Side Quest, Episode 39: The Escapist, Politics, and How Games Journalists Ruined Games Journalism

Then I’ll probably need to find a new job soon 😂

Brett Medlock

Maybe. At a time when Univision is already looking to dump Kotaku literally a year after buying it, it's safe to assume old media is a universally sinking ship.

Colin Moriarty

I know it didn’t cost much, but don’t know any specifics. Enthusiast Gaming probably got a really good price and saw it as a way to spread the EG name with another ‘big’ acquisition. If that is the case, it seems like it might be working? Maybe?

Brett Medlock

Honestly, my assumption is that The Escapist was bought for no more than six figures, and maybe even five. If you're a holding company and it costs you, say, $250,000 to buy a domain, a back catalog, and the opportunity to make some cash, you could probably very easily at least make that initial investment back. I think this only because Russ said he was looking to buy it, and I highly doubt he's loaded. So... the price was right.

Colin Moriarty

Your point is well taken, but I'd argue that conservatives are rarely in positions of power in entertainment, and had to carve out their own niches (talk radio) and outlets (Fox News, etc.), when everything else is dominated by one viewpoint.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you for your kind words, and your support. I appreciate you.

Colin Moriarty

It's spreading. Gaming, in some ways, is almost like where it's least bad. But it's still bad. And we deserve better.

Colin Moriarty

=)

Colin Moriarty

Well, I hope it's to your liking! (The website, that is.)

Colin Moriarty

I invited him to do so, but he doesn't want to. If he changes his mind, he can let me know.

Colin Moriarty

Peer and I have a great relationship, and I'll always be grateful to him and IGN, but I don't think he or they would have me, and honestly, I'm not interested in writing there.

Colin Moriarty

The extremes on either side (which those two individuals represent) is surely frightening.

Colin Moriarty

It's a total bubble. Made of iron, and utterly impenetrable.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you for watching!

Colin Moriarty

Thank you!

Colin Moriarty

It's becoming clearer and clearer who is off-kilter. And it's not us.

Colin Moriarty

<3

Colin Moriarty

Balance is everything. If you believe so much in your message, surely you'll expose other arguments so you can tear them down and heighten your own... right? Like, I'm perfectly happy to identify socialism as an overarching bad idea, and willing to put my ideas against those ideas any day of the week, because I think mine are better. I have no interest in throwing those other views out of the public square. Quite the opposite: Shout it from the rooftops, so I can tell you why you're wrong.

Colin Moriarty

LOL. You're right. No art, or literature, or music, or anything of that nature ever came from a conservative, libertarian, or moderate! The left thinking they have a monopoly on creativity is hilarious.

Colin Moriarty

People often talk about separating the art from the artist. I'm unable to do that with Danny anymore. Noclip is great, but since he's doing it, I can't support it or watch it.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you, Tyler!

Colin Moriarty

My prediction is the site's gonna clearly fail. But I have no reason to root against them. One way or another, the market will sort it out. It's not their stance or their approach that's going to kill them. It's that it's 2018, and you have to be financially suicidal to open a video game website today.

Colin Moriarty

The backlash was minimal. Thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed the video, and sorry you were caught up in the faux drama.

Colin Moriarty

Not too many people seem to be defending him at all, and I agree. He's gone off the deep end, and it's a true shame.

Colin Moriarty

Hope you enjoy(ed).

Colin Moriarty

!!!

Colin Moriarty

I work for Enthusiast Gaming, the company that bought Escapist. Myself and many others in the company are confused as to why EG keeps buying traditional gaming websites like Destructoid and The Escapist. Especially considering we already have our own branded sites like Nintendo Enthusiast, which is what the company began as before becoming an ad network and convention (EGLX in Canada)

Brett Medlock

As a libertarian with conservative friends we have all bailed on games media. The dishonesty and one sided view has eroded all the trust between personalities and the audience. So when a review is up my friends and I just tune it out as more dishonest coverage. Can they rebuild the trust? I don’t think so because they are unaware of the problem.

James Galos

I agree that theres not a lot of conservative voices in games media, but I also really don't care. The liberal voices in games media are more annoying then they are useful. Theres occasionally a well written piece (most of the time by Jason Schrier), but for the most part it's authors saying if you disagree with this liberal thing... well you should feel bad about it (generally in meaner words). This is a reflection of liberal media in general though. Agree with us or you're a nazi. Subsequently it make liberal consumers think and act the same way. -- That said conservatives have been like this for years. Growing up in a conservative household, liberal hippies are always the butt of some joke. So are they getting a little bit of whats been coming to them? Sure... Doesn't make it right though. Just leaves the people in the middle like myself going "You're all jackasses to each other" - I've found more and more that far left, and far right, are more a like then they think. So I don't really care if a voice is missing in games media, when the voice we have is annoying in itself. If it weren't for podcasts/youtube channels that focus mostly on the games I probably wouldn't consume video game media at all.

Owen

Great episode that really hit home on a lot of important topics. I really feel like many not just game circles like to tout that they are accepting of other people’s political beliefs etc. until it differs from their own. I think Shane at SIFTD does a pretty great rundown of up and coming games without stearing into the political sphere unless necessary. I enjoyed when you were on his show. Thanks for the great episode and if I’m not careful I’ll be writing a story of my own here lol.

Eric S

How I wish this was an issue that only plagued games media. I feel like our culture in general now greatly caters to "echo chamber" thought processes. The only way people mature beyond stereotypes and archetypes and become truly individual is by thinking critically and hearing many different viewpoints. I have hope, though; a renaissance follows a dark age, it just takes those like yourself willing to fight the good fight to give the pendulum the momentum :)

Justin Matkowski

Amazing

Andrew Christensen

I fit this too, I've been liberal for most of my voting record but have watched with befuddlement how the left has become victims of their own bias. Ironically while the left has always spoken so highly of diversity, it is the lack of diversity that they has made their arguments seem so unvetted and simplistic (meaning they haven't actually met a personal on the other side of the isle that might push back against them, at least no in real life). While Colin is in the games world (I'm not at all), you can see this across the landscape in popular media.

CTE

Very good video. I must admit that as you were reading that part from the escapist my thought was very much: "I'll be checking that out". It was exactly what I want to hear from a site about games to be saying. I totally agree with you though, if a site was offering all view points, and didn't seem to have a distinct point of view they were trying to throw in your face, I would probably prize that above all else. Until that comes a long though, I kinda like what they are selling....

CTE

Colin, exceptional video. I live for this honest content. I would love to hear you and Jason have a chat one time.

Will Hahn

Colin, You should reach out to Peer to do some freelance work. I know your plate is full but IGN is huge and an article on IGN addressing this very issue would generate a ton of traffic. If you want to change the landscape then utilize your connections to get this message out there.

Monta

Well said dude. I think a lot of it possibly be because for 1 for a number of years videogames were pretty “Wild West” in terms of just coverage and in games made. So when this almost foreign feeling of attempts to make it conform to other parts of society came about it kinda just felt weird tbh. Like it not necessarily gamer gate but people like Anita Sarkessian and Fred Thompson scare me because of this.

Brogan Wassell

Amazing episode. I hate the political bias coming out of the gaming media right now. It's like most of them are honestly living in there own bubble.

Addiholic

I've been falling more and more in love with Easy Allies. They NEVER talk politics, race, religion, immigration, LBGT rights, Trump, foreign policy, the wall, etc, etc, etc.

Oh My Goodness! I was just having this exact conversation last night, about how other than 1 or 2 game journalists the entire industry has been overrun by leftist, SJW's when the gamers out there simply want to know about the games, and don't give a rats azz about the writers political leanings! Bravo Colin!

Terrific video. The crazy bias needed to be called out. I'm to the left politically and I think a lot of media coverage is unbalanced to the left and very unhealthy in regards to moving forward, as its stagnated horribly. Really liked how the point was a variety of viewpoints lifting everyone up. I think that's more important than anyone's tribe.

Peter Campbell

While I understand that there is surely plenty that you, and presumably many others here, disagree with Danny on, let’s try to avoid calling people names, such as “rats”. I’m all for criticism of people’s ideas, thoughts, etc...but let’s leave it at that. I’m sure Danny is a fine person and citizen, regardless of his views. Just my thoughts :)

Zack E

Man I'm glad you're back covering games again. Great video.

hugplx

Awesome video Colin. Probably your best one yet. I know you’ll get some flack for it, but I’m glad you tackled this subject. Plus you know we’ll have your back here. I gave up on many gaming websites a long time ago because I was tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. It was always either something propping up the far left, hating on those who disagreed with them, or regurgitating press releases. You’ve always been one of the few (if not the only) voices of reason in this industry and it’s sad you get so much shit for doing the right thing.

Adam Niksch

I love that you called some of these rats out.. Danny O’Dwyer specifically, I know you two were friendly at one point but he’s so fake and pandering, and he’s so dismissive and condescending to other ideas that aren’t his or the horses. If you face any backlash, just let them spin in their wheels and leave em without the satisfaction of knowing you saw them talking shit. Fucking bravo Colin! You’re the voice for he average joe gamer and don’t ever let that be lost on you my friend.

Craig Carter

Love it!

Chad Lewis

Yea that could have been phrased differently, ultimately I know what Colin means and I don't think he means to belittle people from different backgrounds but at first glance that sentence doesn't go over well.

Mario Miranda

Great video as always Colin. Apologies if youve mentioned it before, but who do you follow or what game sites do you frequent the most for your news?

Will Caldwell

Thank you , Colin. I am a liberal and i got tired of how the games media behaves. I cant imagine how a conservatives would feel. The twitter mob will probably come at you for this video. Stay strong my friend.

walter pocasangre

The day I deleted IGN the day the COD WW2 review went up. It was so ignorant of the history the game was covering I just couldn’t take it anymore. Until this page interviewed some IGN personalities I had actually unfollowed all the podcast. It’s not that I want politics out of game coverage. What needs to happen is honest, truthful and balanced coverage. It’s so clear how blind games media is to the self-sabotage by this video. They are signal boosting the site that people are asking for in the comments! The reply they give is only helping push people to it. I’ll be on the Escapist and hopefully I can get back to reading about games I enjoy while not getting a lecture about why I’m a base person for being a white straight libertarian who owns a fire arm. (Steps off soapbox) haha

James Galos

Great show, you forgot to mention that all the creative people in the world are all leftists. I love Brian but come on how do you come up with the idea that if your a creative person you cannot be conservative.

Hose A Contra Razz

Colin, this is my absolute favorite episode of SQ yet. As usual, the writing is fantastic, and your position is fair. Nobody outside of yourself is fucking saying any of this and its unreal. You're not out here calling for anything even remotely unreasonable, just balance! Actual nuanced thought! Acceptance that the other side of the coin is indeed not the same as the first side! I like Danny's NoClip documentaries, but I can't follow the guy on social media because I know I'm going to be beaten over the head with shit I can't stomach. This attitude that so many people (specifically in games media) carry is embarrassing. Its impossible to try and have any sort of debate, because the second you disagree, this level of snark and snobbery shows up and it makes you want to not even participate. As always, I respect the shit out of you for speaking the truth. As always, I'll continue to spread the word and support the show. You're doing great, Colin. There will be backlash for this, and you know what? Good. Maybe some of these people will lean their pitchfork against a wall and say "hm, actually, you know what? He might... not.. be wrong."

Ian (616Entertainment)

Jason would probably get some significant heat for appearing on Fireside Chats. If he is willing to, I think that would be a testament to his character.

Carson Smith

This. This is why I come here in support of you, Colin. Keep up the great work.

Tyler

Thanks for signal boosting The Escapist. I will check them out. I kind of thought it was funny that a bunch of people are harping on them for basically saying they are leaving politics at the door. Their name is literally "The Escapist" and a common idea when it comes to playing games is to escape from the real world. They clearly want to focus on the gameplay and fun aspects of games and know that is what a lot of gamers like to listen or read about. They are obviously trying to cater to a certain crowd and I say more power to them. They are the only ones and maybe if they are successful, others will be emboldened to try as well. Games are fun and a lot of games have no political undertones or messages. They are just meant to be played and enjoyed. Their statement to cover games this way seems so un-news worthy and it's very telling to see the predictable games media get all bent out of shape over this. I would welcome more conservative people in games media as well. More diversity of thought is what we need.

Carson Smith

Thank you so much for bringing this topic up and especially for being so honest about it. I can only speak for myself, but I'm so sick and tired of constantly hearing what I supposedly am by people who have no right to call me anything at all. Jason's first reply was to my tweet, saying I was glad there was finally an outlet where games could be games again without ostrasicing people because of their political beliefs. That was the entire tweet. Nothing more. I didn't mean that politics don't belong in games, but that I was tired of always hearing the same thing over and over again. I immediately got accused of not taking factory workers into consideration (not by Jason). After that, I was apparently taking a stance for not taking a stance in the politcal debate (by Jason). Being from Europe, I used to be very politically engaged, but these past 2 to 3 years have just exhausted me. Game journalists might be journalists, but that doesn't mean they have a monopoly on the truth, especially not when they're living in the most one sided luxurious bubble on the planet. The day they tried to take Far Cry 5 down for being a game and not some political statement, was the day I stopped following most of them. It's so frustrating, because when they keep to games, most of them are great writers with excellent insight. As usual, your work is greatly appreciated and I hope you don't get too much backlash from this. Thank you.

Lockmort

There's going to be a shit storm of people trying to defend Danny O'Dwyer. His tweets are embarrassing.

Matt Kuryloski

Half way through the video but wanted to bring this up so as not to forget it... You mention that race, sexual preference, and gender are merely skin deep, but I have to disagree. Being a woman will provide you with a different perspective than being a man. Being white will give me a different perspective than my black friends. Being gay will give someone a different perspective on life than a straight or bisexual individual. And yes, being a conservative is going to give you a different stance than being liberal. Anyway, yeah, I think we're on the same path, just thought that seemed odd since perspective is shaped by life experiences, and there's no doubt those seemingly superficial differences lead to wildly different life perspectives.

Tyler

Great stuff, Colin! It's cool you're calling out the hypocrites in games media by name. Can't even wonder how they'll react if they do at all. Acknowledging the one non-conformist voice would be a big step forward for them.😅😅 Speaking of Jason Schreier, any chance we might possibly see him on Fireside Chats?

Moiz Khan

Looking forward to this one!

Jon Cordeiro

HYPED!

Brian Dewire