Where do you go to find out more about a game?

[Doobie_wop]

Some pros and cons of some of the sites I use:

Giant Bomb: The site design is pretty amazing and extremely easy to navigate through. The videos created by the staff are informative and enjoyable, I've probably spent more time visiting their site for video features than I have on sites like IGN, Gametrailers and Youtube (Game specific) all put together. The podcast the site hosts is great and it helps to build a direct relationship between the staff and the viewers, this allows me to learn more about the writers and I've learnt to trust what they say and actually stay interested in what they've got to offer. Their reviews are usually always late and the forums are extremely boring, but the the database, the video content, the podcasts and my superficial relationship with the staff keeps bring me back.

Neogaf: The Official Threads for certain games are informative and the discussions always tend to be interesting. The site has enough members, that even the most niche or rubbish game will still have threads dedicated to them. The search feature is quick and easy to use. The site can sometimes get new info faster and developers tend to pop in every once in a while, it also helps that fanboy banter takes way longer to get started up and it's usually shut down, not by the mods, but by the users of the site. You rarely see a three way Nintendo vs Sony vs Microsoft battle on the forums, mainly because there is a bunch of more mature users who shut the more immature users up and kind of exile them for a while. 

My main problem with Neogaf is that the Sales threads are filled with misinformed information, people come in claiming 'Bombas!' without having any actual info, but because it can't be backed up, it's sometimes taken seriously. Their lack of EMEAA sales basically makes their whole discussion pointless and the fact that they basically judge a games success by how much it sells in it's first couple of weeks is ridiculous. The NPD threads go on for weeks and they are usually filled with hundreds of posts, but none of it actually means anything.

I also don't like their stupid little rules about banning sites like Joystiq and VGChartz, they've obviously made the rules out of their own hatred instead of making them about what's right or wrong. I also can't stand the pack mentality that goes on at the site, sure it's filled with plenty of different opinions, but if a specific member says something (Amirox, Evilore, Anihawk) then most of the other members will follow that specific opinion and then it suddenly turns a news thread into a 'shit on the topic' thread.

Classic Game Room HD: It's a youtube channel starring one guy who's in love with retro games. All he does is review games, but he does it on a daily basis and he does it with any game he can get his hands on. His videos are really popular and it's because of video editing skills, the variety of games he plays and mainly because of his charm and humour. I visit his channel every single day to look up any new reviews or videos and I usually refer back to his videos before I go and make a purchase. His a funny guy and like Giant Bomb, his humour and love for games is what keeps me coming back.

I also visit IGN, Wikipedia and Metacritic, but I've started to frequent them much less as of recently and instead I've visited Giant Bomb and VGChartz on a far more regular basis.

Ideas on what VGChartz could do to improve the site:

- Add a search feature for the forums.

- Use the Giant Bomb system and allow the users of the site to update the game information database. You can limit it to users with 2000 posts or more and then they can have the opportunity to update the information on games when ever they want. This will obviously have to be moderated, but it will also cut down the effort that needs to be taken by staff to provide info for every new or old game that has or is going to be released.

- I don't know how close the staff are to each other on the site, but if a few of the more entertaining members could get together and maybe have a weekly 30 minute video segment on sales patters, games they've been playing and just an overall update of what's been going on, then I think it's a step towards creating a stronger relationship with their members. I feel closer to a site if I can actually see, hear and relate to the staff, otherwise everything could just be randomly generated for all I care, because I have no clue who anyone on that Staff list is, but I could name staff members from Giant Bomb, Joystiq, 1UP, Sarcastic Gamer, IGN, Eurogamer and Gamespy because I've listened to and watched them over the years on their sites.

- I know it's hard, but VGChartz has to start pushing itself on to other gaming sites. One of the main things I've learnt from all the gaming podcasts I've listed to and all the articles I've read, is that journalist want to know about game sales, but they have to rely on PR and the NPD's for their info. If the site can integrate their numbers into other sites, then more people will take notice and VGChartz will only become more well known.

- The site has to become more lenient on it's members. Members should be allowed to come in and give a strong opinion about something, without the fear of getting banned because it might hurt the feelings of a few fanboys. The reason why Neogaf is such a great place for discussion is because actual debate is allowed and the mods don't care for the feelings of their more sensitive members. Sometimes a VGChartz thread really hits the right note and a long 30 page discussion takes place and it's actually interesting, but most of the time they hit a brick at the 4th page because everyone's too scared to keep going on. Trolls should be banned, but I believe there is a difference between a trollish remark and a strong opinion. Also, I should be able to swear whenever I want. I don't have to swear at other people to insult them, but I shouldn't have to feel guilty about saying 'fuckin Nintendo' when I'm having a rant as to why a new F-Zero hasn't been made.

Anyway, that's my thoughts. Enjoy.