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I'm Jason Schreier, Press Sneak Fuck and author of the new book Press Reset - ask me anything
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Jason on surprising anecdotes
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This is a good question but I can't think of anything at the moment. Press Reset has a lot of details that nearly made my head explode. Like when 38 Studios said it would take over the mortgages of employees moving from Boston to Rhode Island who couldn't sell their homes, and then those mortgages reverted back to employees when the studio collapsed, leaving those people completely fucked. The level of callousness in the games industry sometimes blows me away.
I don't think I've ever told this one publicly. A few days before No Man's Sky came out, they hadn't sent out early review copies because they were waiting on a day-one patch. We'd gone to J&L in NYC (which always breaks street date) and just bought a copy ourselves and we were streaming it on Kotaku's Facebook. Then I got a call from an unknown number. Turns out it was Sean Murray. He was very upset that we were showing the game off pre-patch. We talked for like 45 minutes? I'm still not sure how he got my cell phone number. I hope one day we get a chance to talk on the record. Would be fun times.
Given the ever increasing number of games being released, many of which don't see much if any recognition from journalists and reviewers due to whatever reason, how can reviewers and journalists make sure they don't miss out on the next sleeper hit?
Hello, Jason
So, my question is, do you think there's still an audience for games like Dark Cloud/Dark Cloud 2? I know there's a very passionate smaller fanbase for them, but is there still room for obscure JRPGs like them, and what would it take for Sony to even be remotely interested in reviving the series, since they apparently own the IP?
So, my question is, do you think there's still an audience for games like Dark Cloud/Dark Cloud 2? I know there's a very passionate smaller fanbase for them, but is there still room for obscure JRPGs like them, and what would it take for Sony to even be remotely interested in reviving the series, since they apparently own the IP?
Jason, I actually have a few questions...
- How do you feel about diversity in the current batch of fighting games (Ex: ASW taking representation more seriously in GG Strive, Smash having zero Black characters & racist stereotypes, etc.)?
- How optimistic do you feel about more Black representation in games going forward? You can hint at something you know if you want, but I'm more curious about your own personal opinion on the topic.
- Do you think the success of Forspoken could lead to more Japanese developers giving us diverse protagonists?
- Why do you think developers not do gyro aiming on PS4/5 when it's already available in the Switch versions of games (Ex: Overwatch, Apex Legends, Fortnite, etc.)?
News: JASON SCHREIER IS BLACKLISTED BY MICROSOFT. /s
My question to you, Jason, is regarding sensationalized articles (like the fictitious one I mentioned above).
What do you think about the current status of "scanning tweets" for articles? Does it annoy you that everything you may say can and will be used against you in the court of internet law?
Hi Jason, fellow fan of Suikoden II here (It's actually my personal favorite game of all time)
What are your thoughts on the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicles as a spiritual successor by the former dev leads of Suikoden series? (notably the first and second games)
Also as a journalist that reports on events in industry what is your opinion on crowdfunding campaigns as opposed to AAA major publisher funded projects instead? Actually kind of goes back to Eiyuden itself which is a crowdfunding project.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicles as a spiritual successor by the former dev leads of Suikoden series? (notably the first and second games)
Also as a journalist that reports on events in industry what is your opinion on crowdfunding campaigns as opposed to AAA major publisher funded projects instead? Actually kind of goes back to Eiyuden itself which is a crowdfunding project.
Do you find the industry is now more open then ever with scenes like indie development absolutely skyrocketing, or do you find that the environment is actually at its most riskiest in content swamping and difficulty in finding the right spot for comfortable development without almost guaranteed crunch ethics?
Follow up question, do you believe universities/whatever America calls higher education is simply fleecing the potential game developer scene by offering bogus degrees that actually don't teach real world implementation? I've got aBachelors in Video Game Development mastering in Game Design and found it absolutely useless plus missing a lot of business teachings.
Follow up question, do you believe universities/whatever America calls higher education is simply fleecing the potential game developer scene by offering bogus degrees that actually don't teach real world implementation? I've got aBachelors in Video Game Development mastering in Game Design and found it absolutely useless plus missing a lot of business teachings.
Hey Jason,
How much pressure do journalists get from devs/publishers to publish positive articles/reviews for their games? And, if there is pressure, what are the repercussions of not bowing down to that pressure?
Has it ever caused you to write something that you did not completely agree with?
How much pressure do journalists get from devs/publishers to publish positive articles/reviews for their games? And, if there is pressure, what are the repercussions of not bowing down to that pressure?
Has it ever caused you to write something that you did not completely agree with?
Jason's answers on receiving threats, and on games media
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From fans, yes, often. From companies, no not really. Game companies prefer to just ignore you when they're mad at you.
I'm not sure why the GB folks left (and I wish them the best, such good guys) but let me talk a bit broadly about the state of games media.
The biggest problem in games media, as with most other beats in media, is that there's no money. For all of the nonsense you see about journalists writing articles for "clicks," pageviews don't exactly translate to cash very smoothly. Advertising revenue is in the shitter thanks to covid, Facebook, and Google, and while some sites have successfully found alternative revenue streams such as commerce, there isn't a ton of cash flowing around the media world right now. That's doubly true for gaming. Folks often complain that there's not enough investigative journalism on this beat, yet at the same time they're copy-pasting articles on Reddit to get around paywalls. Meanwhile, journalists at most gaming sites are overworked and underpaid. It's a bleak landscape! So if you're wondering why there are so many influencers willing to take money from Microsoft to shill the Kinect or whatever, it's because they need to eat.
To answer your question, I'd love to see more gaming sites adopt subscription models. It's worked well for personalities and shows - why shouldn't it work with reporting?
Hi Jason -
I'm a librarian at a university with a game studies program (which is also my area of research). Your book isn't available for us to purchase as an ebook, only in print. Could you pester your publisher about it? I'd love to get this as an eBook for the game studies program - print access is hard due to Covid.
Thank you!
I'm a librarian at a university with a game studies program (which is also my area of research). Your book isn't available for us to purchase as an ebook, only in print. Could you pester your publisher about it? I'd love to get this as an eBook for the game studies program - print access is hard due to Covid.
Thank you!
Hi Jason,
Based on the reporting you've done on crunch in the industry, can you briefly outline whether you believe crunch to be solely (or at least majorly) a consequence of incompetence (or worse: greed/malice), or is it possible that big players might just not be competitive if they didn't overwork their employees? Are there examples of big studios not resorting to crunch but delivering games on the scale of CDPR, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Naughty Dog?
Also, for someone who works as a developer in a company with a crunch culture, what is generally their reason to stick with a company with poor working hours over seeking a job outside of gaming that presumably pays better and requires fewer hours?
Based on the reporting you've done on crunch in the industry, can you briefly outline whether you believe crunch to be solely (or at least majorly) a consequence of incompetence (or worse: greed/malice), or is it possible that big players might just not be competitive if they didn't overwork their employees? Are there examples of big studios not resorting to crunch but delivering games on the scale of CDPR, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Naughty Dog?
Also, for someone who works as a developer in a company with a crunch culture, what is generally their reason to stick with a company with poor working hours over seeking a job outside of gaming that presumably pays better and requires fewer hours?
Hey Jason, fellow New York/Long Islander here. Congratulations on the new Book. I will definitely purchase this.
I often read your articles/news about crunch from within the workplace of Developers. Have you ever heard of any crunch (in it's various forms) extend to the music side of things? I'm not actually sure if making music for games is attached to crunch in some ways, whether it's outsourced or tied to the Developer(s). As a Electronic Music Producer, sometimes I look around on the side for working opportunities within the gaming industry, but then I think about the potential crunch that may occur and wonder if I should decide to take on such a task.
I am curious to know your thoughts as I don't recall hearing much discussion about the stress of getting music composed and ready for release. Music can never be rushed, but sometimes it too can sound like it is once you hear original soundtracks released.
I often read your articles/news about crunch from within the workplace of Developers. Have you ever heard of any crunch (in it's various forms) extend to the music side of things? I'm not actually sure if making music for games is attached to crunch in some ways, whether it's outsourced or tied to the Developer(s). As a Electronic Music Producer, sometimes I look around on the side for working opportunities within the gaming industry, but then I think about the potential crunch that may occur and wonder if I should decide to take on such a task.
I am curious to know your thoughts as I don't recall hearing much discussion about the stress of getting music composed and ready for release. Music can never be rushed, but sometimes it too can sound like it is once you hear original soundtracks released.
Really interesting read, thanks Jason!
If you're still reading, do you have any gaming podcasts you'd recommend? I'm always on the lookout for new voices to listen to!
(and if you have any recs for non-gaming pods I'll take those too ^^)
If you're still reading, do you have any gaming podcasts you'd recommend? I'm always on the lookout for new voices to listen to!
(and if you have any recs for non-gaming pods I'll take those too ^^)
Jason answers on journalism degrees, volatility in the industry, Souls games, and more
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Oh yeah, absolutely. Unless someone else is paying for it. Definitely don't take out student loans for a degree in journalism. Major in business or finance or something else that will A) help you be better at journalism by understanding the world beyond the newsroom, and B) set you up for a backup plan in case journalism doesn't work out.
Yes! I wrote a book about it.
A lot of people know that the game industry is full of brutal crunch, and I'm very glad that people are talking about it more and more these days, but in my reporting, I've found that the biggest issue in gaming isn't crunch -- it's volatility. The video game industry earns $180 billion in revenue a year but can't seem to avoid shutting down studios or conducting mass layoffs every few months. That, more than anything, is what leads people to burn out, and Press Reset is all about why it happens, how it happens, and how things can get better. (It's also pretty entertaining IMO, but I'm biased.)
Every good story starts with a question. Why was Anthem such a mess? Who was really responsible for Cyberpunk's shoddy launch? Who took the cookie from the cookie jar? Sometimes I'll come up with that question myself (or see lots of people asking it) and sometimes people will come to me asking it. Sometimes people will come to me with the answers to a question I hadn't even thought of, and then I'll work from there. Just about every "insider" story I've written also relies on more than one source corroborating it, so there's always some legwork involved even when someone comes to me in the first place.
It's Bloodborne, but Demon's Souls is the perfect entry point, and the PS5 remake is superb. But the bosses in Demon's Souls are kind of a joke, so it can't be the best one.
This is a great question. I think we are indeed about to see a slew of remasters, but I'm not sure how much of that is due to covid and how much is due to typical generational transitions. Usually the first couple years of a new generation is the perfect time for remasters anyway, as everyone's getting used to the new hardware (and waiting for people to buy it).
One tidbit I learned while reporting for Press Reset is that at one point, their goal was to ship a game in the fall of 2017.
Event is now concluded
Official Staff Communication
Looks like we're out of time, and this Q&Era live is officially over. Please thank Jason for his time and engagement with the community. If he wants to stick around and answer more questions and have a discussion with everyone he can do so at his leisure. The thread will be open to normal posting so that people can discuss the answers already given.
Jason, thanks for all your time, thanks for answering my question and thanks for all the work you do uncovering these stories. This industry needs more people like you.
Oh I thought of another!
I have long thought that the games industry as a whole is quite immature: I think big publishers treat a large part of their audience like children, and a large part of that audience behaves like children. The whole hype cycle, preorder culture and careful drip feed of information that fuels console warring and suchlike.
Interested to hear any thoughts you have on that.
And thanks again for doing this. Loved your first book and looking forward to your second.
I have long thought that the games industry as a whole is quite immature: I think big publishers treat a large part of their audience like children, and a large part of that audience behaves like children. The whole hype cycle, preorder culture and careful drip feed of information that fuels console warring and suchlike.
Interested to hear any thoughts you have on that.
And thanks again for doing this. Loved your first book and looking forward to your second.
Thanks for the answers! This has been quite an interesting read!
Haha. Good list. The only game from your list that also happens to be on mine is Suikoden II. It has my favorite plot of all time tied with Tactics Ogre. We should do a TC Play Along of it in the Discord man. Get Kirk and Maddy on the board!
Eiyuden includes some base building aspects as well and I'm so hyped for it. Does it include the the three-tier battle system of Suikoden 1? I liked the different types of battles depending if it was a small group battle, a battalion or an entire army.
Haha. Good list. The only game from your list that also happens to be on mine is Suikoden II. It has my favorite plot of all time tied with Tactics Ogre. We should do a TC Play Along of it in the Discord man. Get Kirk and Maddy on the board!
Eiyuden includes some base building aspects as well and I'm so hyped for it. Does it include the the three-tier battle system of Suikoden 1? I liked the different types of battles depending if it was a small group battle, a battalion or an entire army.
Jason I just heard your episode on How Did This Get Played! You're a joy to listen to and I'm currently looking into your last book blood sweat and pixels after you discussed it with the hosts. That's all I got.
Jason answers about Eiyuden Chronicle, Bungie, what he enjoys about journalism, and more
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10, but right now I'm trying to keep my excitement on the backburner until it's closer to actually being a real game.
I've been replaying Suikoden V, though, and man that game has aged well.
Mix of both: lots of Destiny 2 and lots of work on their next big thing.
And yes, I do. Activision's insistence on constant sequels and annual production was really hurting a lot of people.
I like this question because it's very easy to be cynical about both the media and gaming industry so sometimes it's nice to remind myself that I really do love this job. I love being a journalist because I love hearing and telling people's stories. There are few things I enjoy more than meeting someone who's done interesting things in the games industry and just asking them questions about their life and career. Sometimes the subject matter is bleak (like it was for Press Reset -- studio shutdowns are not exactly fun to talk about) but there's still something really special about getting to hear people's stories and try to tell them in an informative, compelling way. Reporting is just the best.
- The Konami side of Kojima vs Konami
- FFXV: the full story
- What went on inside the room when Microsoft did an 180 on the Xbox One
Thanks of the answer. Did you ever run into the issue of not finding more sources, despite the initial source being true? Do you have any examples that come to mind where it didn't work out and eventually got posted by other outlets?
Hello Jason, could you explain google's reluctance to spend money to make stadia a lot more successful than it could've been. They kind nailed the streaming as best as you can get now, but for some reason didn't spend the money to get better exclusive software or even get multi platform games. I know them using Linux instead of windows for their streaming tech was probably their biggest hurdle, but is there more to that story?
Lastly, Apple almost purchased bungie at one point, could they have gone into making consoles other than Microsoft? Would love to see that story unfold, or maybe Macs would've been the major platform.
Lastly, Apple almost purchased bungie at one point, could they have gone into making consoles other than Microsoft? Would love to see that story unfold, or maybe Macs would've been the major platform.
Hi Jason, why are you so adamant about revealing games that dev studios aint ready to reveal themselves (last time it was The Last of Us remake)?
I watched your reasoning in minmax interview (i hope i didnt butcher the name) and I found it pretty weak. You cant really compare amount of secrecy with movie business, tbh you cant compare it to anything else. You cant shoot a big movie im secret lol.
You know all the problems, the stress and everything else that revealing the game sooner than it is ready it creates, right?
Why do something that so little appreciate, while you hurt (one way or the other) someome else? I dont like knowing about the remake. It doesnt create healthy expextations prior to reveal and yeah, we can talk about the surprise aspect of gaming news/reveals, which you evidently dont care about.
I cant imagine that, as an example, you would ruin GOW reveal with orchestra for me with a leak that next gow is gomma be revealed soon.
Its just, why do you go against the most people, devs, publishers and even a lot of gamers?
The secrecy in videogames industry is fucked up, but I think we need to uncover totally different things than these (of some you are already doing and I admire you for that - and I bought both of your books).
Thanks for reply
I watched your reasoning in minmax interview (i hope i didnt butcher the name) and I found it pretty weak. You cant really compare amount of secrecy with movie business, tbh you cant compare it to anything else. You cant shoot a big movie im secret lol.
You know all the problems, the stress and everything else that revealing the game sooner than it is ready it creates, right?
Why do something that so little appreciate, while you hurt (one way or the other) someome else? I dont like knowing about the remake. It doesnt create healthy expextations prior to reveal and yeah, we can talk about the surprise aspect of gaming news/reveals, which you evidently dont care about.
I cant imagine that, as an example, you would ruin GOW reveal with orchestra for me with a leak that next gow is gomma be revealed soon.
Its just, why do you go against the most people, devs, publishers and even a lot of gamers?
The secrecy in videogames industry is fucked up, but I think we need to uncover totally different things than these (of some you are already doing and I admire you for that - and I bought both of your books).
Thanks for reply
Jason answers on AAA "ceilings", playing FFXIV, covering slave labour
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Oh yes. I think we've already kind of hit that point. Look at Cyberpunk!
About halfway through Stormblood. Slogging through whenever I have spare time.
Any injustice in the video game industry is something I'd want to cover, but at a certain point, short of flying out to China and trying to interview people myself (not practical or realistic at the moment), there's not a lot I can do to write about this particular issue right now.
Do you feel your expose on Naughty Dog taking charge of the Last of Us remake got undermined with all the attention going into the fact that a remake was ND's next project rather than the talent that was lost in its development? Do you feel that it would have been better to simply not reveal the title and leave it ambiguous to focus on the developers' struggles?
Jason answers on leaks and the God of War example
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I'm cutting the line to answer this real quick because you've inadvertently proved the points I made on Minnmax.
You know that God of War reveal that everyone always brings up as feeling special because it didn't leak? It leaked two months beforehand. Nobody remembers this, of course, because something can emotionally resonate with you even if you know it's coming. This is a complicated topic, there's no doubt, but it's preposterous that everyone always brings up God of War.
Hi Jason
Sorry if already asked but how much time do you get to spend playing games per week?
I saw from your tweet you like Returnal, how far into it are you?
thanks for your time
Sorry if already asked but how much time do you get to spend playing games per week?
I saw from your tweet you like Returnal, how far into it are you?
thanks for your time
Hi Jason
Can you give any insight as to why MS seems to have such difficulty when it comes to 1st party games? Especially compared to Sony and Nintendo? i've read and heard tibits over the years from people in the industry (including yourself) but no ones ever seemed to do any in depth reporting on the subject?
Can you give any insight as to why MS seems to have such difficulty when it comes to 1st party games? Especially compared to Sony and Nintendo? i've read and heard tibits over the years from people in the industry (including yourself) but no ones ever seemed to do any in depth reporting on the subject?
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Tom Bissell, Stephen Totilo, Leigh Alexander, Simon Parkin, Chris Kohler, and many non-games journalists like Michael Lewis, Bill Simmons etc
Not really. I think the far bigger issue is that challenging publishers is a crappy business decision. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the biggest issue in games media is a lack of money, and that manifests in all sorts of terrible ways. For starters, the whole ecosystem is based on game sites getting early copies to games. If you run a gaming site and you can only pay your staff because you get early access to Atari games and you get a tip that Atari is engaging in slave labor, would you really assign a journalist to look into it knowing that it will probably lead to all your Atari access fizzling? Some outlets are big enough to not have to worry about this as much, but the calculus always has to be there. It's a systemic problem.
I very much hope so.
Great question. I rely almost entirely on word of mouth for sleeper stuff. I do my best to check out games that land in my inbox, but there are just too many.
Hello Jason,
I'm currently a college senior in school for Journalism with the hope of someday getting into games journalism. While this may be an awful idea of something to pursue in the current landscape, do you have any tips for someone who wants to pursue it anyways (and is in too deep to stop now)? Is there sanything I could be doing now to help my chances of success in the future?
I understand if this question is nearly impossible to answer without time travel lmao
I'm currently a college senior in school for Journalism with the hope of someday getting into games journalism. While this may be an awful idea of something to pursue in the current landscape, do you have any tips for someone who wants to pursue it anyways (and is in too deep to stop now)? Is there sanything I could be doing now to help my chances of success in the future?
I understand if this question is nearly impossible to answer without time travel lmao
Thanks for the response! The bosses are actually one of my favourite aspects of Demon's Souls. I liked that they switched things up with different gimmicks and puzzles for each boss. While I enjoy challenging bosses in later souls games, I do also think the metaseries lost something when it abandoned boss variety in favour of the laser focus on challenging battles
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Thanks! That was a very fun pod. You should've seen the look on my face when we got to the end and they announced that next week's episode is Mario 64 lmao
Believe me, I think I could HEAR your facial expression. lmao
Hey Jason! I appreciate all your work in sharing stories highlight the industry's horrible treatment of the workers who make the games we love. I have a question in relation to your work:
In the years that you have covered video game development and the studios that makes them, have you seen any instances where studios that have had bad cases of crunch and abuse actually improve their conditions over time? I have heard that Rockstar had improved somewhat after the expose on their 100 hour work weeks post-RDR2, but have you heard of any other cases of improved working conditions?
Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions and I am heaps keen to pick up Press Reset when it's out down under!
In the years that you have covered video game development and the studios that makes them, have you seen any instances where studios that have had bad cases of crunch and abuse actually improve their conditions over time? I have heard that Rockstar had improved somewhat after the expose on their 100 hour work weeks post-RDR2, but have you heard of any other cases of improved working conditions?
Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions and I am heaps keen to pick up Press Reset when it's out down under!
Hi Jason,
Do you know if there's anything out of the ordinary going on with Roundhouse Studios (the former Human Head folks)? Despite forming out of Human Head fully in tact in 2019, they still have no website, no linked in page, and no listing under zenimax jobs (not even an empty listing with 0 jobs).
At the same time, a listing for ZeniMax Online Studios - Wisconsin popped up, so I was curious if the studio might have been merged in or something like that, or whether they're just keeping their heads down due to legal trouble or similar.