Ed Zitron gave a link to his latest blog entry on Twitter so I decided to check out what he had to say. He is responding to this piece on Slate (a very interesting read in its own right) which explores the reasons for the poor financial results of companies like EA and Activision/Blizzard in a time when video game sales are going through the roof.

The article on Slate makes some very valid points about how the developers have to cut down on development costs which have risen drastically since the new high-def consoles were released. Ed’s problem with the Slate piece is the ending which says that EA should make “1000 Portals” because the Orange Box has sold extremely well.

This leads to Ed criticising an industry which has “staggering tunnel-vision in most products going out there” and that it is “is disappearing up its own arse like a confused ostrich.” Forceful words, but why does Ed think like this?

He argues that the blame must be placed on games journalists who are becoming too serious and are “treating every game like a bloody sonnet”

In short Ed is saying that journalists need to be more honest in their reviews and should treat a game in the same way that the developers wanted it to be considered.

I know that this is something that I certainly try to take into account when I review games. Ed’s piece is well worth a read, you can find it here.