Double Post.
Much respect to Machina and Trucks, but I feel this site has been abandoned. Features don't work, figures don't get updated, no transparancy about what is going on and decreasing traffic.
The community is still better than most if not all other gaming sites, however.
Machina said:
SuperNova's only received one badge since the update - is something going wrong somewhere?
+111111111111111111111111111
Yes, ioi = Brett. I think it's important to have those on the front page. We did, at one point, not have a dedicated forum section at the top of the front page and it really killed off activity in the forums. The community is one of the best things about VGC and removing hot topics from the front page would really harm it. I think you may be under-estimating the amount of people that do come to the forums via the front page, even those who don't actually post (or aren't even members). |
The sales section in the middle can't be altered at all? Because that really makes it difficult to change anything. It's easy enough working around everything else in the layout, so that forums still get features prominently, but that really can't happen if the static numbers can't get relocated.
What I was thinking, given those restrictions, is to have everything split sort of the way it is now in "thirds," only have the left two thirds be one big IGN-like header. The header would fill up most of the page when first loaded, and have the first featured article, with the Global Hardware Sales next to it. Underneath those two would be the Weekly Software Charts, Weekly Hardware Chart, and Latest Chart Update all next to each other in a row and still part of that header.
Under that would be a spot for adds or something, and then just articles from most recent down. This way, the Forum Hot topics are still featured prominently, the sales numbers get the majority of the focus as soon as you load the page, and the First thing you're made to look at is a featured article, which entices you to scroll down to read the rest. So the first two thirds is one solid column of articles, and the right third is a second column for the forum hot topics. The big header at the top works to immediately inform you of the most recent sales numbers, as well as any featured articles.
All of which cannot happen if the sales stay in the middle. I think that's a worse flaw of the layout than the forums being represented, because at least the latter is movable.
| spemanig said: Well I specifically said articles instead of stories because VGC could has a major focus on sales based articles, which other gaming sites do not delve deep into. The reason why articles are important is because sales data is worthless without someone to interpret it. They are also important because, as I've mentioned, the sales can't be updated regularly enough to be interesting on its own. A website that can only update its primary form of content once a week can't stand on its own. Having articles focus on sales, in the best case scanario, will be able to justify the relevance of tracking these sales numbers regularly. It's important because it will garner far more intrest in sales numbers than the sales numbers themselves could ever garner, and that's important for site growth. I don't think the issue is that the Gaf page is dated, but rather that it's not at all well suited for the kind of content VGC provides. It's made for forums because it is exclusively a forum, so it wouldn't make sence to have that format for sales and articles. Sales numbers can't be updated frequently enough to merit primary space on the site, and if the front page is only articles and sales anyway, that's like 40% of the screen if it's given secondary screen space. That the same as the forum tab + the VGCBuddy combined. So it's not like it wouldn't get a very noticable amount of focus. I just think that you refresh the page everyday, and the primary focus of the site isn't changing, or is confusing to garner like it is now, that's death for the site. I think it needs to be big because if the main focus is the sales, and the sales only update once a week, the site won't get as many hits. If the article get big headers and a lot of screen space, they'll get noticed, and they'll get more clicks, and the site will hopefully get more revenue that way, and definitely more traffic. If it were me, It'd look a bit like this EDIT: Okay clearly I can't accurately articulate this through text art. |
Articles to interpet the sales data are ok but I feel that's not enough. Leaving that kind of discussion to the members of the site is where it's at. We used to have big threads about sales (we need to invigorate the forums). Sales articles get stale, threads can keep them alive.
Which is why i think a more "forum focused" approach is the way to go (that is why I propose the Neogaf template) . Build a bigger community by handing "reliable" week to week sales numbers and making the forums a more simplified experience. I do agree with you that sales articles should have big headers and be on the main page! (without making them occupy all the screen)
That's my idea, I might be completely wrong. I don't have a lot of data to judge from, I would need a lits of active forum members and a list of commonly clicked links in VG Chartz to see if my idea is even worth it. Maybe people enter VG Chartz just to see the articles.
PS: Too bad, I really wanted to see the text art model of the website!
"I've Underestimated the Horse Power from Mario Kart 8, I'll Never Doubt the WiiU's Engine Again"
spemanig said:
I feel like it shouldn't be like Neogaf at all. Instead, it should be something like NintendoLife's most recent layout. Clean, simple, modern, and with the focus being on the articles primerily, the sales numbers secondarily, and the forums being relegated to its own separate page and accessable through a tiny tab on the main page. |
I think that's how VGChartz was back in 2009 and 2010, except the focus was bigger on charts/numbers than articles.
---Member of the official Squeezol Fanclub---
I appreciate the honesty. However, if Brett really wants the site to continue he's going to have to concede and teach others how to do the HW sales. Even though VGC isn't spot on accurate data it's still a good statistic to use and obviously the main reason to visit the site. The community is decent, but it will dwindle even further. Even I have mostly moved on to GAF, but I still come back and browse every so often.
You can't want something to continue, but do absolutely nothing. It doesn't work that way.
- Anyway since then - with one exception, which was actually when the site split (as much as regulars here hated it - including myself - it was great for the site in terms of hits), the trend has been one of continuous but slow decline. Both in terms of ad revenue that gaming websites generate (which is why so many big sites have gone under and why others have had to cut back) and in terms of traffic for VGC.
- Why was that? Man there are so many reasons. The big ones are probably, in no particular order:
1. Less interesting sales battles.
.
Proud to be the first cool Nintendo fan ever
Number ONE Zelda fan in the Universe
Prediction: No Zelda HD for Wii U, quietly moved to the succesor
Predictions for Nintendo NX and Mobile
TruckOSaurus said:
I agree 100% with this. |
I 100% agree with Truck's 100% agreement with Spedfrom
| Chrizum said: Much respect to Machina and Trucks, but I feel this site has been abandoned. Features don't work, figures don't get updated, no transparancy about what is going on and decreasing traffic. The community is still better than most if not all other gaming sites, however. |
Ironically thats maybe also the reason that the community is so good.Of course it is also thanks to the excellent mod team, but the lack of "interest" on the site keeps the trolls away, because all the trolls want is attention, and for that they go to the popular forums/sites.
Having said that, I hope that VGChartz can go to a new golden age.Would be exciting to see and be a part of
My (locked) thread about how difficulty should be a decision for the developers, not the gamers.
https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=241866&page=1
Machina said:
SuperNova's only received one badge since the update - is something going wrong somewhere? |
Hey, that's true! But at least I got a shiny 10 friends badge now! ;P
I agree fully that Brad should give you and Trucks full responsibility for the site btw. You guys are doing an awesome job!
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