Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games/Sources

See also: Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard

This talk page is for discussing the reliability of sources for use in video game articles. If you are wondering if a video game source is reliable enough to use on Wikipedia, this is the place to ask.

When posting a new topic, please add a link to the topic on the Video Game Sources Checklist after the entry for the site. If an entry for the site does not exist, create one for it and include the link to the topic afterward. Also, begin each topic by adding {{subst:find video game sources|...site name...|linksearch=...site URL...}} in order to provide other users with some easily accessible links to check up on the source.

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GMR Magazine

Find video game sources: "GMR" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · URL... LinkTo

GMR is a Ziff Davis US magazine that provided computer and console game reviews from 2003 to 2005. The magazine had an editorial board and the magazines were closely linked to online content on the 1Up Network website, a reliable source under WP:VG/S. Given the publisher, plenty of the contributors turn up in other reliable sources, such as Greg Orlando, Che Chou and Ryan Scott. The only thing that is unusual is that the magazines were sold in Electronics Boutique. But it's a Ziff Davis publication and the review scores suggest this had no more of an impact on editorial independence than compared to other magazine reviews. You can find all the issues on the Internet Archive.

sportacentrs.com (non-English source)

Find video game sources: "Sporta Centrs" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo

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

Reassessing Hardcore Gamer post-Valnet acquisition

Hardcore Gamer, a currently reliable source that has been considered such for nearly two decades, was purchased by Valnet around a year ago. Knowing the status on Valnet sources here, a new discussion on the status of Hardcore Gamer is needed. Even if they weren't purchased by Valnet, the source was last assessed in 2006.

From what I see, while they publish a lot of game guide content, they still seem to publish decent reviews and appear to publish higher quality content than sites like CBR on average. Maybe it could still generally be used to demonstrate notability even after being purchased by Valnet? Some opinions here would be appreciated. λ NegativeMP1 20:15, 22 April 2024 (UTC)

They still seem okay for now. I agree that their content is higher quality than other Valnet sources. That may change in the future, but if they're still decent today I wouldn't preemptively downgrade them. As a personal anecdote, I really liked Marcus Estrada who covered a lot of niche Japanese/Visual Novel stuff that otherwise wouldn't get much English RS coverage. But it seems like he was a casualty of the Valnet acquisition, so RIP using him as a source. CurlyWi (talk) 18:55, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

I agree. Let's not be too purist about it. Valnet might be a red flag for some people, but it's not an instant disqualification. Organizations don't instantly change the moment they are acquired by new owners, and Hardcore Gaming seems to be holding its level of quality for now. Shooterwalker (talk) 21:21, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Well, I guess that would explain a few things. Some of their articles are terrible. I can't provide links because it's just a passing thought I've had while trying to source articles. If the ratio of good to terrible becomes worse, I guess we can revisit this. It'd be a pain in the ass for me, though, because I lean on this source more than I'd like to demonstrate notability for indie games. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 04:05, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Shouldn't affect previously reliable coverage, but might affect things going forward. Axem Titanium (talk) 22:36, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Final Weapon

Moved from Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games

Final Weapon is also not yet mentioned in WP:VG/S. Is it reliable? Supergrey1 (talk) 02:53, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Quick points to help evaluate:

The CEO Noah Roman isn't particularly qualified in terms of journalism/etc instead having qualifications on the ICT side, but the Managing Editor Raul Ochoa has experience as a News Writer at Games Rant (Valnet, Situational) and a degree in journalism which is somewhat promising at least.

There's no Editorial policy that I can see. They talk a little bit about their ethos and having standards that writers need to meet but that's it.

They note that a large portion of their writers started without any experience.

Their content seems good overall from what I've seen. They're on OpenCritic and have quite a bit of industry access which does indicate a certain minimum level of professionalism and notability, though shouldn't be taken as evidence alone. DarkeruTomoe (talk) 08:25, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

• Unreliable - no editorial policy and largely uncredentialed writers... Sergecross73 msg me 20:48, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

GameLuster as a source?

Currently working on Draft:Papa Louie (game series) and found a great review by GameLuster, but didn't see this listed under any sources or in this talk archive. They seem to have a dedicated writing/senior staff where they do both reviews and game news: https://gameluster.com/

Would love to get input on this source and how reliable it may be. Squiddyonwiki (talk) 20:31, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

I wondered about that too. It sounds like it really could be a candidate for being a reliable source. However It also does not count towards a Metacritic review as evidenced for Papa's Freezeria Deluxe so it may be considered unreliable. But remember that not all metacritic reviews are considered reliable for Wikipedia purposes. JuniperChill (talk) 20:17, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

Wasn't necessarily going to include it in 'review/reception', but many reviews have great additional information about gameplay and characters that I feel are relevant.

While they do have some listicle/Buzzfeed-ish content, their news section seems like good reporting on a variety of games. Would be great to see if others could review their content -- think it would be a great reliable source . Squiddyonwiki (talk) 20:43, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

Beebom

Find video game sources: "Beebom" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo

Is Beebom reliable or not? Supergrey1 (talk) 14:22, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Video Chums

Find video game sources: "Video Chums" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo

Is Video Chums a reliable source? The creator of the site, A.J. Maciejewski, is listed as a source in several articles. The.Kotora (talk) 06:05, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

Nintendo Blast (Brazilian Website)

Find video game sources: "Nintendo Blast" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo

Is Nintendo Blast a reliable non-English source? It's currently used as a source in 10 articles as of this post. The.Kotora (talk) 18:58, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

They have staff. However, they apparently don't have any notable credentials. Some mention having graduated from some universities, but most of them just mention being "big fans of Nintendo" or something. Maybe it could be useful for Brazilian-related topics, but I think there's better options. Skyshiftertalk 19:24, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

On some spot checks, I see Victor Vitório also writes for PSX Brasil (no reliability discussion that I can see but on MetaCritic) and the other high level staff only seem to work for Nintendo Blast and the presumably related GameBlast.com.br. At least one of their regular writers writes for an unreliable site (Ivanir Ignacchitti at NoisyPixel) but the rest of the 10 or so I checked didn't seem to write elsewhere and some only had a few reviews under their belt.

I can't see anything like an Editorial policy which isn't too promising either.

More promising is a few mentions of high education or experience with things like having had books published or some game development experience. DarkeruTomoe (talk) 19:33, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

80 Level

Find video game sources: "80 Level" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo
There is seemingly no prior discussion on this source. Is it reliable? — 🌙Eclipse ^{(talk) (contribs)} 19:37, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Remap Radio has articles now

Find video game sources: "Remap Radio" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo

Former Waypoint/Vice Games folks (Patrick Klepek, Rob Zacny, Ricardo Contreras) started up Remap Radio about a year ago and they've started publishing reported work in recent months. Waypoint is already on our RS list. Some of their reported work includes stuff from Duncan Fyfe (known reliable reporter) and freelance work from Reid McCarter (AV Club, Bullet Points Monthly), Austin Walker (Giant Bomb), and Cameron Kunzelman (Paste, Polygon, etc.). I think this one is an easy pass. Axem Titanium (talk) 17:53, 30 May 2024 (UTC)

I support it, with writers of their credentials. I'm seeing that they write articles, but is the "radio" part suggesting a particular focus on podcasting/sound based content? Sergecross73 msg me 18:16, 30 May 2024 (UTC)

They launched as a podcast only but added articles in the past few months as they found their footing. Axem Titanium (talk) 22:30, 30 May 2024 (UTC)

Link to site [1] Masem (t) 18:21, 30 May 2024 (UTC)

Punished Backlog

Find video game sources: "Punished Backlog" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo

This source seems quite reliable to me. Their reviews are proper, and look neat. JuniperChill (talk) 20:50, 30 May 2024 (UTC)

Can you say a little more? I don't know of these people and it appears to be a very polished college project. That's not an automatic disqualification but I'd need to know more about why they're reliable. Axem Titanium (talk) 22:39, 30 May 2024 (UTC)