Open Access"Too Human" versus the enthusiast press: Video game journalists as mediators of commodity value
Author(s) -
Rebecca Carlson
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
transformative works and cultures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1941-2258
DOI - 10.3983/twc.2009.098
Subject(s) - value (mathematics) , video game , commodity , negotiation , meaning (existential) , capitalism , sociology , media studies , advertising , political science , economics , social science , business , multimedia , epistemology , law , computer science , philosophy , market economy , politics , machine learning
This article examines the role of mediators in the production of commodity value, arguing that there is a rise in a kind of immaterial labor, shaped by contemporary conditions of late capitalism, that functions explicitly as a mediating force. In this example, video game journalists are understood as actively engaged in producing and negotiating the value and meaning of video games for both producers and consumers. By specifically examining a moment of value contestation, a podcast debate between a journalist and a game developer, this article traces the mediating practices of the enthusiast gaming press and examines the way their history with and relationship to the video game industry continue to structure their ability to filter knowledge and shape desires.