The "Gamer Gate" Post

Hey guys. There has been a lot of talk about "Gamer Gate" in the gaming media world as of late. I would like to say a few words on the matter. You may be wondering why its taken me so long to post a statement, and why it's appearing here, instead of on The Escapist. Well, after a whole lot of back-and-forth with Defy Media (The Escapist's parent company), we have been told that we must post a collective "group" statement, rather than personal statements. I respect Defy as a company, and I don't even feel that strongly about Gamer Gate, but forcing us to act as a "collective" rather than an individual really bugged me. Maybe it's because of all my time living in Japan's "collective-focused" society.

That said, here is what I have to say about Gamer Gate:

When I started my career as a journalist, I chose to go into gaming journalism for two reasons. The first, is because I am passionate about (read: obsessed with) video games. The second is because I didn't want to end up writing gossip tabloid stories for some bottom-of-the-barrel mainstream media publication, digging into people's private lives and attacking their character and reputation. But, in the weeks surrounding the "Gamer Gate" controversy, I was ashamed to see so many outlets in the gaming media and community descend into the exact kind of "he-said, she-said" bullshit that I tried to avoid by entering this industry.

I just want to write about video games. I want to write about what people say about video games, and occasionally, I want to write about cool science, tech, and geek culture tidbits. I don't care what these people do in their private lives. I don't care if so and so slept with so and so, and I certainly don't want to write about it. The vitriol from both sides of Gamer Gate made me sick and ashamed, and I vowed to have as little to do with it as possible. This statement will be the first, and last, time I address my views on the controversy.

While sexism, equality, and journalistic ethics in the gaming industry are definitely discussions worth having, Gamer Gate was certainly not the way to go about having them. We, as gamers, should be better than this. I thought we were above this kind of tabloid-newspaper garbage.

-Steven Bogos

PS: Just to end on something a little more lighthearted, here is my League of Legends World Championships Cosplay Gallery!