One of the more interesting observances at E3 this year was counting the number of times I’d be at a demonstration for a game where the major question was “what is this game about?” A second observation would be that people seem to naturally gravitate toward brands they know, but I don’t even know where to begin kicking that dead horse.

Following E3, Hideki Kamiya posted the following over at the PlatinumGames blog,

“I love talking with members of the press for coverage, but this time the schedule was really rough, so when I get asked/answer the same question over and over again — Questions like “What is the background story for this game?” — Well, I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying “Come on, guys. At least read our website before you come over.”

There’s no shortage of posts about the state of the gaming press, or whether there even is a gaming press to be concerned about. But if there was going to be one, and it was bent on providing us with badges that say “PRESS” on them, the natural response from us might be to do our homework - not to necessarily declare ourselves ego-ridden know-it-alls, but only to furnish ourselves with enough knowledge to then do our “jobs” better, and perhaps dig deeper with our questions. Admittedly this isn’t only a problem where videogames are concerned.

This isn’t something you can put solely on the blogosphere either. All you have to do is tune into any gaming related show to discover that an interview normally consists of developers being asked to describe a game themselves in five minutes or less.

So I’m glad this quote is out there, because it must be something similar to standing in the fourth circle of hell to be asked questions repeatedly when the answers have long been available and there is so much more that could be discussed.

This certainly colored my E3 experience, creating a show that was much more about studios concerned with explaining their products from scratch - as if we had never heard of them - rather than offering an opportunity to get under the skin of those titles being shown. Yet I don’t blame studios for this reaction, because surely experience with the press has caused them to set that priority. But neither do they get off the hook, because when everything is said and done, the studios decide who among the press gets access. So as much as I enjoy this quote, maybe Kamiya should direct it toward the people who in fact determine which members of the press are granted access, and thereby which questions are likely to be asked - based on facts as widely available via the sites those writers represent as information about Bayonetta is to all of us.

When you set the dollar as your priority, you shouldn’t be surprised with the results you create, enable and nourish. So maybe studios need to re-examine the issue of coverage versus depth. Or maybe design and PR are meant to exist at odds. Or maybe I’m just pissing into the wind.

Rest assured I have no intention of devoting anymore time than this to writing about press concerns. But it’s hard to not feel that if we all loved the products as much as we claim to, that alone might make for better coverage.