Joystiq rises from the dead as part of Engadget
A few days after Joystiq was shut down by its nebulous AOL overlords and stripped of its specialized publications like Massively and WoW Insider, the video game news site has resurfaced as part of the also-AOL-owned tech news site, Engadget.
“[Joystiq X Engadget] is the new home we’re creating on Engadget dedicated solely to gaming coverage,” Joystiq’s Ben Gilbert wrote. “Not game coverage, but gaming coverage — that’s an important distinction. We are not in the business of providing press release regurgitations, trailer-based marketing for big-budget games or previews based on carefully scripted PR events.”
Gilbert promises that the new Joystiq will focus on “the intersection of life and games,” with a concentration more on gaming culture and livestreaming than on new releases and industry news.
Alive again, or simply undead?
While Gilbert seems enthusiastic about the new direction of video game news site, not everyone in the gaming community is convinced.
“Some parts of this article disturbingly sound like doublespeak for ‘Let’s spend 90 percent of our time talking about social issues approximately 4 people care about, because spouting off opinions/funny cat videos is so much easier than actual journalism,'” user warren2345 commented on Gilbert’s announcement. “I’m already upset that Joystiq is gone. You guys have approximately 1 week to convince me that this is going to be worthwhile.”
Reddit user /u/number8888 echoed warren2345’s statements, saying: “I really hope I am wrong on this, but this feels like they are going into the direction of Kotaku and Polygon where they focus on ‘gaming culture’ instead of games.”
But other readers are more enthusiastic about the new direction, taking a “wait and see” approach to the new style of content.
Although Joystiq will be coming back as part of Engadget, many of its writers will not, and all of its specialized game coverage publications that focus on specific titles like World of Warcraft or Eve Online are not part of the new arrangement.
But that does not mean that these other publications are gone forever. The MMO-focused Massively is going the independent route with Massively OP (unfinished), which will have a forthcoming Kickstarter campaign.
Joystiq may have been given a second chance, but it will have to convince its readers that the site they have loved for years will still have the same quality.
Screenshot via Engadget
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
