Kotaku has sold out - General Discussion

#1 Posted by TatoBins (80 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Is it just me or has Kotaku completely sold out? I feel like every other article is secretly (or not so secretly) an ad. I expect more from them. With Giant Bomb's increasing focus on news coverage, I feel like I need to go elsewhere less and less. Perhaps this is just a product of the 24 hour news cycle, and thus a constant need for updates, but it seems like the majority of what Kotaku's reporting is complete garbage. I'm all for fewer articles if it means that they'd actually have substance. Do you guys agree or do you still feel the need for up to the second news?

#2 Posted by TurboMan (5488 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

When you go to that website, A GIANT AD HOVERS OVER THE TOP HEADLINE!

Kotaku sold out a long time ago

Online

#3 Posted by h0lgr (836 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Why don't you show some examples of this in effect?

#4 Posted by Rhaknar (5791 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

kotaku lol

#5 Posted by wolf_blitzer85 (5177 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

There are other video game websites?

#6 Posted by Meowshi (2876 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Even Giantbomb is getting ads.

It's revenue. Doesn't mean they've "sold out".

#7 Posted by c0l0nelp0c0rn1 (1642 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@wolf_blitzer85: You win!

#8 Posted by sixpin (1187 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I haven't been to Kotaku for a while. Much like IGN/1UP top ten lists, I get tired of Japanese kink articles. After Gawker posted that big 'Fuck The Readers' article, I just didn't go back.

Also, this:
@TurboMan said:

When you go to that website, A GIANT AD HOVERS OVER THE TOP HEADLINE!

#9 Posted by mfpantst (2572 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

what wait? Internet revenue is driven by advertising? WHEN THE FUCK WAS I GOING TO BE TOLD ABOUT THIS.

#10 Edited by BabyChooChoo (3579 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@sixpin said:

Much like IGN/1UP top ten lists, I get tired of Japanese kink articles.

Then Gamesradar would drive you to suicide.

#11 Posted by VilhelmNielsen (1703 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Well, before they sold out there were assholes. Now they're assholes with money.

#12 Posted by TatoBins (80 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

It's not the banner ads that bug me. It's when they started reporting ads as news. This is not OK. If you want to make money thats fine, but don't try to play it off like it's content.

#13 Edited by Liber (644 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@Meowshi said:

Even Giantbomb is getting ads. It's revenue. Doesn't mean they've "sold out".

I don't know how the ad system works , but I haven't seen any ads on GB for a while , last one I remember was the ODST ad .

#14 Posted by mfpantst (2572 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@TatoBins: oh wait, no I forgot. I don't go to that website because their designer took too much morhpine for me to ever understand their webpage layout.

#15 Posted by Kyreo (4594 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Okay great. I don't frequent Kotaku so that doesn't really affect me.

#16 Posted by Video_Game_King (29284 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@Meowshi said:

Even Giantbomb is getting ads.

They are? I've never seen them. Not even in the early days of ads, when there was some weird shit happening with those ads.

Online

#17 Posted by MattyFTM (13813 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@TatoBins said:

It's not the banner ads that bug me. It's when they started reporting ads as news. This is not OK. If you want to make money thats fine, but don't try to play it off like it's content.

I don't think kotaku are getting paid for that. Especially since it's a Sony ad. The last thing Sony needs right now is controversy about them paying websites to run their ads as news stories. I'm pretty sure kotaku just saw that ad and thought it's funny. The fact that they're reporting a video they found funny as news is terrible in it's own way, but it's not the same as covertly sneaking paid adverts in as content.

Moderator

#18 Posted by shinigami420 (640 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Kotaku fucking sucks FACT

#19 Posted by TooSweet (263 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I just started to really hate their articles. Some of those dudes are nice guys from what a friend of mine has said but I get bored reading their stuff. Good on them for making cash but they should re-evaluate what made them interesting before and go back and do that. Giantbomb is where I'm staying. I followed Jeff from his previous site of employment. Took me forever to sign up here. I usually just read and watch videos but I like this community and don't mind taking part in it.

#20 Posted by Mcfart (1126 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Damn hippies.

Just cause you're a pothead living in a cardboard box dosen't mean that others can't actually make money.

#21 Posted by Claude (15850 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

The Beatles sold out too. I heard John Lennon is in heaven.

#22 Posted by zaglis (904 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@Rhaknar said:

kotaku lol

You said well.

#23 Posted by phish09 (1108 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I kind of stopped going there after they redesigned the site. I'm not going to judge yet, but GB has to do something about this new layout too. For some reason I can only post in this tiny 1" x 3" box at the bottom of the page, and overall I just don't find this new layout as pleasant to look at. OH well...at least they haven't lost my email address and password yet.

#24 Posted by bartok (2371 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Reel Big Fish taught me that selling out was better then working in fast food all my life.

#25 Edited by SpacePenguin (456 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I dont go to Kotaku anymore not because they "sold out" I just hate the design of the site and how you have to navigate it.

#26 Posted by sixpin (1187 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@PrimeSynergy said:

@sixpin said:
Much like IGN/1UP top ten lists, I get tired of Japanese kink articles.
Then Gamesradar would drive you to suicide.

That's funny. I've not been to Gamesradar in a long time either (though your comment made me go look). Honestly, between Giant Bomb and Twitter updates I don't really feel the need to check other sites.

#27 Posted by mfpantst (2572 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@bartok: yeah I've been slavin all my life, and it sucks balls

#28 Posted by YoungFrey (1209 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I have Joystiq in my RSS, and occasionally I'll follow one of the links. Before the Gawker resdign it was a tossup between them and Kotaku as to which site I'd read parroted press releases from. The redesign sealed that pretty handily.

#29 Posted by Vager (1645 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I usually just read through their rss feed, but the cross posting with it's sister sites are beginning to bug the hell out of me.
Those summaries of the day from each blog bugs me too.

You know what? I'll do it now.
I'm going to remove Gizmodo and Kotaku from my rss reader and just keep Lifehacker.

#30 Posted by Hourai (2788 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Well at least they changed back from that fugly design I guess.

#31 Posted by MariachiMacabre (5354 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I stopped going to Kotaku when I realized Giant Bomb was more entertaining (I had a GB Account for a while, but never really used the forums) and the crack-fueled redesign choices only made it more clear why I left.

#32 Posted by BonOrbitz (1963 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I haven't been to kotaku since they changed their site design. Yuck. GB and Joystiq a winner is them.

#33 Posted by Yanngc33 (4472 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@TurboMan said:

When you go to that website, A GIANT AD HOVERS OVER THE TOP HEADLINE! Kotaku sold out a long time ago

Damn I hate those. The worst is by far gamesradar you get a pop up every time you click on an article

#34 Posted by Captain_Felafel (1309 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@TurboMan said:

When you go to that website, A GIANT AD HOVERS OVER THE TOP HEADLINE! Kotaku sold out a long time ago

This. Always a great sign of how a website is handling its marketing when its prominent source of revenue involves blocking access to content for its user-base.

#35 Posted by woo (45 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@Meowshi: Distinct difference between having ads and selling out.

You have to pay the bills, so having advertisements is a perfectly acceptable way to do so.

Being payed to post certain articles or say certain things, that is selling out(not saying that Kotaku does this, I don't visit that sight enough to objectively say).

#36 Posted by BraveToaster (12588 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@Kyreo said:

Okay great. I don't frequent Kotaku so that doesn't really affect me.

#37 Posted by Meowshi (2876 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@Liber said:

@Meowshi said:
Even Giantbomb is getting ads. It's revenue. Doesn't mean they've "sold out".
I don't know how the ad system works , but I haven't seen any ads on GB for a while , last one I remember was the ODST ad .

Jeff said they were going to be rolling news ads out.

#38 Posted by Meowshi (2876 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@woo said:

@Meowshi: Distinct difference between having ads and selling out. You have to pay the bills, so having advertisements is a perfectly acceptable way to do so. Being payed to post certain articles or say certain things, that is selling out(not saying that Kotaku does this, I don't visit that sight enough to objectively say).

No, I agree with you.

I'm just saying that the ads aren't the reason they've sold out. Them selling out is the reason they've sold out.

#39 Posted by BabyChooChoo (3579 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@sixpin said:

@PrimeSynergy said:
@sixpin said:
Much like IGN/1UP top ten lists, I get tired of Japanese kink articles.
Then Gamesradar would drive you to suicide.
That's funny. I've not been to Gamesradar in a long time either (though your comment made me go look). Honestly, between Giant Bomb and Twitter updates I don't really feel the need to check other sites.

Yeah, I kinda gave up on Gamesradar once it dawned on me just how many lists they were putting out. Also, one of the writers also posted a piece on Michael Patcher I found childish that he claimed I misunderstood and I said screw it for good. But yeah, I'm with you. Due to Giant Bomb, I don't visit many other gaming sites. Personally, there just isn't really any need to do so. I'll still check out Destructoid and Joystiq a few times a week though if I'm bored.

#40 Posted by Vasari (28 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I stopped using Kotaku when people got angry at me for saying something negative about hentai dating sims.

#41 Posted by JoeyRavn (4401 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Sold out? Are they a respectable, independent and serious source for information now?

No?

#42 Posted by TrueEnglishGent (3680 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

You use Kotaku! Really?

Been an awful site for a good while now.

#43 Posted by YoungFrey (1209 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@Vager said:

I usually just read through their rss feed, but the cross posting with it's sister sites are beginning to bug the hell out of me. Those summaries of the day from each blog bugs me too. You know what? I'll do it now. I'm going to remove Gizmodo and Kotaku from my rss reader and just keep Lifehacker.

Lifehacker seems to be the only Gawker site that isn't easily replaced by some other site. I used Engadet/Gizmodo Joystiq/Kotaku. I'd say there is a solid deman for somebody to rip off Lifehacker and make is pleasant to visit.

#44 Posted by The_Grindilow (328 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

I quite like the iPhone site for quick news, the proper website is terrible. Some quite interesting articles on threre very once in a while. Eurogamer tends to be my top news site, but Patrick sure is doing a good shift right now.

#45 Posted by artofwar420 (6167 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

Just noticing now? Their layout is garbage. Content, on the other hand, has had better days. The A.J. Glasser days for example.

#46 Posted by Delicious_Brains (170 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

They used to be my main gaming site. Now they're not.

#47 Posted by thornie_delete (436 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times... GAWKER MEDIA IS A TABLOID NEWS COMPANY THAT SERVES NEWS AS ENTERTAINMENT! Stop comparing it to other sites that focus on journalism and facts. Kotaku is the National Enquirer of video games, meant to be enjoyed for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy it for what it is, and stop taking it so seriously.

#48 Posted by LordAndrew (13812 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@TatoBins said:

It's not the banner ads that bug me. It's when they started reporting ads as news. This is not OK. If you want to make money thats fine, but don't try to play it off like it's content.

Giant Bomb would never write an article about an ad. Oh, wait.

#49 Edited by HydraHam (1338 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

So i guess GB will be selling out this year or next when they are putting up ads? DAMN PEOPLE! damn them for wanting to put food on the table for their family and a roof over their heads! they shouldn't be allowed to earn money! with this analogy you sold out the second you started a job and started paying taxes. YOU SELL OUTS.

#50 Posted by Captain_Felafel (1309 posts) - 1 year, 11 months ago

@LordAndrew said:

@TatoBins said:
It's not the banner ads that bug me. It's when they started reporting ads as news. This is not OK. If you want to make money thats fine, but don't try to play it off like it's content.
Giant Bomb would never write an article about an ad. Oh, wait.

Umm, what?