After whatever the latest cancel culture, targeted harassment, or SJW convergence controversy people inevitably stare and cry out why. “Why did this happen?” they question in one form or another or alternatively ask “why would they do this? Why cave?” The answer to that question is simply one does not challenge the mafia like the Game Journo Pros unless one is prepared to go to war with the mafia.
Inevitably someone will argue that is hyperbole but is it? You have people in a position of power who if displeased can destroy people’s lives or attempt to destroy their livelihood. Stream.me which hosted a few refugee right-leaning streams infamously shut down after the owners were doxed and had their children threatened. The only valid argument that this isn’t mafia-like is to call them a loose association of terrorist networks, which is vastly apter, but closer to hyperbole than calling this organized click of people a mafia.
During the height of Gamergate, the consumerist movement still treated years after its conclusion as if it had evolved into some Illuminati like organization. One that strikes fear into the hearts of everyone yet somehow has not once delivered reciprocal attacks or silenced its critics, an email chain was exposed. Going by the name of Game Journos Pros it involved several ranking members in publishers colluding with journalists to shape narratives including blacklisting individuals who were deemed problematic, along with pushing political coverage.
After being exposed it was claimed to have shut down, but anyone with a functional brain cell to their name easily could grasp that it in all likelihood went deeper underground. Becoming more careful about whom they let into the inner workings. Now Russia Today has brought attention to this very cabal by allowing journalists and developers to have an anonymous voice.
“I think you’d be surprised by how many writers can’t stand the clique in this space. Most won’t say anything because they need the work, ya know?”
“Sounds cowardly, but there’s definitely a lot of fear in this space that people will get cancelled for speaking out against a lot of what’s going on.”
“They control the messaging, they have the influence, and paint themselves as these moral grandstanders, and anyone that’s not in line with that, are pushed out to carve their own niche.”
This brings us back to the point of why companies would cave to these people. It’s not rocket science if you have one side more determined to appear moderate and tolerant, who even with clear cut evidence of harassment, threats, targeted disinformation, and slander will do nothing other than shake their finger at the people doing it. Yet on the other side, you have people who will dox you and threaten your children, job, and will attempt to Me Too you then it becomes rather obvious which side you’re going to pander to.
Naturally, developers don’t like it. It curtails their creative freedoms to be beholden to emotionalist monsters whose “wrong think” definition shifts sometimes by the hour and is determined by a few influential voices whose influence is never guaranteed the next day.
Highlighted in the words of the sources:
“They [game developers] are just as sick of the clickbait and out of context quotes as everybody else.”
“They can’t be open and honest about their actual opinions without something being ripped from them and spun in a way that is negative towards them if they’re not on the same page with everybody else.”
All this does is embolden the social justice progressive developers inside studios who understand they are untouchable. Look at Riot Games for a clear cut example where the feminist developers ran rampant only to sue the company any way for wage disparity resulting from them not being as productive or working as many hours as their male counterparts. Riot was converged yes, but what option did they have? Tell them no and then get the hate mobs they later got anyway earlier?
Or look at Arkane Studios whose 4chan leaks indicated a purge was underway at the studio of all non-progressive personnel. Again confirmed in the article mentioning how progressive members openly stated how “the world would be better off without white men.” A sentiment gender-segregated survivor shows disprove in spades.
Slowly these people will go bankrupt, but they have a good model that works until the adpocalype occurred.
“It’s all audience-building tactics. Look at how much people talk about those controversial articles on social media. They know exactly what they’re doing because it works. You sow the dissent, people engage with it, and voila, you got thousands of visitors.”
Starving them is important. To do this you need to support alternative platforms like Niche Gamer, All Games Delta, and other websites. Not to mention getting your news from YouTubers like Yong Yea, Legacy Kills HD , Nerdrotic, Doomcock , Raging Golden Eagle, Clownfish TV, It’s A Gundam and many many more as it helps support independent content creators and starves the beast. As a bonus it also sends the journo mafia into a tizzy, which is always a good thing.