You may have noticed that we’ve been going pretty heavy on the Amazon affiliate links, including a slew of Prime Day deals today (seriously, there’s some good stuff there). Of course, there’s also the whole idea that Amazon is at the forefront that is the terrible machine that is technological advancement, including criticisms of CEO and ultra-billionaire Jeff Bezos and the fact that Amazon workers are heavily underpaid and that Amazon pays zero taxes despite being perhaps the most profitable megaconglomerate (just look again at the value of CEO Jeff Bezos). So why are we pushing so hard supporting a consumerist holiday that glorifies not only the cognitive bias of money illusion as people become anchored to lower prices and deals on things, but supporting a company that exploits its workers for the sake of essentially ruling the world (and space. Yeah, they’re definitely targeting space too)?
Well, the truth is, digital media is tough. I mean, sure, we can sit here and write all we want. That part’s pretty straightforward. It’s the “making money off of that writing” part that’s kinda difficult. Writing is our product. So as you are probably well aware, we have ads. We also have a subscription service that should kill most of the ads for you (working out the kinks and bugs in that, so pardon our dust). But the landscape of online media is ever changing, and, well, ads just aren’t what they once were. So we turn to other methods of revenue. Sponsorships and affiliate links are big ones, and that’s where Amazon and all these deals posts come into play.
Now whatever your feelings on Amazon, or even our affiliate links, we have to be clear that affiliate links will never have any impact on our writing. We’re aren’t going to write a more positive review of a game in order to try to get you to buy it. In fact, we’ll usually keep affiliate links out of editorialized content. You may see links pop up in news articles about a specific story, or in dedicated deals posts. And yes, you’ll see us capitalize on the consumerist holiday of Amazon Prime Day in order to support the site, because at this point, every little bit helps.
We also understand that you like good deals on games, gaming hardware, and gaming accessories. You’re looking for the best prices on stuff anyway, so why not support PlayStation LifeStyle through affiliate links while you’re at it? It doesn’t cost you anything extra and it helps us keep these lights on so we can keep bringing you PlayStation content, as well as evolving what we do here.
Honestly, the idea of “raging against the machine” is great when a big part of your existence isn’t fundamentally tied into that machine. When the outcome of raging against the machine is being caught in the gears, crushed, trampled, and left to die in a forgotten heap, I think we’ll get over being a smaller site that relies on things like Amazon affiliate links and promoting Prime Day. It’s not like us stopping would even make a dent in the world’s most powerful consumer entity, and if we can leech off of it a bit to keep doing what PSLS does best, that’s just what we’ll do. We’ll find other ways to rage against the machine. Until then, we’d appreciate it if you could support the site by making your purchases through our affiliate links.
Daily Reaction reacts daily to the video game industry. Have suggestions for the column or subjects you’d like us to react to? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to check out previous Daily Reactions for more dives beyond the headlines.
