Why are videogame journalists being treated like overgrown 10 year-olds?

Wow, now this is a serious marketing stunt. I'm not really sure how I feel about a videogame publisher and its PR agency going to such elaborate lengths, though. Sierra and its team sent the guy a mysterious cell phone and then took three hours out of his life to drive him all the way around San Francisco, show off some content from "The Bourne Conspiracy," and then give him a sh*tload of schwag, some of which was disturbingly personalized (because, you know, he's a secret agent now. Just like Jason Bourne!).

But there's obviously no legitimate reason to put a journalist in a  luxury car, drive him on an indirect route, take him to a rented warehouse, and give him "a mini-backpack[,] a flashlight, a 2gig USB drive hidden in a black rubber bracelet, a Sony MP3 player containing some of the music from the game, a game fact sheet/booklet and of course the case itself which looks like it would comfortably fit an Xbox 360" along with "a dossier on me that included my name, known associates and habits" and "four large black and white photos [taken of him that day]." Schwag is schwag, but isn't this really ridiculous and over the top? (picture of it all on the left)

I mean this as absolutely no disrespect for the writer at hand, Flynn Demarco, who I'm sure is an upstanding guy and a good journalist, etc. etc. But... aren't stunts like this a tad bit insulting to gamers and game writers? Sure, some of us write for publications that are unapologetically not just for fans, but by fans. And there's nothing wrong with that. But we're also supposed to be journalists.

This isn't something that serves a legitimate purpose for a journalist, however. It's a fanboy fantasy come true, as evidenced by the kotaku fanboy comments like "I wish stuff like that happened to me :)" and "Flynn, you lucky bastard, you might have the coolest job on earth."

And yes, other entertainment journalists get wined and dined in their own ways and get plenty of schwag. But with the exception of the infamous "Pearl Harbor" premiere aboard an aircraft carrier, I've never heard of something so absurdly time wasting and insulting to a mature professional as this. I highly doubt it's how Roger Ebert or A.O. Scott or Joe Morgenstern were escorted to a screening of "The Bourne Ultimatum."

I would obviously never get in a car sent to me by strangers for no discernible purpose, but if somehow I did get suckered into this, I would be pissed. That's 3 hours out of my life for an event that substantively should only take one hour, if not for the accoutrements made to razzle and dazzle me. Don't we all have stuff to do with our time? Like our jobs? I can just imagine the reaction of my editors if I explained that I took the afternoon off to go on a pretend spy mission. Let's just say I wouldn't be writing this blog on variety.com anymore.

Now, of course, I don't write for a fan publication and so this wouldn't happen to me. But as a fan myself and a reader of publications like Kotaku, I'm a bit weirded out, if not offended. Can't publishers have the confidence to just present their wares without treating journalists like overgrown 10 year-olds? And shouldn't videogame writers demand to be treated like, ummm, adults?

[Before anyone accuses me of being a cranky codger, I should note that I'd love to go on a fake spy adventure. Sounds totally rad. But I'd want to do it as leisure, not "work." Speaking of which, based on the overwhelmingly positive reactions in the Kotaku comments, I highly recommend that Sierra create some kind of a contest giving a few lucky fans a super spy adventure just like this for a day.]

Update (4/13): Joystiq apparently went on the exact same ridiculous ego-stroking fanboy marketing stunt game demo. And they too wrote it up without an ounce of irony.

Update (later in the day on 4/13): Joystiq's Chris Grant argues that this counts as irony in their recounting of the adventure. I think that's more irony about the embargo than the ridiculousness of the whole event, but still, it should be noted:

The game looks [REDACTED] with all sorts of [REDACTED] action and [REDACTED] moments. You play as [REDACTED], a [REDACTED], who is trying to [REDACTED], with all kinds of [REDACTED] trying to stop him*.

Comments

[chris grant]

Ben: I think you mischaracterized our writeup somewhat. While it wasn't as scathing as it appears yours would have been, it wasn't quite the drooling fanboy offering you made it sound like. Our headline: "The things we do to get you swag: Bourne Conspiracy strings us along" certainly doesn't evoke an eager participant, more of a weary kid being dragged through the mall.

And I can assure you the people at Sierra didn't think we were enthused about the day trip, as the calls and emails resulted in them letting us in on things early. Surely we're not going to waste an afternoon for an event they wouldn't tell us about? The whole car/secret agent thing was only part of the event (the lesser part at that, hence why we held our story until the weekend) but, regrettably, there's a rather lengthy embargo on the Bourne gameplay session that this rather awkward marketing stunt was attached to. We noted that with 'redacted'-s which I think, officially, are measured to be at least one ounce of Irony™.

[georgeGR]

As a games writer who has been on countless (often pointless) press junkets for videogame launches I enjoyed the honesty of this article. Most writers just go on these trips because it's part of their job. They come back, write it up and never question the absurdity of what they've just done. We did this article a while back which shows how bizarre it can get:

http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-top-7-press-launches-for-games/a-20070601153059953077

Good blog BTW. Keep it up.

[linda]

i saw this article on millionairechats.com. Do you also creat a blog there, i heard many famous person have created their own blogs with pictures to share with their fans there

[Justin]

I just want to say, that this blog has by far the most intelligent message boards of any game site on the internet.

[Noah Nelson]

Do I detect a hint of jealousy here?

In all seriousness, I think there is the seed of the answer in Benny's comment. Only not what you'd think. I mean, how different is this Bourne stunt from a press junket wherein a journo goes and pointlessly interviews a disinterested actor for a swatch of time? Its only the duration of wasted time that differs.

There is a larger trend in marketing towards a "blur the lines ARG" technique. See the "Dark Knight" campaign over in film land. 3 hours for a net result of a swag bag is a bit much, but the basic notion isn't all that far off from what goes on in those campaigns.

I think Benny's being too hard on the enthusiast press. There's some serious work going on out there amidst the wankery... but if you've ever been to a film festival you know just how incestuous that industry can get with critics. Its the nature of the game.

Besides, I wouldn't have found this blog if it wasn't for the link 1Up posted when N'Gai name dropped. And yes, long live N'Gai!

[Benny]

I've worked this industry for almost 10 years and one certainty is that guys like yourself, N'Gai (who incidentally is brilliant and one of the nicest guys EVER), Geoff Keighley (who is a fanboy but doesn't act the part) and a few of the freelance guys are few and far between. I love Kotaku but felt the same way reading that piece on the Bourne stunt...embarrassed.

Journalists aren't writing the pieces on IGN, Gamespot other game sites. They are written by adult fan boys. These are the same people who review the games and determine whether or not a team of 200 developers who worked on a game for 2 years, are going to get a bonus or not. Yes, there is a direct correlation between review scores and bonuses. Instead it's all about if the game lives up to fanboy standards, instead of "I didn't like it but people who play this kind of game probably will". Very little thought is ever put into reviews to the point where many appear to be re-formed posts from message boards. But that's another topic.

One of the biggest issues with the industry is we don't have very many advocates in the press to defend us when the misguided politicos, outraged parents or Jack Thompson come calling. It's always somebody from corporate PR from this company and that company, not an objective third party. Our line of defense are a bunch of gamers. It's hard to take that seriously.

Games are trying to completely invade the mainstream but we don't have enough voices helping the cause. It's time we start getting some writers with chops covering this industry! Long live N'Gai!