Benjamin Bigl, Sebastian Stoppe (eds.): Game-Journalismus. Grundlagen – Themen – Spannungsfelder. Ein Handbuch. [Game journalism. Basics – topics – areas of tension. A handbook.]

Reviewed by Rudolf Thomas Inderst

The digital game industry is facing challenging times, and putting out contradictory signals. On the one hand, there are triumphant announcements of success, such as the fact that a total of 19 smartphone games managed to make the »leap over the one billion dollars mark in sales since their launch« in 2023 (Kleffmann 2024). But there is bad news, too: More than 9,000 digital game developers lost their jobs last year (Barislowitsch 2023).

The variety of ways in which specialist journalism on the topic manifests itself is as diverse as the digital game industry itself. It is therefore the perfect moment to publish an academic book on digital game journalism. With the long-standing print game magazines GamePro and Games Aktuell folding at the end of 2023, the debate surrounding the crisis in digital game journalism boiled up once again. taz author Martin Seng, for example, wrote: »But the technophile reporting often neglects the political and cultural aspects that come with the medium. Issues like right-wing extremism in gaming, the growing influence of China in the industry, Russian propaganda in games, and unreflective American patriotism all play a peripheral role in game journalism« (Seng 2024). Suddenly, there were once again demands for a form of digital game journalism that was more critical of the culture. A reaction was inevitable. Petra Fröhlich, Editor in Chief of the B2B online magazine GameWirtschaft, retorted: »At some point, one would need to acknowledge that the feuilleton-style wordsmith approach, like real-life socialism, has failed. Again and again. At a rough estimate, fewer than 20 people could make a decent (i.e., full-time) living from the demand for this kind of service – in all of Germany« (Fröhlich 2024).

Edited by Benjamin Bigl and Sebastian Stoppe and recently published by Springer VS, Handbuch Game-Journalismus is an excellent way to better understand the contexts within digital game journalism that have grown up over history. As a research compendium, it is aimed at journalists and digital game researchers, as well as interested players. On around 340 pages, the volume’s 23 articles are divided into the chapters »Basics of game journalism,« »Subjects of reporting in game journalism,« »Occasions for reporting,« »Professional fields in game journalism,« »Areas of tension in game journalism,« and, finally, »Research.« Asked in an interview about the concept behind the book, editor Bigl responded: »We chose a structure for the manual that one would also find when looking analytically at other media.« In addition, he said, it is striking »how few substantiated representations on game journalism there are« (Inderst 2024). Bigl is right – coverage of the field in science and academia has so far been rather sparing.

The broad spectrum of contributors is a clear demonstration of the book’s diverse content. In his essay »Ratings winner and whipping boy,« long-standing journalist Andreas Garbe attempts to show why reporting on PC and video games in the general interest media has begun to become normalized in recent years, thanks to ex-US president Donald Trump, of all people. Jochen Koubek, on the other hand, a Professor in Germany’s only university-based master’s program on digital game research in Bayreuth, looks at sales, subscriptions, transaction fees, and advertising as the four forms of monetarization for digital games. In doing so, he demonstrates how digital game studies research and reporting can work together effectively if closely guided in terms of the topics covered. In the manual Game-Journalismus, the editors present a clear, accessible, and high-quality introduction to the principles, development, and challenges of this academic field and to the latest trends and challenges facing journalists and players. By reflecting extensively on the areas of tension that digital game journalists face, Bigl and Stoppe offer both academic and practice-oriented insights into the long-overdue research into this specialist field.

About the reviewer

Dr. phil. Dr. rer. cult. Rudolf Thomas Inderst, M.A., is Head of Department for Digital Gaming at the online journal Titel kulturmagazin and Professor of Game Design at the IU International University of Applied Sciences, focusing on Digital Game Studies. He is the founder and host of the podcast Game Studies at New Books Network and edits the weekly newsletter »DiGRA D-A-CH Game Studies Watchlist.« Contact: rudolf.inderst@googlemail.com

Translation: Sophie Costella

References

Barislowitsch, Nils (2023): Bericht: 2023 haben über 9.000 Entwickler ihren Arbeitsplatz verloren. In: Shock 2. https://mag.shock2.info/bericht-2023-haben-ueber-9-000-entwickler-ihren-arbeitsplatz-verloren/

Fröhlich, Petra (2024): Clickbait (Fröhlich am Freitag). In: GamesWirtschaft. https://www.gameswirtschaft.de/meinung/froehlich-am-freitag-2024-05-clickbait/

Inderst, Rudolf (2024): Über das Schreiben über Spiele schreiben. Im Gespräch mit Benjamin Bigl. In: Nahaufnahmen. https://www.nahaufnahmen.ch/2024/02/12/ueber-das-schreiben-ueber-spiele-schreiben/

Kleffmann, Michael (2024): 19 Mobile Games knackten 2023 die Umsatzmilliarde. In: Gamesmarkt. https://www.gamesmarkt.de/publishing/neue-umsatzmilliardaere-19-mobile-games-knackten-2023-die-umsatzmilliarde-16f283b867c4099e15806748cc1cb740

Seng, Martin (2024): Neue Clickbait-Opfer. In: taz.de, 30 January 2024. https://taz.de/Krise-der-Gaming-Magazine/!5985738/

This review first appeared in rezensionen:kommunikation:medien, 29 October 2024, accessible at: https://www.rkm-journal.de/archives/25171

About the book

Benjamin Bigl, Sebastian Stoppe (eds.): Game-Journalismus. Grundlagen – Themen – Spannungsfelder. Ein Handbuch. [Game journalism. Basics – topics – areas of tension. A handbook.] Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 343 pages, EUR 139.99