Fifteen years ago, I started my first website. Game Freaks 365 was more than just a fan site, though. It was a thriving online community with thousands of registered users, an active forum, and coverage for every major platform, including niche products like the N-Gage and Zodiac handhelds. We had a team of talented writers who managed to do a lot on a budget of basically zero.
The industry has evolved quite a bit since then. If you can believe it, Game Freaks 365 was founded before YouTube even existed. In fact, we were an early adopter of the platform and quickly racked up over a million views. It was a sign of the times to come. In an industry constantly changing as technology matures, video content and streaming were clearly the future.
Over the past couple of decades, there has been a major shift in how video games are covered. In the early 2000s, glossy magazine pages gave way to a multitude of corporate and fan-run websites that were able to instantly report on gaming news, share screenshots, and upload video. It was a more interactive experience with readers able to offer comments and submit their own content.
Today, many of those websites no longer exist. Millennial readers have grown into adults and a new generation of gamers tune into YouTube and Twitch to watch their favorite streamers or even start their own channel. Gamers can now watch an entire game for themselves before they even make a decision to buy. The industry has once again changed, and gaming media has either adapted or shuttered their operations.
So where does that leave us? What role does a mostly text-based website have in a video-dominated world?
One word: community. We envision building a community of streamers and a website dedicated to spotlighting upcoming talent and curating entertaining gaming-related video content. We hope to grow into the single largest website dedicated to covering video game streamers and their content, and we hope that you will grow with us!
Please check back frequently, and bear with us as we get this site off the ground. It’s going to take time to build a team, expand our community, and develop content. In the meantime, I encourage you to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. I hope to see you back on here for years to come!
