Gaming magazine pseudonyms

@M

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,
20 Year Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Posts
7,174
How do you feel about game reviewers using pseudonyms instead of their real names in game magazines?

It was an issue of PSM I think, that I remember Chris Slate writing a list of dos/don'ts for doing game mags and one of his bullet points was for staff to use their real names, he felt that people who used pseudonyms weren't accountable for their work (and I'd say he was taking a stab at GamePro and Diehard Gamefan in particular), a stance I agree with. I always liked to know who was really writing the reviews and I kind of got the sense that the ones who didn't were ashamed to be employed writing reviews for video games and didn't want their real names associated with it. Individual GamePro staff often used multiple pseudonyms too, further muddying the waters.
 

Tarma

Old Man
20 Year Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2001
Posts
7,138
I'll always remember a staffer at Mean Machines who went by the handle "Radion Automatic".

For those who aren't familiar - Radion Automatic was a brand of washing detergent in the late 80s early 90s (you may even still be able to buy for all I know).

Anyway... why someone would want to hide behind the moniker of a washing detergent is beyond me, but there you have it. Guess he thought he was being "funny".
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Posts
11,084
Pseudonyms have existed for as long as there have been authors. I don't think some videogame editor is going to change history.

It actually gives the review more substance because there is less bias from the reader and the writer.
 

SML

NEANDERTHAL FUCKER,
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2003
Posts
11,170
Are you a bum lad or a ??? lad
 

theMot

Reformed collector of junk
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Posts
7,589
I'll always remember a staffer at Mean Machines who went by the handle "Radion Automatic".

For those who aren't familiar - Radion Automatic was a brand of washing detergent in the late 80s early 90s (you may even still be able to buy for all I know).

Anyway... why someone would want to hide behind the moniker of a washing detergent is beyond me, but there you have it. Guess he thought he was being "funny".
Being a MM reader but not from the UK I had no clue what that was all about. Now I know.

Mean YOB would have made a good NG.com member. He was war room before the war room.
 

wyo

King of Spammers
10 Year Member
Joined
May 22, 2013
Posts
10,109
Mean Machines was the best video game magazine. The American magazines were shit.
 
Top