Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games/Sources

sportacentrs.com (non-English source)
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SportaCentrs.com (LV Wikipedia) is a Latvian (non-English) media that publishes information about sports and also eSports.

The site was launched in 2002 and they have a professional team of journalists about sports and esports: https://parmums.sportacentrs.com/redakcija.html

Fanbyte 2
It seems the media apocalypse has claimed another one. :( This was previously discussed at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Video_games/Sources/Archive_25, which leaned toward maybe reliable since it had some known names on the "About" page (2022 version), and Fanbyte is currently marked "other reliable". Unfortunately, lots (all?) of these names don't appear to work there anymore, including EIC Danielle Riendeau (https://twitter.com/Danielleri says she's at GameDev, https://x.com/imranzomg?lang=en says "formerly" Fanbyte, https://x.com/hunktears says "formerly" Fanbyte).  If we advance to the 2023 version, their about page is merely a redirect to their bare-bones help page about subscriptions to WOWhead and refunds and such.  And after mid-2023, they took down the About page entirely. The current Fanbyte front page is just game-guidey stuff for a handful of popular games designed to match search terms ("Best Build for Lyney Main DPS", "Best Build for Arlecchino Main DPS", etc.). Anna Koselke appears to be a known name at least, but she's also churning out listicles. It unfortunately seems clear that some savage cutbacks happened, and they're just barely keeping the lights on with low-effort, low-paid stuff. I think that Fanbyte post-2023 should probably be downgraded to situational. SnowFire (talk) 06:13, 14 June 2024 (UTC)


 * I thought we actually already had a conversation that essentially supported this recently. Or maybe it stalled out before a decision was made? Sergecross73   msg me  12:01, 14 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Checking the archives: Oh, it's at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Video_games/Sources/Archive_30. Yeah this already came up, but it looks like the section was quietly archived - the main WP:VG/RS page does not link to the 2nd discussion and still marks Fanbyte as reliable, which is why I didn't know it'd occurred.  SnowFire (talk) 16:36, 14 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Gotcha, I wondered if that's what happened, but didn't have the time to dig it up earlier. Anyways, I agree with what you're saying and what we were saying at that discussion. Unless there's any new opposition, I think we've got enough support for it. Sergecross73   msg me  16:44, 14 June 2024 (UTC)


 * It's good that we could revisit this source. I agree that it's reliable, even if it's defunct now. (To be clear, it would not be reliable after the layoffs and shift to gameguide content.) Shooterwalker (talk) 16:40, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I brought it up on the main WT:VG here. I think they used to do good work and there are still a few people left there doing actual editorial instead of just guides, but it's not much. Axem Titanium (talk) 19:10, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

Market Realist
I was editing the Billy Mitchell article when I came across this source. I'm unsure if it's unreliable, so I'm starting a discussion here. — lunaeclipse  (talk)  00:41, 17 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Doesn't look like it. It reads like SEO bait for "[person X] net worth" searches, barely researched drivel. It doesn't mention any of his lawsuits or controversies which would affect his net worth. If you look at other net worth articles on the site, they're all in the same boilerplate copy-pasta'd format. Axem Titanium (talk) 19:07, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

Gamerjive
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Pretty open and shut case for unreliable. Seems to use AI to write articles ("Useless Rising"?), given they're also pretty blatantly stolen from other publications. Kung Fu Man (talk) 23:36, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, the well-known "Xbox Collection X" platform. Ugh. Complete AI created garbage. Extremely unreliable. Sergecross73   msg me  01:02, 27 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Kung Fu Man, yeah, I have to agree, it's laughably bad content farm garbage. Unreliable. — lunaeclipse  (talk)  00:37, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

TheXboxHub
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I'm currently finding sources to create a potential Garten of BanBan article. There is currently one promising source, Stephanie Sterling's The Jimquisition. There's also this review from TheXboxHub. They (XboxHub) are on Metacritic and seem to have some decent writers there. One of them even wrote a science textbook. I could see this being situational though, as some writers do not have any experience prior to joining the website's staff. — lunaeclipse  (talk)  00:33, 28 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Assuming that Jimquisition is just for opinion and isn't being used for notability, that should be fine with it's current situational listing, but I'm not sure about TheXBoxHub.
 * Being on MetaCritic is a positive for notability, but it isn't the only factor and there are sources on there that are explicitly listed as unreliable.
 * TheXBoxHub have a couple of people who've done professional work as writers on the team outside of the gaming area, but the owner who is also the only editor's LinkedIn only shows running TheXBoxHub. No prior experience at other sites (echoed on their OpenCritic page), and no credentials that'd be useful as an editor. There's also no editorial policy that I can see, only some minor stuff on the about page.
 * Unless there's something I'm missing, with such insufficient editorial oversight, it seems unreliable. DarkeruTomoe (talk) 23:07, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

FandomWire
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Hi. Since the site FandomWire is not yet listed in WikiProject Video games/Sources, I need a confirmation on whether or not the site is reliable. Thanks. PrimalMustelid (talk) 22:42, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

Fortress of Solitude
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Found a new 12 game list. By the way its worded seems unordered. Would like it added to the database — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alena 33 (talk • contribs) 21:37, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * For context, the "list" in reference is this one, while the "database" is this one. More context here. – Rhain  ☔ (he/him) 22:09, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Any thoughts? Alena 33 (talk) 16:42, 3 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Hm...I'm thinking of reviving this Alena 33 (talk) 05:09, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
 * First of all, this is primarily a comic book and television site from what I am seeing, so there's not much merit for it being given any sort of label here if its of no use to us (gaming articles appear few and far between). It appears that the only rationale for even bringing it here is because of a list. But to give the site a fair judgement...
 * I can't find any editorial policy or staff list anywhere. Some of the individual authors might be alright on their own, but it ranges from those that appear to have legitimate experience such as Jarrod Saunders, to those who just describe themselves as nerds such as Hannah Lieberum, who wrote this list. The lack of an editorial policy and the mixed bag of authors when it comes to experience makes this seem unreliable. λ Negative  MP1  06:18, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

ThisIsGame
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ThisIsGame is a video game news media website created in 2005 and based in South Korea. It was founded by former newspaper journalist, Im Sanghun, and provides up-to-date news for both domestic and foreign video gaming. It does field reports and interviews frequently, with the recent ones including Kim Hyung-tae, Faker , John Hanke , Overwatch 2 developers , and Lies of P developers.

ThisIsGame has corporate partnerships with other news media, both within and outside of its country. It has had an official partnership with Gamasutra (currently Game Developer) for a long time (the exact start year is hard to pinpoint, but I think it's around 2009), providing each other with their articles and translating them into their language. I can confirm this is true; this ThisIsGame article from 2019 and this Gamasutra article from 2011 note they were translated from each other. This ThisIsGame article from April 2024 mentions the partnership with Game Developer again, meaning they're still working together. Other known partner companies of ThisIsGame include 17173, a Chinese video game portal, and QooApp, a mobile game news website. I can't find much about these.

It should be noted the website celebrates its anniversary with congrats and artworks and others from video game companies, mostly domestic but some foreign. In its 16th anniversary in 2021, it received them from Kakao Games, Arc System Works, Mihoyo, Blizzard Entertainment, and more. Their 14th anniversary prior has messages from Nintendo, Epic Games, Riot Games, and Bandai Namco. This doesn't give them credentials, but it does show it has connections to general video game industry and doesn't just exist in a vacuum.

Its About Us page is lackluster, which is par for the course for Korean online media in general. It has a vague introduction of its goal of discussing online video games and offering critiques of the current video gaming. Not a lot of words about its editorial policy. There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive list of employees, so I decided to dig up some records of authors myself and found these four people, of which the first two give the website significant credentials:
 * Im Sanghun (임상훈) AKA Simon Lim: Linkedin. The founder and CEO of ThisIsGame. His Linkedin page lists a lot of career: he was a journalist and columnist at Ilgan Sports (1999–2004) and The Hankyoreh (2017–2018), the latter specifically being for the weekly magazine The Hankyoreh21; he is a judge for Gamescom Awards since 2016 and The Game Awards since 2019; he is an advisor of the Chinese video game portal 17173.com since 2013. Ilgan Sports and The Hankyoreh are both reasonably prestigious journalism organizations with long history (Ilgan Sports founded in 1969 and The Hankyoreh in 1988).
 * Hyeon Namil (현남일): Better known as his nickname, Kkaeseutong (깨스통). He was previously an author at the print magazine PC Powerzine (AKA PC Champ), one of the more famous South Korean video game magazine that ran from 1995 to 2005. PC Powerzine has a helpful archive over here so I checked the record. I can confirm his name appears in the magazine's credits as "journalist". He ran his own column in the magazine during his tenure and I even found his photo from 2004 (the third from the left on top row). In his current position at ThisIsGame, he writes some articles as well as managing a YouTube channel under the website that reviews mobile games.
 * Kim Jaeseok (김재석): Linkedin. Joined in July 2018. Is also a writer for GameGeneration, a video game web magzine sponsored by GameCulture Foundation and Krafton.
 * Julia Kim: Linkedin. She doesn't directly work for ThisIsGame, but she collaborated with the website in 2020 as a coordinator at Nexon Computer Museum. This article is the first of a series and it appears she wrote about a dozen for it. The museum also did a video interview of the ThisIsGame founder, which this website self-published here, so if you want to know more about Lim, this article is it.

My overall verdict on ThisIsGame is generally positive. It has affliation with tons of well-established companies, which include well-known developers (Mihoyo, Nexon, Blizzard Entertainment, and Krafton) and reliable sources in our list (Gamasutra). It has at least two experienced individuals with credentials (Simon Lim and Hyeon Namil) who, as the founder and the general manager respectively, appear to oversee the press and the quality of the articles. Their footprints outside of the website, like the Gamasutra articles, are also noted. Its ambiguously worded editorial policy and the lack of a list for its journalists are a concern, but not enough to undermine these factors. My opinion is this can be considered valid. Emiya Mulzomdao (talk) 13:04, 1 July 2024 (UTC)


 * Another ThisIsGame personnel I found:
 * Kim Mugyeom (김무겸). Better known as his nickname, Kim Siljang (김실장). He's currently in charge of the "media department" of the company and runs ThisIsGame's another YouTube channel, Middle-aged Gamer Kim Siljang since 2020. He used to work at Inven as a journalist before transferring to here. While its subsidiary Inven Global is on our Reliable Source list, I'm not so sure whether it's appropriate to apply the same to its parent company. He also wrote at Playforum before that, with one of his reviews preserved here at Korea Data Agency, but I don't think this was anything more than a casual fan website.
 * Emiya Mulzomdao (talk) 12:23, 16 July 2024 (UTC)

SegmentNext
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Seen this one in a couple of articles. Can we get a consensus here? ภץאคгöร 14:34, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

Rely on Horror
I need a consensus for this if this is reliable or not. 🍕 Boneless Pizza! 🍕 (🔔) 14:07, 6 July 2024 (UTC)

Gaming Alexandria
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Website focused on video game preservation, including archival of older print sources, web sources, and game prototypes. Some original content including articles and interviews. Has an About Us page listing current staff and roles; fairly even split between named contributors and those going solely by screen names.

Wanted to get some precedent set since I know there are 20 or so pages that currently use them as a source. My first instinct is situational; while their own interviews could be useful, their archives of older sources should probably only be used in instances where they cannot be found elsewhere (and cited directly to said source instead of GA, of course). That said, the lack of a clear editorial policy does potentially pose an issue. Would appreciate some other opinions though. -- Cyberlink420 (talk) 15:33, 8 July 2024 (UTC)


 * It's a website run by nonprofessionals, not anyone from journalism from what I know, so I find it not useful as a first-hand source. It occasioncally gets a shoutout from news media, like this Nintendo Life articles, but not enough to re-consider it. I agree it has good leads for Japanese sources. Emiya Mulzomdao (talk) 14:53, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

Entertainment.ie
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Irish entertainment news site. I'm already concerned about this source's reliability as there are no credentials on their staff page. — lunaeclipse  (talk)  12:42, 14 July 2024 (UTC)

VentureBeat
I think we should reflect the fact that [venturebeat.com] is largely a website about AI now, and admittedly uses AI in the creation of its articles. I'm not sure if they mark when AI is used in an article, but this doesn't. - Cukie Gherkin (talk) 17:19, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Just checked out their front page and there is no video game articles at all. I move to suggest VentureBeat being moved to situational. I'll check back here in a moment with the answer to when the cutoff was. Captain  Galaxy  17:24, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I need to do some more research into this, but for now I retract my statement because I may have jumped the gun. Captain  Galaxy  17:35, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you. Don't get me wrong, AI writing creates some absolute crap, but with what I've read, it feels like most major publications are talking about implementing it in varying degrees. I think we'd end up throwing out the majority of our RS's if we simply throw out anything that merely touches AI. Sergecross73   msg me  17:51, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Well, it's a bit more embarrassing on my part. I initially approached this because I hadn't read VentureBeat in ages and I thought they stopped writing GamesBeat articles, and on first glance I literally couldn't see the tab for GamesBeat on the VB main page. It wasn't I did a double take when looking into it I realised they still do gaming content. That being said, I will say we should exercise caution here just in case they decided to push their advancement forward on using AI. But I do agree with you here, Serge, as whilst upon reading about an interview about how they use AI and looking articles, I'm not seeing anything particularly wrong. So unless something is brought to the attention of this talk page, I shall refrain from making an argument from making VB a situational source, though with clarification that we should still keep a watchful eye on their usage of AI. Captain  Galaxy  19:51, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * My news apps show articles from VB relatively frequently and I haven't noticed a dip in quality or any of the usual problematic trappings of AI writing. What is it in your example article that's causing you concern? It looks like its credited to being authored by a human named Ben Dickson? Sergecross73   msg me  17:26, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I will admit that it was a kneejerk assumption, but I'm of the opinion that a website that uses AI in article creation should inherently be given greater scrutiny, especially since I'm seeing nothing on the website actually discussing how they use AI and how they ensure accuracy in the content the AI produces, even here. - Cukie Gherkin (talk) 20:08, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't disagree with more scrutiny, I'm just saying, if they were considered an RS previously, and there's no noticeable change in quality or discernible issue (noticed errors, weird wording, hallucinations, etc) it wouldn't be enough, in my eyes, to cause a change in classification. Sergecross73   msg me  20:14, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I try to avoid VB if the article seems overtly promotional, but like, if there's a Dean Takahashi tagline, I usually think that that's fine. I would definitely not consider it a reliable source all the time, not that it should be discouraged, but should be used with caution. M asem (t) 21:54, 19 July 2024 (UTC)

To be clear, I'm not promoting demoting it, just that it's worth clarifying this. - Cukie Gherkin (talk) 22:26, 19 July 2024 (UTC)