1. What do you like about NWR?
- The History. I've been here since the site started and it's always been my own little source of intelligence for Nintendo news. Been my home page ever since. Also, (and this should come as no surprise by now) the community. We don't need another IGN, so its nice to have a small, strong community of game enthusiasts communicating with respected and talented staff members who have a closer reach to the gaming industry than ourselves.
2. What do you dislike about NWR?
- Overall lack of enthusiasm and from what I see, just a lack of work being put into the site. And if I'm wrong and the staff actually is putting in tons of time and effort, then I apologize, but its just not showing. The site design itself is another big issue but it looks like theres a whole other question for that so I'll hold off for now.
3. What would you like to see more of on NWR?
- It's been said many times. More integration of staff personality into the main site. That's what made the early PGC unique and that's what will make the current NWR unique again. Reviews, Previews, Impressions etc are all doing very well, but its the actual news which needs the big face lift. First, you have to put and end to the copy and paste press release style of the news articles. Its impersonal, frustrating, and just plain boring. One thing I loved about PGC was that at the bottom of almost every news post, there was a little purple box dedicated to the staff's response. If there would be one single thing to take away from my post right now, it would be to bring those staff response boxes back. It added so much to the quality of the website in such an easy way.
Boy, is this a blast from the past, not sure if you guys are ready for this...
Planet Gamecube 2002Sure it was E3 time, but the excitement and quality just explodes off of the page! If you poke around at the articles you'll see the purple response boxes I was talking about. Instead of taking unnecessary steps to search for staff responses in the talkback forum, its right there in the article. Plus, theres an immediate taste of the staff's attitude and personality. This brings me to my next point.
One great, more recent addition to the site is that pretty much everything (News, Reviews, Editorials etc) has a place of discussion in the forum. The forum is great, but it needs the presence of the staff members. I'm not even talking about just posting more, but just make it so when a staff member posts anything in the forum, EVERYONE knows its a staff member. What I mean by this is simply make your avatar or the box where you are posting significantly different than the rest of the forum-goers. Most of the time you can see something in the signature that says they are staff, but its too inconsistent and just isnt powerful enough. Basically what I'm trying to say is that the readers should immediately feel like there is a strong infrastructure of an elite staff, but one that is also very likeable and cares about its community. Sorry if that didn't make sense but thats the best I can come up with.
One more thing really quick. Whenever you look at a game profile on the site, it pretty much just has release dates and other stats. Thats great and all, but it really needs to have a quick sentence or two on what the game is generally about. Especially with all these quirky Wii and DS games everywhere.
4. Do you think there's anything we do too much of? If yes, what?
- Can't really think of anything major. The only thing I would say is that whenever something on the site is delayed, I don't think its necessary to put up big apologies or excuses, at least not on the front page. We'll get the RFN when we get it, and we'll also get the Metroid review when we get it.
5. Why do you visit NWR?
- For the latest news and the Smash Bros Forum ( great idea making it its own forum btw )
6. Is NWR your first choice for Nintendo news? Reviews? Preview coverage?
- Yes to all, but not my only source.
7. Do you like the front page design?
- Like I started to say above, there are definitely problems with the design of the front page. To me, the most immediate problem is that, as of now, the name of the website is "WINNER WINNER WINNER YOU HAVE WON A FREE* LAPTOP!!!" and not "Nintendo World Report". I don't care if you have to opt to the smaller ads or just get rid of the top ad completely, but NINTENDO WORLD REPORT should be the most powerful part of the main page, especially with the clean white style of the rest of the site. Also, the subtitle "Worldwide Nintendo Coverage 24-7-365" should make a triumphant return to the title. It says what NWR is right away. I can't understand why that would be taken away to be honest, especially when it flows so nicely with the new name. Everything else about the site has been covered many times so I wont talk any more about it.
8. Are there any more comments you have about Nintendo World Report in general?
- I love NWR. I wouldnt have typed this much about it if I didn't. It's one of the greatest Nintendo community sites out there, but has the potential to be so much better. Sorry for this monster post, and thanks for reading
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