« Recruit-a-Friend vs. WoW Glider | Home | Open Beta? More Like Free Trial »
Free Subscriptions to Online Games for Bloggers
By Cameron Sorden | September 10, 2008
I haven’t really paid attention to what people have been saying in response to Tobold’s full disclosure post (wherein he publically stated that he got a media account for Warhammer Online), but based on the hubbub at other blogs it sounds like people are being pretty negative about it. I completely agree with Mr. Jennings on this topic. I would also tend to agree with Tobold that much of the anger is probably jealousy-driven.
Giving free game subscriptions to press and bloggers is hardly a new or newsworthy thing. I know a number of bloggers and writers who have media subscriptions to various games. I have a few myself. It’s just not something you talk about very much for exactly the reason that the Tobold-response is demonstrating. I can certainly respect the type of decision that Kill Ten Rats has made, where they’re unwilling to accept any sort of comped game subscription (and they’re a big enough blog that I definitely believe that they’ve turned some down).
That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with accepting a media subscription to a game. When you write about multiple games, especially over long periods of time, it gets kind of expensive. Media subscriptions give you some flexibility with that. They let you jump back into games you might not otherwise pay to resubscribe (or initially subscribe) to, which then gets those games free coverage. Everybody wins.Â
Tobold’s been writing about online games for a damn long time. Like him or hate him, he’s there, every day, writing something worth talking about. He does it for free. Enough people read him and respect him that his opinion is valuable. What’s wrong with him getting some small perks for all the hard, volunteer writing he does?
There are two ways to get subscriptions to online games: 1) Get a job and pay a bit of money each month, or 2) Write about online games for long enough and get involved enough with the community (by reading, writing, responding, and attending industry events) that companies will (occasionally) grant you one. Tobold doesn’t get some kind of special status because they like him better than anyone else. He’s proven his dedication to writing about this stuff and developed a substantial following due to his frequent, thorough, and insightful posts.
Tobold was trying to be honest and up-front about it, presumably to avoid exactly some of the criticism that’s being heaped on him. Give the guy a break. Like he said, a $200 value isn’t really much of a bribe, even if you want to see it that way. Instead, I’d look at this as a very positive message to bloggers in general: Companies are starting to pay attention to and value what we do for them. This is a good thing.
Topics: Blogosphere, Personal |
September 10th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
It totally is a good things. Its a sign the blogging is slowly coming of age into mainstream media. (Perhaps)
September 10th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
What Tobold needs is a comped subscription to the European servers, not the US servers. He’s getting crap for an account that will never see much use.
September 10th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
That’s true as well.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
[...] Sayeth Cameron: There are two ways to get subscriptions to online games: 1) Get a job and pay a bit of money each month, or 2) Write about online games for long enough and get involved enough with the community (by reading, writing, responding, and attending industry events) that companies will (occasionally) grant you one. Tobold doesn’t get some kind of special status because they like him better than anyone else. He’s proven his dedication to writing about this stuff and developed a substantial following due to his frequent, thorough, and insightful posts. [...]
September 13th, 2008 at 3:02 am
[...] next bit is a private message to Kill Ten Rats, Random Battle, and Tobold, so please don’t anyone else read [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 8:23 am
[...] too. Me Three. Me Four. Jacobs is [...]