Aggregated Aggravation – What N4G and Reddit Mean for Games Journalism

Community driven aggregate sites are increasingly becoming a central hub for various publications from different industries, perhaps most so with gaming, causing more and more outlets to rely on them for traffic. The Daily Reaction crew of Seb and Dan discuss the benefits and pitfalls of aggregates, and what they mean for the industry as a whole.

[doctorstrange]

I'm not touching this with a 50ft bubble pole

[Foolsjoker]

I can feel my bubbles popping at this very moment.

[Wenis]

Yep someone popped my bubble the other day

[Foolsjoker]

Did you put down a towel?

[TrendyGamers]

This article made me go on Reddit... That was 20 mins and 10 dog/cat pics ago.

[Moncole]

There are different subreddits to go on. For example /r/gaming is for memes and pictures while /r/games is for discussion.

[ftwrthtx]

I think having a central location for a certain type of news is a good thing.

[Wenis]

It is.. its pretty much the only gaming site I have bookmarked except for a couple of forums. I never browse IGN/Gamespot/etc unless an article here links to it

[Foolsjoker]

So you are perfectly content with having the N4G crowd determine what news is really important?

[cyguration]

@Foolsjoker

Most of the time N4G is right. And if there's a pressing issue usually it's highlighted on N4G or Reddit or both.

I, too, no longer visit GameSpot or IGN because they're just no longer about the gamers...it's all about corporate interest.

[matgrowcott]

@cyguration

You don't think N4G making more off these articles and news pieces than most of the original sources kind of defeats your point? I get what you want from a community, but if you want a place about gamers, this isn't it.

[rainslacker]

@mat

Simply repeating the original source, and adding nothing to it

For instance

"X site reported that this happened"

Is redundant. That's kind of annoying and adds nothing to the discussion.

But adding something meaningful, or another take on it isn't. Those instances though usually fall into the opinion category, and often they are marked as news. I'm not sure if there's an issue where the original source is given the top over first submission. IMO original source should always get dibs, and the rest should be on alternative links.

[matgrowcott]

@rainslacker

I'm not sure you got my point.

What I'm saying is that N4G makes all their money from sites that keep the place populated. They don't do any original work. The sites write it up, volunteers moderate and submit it. Yet N4G probably gets more in revenue than 90% of the sites that submit here.

I can see why you'd enjoy the community and convenience of having access to dozens of sites from one place, but claiming it's for the gamers is erroneous. They've built themselves into a niche where they earn from other people's work and from the work of the gamers, and then get thanked for doing so.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I wouldn't say it's the height of charity either.

[FamilyGuy]

This is my only bookmarked gaming site, it's pretty much the only one I need. Even if a topic about a game or system I'm interested in doesn't catch heat I can just click the name of it, or have it tabbed, and find all the stories, new and old. No matter how popular it was. For example: http://n4g.com/channel/drag...
I check out all the Dragon's Crown stories.

Why would I need another site?
There's a forum here too if you want a lasting chat about something.

[rainslacker]

I first came to N4G because it was the only place where I could get all the news without having to hunt it down from various sites.

The quality content is here on this site(and I assume reddit), but you still have to hunt for it, and it's rarely commented on. Some of these issues have to do with the model that game journalism takes, in that sensationalism tends to be more profitable than journalism.

Otherwise, the gaming community at large does what PSLS says, and that's make sensationalism popular, and often deflects the actual topics in the name of fan boy pandering. Can't really blame N4G or reddit for this trend because I think the game journalism people have done it to themselves by constantly catering to those types of people who tend to far outnumber the rational folk in comments. Obviously the good game journalists and stories are still out there though, I speak only in generalities.

There is no reason why quality and relevant news stories can't get the top spot on the front page. But it seems people aren't really interested in that, so they get lost in the fray.

[DragonKnight]

The first thing I thought of while reading your comment was Kotaku. And nothing at all happens to them when they are so clearly a tabloid gaming "journalism" site.

[rainslacker]

Yeah, Kotaku has really gone downhill. They have their occasional good article, and they do sometimes break news. It's really a shame because way back in the day they were really good. They had their fluff articles, but they had a lot of news from Japan, and that was their primary focus. Since I imported a lot they were invaluable.

[DragonKnight]

I think they started going downhill around the time they didn't listen to Sony and still outed Home. They got pissed that Sony blacklisted them and started posting a lot more flame pieces.

[DeadIIIRed]

I've been a member of this site since 07 and have to say that there are multiple things N4G can improve on.

Reworking the way stories are submitted and changing the comments section to show newest comments first (similar to Youtube and Disqus) are a few of my wishes.

[knifefight]

A better submission test would be good too. In the pending section, I see the same mistakes being made constantly.

[KingKevo]

Yeah, too many comments just get lost and most people only read the first few comments and it's funny that the first few comments always have a ton of 'agree' or 'disagree' votes and also that like 50% of the time you see the same people with the first comment over and over again. It's like they post a short comment on almost every new article.

[rainslacker]

I think being able to vote on comments so the better ones head towards the top would be nice. Sometimes you have to wade through a lot of trolling to get to the good stuff. It doesn't help that people tend to respond to the trolls making long threads for the first post.

Filter system for the comments would be good, so you can see what came up between visits if you're following a thread also.

[KingKevo]

They are somewhat correct. I like N4G but it can be bad at times. Many stupid articles that trend (really, those boob example is just so true, remember that Mtro article about the vagina... ridiculous. Grow up people and go to porn websites to masturbate) and many spam articles and websites that are whoring for clicks on here.

BUT I still think if you are smart enough to filter things for yourself it can be an awesome place that is fun, with good articles and a good community with the typical trolls but also some cool users that really add something to the topic.