Benjamin Franklin may have been right at the time, but the old adage could use a bit of an update. On the internet, only two things are certain, top five lists and videogame blogs.
Thanks to the internet, anyone with an opinion and a basic grasp of the English language can start a blog. Anyone with a bit of free time and some cash to spare can start up a gaming website and 'hire' a group of volunteer writers promising them exposure, eventual payment, and free games.
Large sites like IGN and Gamespot play it safe and stick with the style that got them where they are today, making minor tweaks whenever the winds of change blow strong enough. They're enormous and slow, but they're lasting.
Independent websites have the same advantage that independent bands and films have. They don't have bosses to report to or shareholders to please. They can do things in whatever way they please, taking risks and experimenting with format and style.
For every volunteer based non-profit website that takes advantage of its independent nature - and some do - there are hundreds that don't. They echo the styles of the larger sites and the gaming magazines of the past, either because of a lack of imagination or a fear of breaking from the pack.
Writers for game websites are encouraged to write shorter, more concise articles. That is, of course, when they're writing articles at all. In reality, there are four main forms of articles that you'll see on gaming websites: news, previews, reviews, and editorials.
News differs depending on the site you're on. Most traditional sites have a limited news department which exists to ensure that people return to the site even when there's no actual content update. You'll see press releases copied nearly word for word, or in some cases, pasted directly into the news article with a sentence or two above it that summarizes the release.
The increasingly popular blog style sites post news much more regularly, since that's their primary offering. As the demand for more news increases, the sites respond by posting anything that could be seen as relevant. A single new screen shot for an upcoming title qualifies as a news post. A movie trailer with an arcade machine in it qualifies as a news post.
- separate out into individual posts on news, previews, reviews, editorials -
