think part of the problem may be, I keep on repeating the word hardcore when we're trying to get away from that, but people who have an xbox 360 who enjoy playing games like GTA IV, Battlefield etc. there will be Kinect games that absolutely appeal to them. How we cover that, is still something we're working at, its interesting, its expanding the universe in a way that we haven't had to deal with before. It will be interesting to see whether we get lots of pensioners suddenly buying the magazine (OXM) because of our coverage.

---------

Well I hope you enjoyed that. The full clip is 40 minutes long, so I took some interesting topics from that and if you would like to read more about it. Please let us know, and we'll do our best to get some more of the transcript up!