cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/36423623
Ziff Davis and IGN routinely decide that work done by our laid off colleagues is not important. But inevitably, that crucial work falls onto those who remain.
Not this time. Not anymore.
Source: IGN Union on Bluesky.
I’ve never heard of that company. What’s their quarterly ad revenue? I don’t mean their minor hobby nonsense on Patreon or the scraps they get from Google & Amazon, I mean direct ad rev from studios or the like. Also, what’s their average visibility on Metacritic? Do they get counted as a “professional” outlet with pull quotes, or are they in a category that doesn’t count?
See, that’s just it. This entire business doesn’t survive on ad revenue anymore. Everything that isn’t Gamespot and IGN have folded, because the money that used to be there in ads isn’t there anymore. Subscriptions are what keep companies like this sustainable and afloat. Kinda Funny came from former IGN employees, and they knew the power they had to bring their audience to them rather than surrendering to the whims of IGN. Digital Foundry, Giant Bomb, Video Games Chronicle, MinnMax, GamesBeat, Aftermath…they all transitioned to doing this.
Oh. Good for them, I guess. I’ve never heard of them. Heck, the only one of those i ever heard about was Giant Bomb, and what I knew was that they died and got rebooted.
I guess it’s a good thing that some people are willing to whale for media figures. I won’t bother, because I don’t give enough meaningful data to be part of a valuable product in the older world - then again, I also still watch TV by antenna and listen to terrestrial radio most of the time.
“Whaling for media figures” is just paying for the quality product you want.
I’ve already paid for it. I bought a TV, a radio, multiple computers, and I pay a subscription (much to my chagrin) to access the Internet and the Web. And yes, I have looked into the cost of a single-purchase backbone, but it didn’t work out in my favor.
Well, the difference is that now you’re paying for it by viewing ads and, down to personal preference, a worse product. With commercial interruptions, you’re saying how much your time is worth, if nothing else. In any case, yes, that’s worth it to a lot of people, and it gives niche creators power over their current or former bosses.