| Ryuu96 said: I'm not sure about when "soon" would be, I couldn't put a date on it and I don't think VGChartz is going to die this year, all I'm saying is more that the site on its current course is destined for death so we can spend hours writing about all the issues as we did last year, and the year before, and the year before, but nothing is going to change, Lol. The first thing that needs to happen before anything else is an ownership change and actual investment into the website. If that doesn't happen then there's really no point in even discussing anything else, Imho. The site being no different from 2023 than today is a bad thing, I'd say the site is no different today than it was even longer than that though, the entire site is stagnant, it's outdated in every single way, it has potentially huge security issues, it is now struggling for a USP, it has a bad reputation and no outreach. Every user we lose at this point is a blow, and them users don't tend to be replaced, sure we do have some new users but it's nowhere near enough and often they don't last long or they're just alts, Lol. … I've done the whole everything will be fine approach and happily sit in a stagnant website, trying to give it a temporary boost in activity but it delays the inevitable, now I'm taking a more antagonistic approach, Lol. But I've thought these things for a long time, I just held my tongue and only stated them in StaffChat. If VGChartz is to even have a chance of surviving it needs new ownership. |
I’ll be thinking on this. I do believe VGChartz has several USPs (e.g. sales-centric discussion, very good community (by the standards of most forums), charming and well-written articles), and upon recognizing and further showcasing these USPs via a website overhaul, I could see this site really start to grow again. One idea might be to place greater emphasis on the communal aspect (i.e. forums). As is, if somebody wanders onto the site, they’ll assume it’s an outlet for gaming journalism, seeing the emphasis on and prevalence of articles front-loaded. As far as reputation and site ownership is concerned, I truly believe that a new website under the owner of three highly reputable members of the community (e.g. Bandorr, CGI, Machina) will need to be created soon, and under a new name. (VGChartz sounds, to me, like a website infamous for reporting inaccurate sales figures under the guise of them being reliable. VGChartz is a good place for organizing known sales data, and should not be presented as asserting unreliable estimates.
One idea could be to have a page on this site (i) explaining how data is determined, providing detailed explanations on how and why the sources sited are reliable and accurate (and an explicit clarification on how much more refined data has become over the years, to quash immediate rejection), and (ii) giving evidence via showcasing how truly small the discrepency between VGChartz estimates are and official data, (iii) include graphs and charts of all game system sales WHICH ARE OFFICIALLY KNOWN (e.g. create an user-friendly chart which plots out official NSW, PS5, etc., quarterly shipment data; do the same for software softwares from, e.g., Nintendo, Capcom, Sony, etc.; as somebody who is frequently needing to visit dozens of sources to find official shipment data on these matters, I see having everything centralized to a site with easy-to-use UI as potentially being a major USP).
More ideas: Create YouTube content for every article written, similar to how sites such as GameXplain, IGN, GameSpot, and…well…any popular gaming sites is run. I would volunteer to do the software editing (and maybe even commentating the vidoes) since I have lots of experience with this matter (I ran a YT channel, Alpha Ambush, throughout 2013-2017 with daily uploads), but I’m also working towards a PhD in mathematics atm lol. Engage in further outreach campaigns via X, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok (short-form videos could be a good addition, similar to longer-winded YT video articles). Do a name change (might also be necessary once the site is changed to a new one). Also, these videos could bring in revenue to afford paying for coders to execute any massive site overhauls.
I understand your pessimism, but I believe it is objectively wrong to say that solutions have been exhausted. There is still so many ways you can get the site to grow. Keep your chin up, and stay focused on getting everything sorted out. This situation isn’t beyond our control. Don’t be so defeatist.
