News
Video Game Flaw - Funding
Cordova, TN; September 25, in the year of our Lord
2017 -- Family Friendly Gaming, the industry leader in
covering the family friendly video games is starting a brand new
series of articles under the umbrella ‘Video Game Flaw.’ There
are flaws in the video game industry that need to be addressed.
The first one we are going to touch upon in funding. Recently I
heard about Raptr, and Gamewires shutting down normal
operations. This is not the first time I have seen gaming
portals/websites shut down. In the fact some big names have gone
down. It got me thinking that there is a serious flaw in the
system. I have done Family Friendly Gaming since 2005. Before
that I did Wyldcard’s WAY. None of those gaming media magazines,
e-magazines, or websites completely paid for themselves. In fact
I lose money on them every single year. I was called to this,
and I love doing it. I had day jobs for all of those years.
It astounds me how crooked the existing system is. Video game
companies make games and go to PR firms (or their own PR
employees) to send out information on their games. This is done
to make the public aware and to drum up interest in their
products. The PR folks go to gaming media outlets (like Family
Friendly Gaming) and ask us to spend our money on publishing
their stories. We do, and the video game company makes money. In
turn the PR folks get to keep their jobs and many times earn
bonuses. Who is left out of the equation? Video game media
outlets are left out. We never share in any of the profits. One
of the reasons we are left out of the billions of dollars that
are made is so there is a lack of corruption. Since we know
there are plenty of gaming media outlets that are bought off,
that gap did not really help.
So how do gaming media outlets actually get funding? Some have
paid portions of their websites. Others get plenty of
advertisements. Most of the time the advertisements have come
from the gaming companies who are getting really good reviews.
Which is why there are bought off gaming sites. Then there are
plenty of really good gaming media outlets left out of the
advertisement loop. Talk about a good ole boys club – man that
is one circle that is hard to break into. Family Friendly Gaming
has tried for over a decade. Millions of readers and tens of
millions of Youtube views have generated little interest from
most of the gaming companies. Why is that? If you have an answer
please let me know. As of yet I have been unable to get a
straight answer.
Is there a solution to this problem? I believe there is. One
idea is a giant pool of money that all gaming media outlets can
apply to for advertisements. It should work on a rotation method
so none of the established gaming media outlets are left out for
long. New companies can apply and there can be a waiting list to
get in. Another idea is a reward system for each gaming media
outlet. Some sort of profit sharing since we spent money on
publishing content related to these games. A separate entity
could handle the profit sharing as long as they were fair and
balanced. It would also require some sort of a grievance system
if it ever was used to try and change review scores. Do you have
any ideas on how to improve the existing system?
God bless,
Paul Bury
Family Friendly Gaming
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