Why bother making a good game that's worth covering when you can just buy coverage with these sweet guaranteed media coverage deals from your friends at Pocket Gamer? For a mere $7,500 they'll write four news pieces and a sponsored editorial about your game. With prices that friendly, can you even afford not to pay them?
Not if you want your game covered.
This is just more proof we really do need open discussion about ethics in games journalism, and I'm not talking about a shitty hashtag. With hashtags there's no control, the core ideas can be hijacked, and the voices calling for some sort of good are drowned in a sea of disgusting hate. Somebody needs to make an actual group or organization with reasonable standards, where people can voice their opinions about this garbage without being roped in with the internet equivalent of the Clan.
As someone that has written for a few places, I know for a fact this type of thing happens at websites that cover "real games" too, it's not exclusive to mobile gaming. The goods and services traded may not be as extravagant as a Platinum Partner Plan, but it does happen. This is an actual problem, and you should be pissed off about it.
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