Today, after classes, I, like many of you, came here as part of my Tuesday routine. I searched around, and found no new Big Picture. I looked down at the schedule, and found all of Moviebob's stuff was gone. I go to his site, find his FAQ. I felt down, but it made me realize, this site, and most gaming websites, are in decline, and many, including our beloved Escapist, may soon go away entire. The industry, and the internet is shifting away, so a huge amount of diverse
Why is this? Youtube.
Back in 2005 when this site launched, Youtube had only just been founded. People could share short, fairly grainy videos. It was the age of the PS2, when gaming exponentially becoming more and more popular. The internet was young, and it was still fairly easy to set up a small but decently profitable site, but every site needed some hooked. Originally, Youtube fueled this need by bringing a rise of the first video content creators. People like the Angry Video Game Nerd, the Nostalgia Critic, and Yahtzee were able to get an audience and followers, even as they through a message in a bottle into an ocean made up entirely of bottles because of Youtube. Yet, Youtube didn't have ads, no Google partnership, they could only do it for love, not profit.
The only way to make profit? Either get a contract with a site like the Escapist, or found their own. So, sites attracted personalities and niches, The Escapist in particular had it's cornerstone based on it's shows, ZP, Extra Credits, and Escape to the Movies. I don't have any figures or numbers, but I am sure that is what the vast majority of the Escapist's traffic came to the site for.
Then, in 2010, Youtube created it's partnership program. Now, anyone could make a living off creating videos without either taking whatever contract is available or living month to month, trying to get by however you can while paying all the server costs and hoping you have enough for food. Youtube also doesn't take creative control or force you into contracts controlling what you produce, or taking complete ownership of your work. As Moviebob mentioned:
"The Escapist owns the name and all the audio/visual regular pieces of Escape to The Movies. So if I wanted to put movie reviews in video form on YouTube, I can... they just won't use that title, those art-assets, etc"
Being completely free of such contracts is extremely appealing to most content creators. Losing control over your work suddenly, having your passion being dictated by someone else is heartbreaking. Yes, Youtube will take half your videos ad revenue, but will not care what you put on it, as long as it doesn't include nudity or something that makes it's copyright claims go haywire.
Youtube also provides something almost no other website can, direct advertisement to new audiences. Youtube's algorithms send scan what people show even the smallest interest in, and send "suggestions" for more views. These suggestions dramatically increase a person's view count and audience size, Pew Die Pie was able to gain absolutely horrific amounts of subscribers because he between multiple countries, which caused the algorithms too send tons of suggestions for his videos internationally. On the Escapist, the only for Yahtzee to gain more views is for a person to come to the Escapist, which can't do much to attract many new people outside of word of mouth, while everyone uses Youtube to some degree.
Game developers have noticed this trend, particularly since a big channel like Totalbiscuit or Angry Joe Show covering a game leads to a massive sales boost. Youtube reviewers, let's players, and even original content creators like Rocket Jump and Corridor Digital were the clear driving force for the sale of many smaller games like Five Nights at Freddy's and Minecraft, turning single party indie devs into giants of the industry. However, unlike the dedicated gaming sites, Youtube channels are not bound by advertisement deals. Youtube ads can and have been about just about anything, while IGN, the Escapist, and others mostly have to advertise video games or things tied directly to video games. Activision cannot withhold advertisement deals to make Totalbiscuit or Angry Joe give a glowing review to the newest Call of Duty because the leverage doesn't exist in the first place, and many bigger channels are able to get covering deals on their own terms, something not even the mighty IGN can do.
The Escapist has been showing signs of suffering from these problems for awhile. Multiple content creators, (such Extra Credits) have left the site due to problems over the Escapist being unable to actually consistently being able to pay them. Youtube and Patreon provide a much more consistent revenue stream. Without Extra Credits, the Escapist had an even harder time paying it's content creators, since it lost a lot of it's traffic. With each loss, Lisa, Jim, and Bob, this cycle becomes larger and it becomes harder to replace the personalities lost. Youtube in so many ways is just a much better deal, it is hard for anyone to stay. This is true for the Escapist as any other similar site.
Will it go away entirely? I don't know, maybe they will do what so many others have and combine together with some other site, maybe they will send more focus too Youtube, or maybe they will make a miracle happen and reverse the trend entirely. The decline may be heartbreaking, but it is just the result of the ever changing game journalist and content creation industries.
Why is this? Youtube.
Back in 2005 when this site launched, Youtube had only just been founded. People could share short, fairly grainy videos. It was the age of the PS2, when gaming exponentially becoming more and more popular. The internet was young, and it was still fairly easy to set up a small but decently profitable site, but every site needed some hooked. Originally, Youtube fueled this need by bringing a rise of the first video content creators. People like the Angry Video Game Nerd, the Nostalgia Critic, and Yahtzee were able to get an audience and followers, even as they through a message in a bottle into an ocean made up entirely of bottles because of Youtube. Yet, Youtube didn't have ads, no Google partnership, they could only do it for love, not profit.
The only way to make profit? Either get a contract with a site like the Escapist, or found their own. So, sites attracted personalities and niches, The Escapist in particular had it's cornerstone based on it's shows, ZP, Extra Credits, and Escape to the Movies. I don't have any figures or numbers, but I am sure that is what the vast majority of the Escapist's traffic came to the site for.
Then, in 2010, Youtube created it's partnership program. Now, anyone could make a living off creating videos without either taking whatever contract is available or living month to month, trying to get by however you can while paying all the server costs and hoping you have enough for food. Youtube also doesn't take creative control or force you into contracts controlling what you produce, or taking complete ownership of your work. As Moviebob mentioned:
"The Escapist owns the name and all the audio/visual regular pieces of Escape to The Movies. So if I wanted to put movie reviews in video form on YouTube, I can... they just won't use that title, those art-assets, etc"
Being completely free of such contracts is extremely appealing to most content creators. Losing control over your work suddenly, having your passion being dictated by someone else is heartbreaking. Yes, Youtube will take half your videos ad revenue, but will not care what you put on it, as long as it doesn't include nudity or something that makes it's copyright claims go haywire.
Youtube also provides something almost no other website can, direct advertisement to new audiences. Youtube's algorithms send scan what people show even the smallest interest in, and send "suggestions" for more views. These suggestions dramatically increase a person's view count and audience size, Pew Die Pie was able to gain absolutely horrific amounts of subscribers because he between multiple countries, which caused the algorithms too send tons of suggestions for his videos internationally. On the Escapist, the only for Yahtzee to gain more views is for a person to come to the Escapist, which can't do much to attract many new people outside of word of mouth, while everyone uses Youtube to some degree.
Game developers have noticed this trend, particularly since a big channel like Totalbiscuit or Angry Joe Show covering a game leads to a massive sales boost. Youtube reviewers, let's players, and even original content creators like Rocket Jump and Corridor Digital were the clear driving force for the sale of many smaller games like Five Nights at Freddy's and Minecraft, turning single party indie devs into giants of the industry. However, unlike the dedicated gaming sites, Youtube channels are not bound by advertisement deals. Youtube ads can and have been about just about anything, while IGN, the Escapist, and others mostly have to advertise video games or things tied directly to video games. Activision cannot withhold advertisement deals to make Totalbiscuit or Angry Joe give a glowing review to the newest Call of Duty because the leverage doesn't exist in the first place, and many bigger channels are able to get covering deals on their own terms, something not even the mighty IGN can do.
The Escapist has been showing signs of suffering from these problems for awhile. Multiple content creators, (such Extra Credits) have left the site due to problems over the Escapist being unable to actually consistently being able to pay them. Youtube and Patreon provide a much more consistent revenue stream. Without Extra Credits, the Escapist had an even harder time paying it's content creators, since it lost a lot of it's traffic. With each loss, Lisa, Jim, and Bob, this cycle becomes larger and it becomes harder to replace the personalities lost. Youtube in so many ways is just a much better deal, it is hard for anyone to stay. This is true for the Escapist as any other similar site.
Will it go away entirely? I don't know, maybe they will do what so many others have and combine together with some other site, maybe they will send more focus too Youtube, or maybe they will make a miracle happen and reverse the trend entirely. The decline may be heartbreaking, but it is just the result of the ever changing game journalist and content creation industries.
