• Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Ethics
  • Submissions
  • Contact Us

Grimag

  • Popular
  • #GamerGate
  • Topics
    • Culture
    • Industry
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Retro Games
    • Reviews
  • Submit An Article
Home Why Are Game Informer Writers Spreading Lies About #GamerGate?

Why Are Game Informer Writers Spreading Lies About #GamerGate? Don't let them get away with it

Jay Sherman

I've been playing games since I was 2 years old. Always had a preference to sprite gaming. Learning how to get acquainted with modern day gaming while still respecting the old school.

May 25, 2015 #GamerGate
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Game Informer’s Matt Helgeson has decided to make the gaming behemoth into a top producer of anti-GamerGate propaganda. The Minneapolis-based publication is the biggest game magazine in the world and is also owned by the biggest chain of game stores in the world (GameStop). Helgeson’s first foray into anti-GamerGate agitprop started with the November 2014 issue with an Anita Sarkeesian interview. His most recent propaganda piece was an Ashly Burch interview in the June 2015 issue, the first half focusing on her and the rest on GamerGate. Reaxxion has delved into Helgeson’s and Game Informer’s role in the debacle.

Understanding Game Informer

Game Informer is not an ordinary game magazine by any stretch. As mentioned above, the publication is the mouthpiece of the game retailer GameStop. Everybody who pays $15 annually for the GameStop Pro Rewards Card is automatically given a Game Informer subscription. This has led to the magazine’s boasting 7 million subscriptions and proclaiming itself as the most subscribed-to magazine in the world. According to the Alliance of Audited Media, Game Informer manages to sell around 20,000 magazines monthly outside of the subscriptions.

GameInformer_AAMDec15

Even as Game Informer is riding the success of GameStop’s rewards program, they still have a lot of power among video game companies, and they do lord it over them. The prospect of 7 million eyeballs who are interested in gaming is what these companies advertising departments dream about. Game Informer knows this and charges an unbelievable premium to advertise with them. Let’s just say that video game companies are transferring massive amounts of money to advertise on Game Informer.

ad rates

You might be wondering the reason why I started this article with that preface. It’s for a simple reason: Game Informer wields massive power thanks to it’s parent company GameStop. The writers for Game Informer have more push with the public than a Sarkeesian video ever will. There are plenty of sad souls who read Game Informer like the Bible and don’t have the ability or interest in finding better sources of gaming news. This also means that when Game Informer denigrates GamerGate, they’re doing it fueled by game publishers’ ad fees and the backing of the biggest game retail chain on the planet. This is bigger than getting libeled by some pissant blog like The Mary Sue.

Matt Helgeson Is Not A Fan Of GamerGate

Game Informer didn’t get involved with GamerGate until last October, with an interview by Matt Helgeson with Anita Sarkeesian. The startling fact that an game industry sponsored magazine would feature a known malcontent indicates that this was Helgeson’s idea. The interview is rife with postmodernist leanings and Sarkeesian saying that game developers need to “destroy oppressive social norms.”

Subscribers of Game Informer were justifiably irritated that Anita Sarkeesian was getting editorial space and wrote numerous letters to Game Informer’s editor. The editor’s response was a casual dismissal of anti-Sarkeesian beliefs and that gamers shouldn’t get irritated by her. The editor of Game Informer even implied that Sarkeesian was right, because she faced death threats. I hope the Game Informer editor extends that same ideological approval privilege to Reaxxion’s own Roosh V and Matt Forney, as they too have dealt with numerous death threats.

Game Informer’s latest plunge into the GamerGate waters was their recent interview with Ashly Burch in the June 2015 issue. Matt Helgeson’s interview of Ashly Burch featured the feminist gamer spewing nonsense about GamerGate. The real problem with this was her insistence of pushing it on Helgeson as a question, hinting at an ulterior motive. This wasn’t a spontaneous off-the-cuff type question that was inspired from the previous answer: Helgeson purposely let Ashly Burch get on her soapbox about the mean “misogynist” GamerGaters who hold women “down.”

gamergate

Helgeson pushing politics inside his interviews with prominent people in the games industry seems weird. Game Informer is intended to be a vehicle to advertise products at GameStop and getting embroiled in GamerGate could seriously damage the bottom line. I have a rising suspicion that it was a petty goodbye to a group of people he despises (GamerGate and it’s sympathizers). He talked about his resignation in April here.

ad system

If Game Informer can solicit advertising that explicitly asks for other retailers not to be featured in ads, they can definitely clean up the editorial content their editors are stuffing in each issue. These interviews weren’t put under the op/ed section, but legitimized through the Game Informer brand. Companies like Game Informer (and by proxy, GameStop) have the power to not denigrate their customers. If game publications keep wanting to insult us for our beliefs, maybe it’s time to put our dollars somewhere else.

Read More: Is #GamerGate Reshaping Video Game Journalism? 

May 25, 2015Jay Sherman
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Reddit CEO Ellen Pao Wants To Censor Your Opinions3 Reasons Why Heroes of the Storm Is Better Than League Of Legends
More From Reaxxion
  • Zelda: Tri Force Heroes Demonstrates Why Diversity Quotas Are Worthless

  • The Inescapable Fun Of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine

  • Arthur Chu Accuses #GamerGate of Weaponizing Charity Drive Before Donating To It

Don't Miss Reaxxion's Best Articles!
Every Monday we send an email that recaps the week. Enter your first name and email below to make sure you don't miss out...

We guarantee 100% privacy
Your information will not be shared

Jay Sherman

I've been playing games since I was 2 years old. Always had a preference to sprite gaming. Learning how to get acquainted with modern day gaming while still respecting the old school.

May 25, 2015 #GamerGate
Top 5 Posts Of The Week

  • Parasite In City Is A Great H-Game That Is Full Of RapeParasite In City Is A Great H-Game That Is Full Of Rape

  • Why We Need To Fight Against Transgender AcceptanceWhy We Need To Fight Against Transgender Acceptance

  • If You Support #GamerGate, Rich Stanton Wants To Kick Your AssIf You Support #GamerGate, Rich Stanton Wants To Kick Your Ass

  • 3 Reasons Why Not Eating Pineapple On Pizza Makes You Worse Than Hitler3 Reasons Why Not Eating Pineapple On Pizza Makes You Worse Than Hitler

  • Portal 2 Is One Of The Most Disappointing Sequels Of Recent TimesPortal 2 Is One Of The Most Disappointing Sequels Of Recent Times

Amazing Email Newsletter
Don't miss a post! Every Monday we send an email that recaps the week. Enter your first name and email below to make sure you don't miss out on our best articles...
We guarantee 100% privacy
Your information will not be shared
Recent Posts
  • Reaxxion Is Closing
  • Crusader Kings II Will Steal All Your Free Time
  • Will Half-Life 3 Ever Be Released?
  • 3 Things Games Must Not Apologize For
  • Z Nation Is Actually Kind Of Awesome
RSS Newest Articles From Return Of Kings
  • Return Of Kings Is Going On Hiatus
  • How To Conquer Writer’s Block
  • 2 Signs To Identify A Liberal In Disguise
  • Comfort Will Not Give You Meaning In Life
  • The Devolution Of The West Can Be Seen Through Popular Sports
RSS Newest Articles From Roosh
  • Roosh Hour #61 – Third World Texas
  • READ NOW: American Pilgrim
  • The Dangerous Women Of Wisconsin
  • The Cardinal Outside Your Window
  • New York City Is Hell
RSS Latest Forum Threads
  • Prices, Inflation/Deflation, Interest Rates & The Fed
  • The Gab thread
  • The Honk pill (Clown World)
  • Stock Market thread
  • Black attacks on Asians
  • Netflix Thread
© Kings Media 2014-2015 • About • Advertise • Submissions • Contact Us • Privacy Policy • Terms Of Service