Because I would love to punch this one by Gamasutra's Leigh Alexander:
Nintendo can easily keep in riches through the whims of the faddish mainstream trendline -- and that's only sensible, the well-earned fruits of brilliant business savvy and an admirable marketing campaign.
The whims of the faddish mainstream trendline. Honestly, what the fuck does that mean? I'll tell you what it means: it means that Leigh thought buzzwords would magically transform an obvious observation into insightful analysis. This is exactly the sort of thing Patrick and I were talking about in the podcast – this ongoing trend in which games journalists employ ridiculous corporate babblespeak to make their work appear authoritative, when it only serves to obscure the information they're trying to communicate.
What's really annoying about this particular example is that Leigh is actually a very good writer, and therefore doesn't need to pad her work with this kind of wankery. But this is what happens when you're a proper games journalist – the profession eats away at you, like a disease, until all you can do is speak in words sponged from press kits and market analyst reports. You think I'm exaggerating, but trust me, I've been there. I know. One day you're writing a detailed Nietzschean critique of Chrono Trigger, the next you're wondering how you'll contain your frothing demand for the next Call of Duty. It's a slippery slope, and at the bottom is a kiddie pool full of liquid shit.
I sure hope Leigh remembered to bring her bathers. |