Is Kotaku in danger of shutting down?

A real shame that gawker going down in flames (not entirely awful) means that good writers that have been trying to restore kotaku's image are going to lose out.

Patrick should just move out east with the beastcast crew. He's still young, no kids.
 
I personally stopped giving Kotaku clicks after the whole Conde Naste crap and Kotaku standing up for the sleazy "story". I'd been a many time a day viewer for over a decade, so it kind of stung seeing them stick up for that gawker sleaze.

Sucks for those not involved in this whole thing but you sleep with the pigs you end up smelling like...well, you guys get it.

I'm sure some of the better writers will end up on their feet somewhere or going off to create their own things.
 
If I recall correctly, his name came up as a target for GamerGaters so that's one thing. Correct me if I'm wrong though

That's exactly it. GG seems to be treating this like a personal victory, even though their actions had absolutely zero impact on it, and any relevance this has to their cause is tangential at best, not to mention incredibly coincidental.

To echo others' thoughts, Gawker deserves this ruling, but I like Kotaku an awful lot. It's been a part of my daily routine for damn near a decade now. Really nervous to find out what it means for those guys.
 
This isn't necessarily true. I've worked with and ran a few sites that did their very best to deter from using clickbait, two of which were gaming focused. It's not a death warrant, but it does require an extra level of dedication since it's a very slow burn developing to the point of having what you could consider a respectably large userbase. The difficulty is finding reliable staff happy to do voluntary work of high quality so that you can grow the way the sites need to on a promise of a better future. It requires a high level of interest in the idealogy of the site from the writers and editors that generally is hard to find.

Interestingly, I was working with another site at the time that DID rely on clickbait and the analytics seemed to suggest that while clickbait was bringing in people faster, not relying on it elsewhere was providing a slower growing, but more reliable userbase that would visit multiple pages. Not to mention growth of interaction with the community. It's a single anecdotal example, but IMO the only upsides to clickbait is fast tracked page views.

It goes much, much deeper than this of course with other factors like the actual design, linking of content and how well it does at convincing the reader to take that step into a different page that wasn't just a link they found elsewhere, but I'd strongly disagree that clickbait is required to succeed. There's just too many other factors that go into it.

This is good stuff to know. I guess generally finding the right people and the right mindset is the hardest part to go about this.

I would like to see sites improve in a lot of areas when discussing games. Opinion pieces can be great when written really well and go further in-depth, but that feels so few outside a select few areas. That would also help during down time between releases. Many sites have a stronger focus on the future than the here and now and fill up the now with more clickbait or talks of an upcoming game.
 
Everyone saying they will sale the sites wouldn't the Union contact carry over in any sale. I don't see any companies wanting to buy unionized blogs in this climate.
 
is it wrong this was my first thought as well?

Given the credence multiple sources have given to the rumor, if you're implying that it was a Hail Mary pass because of the perceived fleeting longevity of the company, I'd disagree and say it was a credibly sourced rumor and Kotaku has been pretty good at breaking those stories. I don't think a few more clicks will save them from this, unfortunately.
 
Given the credence multiple sources have given to the rumor, if you're implying that it was a Hail Mary pass because of the perceived fleeting longevity of the company, I'd disagree and say it was a credibly sourced rumor and Kotaku has been pretty good at breaking those stories. I don't think a few more clicks will save them from this, unfortunately.

yeah i mean i agree with you... i hit up Kotaku a few times a day and i like patrick and jason... but the PS4.5 thing just seemed like a weird coincidence... it just was something that was hanging there in the back of my mind when i heard about the settlement outcome.
 
I can't be the only one who remembers when Kotaku was a banned site on here. No idea why they were ever unbanned. Regardless, it always sucks when people lose jobs, but Gawker Media as a whole is a pretty sleazy company. There are some very talented people that work there and I'm sure they will land on their feet if this hypothetical future comes to pass.
 
I don't know usually a unionized workplace has all of that laid out. But I don't think a unionized company can just lose that just from being sold.

Actually I think Chapter 7, liquidation, is the bankruptcy where union contracts just go away, the business as it is ceases to exist making all contracts null and void. Chapter 11, reorganization, has certain laws protecting a unions right to bargain for a while.

Don't remember all the little rules though.
 
I hate Gawker, and all the sites like it, I don't mind Kotaku though. If Gawker does go down, I hope Kotaku can pick back up and come back in another form.

Kind of funny, people have acted like I'm crazy for liking Kotaku before...I mean they have broke some big stories.
 
I'm sad that some people will lose their jobs. But I am happy and hopeful too because this may mean Kotaku will break off, or a new site will be made, that will not be under shitty management. It'd been going downhill since Crecente left so we'll see how this goes.

There's a few other sites I liked (deadspin, lifehacker) so I am sad to see them go -- but other gawker sites can diaf for all I care.

Personal feelings aside, I hope everyone finds jobs elsewhere. And those that were in the shitty management department will find a job that's not management.
 
yeah i mean i agree with you... i hit up Kotaku a few times a day and i like patrick and jason... but the PS4.5 thing just seemed like a weird coincidence... it just was something that was hanging there in the back of my mind when i heard about the settlement outcome.

It's possible they sat on it for a little while. Maybe it says a lot about games journalism and the exposure that seems impossible to gather that people like Patrick and Jason have to align themselves with a company that they knew wasn't the most pious.
 
yeah i mean i agree with you... i hit up Kotaku a few times a day and i like patrick and jason... but the PS4.5 thing just seemed like a weird coincidence... it just was something that was hanging there in the back of my mind when i heard about the settlement outcome.

On the Bombcast years ago Patrick was mentioning how often you hear rumors and insider info when you're in the games industry, the main reason why most of those aren't reported is because they're either so early in development/conception, or so singularly sourced despite the credability of those sources that it wouldn't be worth writing up, mainly because IF it's true and does come to fruition, it probably won't be anything like it was reported given how often things change behond the scenes.

This seems to me like one of those kinds of stories, something that would otherwise have just stayed behind the scenes if not for this Gawker business.
 
Gawker does some sleazy, depraved work and the people behind that should be out of the industry, but I'm unquestionably unhappy about many of the sub-sites and their uncertain fate. Checking Kotaku is a regular part of my routine and I don't know what I'd replace that with. Best wishes for the future for those employed with the company.

Everyone saying they will sale the sites wouldn't the Union contact carry over in any sale. I don't see any companies wanting to buy unionized blogs in this climate.

Yeah, I don't know Gawker's finances but I'd be surprised if the company folded that someone would buy up the individual sites. Many online-only outlets aren't profitable and are bankrolled with the idea of disrupting the space. Others are run very lean, and Kotaku isn't that. Some great people work there though, I'd assume they'll find work, although it's a rough industry to be unemployed in.
 
Others are run very lean, and Kotaku isn't that. Some great people work there though, I'd assume they'll find work, although it's a rough industry to be unemployed in.

They've garnered a lot of resentment with other sites, too. It's going to be difficult to find another site that wants them. Their best shot is creating a new site and start from scratch.
 
First Joystiq and now Kotaku.. I'm just glad NeoGAF isn't owned by a parent company that makes terrible decisions. Really makes me happy this site is run as well as it is. Bravo, NeoGAF!
 
People really had a strong distaste for Klepek when he first got hired. He was kind of awkward and abrasive for a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eymeFiw7RQ

I haven't seen nearly as much vitriol for Austin. Even /v/ likes him lol.
He is a great writer even when what he writes may not agree with my views, but when he's on screen or just talking among people people, he has the worst comedic (or otherwise) timing in the room and went againt the flow of conversation.

Oddly enough his banter with Ryan (RIP)was the exception to that rule..especially in the Chrono Trigger endurance run. They fed off each other well. Anyone who hasn't watched that will enjoy the experience if not just to hear Ryan do what he does best one more 'gain.


Par for the course for gamergate supporters.
You do know his giantbomb run was before gamergate right? Let that ailly circus die, dude was disliked long before it.
 
This is good stuff to know. I guess generally finding the right people and the right mindset is the hardest part to go about this.

I would like to see sites improve in a lot of areas when discussing games. Opinion pieces can be great when written really well and go further in-depth, but that feels so few outside a select few areas. That would also help during down time between releases. Many sites have a stronger focus on the future than the here and now and fill up the now with more clickbait or talks of an upcoming game.

I completely agree. Games in particular though are a field where the focus seems to always be on what's coming rather than what we have. The really strange part about this is that there's so much other content that could be covered and often goes down well with readers such as coverage of old forgotten games, write ups on how aspects of the industry operate and why they do, or my personal favorite, in-depth articles about the underlying technologies that we often gloss over, but are fundamental to game design.

There are lots of smaller sites that try to specialize in fields like this and find a level of success but it's certainly unusual that a lot of the larger sites don't do more of it considering it's commonly praised by their fans too. To further the confusion, I've personally found it's much easier to get people to talk about why they do things the way they do than to try and pry out information on their latest game that they'd rather keep a secret. I'd imagine the success rate is much higher if you're from one of the larger sites like IGN, Kotaku etc though.

There's a lot of room for growth in the gaming media when it comes to the types of content they can rely on, but unfortunately clickbait is easier and often requires what most would consider zero research. In that sense, I can easily see why many sites fall into the trap of reliance as fighting the urge to join the party for the number bump is really hard to resist and is purely an argument of morals. Whilst avoiding it provides a good userbase overtime, it takes some extreme clickbait to cause that userbase to leave so it's always the easy option no matter how far along you are. This grows more complex as you become established too, as outside sources may have influence over the general operations of the site eventually, which I'd imagine is the case for lots of the larger sites.
 
Lol have to pay $115 million for posting a sex tape probably no one on the planet gave a crap about.

IIRC, it was actually kind of a big deal, because that's how Hogan was outed as a racist, wasn't it? He got more or less abandoned by the WWE after that. Might be wrong though.
 
You do know his giantbomb run was before gamergate right? Let that ailly circus die, dude was disliked long before it.

I'm more referring to the intense and disturbing glee for his shaky future people are having towards him. Seems fairly consistent with a certain group of people. Going through a good chunk of the twitter replies seems to indicate as much.
 
If Gawker were to go down, I'm confident that the talented individuals at Kotaku would find homes in new places.

And considering some of the scummy sub-sites that Gawker has (including Gawker itself), I don't think we'd be any worse for it.
 
It's not like Klepeck is some long-time Kotaku writer. If something actually does happen he'll easily find work elsewhere. If we know one thing about Klepeck, it's that he's really good at changing employers.
 
? no it wouldn't. lmao wtf

"Brother, where are we with the Sakaguchi interview? We have to run wild with it before IGN scoops us."

Awesome.


Edit: From the other thread.
5OZtibJ.jpg


I love Wikipedia.
 
I'm not that into Hulk Hogan. For better or worse, games media is more my thing. Hopefully kotaku people like Schreier and Klepek can wash ashore.
 
You do know his giantbomb run was before gamergate right? Let that ailly circus die, dude was disliked long before it.
And it evolved to about half the people who hate him hashtagging GG to come get at him. Don't forget people had issue with him being the only writer at GB writing political articles. The fact that he's friends alone with Zoe Quinn is where he gets the most hate.
 
So uh... WOW at all those comments on Patrick Klepek's twitter feed right now. Good God, people can be seriously vile on the internet :(

I hope he and the other writers at Kotaku are okay if Gawker goes bankrupt. I actually liked a lot of the writers working at Kotaku and thought they did good work.
 
I completely agree. Games in particular though are a field where the focus seems to always be on what's coming rather than what we have. The really strange part about this is that there's so much other content that could be covered and often goes down well with readers such as coverage of old forgotten games, write ups on how aspects of the industry operate and why they do, or my personal favorite, in-depth articles about the underlying technologies that we often gloss over, but are fundamental to game design.

There are lots of smaller sites that try to specialize in fields like this and find a level of success but it's certainly unusual that a lot of the larger sites don't do more of it considering it's commonly praised by their fans too. To further the confusion, I've personally found it's much easier to get people to talk about why they do things the way they do than to try and pry out information on their latest game that they'd rather keep a secret. I'd imagine the success rate is much higher if you're from one of the larger sites like IGN, Kotaku etc though.

There's a lot of room for growth in the gaming media when it comes to the types of content they can rely on, but unfortunately clickbait is easier and often requires what most would consider zero research. In that sense, I can easily see why many sites fall into the trap of reliance as fighting the urge to join the party for the number bump is really hard to resist and is purely an argument of morals. Whilst avoiding it provides a good userbase overtime, it takes some extreme clickbait to cause that userbase to leave so it's always the easy option no matter how far along you are. This grows more complex as you become established too, as outside sources may have influence over the general operations of the site eventually, which I'd imagine is the case for lots of the larger sites.

I think this is why I've been enjoying USgamer quite a bit too, and in general Jeremy Parish's work and his Game Boy World videos. They're really good and enjoyable works and would even love to see more of his analysis featured in a full article on USgamer. His Anatomy of Games is really good too.

Stuff like this is really good and I would love more of it from big sites. There's just so much to explore.
 
I don't even get the people talking about the 4.5 stuff in here.

Your world view is severely clouded if you think whatever hits they're getting from that is even a drop in the bucket. Like, come up for air from the gaming world once in a while. It's warped your minds.
 
You all realize that the courts aren't going to demand this entire money up front right? It's in everybody's best interest for the government to find a way to get Gawker to pay that doesn't involve them shutting the entire thing down.
 
I think this is why I've been enjoying USgamer quite a bit too, and in general Jeremy Parish's work and his Game Boy World videos. They're really good and enjoyable works and would even love to see more of his analysis featured in a full article on USgamer. His Anatomy of Games is really good too.

Stuff like this is really good and I would love more of it from big sites.

Game Boy World is indeed fantastic. But have you seen the view counts on the YouTube videos? They're extremely lackluster. That might be why we don't see sites like IGN doing something similar.
 
And it evolved to about half the people who hate him hashtagging GG to come get at him. Don't forget people had issue with him being the only writer at GB writing political articles. The fact that he's friends alone with Zoe Quinn is where he gets the most hate.

I think the part that annoys me about that is that they're all friends with Quinn, they've had her on one of the past GDC videos, yet he's the one who gets flak for it? It's psychotic.
 
You can support Gawker Media/Nick Denton being punished for blatent wrong-doings, dislike Hulk Hogan, and be sad over the loss of jobs of innocent people unrelated to this case simultaneously.

MIND BLOWN.

You mean I can actually have a complex, nuanced opinion about something on the internet without engaging in the binary thinking of loving or hating it?

200w.gif
 
You all realize that the courts aren't going to demand this entire money up front right? It's in everybody's best interest for the government to find a way to get Gawker to pay that doesn't involve them shutting the entire thing down.
Florida law says Gawker have to put $50 million up front in escrow before appealing. They'll be selling off assets to make up that money.

I'm glad Gawker as a company will die a horrible death. I am indifferent to the fate of Kotaku and some of the other sites in that umbrella like Io9, but I'd like to see many of the journalists there recover and get back on their feet once this is all over.
 
He is a great writer even when what he writes may not agree with my views, but when he's on screen or just talking among people people, he has the worst comedic (or otherwise) timing in the room and went againt the flow of conversation.

Oddly enough his banter with Ryan (RIP)was the exception to that rule..especially in the Chrono Trigger endurance run. They fed off each other well. Anyone who hasn't watched that will enjoy the experience if not just to hear Ryan do what he does best one more 'gain.



You do know his giantbomb run was before gamergate right? Let that ailly circus die, dude was disliked long before it.

I was someone who took a while to warm to Patrick at first, but a lot of the hate he received, even before GG became a thing, was coming from a sort of proto-GG. Those guys were around way before they invented a label for themselves.
 
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