Corruption? Conflict of interest? No, I’m not talking about a political case, but about war of the youtubers which has exploded in Italy in recent days, particularly among those who deal with video games. It was he who threw the stone Falconeroduring a live show of the Cortocircuito format. In summary, the j’accuse by Falconero: can those who review video games, those who criticize them, do so if they are a partner of the same companies that produce them?
It’s not that he’s entirely wrong, in fact in my opinion none. Falconero himself had collaborations with software companies years ago, but then realized that they undermined his independence and freedom of criticism. How can you criticize a game if you are funded by the people who produce it? How can you do this if you go to dinner with one of the developers? An uproar happened, it all started from the Cortocircuito format which is already an uproar in itself (I saw the live broadcast from which the tsunami started interrupted continuously by someone shouting and I’m not going to bother to see who it was, it must have been one youtubers).
The finger that put Falconero in the digital wound is no small thing. Think for example of the influencers on Instagram: if they sponsor a dress or a piece of jewellery, they are obliged to post the message #adv. Which means advertising. Between streamers and YouTubers the territory is more swampy. Midna and Rider, from Playerinside, do not spare criticism of Sony and Microsoft nor of the games they talk about, but the reviews of Multiplayer.it, for example, pander to the manufacturers. Disorganized reactions, because in the world of YouTubers who make numbers (also in terms of earnings) there has always been a certain silence, a bit like in mine, among the writers, and in Falconero I saw myself a little, «not they attack colleagues”, with the difference that I don’t have and have never had colleagues.
He did a calm analysis Top Gamesdistinguishing individual content creators from channels that have real editorial offices (like Multiplayer), and must pay salaries to collaborators, this is also a point. All this discussion distinguishing, it goes without saying, the channels that have sponsors declared within the video (such as Rogue for Nayked, which in any case offers excellent products), in short, you have to keep things going if you can’t support yourself with YouTube revenues and Twitch (and there are few who manage to do it).
It then depends on how much is enough for you, and on your economic ambitions. But even here Falconero is adamant, he makes it a question of transparency. To the question «would you accept the sponsor of NorthVPN?” (you can find it in almost all videos on YouTube), replies: «No, why that one and not another? I could accept being sponsored by the water I drink during live shows, because I already drink it myself, but they have never contacted me.”
Then there are some exceptions: Velox he is one of those who is invited by Activision to America for every new launch of Call of Duty, but when he returns he talks to you about the game, telling you his impressions and also the defects: given his numbers he can afford it (he is needed much more to Activision that Activision to him). Ditto for Kyborghe didn’t really get involved in the controversy, he cares so much about being “clean” (he always says it) that he would have gotten dirty just by talking about it. In any case, in the controversy raised by Falconero, everything came out, even conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, those who say “they don’t tell us” (even in video games there are conspiracy theorists). I, however, would say that paid reviews, unlike free ones, are immediately recognisable, and on Youtube the users are in charge, so they are chosen. Maybe though, like on Instagram, the obligation to post a #adv wouldn’t be bad, to make everything clearer.
You don’t know how much it cost me to make this summary, I got stuck in live feeds uploaded to Youtube that last three hours, not even a Nolan film, Falconero himself published a video to summarize the whole story which lasts half an hour (the YouTubers are talkative, otherwise they wouldn’t be YouTubers), but if everyone got so pissed off, Falconero, in addition to being a black hawk, is the black sheep
of YouTubers, and I like it. Precise: he is not a friend of mine, nor even a relative of mine (to become one, it is known, is very difficult). What he reported, however, makes no difference, except in other people’s wallets.