10 Misconceptions You Have About Being A Games Journalist

8. All Those Events Aren't Free

Do games journalists get invited to exclusive reveals and events? Yes. Do they attend said events€”flight, hotel and all€”on the host's dime? Yes. Do they go to E3, PAX, gamescom, the Tokyo Games Show and the like free of charge? Ha! There is a thick, four-digit line between press pass and press trip. The former shows that you, a member of the press, may access information and areas not open to the general public while attending an event; the latter refers to studio- and often game-exclusive gatherings that exist solely for members of the press. E3, PAX Prime, gamescom and so on are large, multi-faceted, and public events. Journalists in attendance are not invited by the committees backing them; they're there of their own volition€”or at the behest of their editors, but really, who doesn't want to go€”on a hunt for scoops. Bigger publications have the budget for such things, but most ask writers to foot the bill themselves. You can bet every games site will have€”or at least try to have€”writers working the crowd at E3, as you can bet that most games journalists only go behind closed doors because they have the financial wiggle room to reach for them.