I don't understand Fan Sites

You know there's always a group of dudes who build a site to "cover" videogames. When realistically they're posting reviews for games that are 4 weeks too late. I seem to get a "job offer" every other day for no pay and for a site that's copying IGN with little to no structure or standards. I might be an asshole for this, but I'm confident I want the videogame journalism job more than most people, but I'm not going to waste my time working on stuff that no one will read. Why do these fan sites take themselves so seriously and insist on saying they have a "fan base". 
 
I tried my own site for awhile, mainly to build a portfolio for when I did look for a journalism job I can prove I have some practice in writing news and generating daily content. But I can do that here, on GiantBomb, and actually get a couple hundred views. Maybe I'm a douchbag and you all have your own indie site you check up on, but I'm just curious about this whole idea of serious content coming from people who don't get news first hand and can't post timely reviews. I do write or the Luchazine, but once again, people actually see it and it's a community novelty. 
 
Can someone educate me a little? Should I take these "offers" seriously? Is it possible to get "discovered" on Joe's Videogame Blog? 
 
EDIT: To reiterate, I'm NOT talking about sites dedicated to a specific franchise or game.

I'm not really sure what they're about. I would think that they just like working for themselves, and i know a few people who visit those kinds of sites (but not alot).

I'm not sure that's what a "fan site" is considered to be.  A fan site, at least in my mind, is a site dedicated to a particular game/movie/anime/TV... series.  If it's not a site that focuses on one console or one brand of consoles, it's not really a fan site.
/semantics

I think it's just the pride that comes with owning and operating something that you made yourself. Like you said, they probably would get more views if blogged it on a site like GB, but in the end you are just contributing content to someone else's site.

I can't remember the last time I've come across a site like this, but they remind me of the good old days of the internet.

" I'm not sure that's what a "fan site" is considered to be.  A fan site, at least in my mind, is a site dedicated to a particular game/movie/anime/TV... series.  If it's not a site that focuses on one console or one brand of consoles, it's not really a fan site. /semantics "

A lot of them are there for the purpose of getting free games. Because if you have your own site, and review games. It's really not that hard to get free games from some developers.

I don't really know much about getting into games journalism specifically, but having something that you can call your own is always a plus when trying to show something as your portfolio. For example, I believe a link to a Wordpress blog with 15 comments is better than a link to a user review on Giant Bomb with a hundred responses; because by having your own blog you are proving that you can build an audience and attract people just with editorial content. 
But I totally know what you mean about sites with little journalistic value. Some of them even have spelling mistakes.

" I don't really know much about getting into games journalism specifically, but having something that you can call your own is always a plus when trying to show something as your portfolio. For example, I believe a link to a Wordpress blog with 15 comments is better than a link to a user review on Giant Bomb with a hundred responses; because by having your own blog you are proving that you can build an audience and attract people just with editorial content.  But I totally know what you mean about sites with little journalistic value. Some of them even have spelling mistakes. "

" @buzz_killington said:

" I don't really know much about getting into games journalism specifically, but having something that you can call your own is always a plus when trying to show something as your portfolio. For example, I believe a link to a Wordpress blog with 15 comments is better than a link to a user review on Giant Bomb with a hundred responses; because by having your own blog you are proving that you can build an audience and attract people just with editorial content.  But I totally know what you mean about sites with little journalistic value. Some of them even have spelling mistakes. "

I guess that's my problem as an aspiring writer. I can't be motivated if my content wont be enjoyed, or at least seen by people. Ultimately, my life goal is to make sure people don't buy bad games. If I write for a small site, maybe 5 people will read my review, and 1 of them will get something from it. If I write something on Giantbomb, maybe 80 people will read it and 10 get something out of it. "

Works work. I hate to say it, but don't be so stuck up. The most important thing is getting yourself out there.

" @EpicSteve said:

" @buzz_killington said:

" I don't really know much about getting into games journalism specifically, but having something that you can call your own is always a plus when trying to show something as your portfolio. For example, I believe a link to a Wordpress blog with 15 comments is better than a link to a user review on Giant Bomb with a hundred responses; because by having your own blog you are proving that you can build an audience and attract people just with editorial content.  But I totally know what you mean about sites with little journalistic value. Some of them even have spelling mistakes. "

I guess that's my problem as an aspiring writer. I can't be motivated if my content wont be enjoyed, or at least seen by people. Ultimately, my life goal is to make sure people don't buy bad games. If I write for a small site, maybe 5 people will read my review, and 1 of them will get something from it. If I write something on Giantbomb, maybe 80 people will read it and 10 get something out of it. "

Then wouldn't the smartest course of action today be the thing that gives you the greatest chance of landing a job at a bigger site tomorrow? "

" @EpicSteve: I know exactly what you mean, but I still write even if no one is gonna read it. It's like I have something to prove to myself. I'm not that popular of a user on the site, so I know that most of my reviews will not be read, but I still write them. I mostly write reviews of games that I disagree with the popular consensus about them. I believe the ultimate goal of a writer is to express his/her own thoughts. If there is an audience, that's just a plus. "

" @EpicSteve: really? by fan site i was thinking about a site created by fans for a specific video game (or franchise).  
 
example "

When you said fan site, I did not have this kind of site in mind. I imagined more a community forum based around that one franchise, and that one only. The sites you're talking about are more independent gaming media, I'd say. As for those sites, it depends which ones you choose to work with. Go for one that appeals to you and gets a decent enough amount of traffic to justify your contribution. Generally blogs with names tied to them, such as the one you suggested are difficult to appeal with. Despite the fact not all gaming media sites take off, some do, and do a good job of it too. 
 
I remember recently a site I had visited that opened, probably around two to three months ago. As it is, the site seems to have grown a lot. Their official Twitter has over 1500 followers, and they're able to attend some expo or something from what I know. Yeah, it's a small expo, but it does go to show that some sites can work out despite the uphill battle that will be fought.

I tried my own site for awhile, mainly to build a portfolio for when I did look for a journalism job I can prove I have some practice in writing news and generating daily content.

Yeah, starting your own blog is good if you want to practice your writing skills and such. Apparently Destructoid was just a plot to get into E3. Maybe, just maybe, a small site can get more views and become popular. 

" @buzz_killington said:

" I don't really know much about getting into games journalism specifically, but having something that you can call your own is always a plus when trying to show something as your portfolio. For example, I believe a link to a Wordpress blog with 15 comments is better than a link to a user review on Giant Bomb with a hundred responses; because by having your own blog you are proving that you can build an audience and attract people just with editorial content.  But I totally know what you mean about sites with little journalistic value. Some of them even have spelling mistakes. "

I guess that's my problem as an aspiring writer. I can't be motivated if my content wont be enjoyed, or at least seen by people. Ultimately, my life goal is to make sure people don't buy bad games. If I write for a small site, maybe 5 people will read my review, and 1 of them will get something from it. If I write something on Giantbomb, maybe 80 people will read it and 10 get something out of it. "

A little perspective from a small country. I'm from Czech Republic and let me tell you - fansites are MASSIVELY popular here. Most popular fansites here are just about one particular game. Probably the most favourite game in Czech Republic is Mafia. And there are like 8 or 10 or maybe even more fansites for Mafia 2. All run by different people, all non profit, all very competitive and all extremely passionate. It's insane. And probably every big and popular game has two or three fansites here at minimum. 
 
These fansites are of course written in czech, so they are limited only to czech (and maybe slovak) gamers. And that's pretty limited target audience. Czech Republic has a little over 10 million people and gaming here isn't huge like in US or UK. Maybe a bit of a "problem" might be that we don't have site like GiantBomb. We have couple big gaming webs including czech Eurogamer, but none of them has something like wiki, or blogs or something like this. But I think that major reason for that many fansites here are just extremely passionate gamers. 
 
Personaly, I think that one fansite for one game might be ok if there is an audience for that. But 8 fansites for Mafia 2, that's just crazy. But some fansites get pretty big (in terms of Czech Republic) and they get recognized by developers. I was contributing to one fansite that was focusing on StarCraft 2 like two years ago and Blizzard's community managers were very nice. They were communicating a lot, sending new screenshots and stuff. And they even payed for one person from our staff to get to California and talk to Blizzard employes (the big ones - Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo, etc.). So in some cases, it certainly has sense for the community as well as for the staff of that fansite.

" @EpicSteve: I'm no expert on this business, but have you tried sites like Bitmob or Gamasutra, where the community blogs seem to be featured as heavily on the site as the editorial content? "

" @buzz_killington said:

" @EpicSteve: I know exactly what you mean, but I still write even if no one is gonna read it. It's like I have something to prove to myself. I'm not that popular of a user on the site, so I know that most of my reviews will not be read, but I still write them. I mostly write reviews of games that I disagree with the popular consensus about them. I believe the ultimate goal of a writer is to express his/her own thoughts. If there is an audience, that's just a plus. "

Word. When I met the Ign staff, Greg Miller just told me that if I'm good enough it'll eventually work out and I should trust that. "

As the owner of Allegedly Speaking, one of the "unprofessional" fan sites that EpicSteve decided to link to, I can only tell you why I started my site.  I did it because I love video games.  I love talking about video games, writing about them, and podcasting about them.  To answer the question of whether or not you can get discovered on an indie site, yes you can.  Will it happen for you Steve, probably not.  Seems to me that your more interested in just jumping to a big site like IGN, Giantbomb, or Game Informer, instead of starting small and working your way up.  Nobody is going to hire someone with an attitude like yours, and sorry to tell you, if you've been developing a portfolio for eight years and it hasn't happened for you yet, it probably won't.
 
As far as worrying about people reading what you write, if you knew anything about what you are talking about you would know that if the content is quality the people will come.  Oh and btw, all the staff writers on my site get paid which is more than you can say.  Maybe do a little research before you open your mouth, amateur:)

i don't know it is just saying hey i have a site that i write reviews on. it is kind of weird to have them since they aren't popular to have.

Off the top of my head, IGN and RPGamer started as fan-sites. I'm sure others have as well.
 
It's the dream to have a small little site turn into the next big thing. Sure 99.99% of them won't but no harm in people chasing the dream *shrugs*

I have site where I write reviews for games as well, but for me its more expressing my opinion, or sometimes for my own personal closure after finishing a game. I don't really care if a lot of people read or not.

I used to run a small video gaming site called "The Daily Video Gamer". It was a crappy site that no-one cared about, and I did it purely because I was a kid with way too much time on my hands. It didn't take too long for me to realize that I was the only person who cared about the site, so I ditched it.

" A lot of them are there for the purpose of getting free games. Because if you have your own site, and review games. It's really not that hard to get free games from some developers. "

" @CL60 said:

" A lot of them are there for the purpose of getting free games. Because if you have your own site, and review games. It's really not that hard to get free games from some developers. "

that made me laugh  ima start my own PS3 fan site and try to get the latest titles for free "

It's just these ppl doesn't realise yet that no one cares and they are on a sinking ship.

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" @CL60 said:

" A lot of them are there for the purpose of getting free games. Because if you have your own site, and review games. It's really not that hard to get free games from some developers. "

that made me laugh  ima start my own PS3 fan site and try to get the latest titles for free "

People who do reviews on youtube get free games dude. It's not that hard if you contact publishers. Obviously you wont get every game. But you can get a few. "

" @CL60 said:

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" @CL60 said:

" A lot of them are there for the purpose of getting free games. Because if you have your own site, and review games. It's really not that hard to get free games from some developers. "

that made me laugh  ima start my own PS3 fan site and try to get the latest titles for free "

People who do reviews on youtube get free games dude. It's not that hard if you contact publishers. Obviously you wont get every game. But you can get a few. "

thank you, man  You're a beacon of hope in an otherwise bleak and dreary world  :P "

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" @CL60 said:

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" @CL60 said:

" A lot of them are there for the purpose of getting free games. Because if you have your own site, and review games. It's really not that hard to get free games from some developers. "

that made me laugh  ima start my own PS3 fan site and try to get the latest titles for free "

People who do reviews on youtube get free games dude. It's not that hard if you contact publishers. Obviously you wont get every game. But you can get a few. "

thank you, man  You're a beacon of hope in an otherwise bleak and dreary world  :P "

Stop being so sarcastic....just look it up. If you have a little bit of traffic on your site, you can contact publishers and get review copies..do research on the subject please. Obviously you wont be getting review copies from people like Rockstar, but smaller publishers will give you review copies. "

Gotta start somewhere I guess.

It's fun to build shit.

 "   To answer the question of whether or not you can get discovered on an indie site, yes you can.  Will it happen for you Steve, probably not. "

 " Seems to me that your more interested in just jumping to a big site like IGN, Giantbomb, or Game Informer, instead of starting small and working your way up.  Nobody is going to hire someone with an attitude like yours, and sorry to tell you, if you've been developing a portfolio for eight years and it hasn't happened for you yet, it probably won't. "

 "As far as worrying about people reading what you write, if you knew anything about what you are talking about you would know that if the content is quality the people will come.  Oh and btw, all the staff writers on my site get paid which is more than you can say.  Maybe do a little research before you open your mouth, amateur:) "

Oh man Gameportrait.
 
 Oh man Gameportrait.

" If you haven't already, I'd say either send a PM to Jeff, Ryan, Brad, and Vinny asking where they got their start, or send an email  into the bombcast asking how they got their start, and what, if anything catches their eye about a review. "

" which seems to be the strategy you "look down on" while he trying to form an effective career path for himself."