Eurogamer
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| URL | http://www.eurogamer.net/ |
|---|---|
| Type of site | video game news & reviews for Europe |
| Owner | Rupert Loman Nick Loman |
| Created by |
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news and reviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer grew to become one of the most important European based websites focused on video games. Eurogamer Network claims that the site has the largest readership of any videogames website in the UK (over 1.2 million unique users in May 2006), and it is the only such site whose traffic is independently audited by the ABC Electronic system.
Most of the reviews (measured on a single 10 point scale) are made with European or PAL releases of the games, but given the time disparity between Japanese or North American/NTSC releases, some reviews are done using the latter. The version used, however, is always indicated.
Other features include traditional news, screenshot galleries, reader reviews, reader scores, previews, articles, release dates and a forum. A new addition is Eurogamer TV, which provides trailers and other video content directly in the browser using Macromedia Flash technology. This was facilitated by moving their servers across London to a cooler hosting facility on Saturday, February 11th, 2006.
The site was redesigned in May 2005 and continues the core idea of providing reviews for free (unlike some other gaming websites, there are no "premium accounts" or any other kind of paid privileges).
Eurogamer's current editor is Kristan Reed, previously editor of respected trade journal CTW. Tom Bramwell is the only other permanent member of editorial staff (Deputy Editor) although other members of the Eurogamer and Gamesindustry.biz team occasionally contribute editorially.
Eurogamer is famed for attracting a raft of popular and well-respected print journalists for its freelance staff. These contributors include PC Gamer and Edge magazine writers such as Kieron Gillen (PC Gamer/ Edge), Jim Rossignol (PC Gamer/ Edge), John Walker (PC Gamer), Simon Parkin (Edge) and David McCarthy (Edge). Additionally, a number of freelancers write for the site under pseudonyms (such as Egon Superb) - possibly due to contractual obligations to other publishers.
Some of the Eurogamer staff also work on GamesIndustry.biz, a gaming industry portal also operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd.
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[edit] Controversy
While the reviews are seen as ones of the most reliable (and strict) on the internet, some of them caused some controversy, such as Halo 2 [1] (the single player review received initially an 8/10 mark, one of the lowest according to Game Rankings [2] , later revised to 9/10 combined with multiplayer) and the Xbox version of FIFA Street [3] (8/10, one of the highest according to the same site [4]).
[edit] Eurogamer TV
Launched in February 2006, Eurogamer TV (EGTV) is an extension of the Eurogamer brand offering a new streaming video service ranging from trailers for upcoming games to event reports, such as recent E3 2006 coverage. Since all the videos are played in the web browser using Flash Player, there is no need for viewers to install additional video software or codecs to view certain material. EGTV is edited by newcomer Johnny Minkley, who has in the past appeared on BBC Radio 1's Jo Whiley show, and edited ComputerAndVideoGames.com and trade publication MCV. During May 2006, Eurogamer's viewers watched over 250,000 videos. In keeping with the growing multimedia theme that Eurogamer is moving towards, a regular podcast was launched in the Summer of 2006.
[edit] Eurogamer Germany
At the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2006, Eurogamer launched their first foreign language site - Eurogamer.de.
[edit] Notes and references
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