Gametrailers shuts down for good

[Lex]

Just caught this on my google travels before going to bed, Gametrailers.com (yes, the same people who brought us maybe the best FFVII Remake reaction ever) are shutting down. They found out a couple of hours before it was posted online and they were all fired.

Sad times, I remember them back in their glory days. I hope they still maintain a YouTube channel, I would seriously miss that one dudes voice (you know the one).

 

[Shademp]

Many good memories from when I used to follow their site for a couple of years way back when. That one dude's voice is awesome.

 

[Tetsujin]

but why

 

[Jason Tandro]

The people who brought us the Zelda and Final Fantasy Retrospectives, some decent Top 10s, the Zelda Timeline video, Game Reviews... and yes that man's voice is like aural sex... why? How did this happen? WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[ForceStealer]

Yeah I've been bummed about this for the last 12 hours or so. I didn't frequent the place as much as I used to since the big staff turnover (which had more to do with time than with the staff change), but they were still my go-to place for reviews due to the thorough look you got at the game, regardless of whether I actually agreed with what they were saying or not.

And yeah, Brandon Jones' voice is inextricably linked in my brain to game reviews. I JUST watched their XCOM2 review the day before yesterday. I don't understand why Defy Media bought them (also the reason for the staff turnover, they fired most of them when they took over) and then closed the whole site down a year and a half later. The same company owns the Escapist.

Sucks

 

[Tennyo]

This is actually really sad.

 

[Splintered]

Holy shit. Gametrailers use to be my favorite of the big websites. I loved some of their shows like the retrospectives and pach attack. I hope all their employees find something great down the road, all the best.

But... Damn.

I guess we'll never get that ffvii timeline.

 

[Abortedj]

Gametailers was where I first started blogging. Was kind of pissed when they changed formats and all of those blogs no longer existed. Haven't been on there in a couple of years now, but still I am sad to see it go.

 

[Pixel]

I'm tempted to steal the name 'Timeline' for a project. Those retrospectives they did were awesome

 

[X-SOLDIER]

/gutted




X

 

[Tashasaurous]

Well this sucks. These guys did better with showing trailers than IGN(always hated that website) and then all of the sudden, it shuts down and employees lose their jobs?

What's wrong with Earth these days? They take away all of the good stuff and leave us with all the crappy stuff.

I don't get what the Timeline thing is about, I have to admit, but they provided previews of KH3 and FFVII, and I'm more sorry for the people who worked at the Gametrailers.

What I also want to know is, why did it shut down when it's been really liked?

 

[X-SOLDIER]

God, it was almost exactly a year ago that Joystiq got axed, too. Fuck, man.




X

 

[Super Mario]

afk

 

[Ghost X]

^...Youtube .

But yes, sad to hear. Many a first look at games was had through GT for me, and I watched a few shows on there like Angry Video Game Nerd and Screw Attack, but not for quite some time.

 

[AvecAloes]

I guess we'll never get that ffvii timeline.

My heart....

 

[Flintlock]

but why

Corporate sell-outs. If they'd kept the business in their own hands I expect they would still be going. It might not have been making enough of a profit for Defy Media but it was probably making enough for the founders to keep going out of love for the project.

Instead, they chose to sell it (all the way back in 2005) and put their fate in other people's hands. I'm sure they made a decent sum out of it so I don't feel too bad for them. As for the loss of the channel, I don't recall any of their videos off the top of my head, so I'll survive. [/cold]

 

[vaderSW1]

This makes me sad if only because of the absolutely terrific Final Fantasy Retrospective series they did. I still will go back and watch it over again every once in awhile. I actually burned it to a DVD awhile back. RIP Gametrailers.

 

[Splintered]

but why

Corporate sell-outs. If they'd kept the business in their own hands I expect they would still be going. It might not have been making enough of a profit for Defy Media but it was probably making enough for the founders to keep going out of love for the project.

Instead, they chose to sell it (all the way back in 2005) and put their fate in other people's hands. I'm sure they made a decent sum out of it so I don't feel too bad for them. As for the loss of the channel, I don't recall any of their videos off the top of my head, so I'll survive. [/cold]

Eh, that's a big part of the reason, but it's also a part of a larger pattern. Gametrailers is a gaming website with high production cost and consists mainly of videos that was huge in the beginning but couldn't survive in a post-youtube world. They'd make a video with twice the production cost with half the views, and while they had some fantastic shows, they lacked a "huge" name like Yahtzee, who I'm beginning to suspect is keeping Escapist afloat by himself. (I heard one of their projects took a better part of a year to make)

What exasperated the problem was that even post youtube, they did something to their embedded videos that made it nearly impossible to watch on the site. That's when I fucked off, and apparently they were bad at keeping their youtube channel up to date. They lost a ton of their demographic that was already shifting sites.

We'll continue to see shit like this, bigger game journalist companies will fall or atleast be forced to sell or just downgrade. More independent youtube channels that are cheaper and more specialized will continue to reign. Hopefully the good talent will go through patreon like the other fired game commenters have done.

 

[Flintlock]

Thanks for the insight, but are we really living in a post-Youtube world? I thought some channels were still making good money on there.

Also, specialisation is a good thing, I think. I'd rather watch a video from someone who knows their subject inside and out than from a big media company trying to do a bit of everything.

 

[Lex]

I think Splintered meant YouTube has and will continue to dominate all video-centric gaming content (as in we're now living IN a YouTube world), which I agree with.

I'm upset by this purely for nostalgia reasons. I actually had a little bit of a problem with GT over the last couple of years because they never had anything good to say about Playstation or Square-Enix even when they were doing things right, but this was almost completely forgiven with their FFVII remake reaction, and when I remembered the hours I'd spend on their site just letting videos run.

They were one of the first sites that had video playlists, and it was a great way to learn about some new games that you might otherwise not think about. Some of the guys have their own interesting shows on YouTube for the record, so I hope they continue to do that.

 

[ForceStealer]

Definitely agreed there. Even when they had the supposed JRPG buff (Damiani or something?) They would just constantly dump on them even after giving them solid reviews. (Similar to what the excellent Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter called them out for )

But yeah, for awhile there it was my second-most frequented page after ACF or TLS. I loved learning about the gaming industry from Invisible Walls or Bonus Round. No one else ever talked about that kinda stuff beforehand.

 

[Splintered]

I think Splintered meant YouTube has and will continue to dominate all video-centric gaming content (as in we're now living IN a YouTube world), which I agree with.

Yeah I meant this. I didn't mean to say that specialization was bad or youtube was the devil. But it definitely changed how the game was played. I kinda liken it to how social networking changed how fandoms congregate. Forums use to be the best way for fandoms to work, then tumblr and facebook came along. The thing is, forums aren't gone, and tumblr/facebook is great for things, but certain formulas don't work anymore, not at their numbers.

I'm sad that things are different because good sites like gametrailers gets downed in the crossfires, but it's just the way things work now. Some things are better, some things are worse. I definitely appreciate being able to pick up any reviewer I trust on certain subjects, then jump ship to another for a different genre. Lord knows I do not want to rely on just IGN or Kotaku or something.

My hope is that that they go the Adam Sessler route, when XPlay dropped he went to youtube as well. I want to hear the gametrailer guy continue to do reviews, I'm conditioned to love his voice.

I actually had a little bit of a problem with GT over the last couple of years because they never had anything good to say about Playstation or Square-Enix even when they were doing things right, but this was almost completely forgiven with their FFVII remake reaction, and when I remembered the hours I'd spend on their site just letting videos run.

To be fair, everyone shits on Squeenix, they're the easy target. It has me a bit bitter because I'm one of the heathens that loved the XIII trilogy and I get annoyed and frustrated with the constant backhanded jibes in literally every FF video I'm interested in. It's a little exhausting being in a constantly toxic fandom. But that's just me.

I'll forever love the remake reaction video, though. It's a nice reminder that even the companies have passion behind them.

 

[ForceStealer]

I want to hear the gametrailer guy continue to do reviews, I'm conditioned to love his voice.

To be fair, everyone shits on Squeenix, they're the easy target. It has me a bit bitter because I'm one of the heathens that loved the XIII trilogy and I get annoyed and frustrated with the constant backhanded jibes in literally every FF video I'm interested in. It's a little exhausting being in a constantly toxic fandom. But that's just me.

I'll forever love the remake reaction video, though. It's a nice reminder that even the companies have passion behind them.

Someday...

Someday I will solve the mystery of how Splintered always manages to completely and perfectly express my feelings on a subject for me.

 

[Abortedj]

After they stopped hosting blogs there were several series I meant to keep up on. I didn't. Kind of feels bad that it is too late now.

 

[Kuja9001]

I remember going to their site faithfully for Dead Fantasy and FFXIII Trailers back in the day. I was on the forums too.