No question that there are some scathing assholes out there, but there is something more serious happening here. Allegations of corruption, nepotism and basically sleeping around to get review scores first were attempted to be censored, then were answered with a concerted backlash of articles (within 48 hours of each other) to shift all the blame to gamers and bash them for it. It seems to me the game media themselves are feeling threatened, and overreacting.
I don't know if I've ever posted my position on the freedom I think all art forms must be given (including games, of course), so let me make it plain now, because it's at the heart of my horror over what's happening. Artistic freedom is nearly absolute. Art needs not adhere to anyone's political or religious beliefs. Pixels and polygons have no human rights. If I want to write a game where the player goes to his harem of large-breasted submissive blondes after clubbing baby seals to death, I have every right to do so. The feminist spearhead is more than just simple criticism. It's aiming to suppress and repress, with its main weapon already well-known, the fear of being labeled misogynistic, or a bigot. Bring those guns to bear against developers, publishers and media, and soon we have artists and writers shuffling their feet, looking down and perhaps abandoning their freedoms. Fuck that. This needs a retort, and while I agree that it could be more mature than it has been so far, at least it has finally come.
