In the past, we’ve made jokes about how Microsoft seems to get favourable coverage from the gaming press. E3 conferences that seemed heavy on multiplatform titles and celebrity, and lighter on exclusive games were being feted by many in the industry. Microsoft certainly knows how to market, I’ll give them that. Anyways, I mean, we know that they aren’t actually paying off the press. They’re too busy spending that money on timed exclusives.

And then the Microsoft keynote happened.

This has been bugging me for a few days now. Let me, of course, preface this by saying that we did NOT attend Monday’s Microsoft keynote. So we didn’t get the free brand new Xbox 360s that Microsoft gave away to everybody who was in the audience. At first, I was disappointed that we couldn’t get into the keynote, and thus, didn’t score some sweet swag. Then I realized, I’m actually GLAD we didn’t get in. Really, I am.

Seriously, is there any other way to look at this besides out and out bribery of the gaming press? It easily got the biggest reaction from the audience. (Of course, maybe if most of the presenters weren’t as cool as a dad with a ponytail they would have received more consistent reaction during the presentation, but I digress.) Sure, many of the outlets are going to pass the windfall on to their readers and not keep the consoles for themselves. But even then, they’ll still get some indirect benefit in the form of reader goodwill and the attraction of contests.

Sure, MS aren’t the only ones who do this. Gaming journalists get little perks all the time in the form of free games, gaming swag, etc. It’s all part of the marketing game. But we’re talking about $300 consoles, and in a highly visible fashion. This presents a bit of an ethical dilemma for the journalist, as you know that this will have to be in the back of their mind next time they write about some Xbox exclusive, or Kinect, or anything else Microsoft does.  Of course, most journalists are professionals, and won’t let something like this sway their coverage. Thing is, Joe Reader is a cynical lot, and may not buy into this idea so easily. It’s definitely a slippery slope, and one that I kinda wish Microsoft hadn’t brought into play. That said, what’s done is done, and this will surely be talked about for days and weeks to come.

Maybe this is just sour grapes from somebody who didn’t get a new toy. If that’s how you view it, I won’t be able to change your perception. To me, nothing gained, nothing lost, it’s a zero sum, so I’m no better or worse off than before. But I still have to be a bit troubled by something which looks like no more than a blatant attempt to curry favour from the gaming press (like they really needed it). It’s absolutely BRILLIANT on Microsoft’s part, of course. I can’t say I wouldn’t have made the same decision if I were in there shoes. Still, the optics aren’t very good, for both giver and receiver. It certainly got them in the news though. Normally, one would say you can’t buy that kind of press. But apparently, I guess you can.