State of gaming news journalism – stuck in the 2000s?

[happynaut]

Each of us has his favourite gaming news website. But let's be honest. Most of the websites follow the same structure: news, reviews and reports.

Since the web has started in the 90s, it has develop massively. But the gaming news coverage has almost kept the same.

Most website still are written for desktop users. But now a days nearly 70% of web traffic comes from mobile users. A fact most gaming news site don't care about.

Do you think that gaming journalism on the web had developed the right way? Or should there be something new and unique?

The reason why I'm asking this, is that I think about to create a gaming news website with a unique, modern approach. I want to get your feedback and maybe find some enthusiastic gamers which are also interested in building something new.

 

[Deleted member 50374]

Plenty of websites do essays though. And many are just fine on mobile - or even actually receive 70% of web traffic from phones.

 

[Silky]

https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us

Your comment regarding website formatting for mobile audiences is perfectly true, though. To this day it baffles me how poorly IGN and Gamespot are optimized for mobile devices. It was something even Destructoid got right before the mobile browsing boom.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

I dunno chief. Between Kotaku, Waypoint, Giant Bomb, Team Unwinnable, and so many fan funded sites, games journalism has changed quite a great deal. Heck, many covered a mass shooting earlier this year. Back in the early 2000s that would have been completely avoided outside of condolences.

 

[SuikerBrood]

Since the 2000's we got video reviews, let's play's, podcasts, streams and other multimedia content. I think gaming media has evolved faster than media on other subjects.

 

[Aurongel]

I think a lot of them struggled to find their identity once Youtube began to grow into the cultural phenomenon it is today. Giant Bomb specifically read the tea leaves and changed up their format to accommodate the new media landscape. That's why I think their moves away from written reviews and towards longer form video and podcasts was a savvy move for the time.

 

[MarcelRguez]

What's your angle with the site? There's a gazillion sites that, as you say, only cover news and reviews (and honestly, Twitter or news aggregators are a good enough substitute), but there's also a fair number of sites focused on think pieces, like other posters have mentioned. It's not like these are unpopular sites either, even if they're not as well-established as something like IGN.

So what exactly would you do differently, besides taking the needs of mobile users into consideration more than other sites?

Since the 2000's we got video reviews, let's play's, podcasts, streams and other multimedia content. I think gaming media has evolved faster than media on other subjects.

Click to shrink...

I don't know what other subjects you have in mind exactly, but, to be fair, gaming coverage had nowhere to go but up.

 

[freakybj]

I miss shows like the 1up show and Area 5 Co-op. I need more content like that.

 

[Adamska]

Between Waypoint, Giant Bomb and Polygon (sometimes Kotaku does something interesting too), I cannot hope to understand how come anyone can think gaming journalism is stuck in a rut.

 

[dancingphlower]

It was only this year that Game Informer updated their website to a mobile-friendly design. The big sites have some major catching up to do.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I think Kotaku has the right idea: detailed editorials from writers who establish their voice on the site itself, unique behind-the-scenes looks at game development both past and present, and regular special-interest pieces that accompany the main material. I think this is a good foundation for a gaming news website and I prefer that sort of enthusiast format because if accommodates all sorts of articles and perspectives.

But I also think it's very difficult to write media for enthusiasts because enthusiasts are rabid, entitled, and come to your website as an ego trip. In the bad old days, I stopped visiting a gaming website I had previously read daily because they gave a low review score to a game I hadn't even played yet. I would get in to arguments in the comments section over the most trivial and petty arguments over things like superhero costumes in Hollywood movies. I came to these websites just to read things that I already believed as a consumer. A lot of enthusiasts are exactly like this and they will only visit your website to lambast you or to have their biases confirmed.

I recommend not having a comment section.

But the biggest thing I want to see from enthusiast websites is to take longer when reviewing games or consoles. This is difficult because deadlines and revenue opportunities demand you have your content ready at the same time as everyone else, but I think reviews or opinion pieces that come out a month or so after a game is released are always much more interesting than the ones ready to read on day one. But this is a freedom not really afforded to professional outlets where coverage may be assigned to you and you may have multiple deadlines to meet for multiple games.

I do think there's a market and a demand for thoughtful opinion pieces in gaming and would prefer that sort of steady and scholarly approach to compliment the more topical fare that already exists.

 

[Deleted member 7450]

Each of us has his favourite gaming news website.

Click to shrink...

I don't '-'

 

[erpg]

I'm not sure what you're implying with the mobile statistic. How would someone write something differently for a mobile audience?

 

[Jessie]

Gaming journalism as a concept is pretty millennial. And it's aging with millennials.

Gen Z gets their news from streamers and social media sites.

 

[jschreier]

I have no idea what OP is about but the dirty little secret in games media right now is that Facebook, once the teat from which all websites had to suck, has become ineffective, and that most websites are getting the bulk of their traffic from guides that people stumble upon via Google. Like the rest of journalism in 2019, it's an unsustainable business and we're all doomed.

 

[udllpn]

Gaming journalism as a concept is pretty millennial. And it's aging with millennials.

Gen Z gets their news from streamers and social media sites.

Click to shrink...

And there are a lot of risks involved with this. Of course, this is not only happening with gaming journalism, but with journalism in general.

 

[SuikerBrood]

What's your angle with the site? There's a gazillion sites that, as you say, only cover news and reviews (and honestly, Twitter or news aggregators are a good enough substitute), but there's also a fair number of sites focused on think pieces, like other posters have mentioned. It's not like these are unpopular sites either, even if they're not as well-established as something like IGN.

So what exactly would you do differently, besides taking the needs of mobile users into consideration more than other sites?


I don't know what other subjects you have in mind exactly, but, to be fair, gaming coverage had nowhere to go but up.

Click to shrink...

Gaming is an interactive medium, so you can do much more with it than non-interactive media like movies or books. Streaming and video on demand has given journalists and content creators the possibility to create interactive content or information.

I'm sure the gaming media has way more diverse ways of informing the public than car journalists have. Sure, there are podcasts about cars, videos about driving a car, livestreams from carshows, etc. But gaming as an interactive form of media enables gaming media to be more creative.

 

[MarcelRguez]

I recommend not having a comment section.

Click to shrink...

Yup. I'm not sure if Kotaku and Polygon do this too, but I like what Waypoint does with its forums, since they double as the comments section. It's the easiest way I can think of to keep toxic users at bay without killing discussion outright.

I'm not sure what you're implying with the mobile statistic. How would someone write something differently for a mobile audience?

Click to shrink...

OP is talking about web design for mobile devices, I think, not about the content itself. It puzzles me a bit too, since most sites read just fine for me.

Gaming is an interactive medium, so you can do much more with it than non-interactive media like movies or books. Streaming and video on demand has given journalists and content creators the possibility to create interactive content or information.

I'm sure the gaming media has way more diverse ways of informing the public than car journalists have. Sure, there are podcasts about cars, videos about driving a car, livestreams from carshows, etc. But gaming as an interactive form of media enables gaming media to be more creative.

Click to shrink...

Ah, I see what you mean now. Yeah, that's definitely something I see more and more outlets tapping into nowadays.

 

[lazygecko]

Having outlets that stick with the old rigid format is fine. What the gaming press is doing is branching out to fill different niches. There's stuff for culturally and politically discussing games, there's purely tech oriented stuff like Digital Foundry, there are those who focus mostly on the consumer product/rights angle, etc etc. There's something for everyone and I think that's pretty great.

 

[Jessie]

And there are a lot of risks involved with this. Of course, this is not only happening with gaming journalism, but with journalism in general.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. Hyperpartisanship is a huge one. I can't imagine any 18 year old buying Fallout 76, because their favourite streamers are all roasting it.

(Content creators make content that performs well with algorithms. "FALLOUT 76 IS A DISASTER, BETHESDA SCAMMED US" performs better than "Fallout 76 is a disappointment with some redeeming traits")

 

[Serebii]

Most website still are written for desktop users. But now a days nearly 70% of web traffic comes from mobile users. A fact most gaming news site don't care about.

Click to shrink...

So you want people to do short articles to cater for mobile users?

Mobile is one of the worst things to hit websites in my opinion. Having to optimise a website for a 300 pixel wide render is just asinine and impossible for some websites to do

 

[RocknRola]

I have no idea what OP is about but the dirty little secret in games media right now is that Facebook, once the teat from which all websites had to suck, has become ineffective, and that most websites are getting the bulk of their traffic from guides that people stumble upon via Google. Like the rest of journalism in 2019, it's an unsustainable business and we're all doomed.

Click to shrink...

So, what you're saying is that 2019 is the official Doom™ ® year?

 

[Serebii]

Gen Z gets their news from streamers and social media sites.

Click to shrink...

Irony is, in the Pokémon community at least, those places get it from websites like mine. Typically certain ones just screen record the website

 

[happynaut]

I'm not sure what you're implying with the mobile statistic. How would someone write something differently for a mobile audience?

Click to shrink...

Attention rate and time is much shorter on mobile. I see many long news you could have written in 3 sentences. But many sites don't do this. They write long articles to rank higher in Google's algorithm.

 

[happynaut]

I have no idea what OP is about but the dirty little secret in games media right now is that Facebook, once the teat from which all websites had to suck, has become ineffective, and that most websites are getting the bulk of their traffic from guides that people stumble upon via Google. Like the rest of journalism in 2019, it's an unsustainable business and we're all doomed.

Click to shrink...

Many sites don't put the user in the centre anymore. They focus on Google and getting users from this traffic source

 

[Serebii]

Attention rate and time is much shorter on mobile. I see many long news you could have written in 3 sentences. But many sites don't do this. They write long articles to rank higher in Google's algorithm.

Click to shrink...

Or they write long articles because there's a lot of content to cover?

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

But the biggest thing I want to see from enthusiast websites is to take longer when reviewing games or consoles. This is difficult because deadlines and revenue opportunities demand you have your content ready at the same time as everyone else, but I think reviews or opinion pieces that come out a month or so after a game is released are always much more interesting than the ones ready to read on day one. But this is a freedom not really afforded to professional outlets where coverage may be assigned to you and you may have multiple deadlines to meet for multiple games.

I do think there's a market and a demand for thoughtful opinion pieces in gaming and would prefer that sort of steady and scholarly approach to compliment the more topical fare that already exists.

Click to shrink...

I enjoy reading (and writing) late pieces myself, but there's no market for them.

 

[fracas]

There are plenty of good places to get longform pieces, it's just easy to miss them because of all the fluff.

 

[Horns]

I think streamers have disrupted gaming news and often paint it in a negative way. The people I most often hear complaining about gaming journalism are the same ones using social media for their gaming news.

 

[Brazil]

I can assure you that there are few things that the people working on gaming websites nowadays (or any websites, really) care more about than the fact that all of their readers are using phones.

 

[MarcelRguez]

Attention rate and time is much shorter on mobile. I see many long news you could have written in 3 sentences. But many sites don't do this. They write long articles to rank higher in Google's algorithm.

Click to shrink...

Headlines take even less to read, that battle is already lost.

 

[Dekuman]

I miss the loss of specialized genre reporting. I dislike the current trend personality driven reporting where credibility is established by the last credible leak reported on. These people can't cover every game and of the games they cover they often don't care for or understand a lot of them.

IGNPC had some great reviews and coverage because the people writing there cared for and loved the games

 

[Mr.Fletcher]

As journalist myself, I can appreciate a lot of what's been said in this thread.

However, I'd argue the games media have adapted well (if maybe a little late) to the ever-changing landscape of the internet.

Written content is almost always supplemented by videos and guides. While more and more outlets are taking advantage of YouTube, and streaming on other platforms.

Long form feature pieces are now common too, often musing over a specific aspect of a game or the politics behind it.

You know what I want a bit more of? Positivity.

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm toying around with a few ideas myself.

I'd love to build something dedicated exclusively to laying out what I love about individual games. No controversy, no anger, just innocent passion.

It would be a breath of fresh air to have a video drop into my inbox every week where someone just joyfully points out everything they adore about a particular game.

We seem to have everyone and their dog critiqueing games, ripping them apart and breaking down design. Everyone's making a video about the latest scandal, or taking a publisher to task.

But where's the love? Nothing energies me more than hearing someone talk about something that really moves them.

I hope someone fills that void, even if there's maybe not a particularly big market for it... and if they don't, I might have a go.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I enjoy reading (and writing) late pieces myself, but there's no market for them.

Click to shrink...

They seem popular on YouTube, but you're right that it's a totally different format.

 

[happynaut]

S

Or they write long articles because there's a lot of content to cover?

Click to shrink...

Sometimes yes and if the content is for a niche/ a certain group, long articles make sense. I guess we're all are passionate gamers here. But there is a huge audience which doesn't want to read 15+ gaming news per day.

 

[SageShinigami]

I have no idea what OP is about but the dirty little secret in games media right now is that Facebook, once the teat from which all websites had to suck, has become ineffective, and that most websites are getting the bulk of their traffic from guides that people stumble upon via Google. Like the rest of journalism in 2019, it's an unsustainable business and we're all doomed.

Click to shrink...

I work at an exponentially smaller level than you or Kotaku, but...yeah, can confirm. Not just games media, either. :/

 

[Trice]

Youtube video reviews is where it's at. I don't even care about written reviews anymore, narrated videos saying and showing you the evidence and examples are just plain better.

 

[Deleted member 36622]

I read most of these articles with my Kobo through Pocket, they get formatted as an ebook without all the annoying ads, banners,... (and it's on an eink display so more comfortable to read) so as long as they are compatible with Pocket that's a non-issue for me.

The actual content is often the real problem here.

 

[Serebii]

S

Sometimes yes and if the content is for a niche/ a certain group, long articles make sense. I guess we're all are passionate gamers here. But there is a huge audience which doesn't want to read 15+ gaming news per day.

Click to shrink...

I mean you don't have to read every article

PLUS

It's a lot quicker to read an article than to watch a Youtube video that is paddedout to 10:01 with lots of requests for likes and subs, and don't forget to hit the bell

 

[happynaut]

I can assure you that there are few things that the people working on gaming websites nowadays (or any websites, really) care more about than the fact that all of their readers are using phones.

Click to shrink...

It's not only about writing for mobile, it's also the technology behind it. E.G. Page reloads/ impressions are a relict from the past. However they are still used, as marketers and web developers think that this is the only way how a website can work.

But this is outdated thinking. I worked as an editor, today I'm web developer and architect. I have so many ideas in my mind how you could transform gaming journalism. But I'm not a native English speaker, so writing wouldn't be that easy for me. But I could bring a lot of technology power and knowledge to the project. Maybe there are a few like-minded people here, which are interest in such a project and would take care on the writing part.

 

[Jerm]

I haven't found a gaming news site I've liked since Joystiq left the scene so I just rely on Era which is where a lot of news starts or gains traction. I don't know what could make gaming journalism more engaging.

 

[LordofPwn]

I have no idea what OP is about but the dirty little secret in games media right now is that Facebook, once the teat from which all websites had to suck, has become ineffective, and that most websites are getting the bulk of their traffic from guides that people stumble upon via Google. Like the rest of journalism in 2019, it's an unsustainable business and we're all doomed.

Click to shrink...

Semi-related how's Kotaku's video content working out? When i'm checking out Kotaku (frequently) i'm usually not in a place where i can watch a video. like i'll check out the podcast but only cause i can generally work on stuff while i listen. Didn't know if the video push was a strategy built on facebook's inflated view counts or just trying to have some more presence on youtube which from what i've seen of several places is that original content doesn't really get views outside of a viral hit like dedicated youtubers get. Anyways i love the work that you and others at kotaku put out.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

It's a lot quicker to read an article than to watch a Youtube video that is paddedout to 10:01 with lots of requests for likes and subs, and don't forget to hit the bell

Click to shrink...

I hate video format for a lot of stuff like this. Not even for this reason, I just don't have the time or patience to watch a video for something I could read in half the time. This is why I weep for the loss of written guides. Nothing annoys me more than having to watch a video to find the answer to a puzzle I'm stuck on or get pointed in the right direction when I'm lost in a game. Meh.

That's sort of a different discussion though.

 

[newgamewhodis]

A bit ironic given the clickbait OP.

Games journalism is just fine. There are enough outlets that both enthusiast media and more critical journalism is covered. One of my biggest pet peeves with gaming communities is that, even in progressive circles such as Resetera or r/games, there is this strange tide of anti-journalism. The amount of competition and viewpoints covered are diverse enough that you can find your little niche and read or watch to your heart's content.

 

[angelgrievous]

I have no idea what OP is about but the dirty little secret in games media right now is that Facebook, once the teat from which all websites had to suck, has become ineffective, and that most websites are getting the bulk of their traffic from guides that people stumble upon via Google. Like the rest of journalism in 2019, it's an unsustainable business and we're all doomed.

Click to shrink...

I work at an exponentially smaller level than you or Kotaku, but...yeah, can confirm. Not just games media, either. :/

Click to shrink...

Fuck.

 

[thediamondage]

Why are forums and OPs stuck in the usenet mentality

Honestly I'm kinda surprised games journalism is still a thing, and I guess Jason's message is a portent of things to come. I don't really visit game sites anymore at all, everything comes through osmosis via forums, reddit, twitch, youtube, discord, podcasts, etc. I can't even imagine why anyone younger than me would ever think of daily or weekly visiting any type of gaming site. Podcasts I guess are the new journalism, which is fine for smaller sites and personality-driven stuff but doesn't make much sense for IGN, VICE, etc to exist.

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

What new ideas do you have OP?

 

[newgamewhodis]

Why are forums and OPs stuck in the usenet mentality

Honestly I'm kinda surprised games journalism is still a thing, and I guess Jason's message is a portent of things to come. I don't really visit game sites anymore at all, everything comes through osmosis via forums, reddit, twitch, youtube, discord, podcasts, etc. I can't even imagine why anyone younger than me would ever think of daily or weekly visiting any type of gaming site. Podcasts I guess are the new journalism, which is fine for smaller sites and personality-driven stuff but doesn't make much sense for IGN, VICE, etc to exist.

Click to shrink...

To read? To learn about new games? To hear about indie games that forums overlook? To hear about games development?

There are a bunch of great reasons to seek out journalism.

 

[Nerun]

Well it depends, I actually prefer a documentary in video form by now I guess, but they are a lot of work (written stuff as well). I usually don't care that much about news or reviews anymore, sure I'll check them out briefly, but I really love specials, studio visits, articles about specific topics, genres, game series, etc.

It's tough any way, news and reviews and sadly headlines are still very important, just for views and stuff, sure it can work out with better and longer stories, but most of the time you still need the basics covered as well.

Actually still surprised, that a lot of US/UK mags still offer their content for free, while in other areas (besides gaming) and in Germany there are a lot of paid content (exclusive pieces, previews, stories, etc.).

 

[Era of not Yakuza]

I have no idea of how to improve the format