Coming back to GameSpot after years, what am I missing? trophies, ranking, levels...

Hey all! Nice to come check out the community after a long hiatus :D Bit curious as to how GameSpot is functioning nowadays. I remember back in the days, our gamer friends group would use it heavily for coordinating and showcasing things, remembering back to earning points to gain levels and trophies/emblems; is this still a thing?

I really like the lists as well for keeping track of my own/playing/finished games, which need quite a bit of updating now haha anyways, just wanted to get back into the fray and see what's up!

Would love to hear from anyone about anything going on :) <3

Who are you again?

Sorry to tell you this but for a 2003 account, everyone you know has left. Blame Gamespot staff for changing a lot of stuff here without warning and GS lost like over 1,000 members since 2013.

Tis but a wasteland here. There's a few people left about, but it's an increasingly small group of users.

Worst thing is GS did it to themselves. This place has been horribly managed since CBS took over.

45 posts...

Who are you?

I just started this year or rather last month. Did I miss many things from the past years?

Yes, back when 30 mins was all it took for a thread to be pushed to the 2nd page, now it takes about 1-2 weeks.

I see so this was been a very active community back then. So what happened with Gamespot to lose so much users?

Look for yourself;

http://web.archive.org/web/20090802230702/http://www.gamespot.com/

Notice all the extra features?

The minimal ads?

How everything wasn't left-aligned?

The old-school retro look, apparently it was better before but I only joined in 06.

Even the addition of extra boards (you need to look for yourself or I'll get banned for saying it), I'll just say "Adult boards"

I was a lurker here in GS around 2011 before I join in October 2014, GS had so many stuff to discuss in the forums like System Wars & OT. But all of a sudden, around 2013, GS went and decided to revamp the whole site out of there ego's they put there own interest over the users. To make matter worst, they took a lot of the cool features, GS users left and lost like over 1,000 members who supported GS over the years of hard work. GS hasn't even bother to making this site more interesting, it's hard for older users to come back.

Adult boards were never allowed. We did have a short time with Off Topic After Hours which allowed a little more mature content, but I would hardly call it adult.

Let me guess, OT users got out of control with the mature stuff in After Hours which I assume it got shutdown?

Wait, we can still talk and explain what OTAH was?

@GaMeR910: If you want more adult material please feel free to take a look at my journalism project piece in another OT thread linked below. I chronicle the real life plight of disney mascot performers and how the dark underbelly of the theme park capital of the world takes a toll as they hit rockbottom, Orlando/Kissemmee FL, circa 2016.

An excerpt if you will, found at the bottom of the page, with evidence undeniable....

https://www.gamespot.com/forums/offtopic-discussion-314159273/which-star-can-get-by-without-makeup-33420873/#12

That webpage archive is illuminating. Is there still "Community Game Night"? They should bring it back.

I get the complaints about how Gamespot's management itself might've run this whole thing into the ground. But how much is the dwindling community and activity due to the changing social media environment and simply forums being a social tool which has fallen out of favor?

what about the effect of ex gamespot reviewer keith van ordenblam something who was rumored to force to leave gs because he actually gave honest reviews .... and then started some atomic gamer site where many followed and left gs for good?

long hiatus

Yeah I'd say 15 years is that. What a strange post.

I really like the lists as well for keeping track of my own/playing/finished games

You know games do that for you now.

@zsoro forums being a social tool which has fallen out of favor

Is that true though? Maybe Twitter is where it's at. But I don't think so. I think Steam has hoovered up alot of forum dwellers.

The website is a mess though. New visitors will be put off by its urgently in need of a refresh logo, sitting flush with the horizontal edges of the black top menu bar (designer rage) and it's menu's are circa 2002.

Things are not the same, alot of the old timers left a long time ago but there's still a few here and there

45 posts and a 14 year old member, and now he wants to be Mr Social? Someone has been hacked.

And if you haven't been hacked @GaMeR910 then sorry.

Gamespot's community has basically completely fallen apart. Haven't seen any of the old people I used to pal around with in years. Hell even I left for a while.

45 posts in 14 years, it's obvious GameSpot suffered from lack of activity when you left.

It was a mess.

It depends on how you choose to explain it. Unless there is a memo I have missed. Being rather general. Honestly is anyone asking about OT AH?

very interesting and plausible theory, I should briefly study his current prose, grammar, and diction and compare them to yesteryear (yesterdecade). plus, add the fact that he has yet to respond to this thread other than the initial post. All I am waiting for is for him to provide a link to a FREE PS4 Giveaway contest, and it will all be validated.

You do that.

Meanwhile, I will contact the FBI, CIA, and DHS. Also Batman.

This. I have no idea what prompted this decision, but it was a terrible one.

I do remember you from the old days, though.

Yeah, not much going on here.

This is like my third post in... years.

The problem with After Hours was that GS couldn't decide on how to moderate it.

Pretty much the same thing that happened with the rest of the forums on this site (which of course permanently killed any sort of community here).

Oh wow ! 45 posts in 14 years, what an active member ......

@Celldrax: no body was feeling my “would you suck your own (insert genital here)” thread on OT After Hours.

Wow, and I thought I had a low posts/year ratio.

OTAO basically ended up being MajorMayor making thread after thread trying to justify his homosexuality.

I just came back too. So much has changed. The interface is nice though. Its been awhile.

Man, those were the days. Way too cluttered for what people look for now though.

GameSpot's E3 Coverage was second to none during that generation too. It was a heck of a time.

I'm old now. I pop my head in from time to time, but I don't see anything to keep me engaged. I primarily just recruit writers for my site.