Icculus

I'm not really sure if this belongs here or not but thought I'd pass along the info for anyone who checks out IGN. Now I have absolutely no reason to go that site.

madmike

This is insane! IGN is digging its own grave.

ScandalUMD

Gamespot's still free.

Liver&Onions

I''m logged in and it still bumps me to the subscription page when I try to read a post...
what a crock.

Long live videogametalk

Groucho

No big loss. The signal to noise ratio on those boards were incredibly low:

d00d i m kewl

no d00d i m kewl u r gay

no u r gay i m kewl

i lik matur games i am a big boy now

Flay

It's not going to hurt IGN. Take a look at a quote from IGN editor Hilary Goldstein:

"I hate to break it to you guys, but board posters are a very small fraction of our reader base. And I'm including all non-Insider posters as well. That's why the company could afford this move. Because even if we lose every non-insider who posted here, it really isn't many compared to our overall readership."


I am a subscriber to the IGN Insider service. It will be nice to post on the boards without the type of people Groucho was describing.

I will also enjoy getting my updates early. The editors are going to be posting links to the updates a few hours earlier on the Insider boards now.

Derrich

This is a stupid move. They're thinking that since not many people go to the boards, they'll make it so -no one- goes to the boards?

The Insider thing is iffy to me anyway(ex. an Insider Only video was free for the taking over on GameSpot). I don't like it, but I can understand why they did it. But now, as a non insider, there's no reason whatsoever for me to hit IGN. If they closed off such a low viewer section like the boards, you just know that its only a matter of time before everything else on the site is insider only. By the way, do Insiders still have to see ads?

The Gamespot boards are unmanagable. I'll just have to hang out on Cloudchaser. I'll miss Hardcore TV.

D

jeffdsmith

I agree. There were way to many idiots on those boards. (Hope they don't come here.)

I do think that it could hurt ign more then they think however. Not to mention PGC and other fan sites are doing a great job of breaking stories and leads then ign ever covers.

Flay

Edit: I didn't check it completely.

Mezzanine

True, the IGN boards have many trolls and kids who spell at a first-grade level, but I still enjoyed some of the discussions there. A lot of the time I spent there was on the classic boards, which weren't quite as bad as the boards for current systems. But still, the boards aren't worth spending money for, and I couldn't afford it right now anyway. So long, IGN.

Mezzanine

I can only get a listing of the topics. It's not letting me read any of the posts though...when I click on a topic, it just takes me to the Insider sign-up screen.

Flay

MY bad. I just assumed after I tried logging out. I see exactly what you mean.

By the way, I don't think any Insider considers the $1.70 a month to be paying for the boards.

I pay my $1.70 a month to read certain exclusive content, download unlimited high res movies, enter contests, etc... I don't even consider the boards to be in the equation.

Triton

Icculus

Yeah, I'm not really going to miss it all that much. The one thing that those boards were really good for is if you needed information right away. If you ask a question (and wade through the first few "d00d, I can beet that game in 4 minutes using my feet, whatz rong with u?" posts) you usually get something helpful. Oh well, IGN lost any chance they had of me paying for their service - I don't think their forums will be nearly as populated now.

Josh H

Who cares. As stated above those boards sucked. Most of the posters aren't worth talking. It's just a bunch of kids and various system fanboys.

IGN can rot for all I care. I'll never pay a cent to any website. It's not like you can't find the same info elsewhere on the web for free. I already pay my ISP, there's no way in hell I'm paying a web site on top of that. I simply get my info from free sites and my EGM subscription.

Aghama

Dude, you know you weren't going to pay anyway.

Aghama

You act as if websites get kickback from you ISP. I would much rather subscribe to a website that gave me up to date information than a magazine that's weeks behind.

Icculus

Probably not, but I've thought about it a few times. Doesn't that count?

Josh H

I guess that would be ok if their weren't a ton of other sites offering the info for free. I mean if all the big corporate sites like IGN, gamespot etc. start charging there will still be fansites like Planetgamecube that report the same news for free.

Plus the quality of writing in magazines is much better than even sites like IGN. I'm a journalist and I've yet to find a website that I though was excellent journalism. I'd rather pay for a magazine with better writing. I mean the reviews are usually pretty timely and video games aren't life and death. I don't have to know the news as it happens. I can wait a while.

Flay

Fansites certainly don't stay around forever. Plus I'm sure the thought of charging has crossed PGC's mind. TeamXBox has been taking polls about it.

Quote:

Plus the quality of writing in magazines is much better than even sites like IGN. I'm a journalist and I've yet to find a website that I though was excellent journalism. I'd rather pay for a magazine with better writing. I mean the reviews are usually pretty timely and video games aren't life and death. I don't have to know the news as it happens. I can wait a while.

In this case, I will trade speed for quality anyday. If I wanted quality, I certainly wouldn't read any gaming site or any gaming magazine. I would read a novel from my favorite author.

It also has to do with the the content. We are talking about games here!

I don't need a professional journalist to tell me about how many coins I can collect with Mario, how to shoot someone in GTA3, or how long it takes to beat Halo.

I need a professional journalist to tell me about the War on Terror or how many bodies authorities find buried at a Georgia crematory.

Josh H

What can I say Flay. The two of us will never agree on anything.

Ign isn't a great site IMO. I don't even read it daily as is and I certainly wouldn't pay for it, or any site. There will always be free sites on the net offering the same info. If all websites start charging, then I'll simply quit using the internet. I greatly prefer sitting down and reading a magazine or newspaper than sitting in front of a computer screen. The only advantage the web has is that it's free and can be updated instantly.

Like I said above, video games are basically just a casual hobby for me. I don't have to know the latest news right as it happens. Don't get me wrong, it's nice, but I'm not going to pay a website for the priveledge, after already paying for the priveledge to get on the Internet in the first place. It simply gets too costly. I'd rather just wait and get my info once a month, in a nice magazine, written by compentent gaming journalists. If you prefer speed, that's fine.

Flay

I think we can agree to always disagree.

xmiyux

Well i will be happy if it cuts down on all the ridiculous kiddy posts and makes the boards even mildly readable - because the couple times i checked them out i evidentally wasn't l33t enough to discern what in the hell they were even saying.

madmike

I've always found all the immaturity on IGN pretty amusing--as long as I have a useful forum like this to use.

Michael T Hudson

I have to say this kind of stuff sucks. The Motley Fool has started charging as well. The Fool had a lot of really good information for getting your financial life together a shame it is not free anymore. I have a feeling in a few years most kinds of chats will cost money. I hope this site remains free.