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GameFAQs Acquired by CNET
Gamefaq addict writes "GameFAQs has apparently been sold to CNET. The operator says it will stay free for now, but premium services may be introduced later." Looks like a good deal all around. CNET gets the first site most people turn to when they need to get past level two of the dungeon, and GameFAQs gets an added boost. Makes me curious what premium features they have in mind, and how useful they'll be.
Their premium features will be the same as everyone elses. You will now have to pay for what you are used to getting for free. As soon as it is no longer available for free anywhere else it becomes special.
What I wonder about though is all the faqs. They aren't owned by gamefaqs. They are written by others for everyone else for free. If cnet tries to profit off the faqs written by random gamers, can't the gamers sue them for mad cash? This will surely be intersting. I hope the gamefaqs poll doesn't go away though, it is high quality.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
a pdf of the manual for console games. Renting games from blockbuster requires a trip to gamefaqs to figure out what all of the buttons do. It'd also be cool to get some old 8-bit manuals too.
I think the model that justifies charging for old stuff (rather than new stuff, or rather than not charging at all) comes down to this:
the new stuff is going to attract a somewhat predictable number of hits each week, and generate a fairly predictable amount of ad revenue. The old stuff, on the other hand, will only see occasional use and generate very little ad revenue. Additionally, the longer the site runs, the more old stuff there is to keep around, and the more hard drive space that takes up.
Information on older games has a tendency to be harder to come by, so a site could do fairly well by charging for access to well-written material for older games, assuming people want to play those games. Hell, try looking up the prices on one of the Final Fantasy strategy guides (don't remember if it's Anthology or Chronicles). It's out of print, so people are selling used copies for $30+ (actually makes me wish I had put my Nintendo Power Final Fantasy 1 strategy guide up for sale before FF Origins was released). The cost of the book could easily pay for a subscription to one of these sites (and in most cases the cost of one or two books could pay for the subscription anyway).
With new stuff, in any case, there will usually be some source of information available somewhere online for free. It just becomes a little harder to find it if the sites people are used to going to get sent into the model of charging for it.
-PainKilleR-[CE]
In fact GameFAQ's does currently rely on advertising to make money. The problem is that running a site that big is too much for one person, and the advertising revenue is not enough to allow CJay to hire some help. This seems to be the main reason he's "selling" to CNet: he's tired of working 60 hour weeks just to see the backlog get progressively bigger.
It hurts when I pee.
You know Ziff Davis? Well It's web company is zdnet. Remember them?
Cnet bought them a couple of years ago.
Ziff Davis also owns Computer Gaming World, Electronic Gaming Monthly , Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, GameNOW, and Xbox Nation.
And you know what websites Ziff Davis runs? www.gamers.com and www.gamespot.com , the latter of which has implemented a pay system recently for people who want all the content.
Now they buy this, doesn't make much sense, they're already on top, why do it?
as I can throw them. A couple of years ago, their builder.com had a free message board, The Builder Buzz, that was an excellent source of knowledge for all things related to web design/programming. All of the content was user created. Then, when CNet realized they were bleeding money, they decided to cut everybody off and charge for access to the Buzz. We could no longer access the posts that we had written, some of which we spent a great deal of time on.
Hopefully, this won't happen to gamefaqs, as it is another one of my favorite sites. I do think there is a glimmer of hope due to the fact that the licensing of the FAQs on gamefaqs is spelled out pretty plainly, but frankly, I would not put it past cnet to pull some legal trickery to get around it.
Speaking as a GameFAQs contributor (see my Metroid Prime FAQ under the name "Deflux"), I have to admit that this news had me worried at first. However, after speaking with several people and reading everything there was to read about this, my concerns have gone away.
CJayC, the guy who was running the site solo, addressed all of the FAQ contributors on a message board shortly after announcing the news on GameFAQs. Hereâ(TM)s a snippet:
First of all, let me re-iterate that none of your content has been sold. In the contracts for this deal, all third-party content (meaning everything you've submitted to the site) was specifically excluded. You have the same right to pull it off the site today that you did before, and you'll retain that right in perpetuity (unless you specifically give it away). I'm worried that some of you may be upset by all this and not want anything more to do with GameFAQs, and I'll respect your wishes completely, but I honestly hope that all of you will see how this is going to be better in the long run as well.
And just how is it going to be better? Well, aside from me having more time to add in contributions (just getting them up more quickly will be nice), there will be more opportunities for exposure for your work, and even opportunities for you to get more in return. Up until now, the tens of thousands of dollars I've given away each year in contributor rewards has basically come out of the profits of the site (i.e. my pocket). With a major company backing the site, that gets to continue and will hopefully expand to include even more contest prizes, plus the current contributor contests (FAQ Bounty, FOTM and ROTM) are sticking around (which reminds me, I'm already late for the May awards). I know that there are also companies that are interested in licensing guides for use on their own sites (for appropriate compensation, of course). Of course, we're not going to do anything with your work that you don't want done, so you'll still have full control over where your guide is posted. CNET fully understands that your work is yours to control, and since I'm not going anywhere, I'll still be the biggest advocate of contributor's rights I can be.
If he holds true to his word, then I don't think anyone will have to worry about the FAQs on the site becoming a premium service.