Writer at PC Gamer covers Ubisoft titles; personal connection with a company employee raises concerns.
Writer at PC Gamer covers Ubisoft titles; personal connection with a company employee raises concerns.
Many recognize Tyler Wilde as the author of the piece urging us to stop using the phrase "PC Master Race." I share his view. Recently, it came up that he’s been living with Anne Marie Lewis, a Communications Specialist at Ubisoft. Some critics question this because Wilde has written positive reviews for several Ubisoft titles—though I’d consider giving him some leeway on a Far Cry 4 endorsement via Twitter, the article about Watch Dogs feels a bit out of place. Personally, I’m okay with a games journalist having a connection to a developer employee. Still, it’s concerning that neither Wilde nor his editor-in-chief chose to disclose this relationship or focused on topics unrelated to Ubisoft. People might just shrug and say "Who cares?" But I believe we should expect more transparency from our game reviewers. Reader trust matters, and I think we shouldn’t have to worry about personal relationships influencing opinions. As TotalBiscuit often says, full disclosure is ideal. What are your thoughts?
To discuss or voice opinions on the relationship between games journalism and game developers? It's a forum, I would've thought that the concept of discussion would be familiar to you.
Notice that if a conflict exists, it's helpful to admit it openly so you can build greater confidence with your audience
It's understandable, but honestly, there are far more interesting reasons to be upset than to overthink things.
As discussed, I’m fine with a journalist having a connection to their topic. If they chose not to share it, that’s acceptable—but if they wrote about Ubisoft without it, I’d expect them to step back. I don’t expect any consequences, but I do hope PC Gamer takes responsibility and improves its approach to maintaining reader confidence.
But ultimately it's unclear whether I can rely on this. He shares a piece about the Watch Dogs demo, which is quite engaging, but his connection to an Ubisoft staff member might influence his perspective. Transparency about such ties would be valuable.