GameInformer

I understand my comments can often be perceived as negative, and while that's not wrong, as far as I see it, cynicism is the only way to see the human world as it is, which is often the only path towards humor, not to mention progress. If you look at the history of comedy, I'm talking hundreds of years, cynicism is often the delivery method or the source of observation. I'm not saying I'm funny in anyway, but I am saying that comics have done a great service to society because their cynical attitudes often uncover ugly truths about society and reveal them to its citizens in a way that everyone can simultaneously digest, laugh at, and agree that a change needs to be made.

If you are at odds with my comments, understandable: bring something substantial to the table, engage me. But if you're coming at me thinking I can't see the positive side and there's nothing in what I'm saying that's worth considering, then not only are you not getting my viewpoint, you're unlikely to contribute anything to the conversation and should just refrain from responding to me. You also may be at risk to never making a substantial contribution to this industry as a consumer outside of simple financial support. This is one of the most receptive industries there's ever been, often hearing, acting upon, and further seeking all sorts of criticism from its consumers.

Saying "Yes!" and "Awesome!" to everything is really like saying nothing at all, no one hears you. Consuming without thinking or critically analyzing the object of your own hobby makes that hobby entirely pointless and quite possibly soulless. Besides, what is the point of consuming and absorbing someone else's creation without getting something out of it--not just that which they present, but that which your own critical thinking can bring into it.

I respect GI more and more every day, especially with each new publication they release. It seems they're taking this "journalism" thing seriously, having published some absolutely excellent, thought-provoking, and highly researched articles over the past few years. I look forward to seeing them further evolve this approach.

There are some seriously enormous companies in this industry today, and I think a number of them need to begin to be questioned seriously, and investigated thoroughly. Not only are these companies raking in millions to billions of dollars, but they are influencing large swaths of the world's population, especially the young. It's time to start looking at this industry from all angles, not just the entertainment angle and how awesome the next new thing is and how slightly better it looks than the last great thing. It's time to stop the alarmists like Fox News from having the monopoly on the critical angle with their over-exaggerated anti-videogaming rhetoric. It's time to hold companies and the people in charge of them accountable for the business decisions they make, and for the lack of progress being made for the sake of profit (of course, this can and should most definitely be applied to our entire economy as it stands, or should I say limps, today).

If you're going to voluntarily contribute so much of your money (or, for many of you, your parents' money), you need to do so wisely, and know who or what you're contributing your money to. While many of you may think that speaking about the gaming industry like this sounds a little odd, I do apply this to many other aspects of life, it's just that I find too few people doing so with this particular aspect. After all, gaming is an escape, yes, but that doesn't mean you should always shut your brain down and follow that which the advertisers or sales numbers say you should. In fact, gaming is still really the only interactive medium out there, arguably more mentally taxing than reading books, watching films, sports and television, etc, (of course, this depends on the material). So if you're already going to be using that kind of brain power, why not look a little more critically at the more sensitive and serious issues surrounding your own hobby?