One of the biggest experiences I've had is dealing with PR. For the most part, I've had good experiences in dealing with PR. But I went in knowing that I wouldn't get a reply to every email I sent, and knowing that I was a small blog and I wouldn't be given a lot of attention from the big sites.
In the beginning, I talked a lot to PR from various different companies. I was trying to get access to press sites to increase the amount of news I was reporting on myself, and not news from other sites. But it took time to get access to many of these press sites, so instead I would send of email questions to various companies to create some news. More often than not I wouldn't get a reply, but companies like Zen Studios were great and answered questions I posed them. Unfortunately, as I got access to more press sites, I didn't have the time to ask other companies questions like I did In the beginning. For me that is a disappointment, I would like to ask lots of questions, but now i've signed up to many press sites, I rarely get the free time.
Out of the main 3 console makers, I have to say that Sony have been by far the most helpful because neither Microsoft or Nintendo have gotten back to me when i've asked questions. As I said before, not every question I ask gets a response, but Sony have been great in providing answers. Some times I ask questions that they don't have answers for or can't provide a answer for, for example i've asked many questions about the Motion Controller but as its still in development, Sony can't answer my questions.
Out Of The Big Publishers/Developers, i'd say that EA, Majesco, And THQ have been very helpful. Unfortunately companies like Capcom won't work with small sites, and others like Codemasters use a press site i've not been granted access to.
Press releases can be very frustrating. Rarely provided, when a new game is announced for example, is a screenshot or the games logo. I always try to have a picture of the game/company mentioned in the news, but some companies make that difficult. Other issues are that most press releases are full of filler. Sometimes the news is only 1 paragraph, yet the press release will have an additional 4+ paragraphs of filler/fluff. Some of the better Press Releases come from smaller companies, they tend to me more to the point, come with a screenshots/video/game logo, which all together makes my job easier and makes it easier to get the news across.
I have tired to get review copies of games before but as i'm a small new site, i've always been denied. There has been the rare couple of times when a PR contact has said they will send me review code, but they have never come through with it. My main issue is time. I would like to do some reviews, but some days I spend soo many hours working that I don't get a chance to play games whether they are review or for fun.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
What A Year Its Been – The Evolution Of The Site
When I started QTE Gamers, I had no idea that I would be where I am now. As i've mentioned before in other posts today, I had no experience in reporting videogame news and no experience in dealing with PR, so I really didn't know what to expect. Looking back on the year its fun to see how things have changed.
One of the main changed is what happened to the QTE Gamers Blog. In the beginning it was never to be used to report news. The main idea was to use it to discuss my experience in the videogame industry. What eventually happened was I found that I was being given screenshots, artwork, videos, and various press releases. I had only expected to be given press releases, not the rest, and I soon came to the conclusion that I could do something with them. After hunting round the net and experimenting with ways of displaying the additional material, I decided that I should adapt the blog for news.
As the blog was never really designed to be used for news, it is a bit clear that it's not the best designed blog for reporting on screenshots and stuff. But that doesn't mean I haven't made changes to the site. One of the biggest changes was making it so I could have a Read More/Comment section. Before, when I had press releases, they would go below the article I had just written, but they would take up a lot of space on the front page of the site. Some people had made comments and suggested that I should look into it. I, myself, had thought about doing something to make this situation better. After a long hunt and trying a few things, I ended up with the solution I have now. Now the front page of the site is focused on the news, with press releases/fact sheets accessible by clicking on the Read More/Comment.
Other changes to the site have come mostly from me. I've tried to always make the news accessible. The QTE Quick Links came about as I wanted it to become easier to search for news stories for a specific console. I was personally having issues with using the search box that Blogger supplies, so set about looking at ways I could make changes to the blog to make searching easier. The tags under each post are useful, but the Blogger search doesn't search for them specifically. The quick links search specifically for the tags and have become a welcome addition, not only for me but the readers.
There have been small changes over the year, like widening columns and changing colours, which I have done to make the site more presentable. There have been some changes suggested by readers. On the big ones was for iPhone users. As the phone doesn't have flash, people were unable to view the screenshots. So I simply added a link to the album and now iPhone users can click the link and view all the screenshots in that particular album.
There is a lot more I want to do to the site. Unfortunately, I have no training in HTML which means I have to look up solutions on the internet that other people have come up with and use trial and error to make any change to the site. This does mean that some things I have tried haven't become a part of the site because I couldn't get them to work right. It is annoying as I have many ideas that i'm just not able to bring to the site.
Who knows how the site will evolve. I'm open to suggestions from the readers and i'm always on the lookout for ways to make the site better
One of the main changed is what happened to the QTE Gamers Blog. In the beginning it was never to be used to report news. The main idea was to use it to discuss my experience in the videogame industry. What eventually happened was I found that I was being given screenshots, artwork, videos, and various press releases. I had only expected to be given press releases, not the rest, and I soon came to the conclusion that I could do something with them. After hunting round the net and experimenting with ways of displaying the additional material, I decided that I should adapt the blog for news.
As the blog was never really designed to be used for news, it is a bit clear that it's not the best designed blog for reporting on screenshots and stuff. But that doesn't mean I haven't made changes to the site. One of the biggest changes was making it so I could have a Read More/Comment section. Before, when I had press releases, they would go below the article I had just written, but they would take up a lot of space on the front page of the site. Some people had made comments and suggested that I should look into it. I, myself, had thought about doing something to make this situation better. After a long hunt and trying a few things, I ended up with the solution I have now. Now the front page of the site is focused on the news, with press releases/fact sheets accessible by clicking on the Read More/Comment.
Other changes to the site have come mostly from me. I've tried to always make the news accessible. The QTE Quick Links came about as I wanted it to become easier to search for news stories for a specific console. I was personally having issues with using the search box that Blogger supplies, so set about looking at ways I could make changes to the blog to make searching easier. The tags under each post are useful, but the Blogger search doesn't search for them specifically. The quick links search specifically for the tags and have become a welcome addition, not only for me but the readers.
There have been small changes over the year, like widening columns and changing colours, which I have done to make the site more presentable. There have been some changes suggested by readers. On the big ones was for iPhone users. As the phone doesn't have flash, people were unable to view the screenshots. So I simply added a link to the album and now iPhone users can click the link and view all the screenshots in that particular album.
There is a lot more I want to do to the site. Unfortunately, I have no training in HTML which means I have to look up solutions on the internet that other people have come up with and use trial and error to make any change to the site. This does mean that some things I have tried haven't become a part of the site because I couldn't get them to work right. It is annoying as I have many ideas that i'm just not able to bring to the site.
Who knows how the site will evolve. I'm open to suggestions from the readers and i'm always on the lookout for ways to make the site better
Why I Decided To Create QTE Gamers
As a fan of videogames, I regularly checked the web for all the news I could find. But, I was beginning to get annoyed with sites who focused more on jokes than the stories. It was becoming common to find a short news story being filled with jokes and opinions, making it hard to get to the story. It got to a point where I was reading stories and not knowing what game they were referring to. There were also stories where the jokes and comments were very American centred and I just didn't understand it, being a Brit an all.
I had been exposed to twitter in late 2008 and could see its potential and how big it could become. At the start of 2009 I was laid off from WoolWorths when the company went under. I decided that I should do something to keep me busy whilst I look job. I decided to use this new Twitter thing for reporting videogame news.
To report on Videogames news, to become different from the rest of the site, I knew I had to come up with something new so I decided to focus on Twitter. Also, after becoming frustrated with other news sites, I decided that I should focus on brining just the news, keep the jokes out of it. And that's how QTE Gamers was born, it all started with the desire to keep myself busy whilst I was unemployed, and the want to bring news back to being reported as news and not personal comment/joke.
I had been exposed to twitter in late 2008 and could see its potential and how big it could become. At the start of 2009 I was laid off from WoolWorths when the company went under. I decided that I should do something to keep me busy whilst I look job. I decided to use this new Twitter thing for reporting videogame news.
To report on Videogames news, to become different from the rest of the site, I knew I had to come up with something new so I decided to focus on Twitter. Also, after becoming frustrated with other news sites, I decided that I should focus on brining just the news, keep the jokes out of it. And that's how QTE Gamers was born, it all started with the desire to keep myself busy whilst I was unemployed, and the want to bring news back to being reported as news and not personal comment/joke.
About QTE Gamers
My Name is Simon Revell and I run everything. There is only me working here so everything you see on the site has come from me. I'm also the person who posts the twitter messages and live blogs events. Prior to QTE Gamers, I had no experience reporting on videogame news beyond forum posts. I have been doing this for over a year now and have had some stories mentioned on the big sites, like Joystiq, and become important news on the internet.
If you have any questions for me, get in touch via email at qtegamers@googlemail.com
QTE Gamers is a news site designed to get the news to people quickly and simply. By incorporating Twitter, QTE Gamers is able to report on news from across the web in such a way that subscribers to the Twitter feed, or readers on the website, are able to read about the story and decide if they want to read more indepth about it from the site the story is from.
The same is true with posts on QTE Gamers. Every post on the site goes through our twitter feed, so the title for every post is written like a Twitter news story. The game, what the post is about, the company, and Console are all mentioned in the post title so people know what the post is about and can make a decision whether they want to read it or now.
The text in a news post is designed to be concise, simple and short. There's no faffing around with jokes, I report the news as it is. When I get a press release, I avoid the filler that many press releases have and simply write the news story. If people want to read the press release themselves, I make sure every press release is included in every post at the bottom of the section.
Screenshots, Concept Art, And videos are all accessible from the front page of the site, in their news post, to make it easier for people to quickly get the news, saving them having to click and find the screens. For people accessing the site via a Mobile device, or console, the screenshots are not usually accessible so a link is provided so people can go straight to the album and view them that way.
Having a re-cap of yesterdays news provides people with a quick way of looking at what happened the day before without having to go through web pages. The audio re-cap is again there so people can hear about the news without having to go through many pages to read it all.
If you have any questions about the site, or want to make some suggestions let us know at qtegamers@googlemail.com.
If you have any questions for me, get in touch via email at qtegamers@googlemail.com
QTE Gamers is a news site designed to get the news to people quickly and simply. By incorporating Twitter, QTE Gamers is able to report on news from across the web in such a way that subscribers to the Twitter feed, or readers on the website, are able to read about the story and decide if they want to read more indepth about it from the site the story is from.
The same is true with posts on QTE Gamers. Every post on the site goes through our twitter feed, so the title for every post is written like a Twitter news story. The game, what the post is about, the company, and Console are all mentioned in the post title so people know what the post is about and can make a decision whether they want to read it or now.
The text in a news post is designed to be concise, simple and short. There's no faffing around with jokes, I report the news as it is. When I get a press release, I avoid the filler that many press releases have and simply write the news story. If people want to read the press release themselves, I make sure every press release is included in every post at the bottom of the section.
Screenshots, Concept Art, And videos are all accessible from the front page of the site, in their news post, to make it easier for people to quickly get the news, saving them having to click and find the screens. For people accessing the site via a Mobile device, or console, the screenshots are not usually accessible so a link is provided so people can go straight to the album and view them that way.
Having a re-cap of yesterdays news provides people with a quick way of looking at what happened the day before without having to go through web pages. The audio re-cap is again there so people can hear about the news without having to go through many pages to read it all.
If you have any questions about the site, or want to make some suggestions let us know at qtegamers@googlemail.com.
Our 1 Year (+5 Days) Anniversary!!!
Yep its true, the QTE Gamers website has been live for a year, and 5 days. The twitter aspect of the site has been live longer, but I was unable to find out what exact day the QTE Gamers twitter account started so I decided to celebrate the day the website went live.
To celebrate the anniversary I will be writing some posts about my experience in videogame industry. I will also be revealing more about the site, why I've designed it like I have, my goals, and aims. I will also discuss the future of the site, where I would like to take it. I will finish with a little piece offering advice for budding videogame bloggers.
It maybe a humble celebration, if I could do something more grand I would, but for now I hope this insight will be sufficient.
To celebrate the anniversary I will be writing some posts about my experience in videogame industry. I will also be revealing more about the site, why I've designed it like I have, my goals, and aims. I will also discuss the future of the site, where I would like to take it. I will finish with a little piece offering advice for budding videogame bloggers.
It maybe a humble celebration, if I could do something more grand I would, but for now I hope this insight will be sufficient.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Sony Online Entertainment Announce Vengeful Gods, The 9th Expansion For Legends Of Norrath
Sony Online Entertainment have announced that the 9th expansion for The Legends Of Norrath is Vengeful Gods. this expansion should come out on 23rd February.
The Story of the five travellers continues as they investigate reports of Voidman activity. A plot to enslave the Avatars of the gods is revealed. the players battle against mind controlled prophets and the master planner, as well as the vengeful gods behind the Void Invasion.
The Vengeful Gods Expansion Features include:
• New Loot: Mounts return to Legends of Norrath with several amazing new loot cards, including exclusive new Spider Mounts in EverQuest® and new mount variants in EverQuest® II.
• New Cards: Exciting new game mechanics and the continuation of popular game play like “Shifting cards” add fresh, new strategies.
• New Characters: Pulled from the lore of EverQuest, Vengeful Gods features appearances by the God of Valor, the God of War and Anashi Sul, the Avatar of the Forgotten.
Press Release
WHAT: Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) announces Vengeful Gods, the ninth release for online trading card game, Legends of Norrath®. Vengeful Gods introduces all-new gameplay for players, incredible new art and a compelling new storyline that pits players against the avatars of the Norrathian Gods.
FEATURES: As the five Travelers continue to investigate reports of Voidman activity, a plot to enslave the avatars of the gods is revealed. Players will battle against mind-controlled prophets, fight the master planner and encounter the vengeful gods behind this new Void invasion.
Vengeful Gods features:
• New Loot: Mounts return to Legends of Norrath with several amazing new loot cards, including exclusive new Spider Mounts in EverQuest® and new mount variants in EverQuest® II.
• New Cards: Exciting new game mechanics and the continuation of popular game play like “Shifting cards” add fresh, new strategies.
• New Characters: Pulled from the lore of EverQuest, Vengeful Gods features appearances by the God of Valor, the God of War and Anashi Sul, the Avatar of the Forgotten.
WHEN: Vengeful Gods is scheduled to be released February 23, 2010.
For more information on Legends of Norrath and Vengeful Gods, visithttp://legendsofnorrath.station.sony.com/.
About Legends of Norrath®
Developed at SOE’s Denver studio, Legends of Norrath is the only online trading card game based on and playable from within SOE’s popular EverQuest and EverQuest II MMOs, as well as from a free stand-alone client using a free SOE Station Account ID (available at www.station.com). Players can challenge opponents on their game server and across other EverQuest and EverQuest II servers.
To get started, players can download the client for free, test their skills 24 hours a day against AI and real opponents, and then head over to the tournament lobby to compete. Tournament eligibility is limited and subject to Official Rules. Residents of certain territories are ineligible to participate in LoN tournament play. Please see the EULA for details. For a schedule of events, rules and further details, see the LoN Events Page. For more information on Legends of Norrath, visit the website atwww.legendsofnorrath.station.sony.com.
About Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games which have entertained millions of players around the globe. SOE creates and delivers compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchise EverQuest®, its successful online trading card game Legends of Norrath®, as well as the recent kids’ phenomenon Free Realms™, SOE continues to raise the bar for online gaming and players worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, with additional studios in Austin, Seattle, Denver, Tucson, and Taiwan, SOE has a slate of engaging, high-quality games currently in development across new genres for all platforms and audiences.
SOE, the SOE logo, EverQuest, and Legends of Norrath are registered trademarks and Free Realms is a trademark of Sony Online Entertainment LLC in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
This Weeks UK WiiWare, DSiWare, And Virtual Console Releases
Apologies for the Delay, but here are this weeks UK Virtual Console, WiiWare, and DSiWare releases. there 5 items all together, 1 Virtual Console game, 2 WiiWare games, and 1 DSiWare Game.
Virtual Console
Final Fight 3 – Super Nintendo version
WiiWare
"Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game
Excitebike World Challenge
DSiWare
Snakenoid
The screenshots used were provided by Nintendo USA for their WiiWare,DSiWare, and Virtual Console releases. unfortunately, i do not have any screenshots for Snakeoid.
From Nintendo UK
Virtual Console
Final Fight 3 – Super Nintendo version
WiiWare
"Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game
Excitebike World Challenge
DSiWare
Snakenoid
The screenshots used were provided by Nintendo USA for their WiiWare,DSiWare, and Virtual Console releases. unfortunately, i do not have any screenshots for Snakeoid.
From Nintendo UK
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