Gaming websites

[The Speaker]

There are a lot of gaming websites out there, which in some ways is good, but often these websites leave a bit (or a lot, in some cases) to be desired.

And, much like all news websites, we can't really read them all. So where do we normally head to get our fill of gaming news?

There are a few I find reliable. Polygon is the best of the lot, but that's more for their features than anything.

There are a number of very similar sites which you basically just need to take your pick - Destructoid, Eurogamer, Joystiq, Giant Bomb, GameInformer, VG247, Videogamer etc. I normally go with the first two. Gamesradar fills a similar place, but had the worst layout in human history at the moment.

IGN and Gamespot are the most popular. Also the most bland.

Kotaku is awful and you should not go near it.

 

[Premiers04]

I go to all of them through the gaming section on the Flipboard app

When on PC i usually just stick with IGN. Helps that Naomi Kyle is easy on the eyes too

 

[HBK619]

IGN + GiantBomb really = all I need.

IGN do the breaking news that I need to see.

GiantBomb do everything else.

The best thing about GiantBomb is that you don't need to read everything about their games, 99% of the time they just do a video. Whether that's them sitting on a couch talking about the game or them doing a Quick Look or Quick Look EX (EX features the dev) it's a good way of getting an idea about the game without having to read about nuances that can only be gained by seeing it on screen.

Most of all, the best thing about GiantBomb is that it's a personality site. Due to the low amount of staff, you really get to know everyone on the site. I could tell you every single specific gaming like of Jeff, Ryan, Brad, Vinny and Patrick. Even Drew, who doesn't show up on camera or the podcasts a whole lot (I don't care about Alex - although I could probably tell you what he likes as well if I had to).

Through the podcasts, videos, premium videos and every feature they do you really find the personalities of these people. And they're all pretty damn great! Which makes subscribing to the site a no brainer imo and something I've done for about 2+ years now.

I don't really care that they have minimal news stories (they cover most of the 'big news'), as I can easily switch over to IGN and quickly skim for anything interesting there. It's the personality of the site that matters most to me, which is why I go to GiantBomb for most of my gaming needs.

I don't go to IGN for personality, I go to get the latest news. And occasionally a review of a TV Show episode (which they're actually fairly decent at).

I had a look at Polygon, ugh, what a terrible looking site. Runs like shit too. No thanks.

 

[The Speaker]

I would've thought, given that I specifically said I went to Polygon for their feature articles, the best idea would be to go there and look at their feature articles.

 

[HBK619]

I would've thought, given that I specifically said I went to Polygon for their feature articles, the best idea would be to go there and look at their feature articles.

By trying to scroll through the laggy, terrible layout mess of a site? No thanks.

 

[The Speaker]

By trying to scroll through the laggy, terrible layout mess of a site? No thanks.

Perhaps your computer isn't very good.

My laptop runs the website just fine.

 

[HBK619]

Perhaps your computer isn't very good.

Considering how well any other site works, doubt it.

The site is filled with superfluous crap that makes it slow down.

 

[The Speaker]

Considering how well any other site works, doubt it.

The site is filled with superfluous crap that makes it slow down.

Please tell me how that makes the quality of their articles any worse.

 

[HBK619]

Please tell me how that makes the quality of their articles any worse.

Don't believe I stated anything of the sort.

But having to trudge through a shit looking site, that runs shit, isn't worth bothering with.

 

[The Speaker]

Don't believe I stated anything of the sort.

But having to trudge through a shit looking site, that runs shit, isn't worth bothering with.

Then you cannot dismiss it as a gaming features site.

 

[GrandBlue]

Gametrailers hands down for me, they do everything.
http://www.gametrailers.com/shows

Cover all the news in Invisible Walls (basically the gaming equivalent of AFL 360). Bonus Round do this too.

Have a lot of great, entertaining shows like Annoyed Gamer, Pop Fiction, The Final Bosman & Pach Attack.
Examples:
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/22qgg3/pach-attack--the-next-xbox--pachter-s-xbox-rumor-ratings
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/g5zu1y/annoyed-gamer-settling-the-score-with-metacritic

Do the best coverage of all the press conferences by far.

and to boot, have the best voice in the industry in Brandon Jones.

 

[He_Beast]

destructoid - news
giantbomb and awesomeoutof10 - features

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

What's wrong with Kotaku?

 

[The Speaker]

What's wrong with Kotaku?

It is to games journalism what The Mirror is to newspapers.

 

[GrandBlue]

What's wrong with Kotaku?

Watch the last quarter of this:
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/22qgg3/pach-attack--the-next-xbox--pachter-s-xbox-rumor-ratings

 

[Cory]

Not that I read alot of gaming websites, but IGN is my go to site for gaming news.

 

[HBK619]

Then you cannot dismiss it as a gaming features site.

I didn't. I said this:

I had a look at Polygon, ugh, what a terrible looking site. Runs like shit too. No thanks.

I'm not going to bother with a site that not only looks like shit, but runs like shit as well because that's needlessly frustrating.

Ease of navigation is paramount to a decent site along with the content. If it's bad to navigate through (as Polygon is - as GiantBomb and IGN aren't) then I am not going to deal with it.

 

[The Speaker]

I didn't. I said this:
I'm not going to bother with a site that not only looks like shit, but runs like shit as well because that's needlessly frustrating.

Ease of navigation is paramount to a decent site along with the content. If it's bad to navigate through (as Polygon is - as GiantBomb and IGN aren't) then I am not going to deal with it.

I'm going to presume that we're seeing the same thing, because I doubt you have a bad computer.

The lag on the website is simply not enough to justify calling it terrible and saying that it hurts the experience. The look of the website is not really my cup of tea, but again not bad enough to prevent me from searching for what I'm looking for.

And content is far more important. I don't care how basic a site is if it's giving me the best stuff out there. That's why I criticised Gamesradar. It's competing in the same space as the majority of websites. Polygon is a step above.

 

[grrofunger]

i just come here

 

[HBK619]

I'm going to presume that we're seeing the same thing, because I doubt you have a bad computer.

The lag on the website is simply not enough to justify calling it terrible and saying that it hurts the experience. The look of the website is not really my cup of tea, but again not bad enough to prevent me from searching for what I'm looking for.

And content is far more important. I don't care how basic a site is if it's giving me the best stuff out there. That's why I criticised Gamesradar. It's competing in the same space as the majority of websites. Polygon is a step above.

The problem is (and I don't know how Polygon is viewed outside of what you have said), is that if that 'features' content is the best content on the site it's all crammed in amongst a whole load of bullshit (and they have far too much on their site to be clear what they focus on).

This imo is where GiantBomb shine. They put the focus on what they focus on. They don't cram their site with 100 news articles about games. They put their videos and special features first and foremost on the site with the minor news articles sprinkled in.

Polygon have an abundance news articles (a lot of needless shitty articles too) with the odd feature in there and a video here and there as well. If the features are the big thing about the site, they do a poor job of making it known.

All of that makes for a poor to navigate site. I also hate infinite scrollers.

You can always click onto the drop down box and go straight to 'features'. But how are you supposed to know or even find this out through regular browsing of the site? It's all over crowded, superfluous content. And the site lag is still a pain when there's other sites doing similar with none.

 

[Donners]

Rock Paper Shotgun is brilliant for PC games.

 

[The Big Sauce]

Game Informer.

Prefer their writers, prefer their articles and they have a number of great segments.

I like Replay, Super Replay & Test Chamber.

Their podcast can be really good as well.

 

[Face_Plain]

I get all my gaming news from Neogaf. Also delivers on lulz. The PS4 announcement thread where they Kazified everything is the greatest thread I've ever seen.

 

[Rowdoss]

I thought id give Polygon a try....
Their articles and news may well be very good but i will never know because it drove me F$@ing nuts after 2 minutes.

 

[Mkcaptain]

In the morning I usually have a quick check of IGN. It has everything that I need to know, I don't think I've ever missed out on any game announcement or news I've been interested in (or maybe I have and just don't know it). I'm sure there would be sites with more depth, but it does the trick for me.