Gaming websites

[eddie]

As some of you may have noticed, I'm not really around much anymore. Alot of it is becuase of work and personal issues, but some of it is a direct result of a change in interests on my part. That's not to say I don't still love bemani games, but I've found myself spending alot more time on non-music gaming lately and viewing alot of other gaming websites.

I typically visit Kotaku and Joystiq, mostly because I really enjoy the way they report, and how often they update. But then it got me wondering, why aren't there any actual gaming sites who do the same thing. Why is there no one central place to find everything. I'm not really the kind of guy to try and take on a project of that size, but it would be interesting.

So what gaming sites do you all go to, and why? What features do you love, hate, wish they had, etc?

I personally really just care about news and discussion about collecting since those are my 2 biggest focuses when it comes to gaming. If there were a solid mashup between digitpress, kotaku and gametz I'd be in heaven. Social networking websites like 1up are pretty cool too, but I'm not an active poster on any of the ones I use, so it's almost a backburner kind of thing for me.

[Excel-2009]

[Edit]Your Gaming Sites

There should be a comment system that allows users to be "ranked", that is, graded by all other users in terms of content, friendliness and useful expression. Low ranked users' comments will by default not be shown if not logged in.

[MidnightRecession]

For the most part I stick to larger sites like IGN and Gamespot, not because I think they have any greater legitimacy than smaller blogs but because I like being able to track larger industry trends and because I don't have to worry about scrolling too far and reading comments from the dregs of the internet. I like the way they have everything organized, and they're always very up-to-date with news and information. I don't particularly care about sales figures so much as I do about the games themselves; that is, think along the lines of, "How many adventure games are being released and how are they scoring?" and the like. IGN and Gamespot make it really easy to do that.

That covers domestic stuff. I first got into importing in late 2005 when Play-Asia was selling JP Rez for $12. Once I got my PS2 fliptopped, I started looking at other software for other systems, and looking around eventually took me to Gamebrink. I have no idea what their forums are like (I'm going to assume godawful), and the only word that describes their site design is "chaotic," but they have strong, concise writers that keep the bullshit that could otherwise ruin the site to an absolute minimum. There's probably something better out there but I haven't stumbled across it yet.

[HioMrSan]

I like insert credit. I just check once a day, and usually there is some tid bit of news that is interesting. I'm not that big with Bemani anymore either, so I know what you mean.

http://www.classicgaming.com/shmups/
More of a personal thing, but if you like SHMUPs they have a pretty decent community. Granted, a bit elitest, but eh. Most members are pretty hardcore devoted.

I also agree with MDRL. I just get on IGN, or another big website, since I don't care too much about reading highly in-depth articles on the games. I just like to go there since its a good easy layout, and you can get quick glances at up to date material.

[Happy man]

Ever since I started playing PS3, I got into this website

http://www.myresistance.net

I don't visit this one as often as I did before.

[CStarFlare]

I hang out at hardcoregamer.com, mainly because I've made over $70 from the free shit I've won there and could probably make more if I sold everything I got from them.

Forums are fairly mediocre except for the fact that they totally allow the trolling of the stupidest members.

[Cybeast Gregar]

Originally Posted by CStarFlare

I hang out at hardcoregamer.com, mainly because I've made over $70 from the free shit I've won there and could probably make more if I sold everything I got from them.

Forums are fairly mediocre except for the fact that they totally allow the trolling of the stupidest members.

wait....they give free stuff :O

[Reenee]

4 color rebellion
Ars Technica
Slashdot

Wow, my gaming repertoire sucks compared to my other RSS feeds, but these are the ones, aside from those already mentioned, that give out gaming news like crazy.

I also listen to All Games Interactive and Orange Lounge Radio podcasts. Look 'em up in iTunes.

[Hiroyuki Sakai]

www.gamefaqscom

Has a nice social aspect for me (LUE), as well as a board for each game, which is great since I'm a gamer that strays away from most mainstream titles. Each board usually has at least a few people who love the game, and frequently I am able to get all the information I need just by visiting it. Plus, there are also a lot of good reviews on there (as well as your fair share of shitty ones from fanboys or anti-fanboys, but it's easy to distinguish from that), which makes it pretty good for anyone and everyone to formulate their own opinions on stuff and not have it shoved down their throats.

Of course, the userbase there is one of the worst I've ever been around, and the main site, along with its connectivity to gamespot, are all completely biased to the flavor of the month, Halo, Zelda, Metal Gear Solid and the like, but it's all easily avoidable, albeit a bit annoying.

www.gametrailers.com is pretty good too. Generally, it has a wide range of videos for a lot of games, and updates are constant. You can also earn GT money and exchange it for stuff, including a bunch of games (I have my eyes on Pangya Golf).