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There's no "controversy" over The Witcher 4, it's just gotten picked up in what is now a cottage industry of YouTube-based outrage content farming by people who have zero actual investment in or understanding of the things they cover multiple times a day, every day

Somehow this has become the way to make a sustainable living producing gaming content online, but if you're interested in writing thoughtful analysis and critique, the kind that takes literacy and hard work, well don't quit your day job

It's wall-to-wall garbage all the time, and if it's not wails about a lady being the main character, it's tedious technical complaints about how many reflections of Spider-Man you can see in the puddles. Anything interesting that anyone might have to say about any game has been shoved to the margins

I don't want to erase the work my friends and former colleagues are doing in this space. There IS good games content out there but I'm frustrated by how difficult it is for the good stuff to actually drive the discussion or change the narrative, to refocus away from the unending drumbeat of rage

The thing is, having watched this evolve: It's not (for all of them) that they don't know how or what to cover, it's that what they're doing - making rage takes - IS their coverage/content, not the games. They're not really "covering" media, they're making competing content.

The bigger problem is, YouTube ACTIVELY prioritizes and amplifies this sh-- because it's BETTER for the platform since it exists *only* on "the platform" - why WOULDN'T they boost content that keeps people watching YouTube instead of doing anything else? 🤬

Like if I'm "Mr. YouTube," what would my priority be? A 15 minute positive review of a movie people will turn off YouTube and leave the house to watch or a FIVE HOUR MONETIZED STREAM about why that movie is woke and sucks the will also push a dozen similar streams?