The reason the ethics in journalism angle of GamerGate has entranced so many is because there really is an issue with integrity amongst the games press it just isn't a small-level Twine developer being pals with somebody from Kotaku who then mentions their game in passing. It's in the desperate tight-rope walk PR people run with journalists. Games journalists will not only get to see previews of games, they will also be wined and dined, taken on ludicrously expensive adventure holidays that tangentially tie into a game, and then will be served with a huge non-disclosure agreement that states what they can and can't say about a title, and even then they have to wait until the review embargo is lifted. If they don't agree, they get no review. But that's because reviews will decide whether people keep their jobs or not, and game development involves such a huge team of people that if it doesn't do well, it means HUNDREDS of lay-offs. And that's why review scores are so closely guarded: so people keep their jobs, because nobody is particularly sympathetic to a slightly naff game.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
