Think of a potential article to grab the attention of a rabid fanboy...

I've recently started linking to our articles from N4G.com, as doing so this last week has seen the site's traffic increase ten fold.

For those of you that haven't ever used the site before, basically it assigns a temperature to articles based on their popularity. And so it appears that really contentious/salacious articles that get a scorching temperature become instantly very popular.

To put this into perspective, my '10 moments that defined gaming' article from last week became the most read article on this site of all time in an afternoon because it got to 150 degree on N4G.

A recent article titled Halo 3 vs Killzone 2 got a temperature of 950 degrees and received over 200 comments.

So my challenge to you guys is to come up with a sure-fire stonker of an article concept that either you or someone else can write that will get the fanboy mouths foaming.

I could re-edit and repost my "games that angered religious folk" article in time for Easter. There's even a new entry for inclusion - some Imagine Babyz-esque game where the baby's babbling turned out to be a pro-Islamic message.

Otherwise:

Chun Li through the ages.
Gaming's skimpiest costumes.
Cammy figurines - an amateur buyer's guide.
Jade Raymond: Portrait of a Producer.

Trolling for hits is a pretty weak way of increasing traffic.

Heh, I just submitted said article NY, let's see if it gets a boost and overtakes my attempt.

Heh, I was just about to actually post something along those lines.

While obviously I'm keen to increase hits, there's a fine balance to doing so and while this is a sure-fire short term way of doing so, I'm reluctant to post any old drivel - I want the articles to at least be attempting if they're going to be contentious.

Meh, it's not like EG doesn't do those pointless screenshot wars.

Heh, just realised, the first word of the last 4 posts goes "heh, heh, meh, heh".

lol, I read the thread title and instantly thought of doing a "Halo vs Killzone" article once I've got my hands on KZ2. :D

Heh... You might be to something there mate, allow me to had:

- Game babe of the week (CGI/Concept art/etc only)
- Useless screenshots/fps face off (720p PS3/360 vs 1080p Uber PC)
- Interviews with Key industry persons slamming the competion games
- scandal reports

I was actually wanting to do a "babe of the month" feature, where I'd find the hottest chick from the last month's releases and post some art, etc., but at the time there was no way of putting images up on the site. Now that Hairy's allowed screenshots, it might be possible to do something like that.


I've been wanting to do something like this, too :)

You said religious gaming scandal reports... I went further... :D

Just check the NamcoBandai shitstorm involving Bottlerocket previous produced Splatterhouse

Sorry, must have edited my post (which didn't make much sense the first time around) just before you quoted it :s

I noticed... :P

I kind of borked the quote unquote system a bit... :D


/is so proud...

Heh, get these sorted in time for SFIV's release, buddy!

I have some, uh, "research material" that could help the Chun-Li one...

Never did EG any harm with all those "PS3 vs 360 - FIGHT!" articles.

Only things I can think of are potential geekbait like spotting game references in popular culture.

Or something with tits in it.

Indeed. Personally I've not got much problem with fanboy-baiting headlines if the article actually has some decent content.

I think in the case of the 360 vs PS3 articles, there was probably only about 1 of 'em that was worth a read (the comparisons between different versions of Burnout Paradise - highlighting what a fucking superb job Criterion did of cross-porting it).

Hmmm how about an article by one of the guys involved in Timesplitters...writing up his impressions about Killzone 2! That's gotta have some legs, right? :)

Jesus. Talk about blatant.

If I'd bothered to write anything vaguely controversial. Also after Haze it's official that nobody cares what I think anymore. Which actually is a situation I'm quite happy with because it means I can express my opinion without getting leapt upon the whole goddamned time. :)

I await the '10 Reasons Why Doak is a Douche' article then. :P

A Gamasutra style Postmortem on Haze would be interesting though. I found the one for Jurassic Park : Trespasser very entertaining.

ooooh, that was a pretty good read. got me all interested in the game and everything :)

You can watch someone play it too. If you so desire.

#1: Facility level, invincibility cheat, Goldeneye 007.

Any article which dares to suggest that the PS3 isn't going to 'win' this generation (either because the Wii is trouncing everyone else or the simple truth that it's too pricey and it actually has effective competition from MS this generation) tends to rouse the rabid fanboys.

Or, generally, just reporting what's actually happening.

Well I tried.

It's probably only going to upset the Alpha Protocol lot but stuff 'em, they're meanies anyway.

Yeah, I'd say that Alpha Protocol was the one game on that list that feels out of place.

Oh aye, I'd quite like to do something like that actually, certainly got plenty of tales to tell!

But if I did it I would be sacked and then very thoroughly sued in quick succession, probably not the best approach to career progression. :)

TBH Obsidian are a nasty bunch (well their mouthpiece is anyway) so it deserves to be ass-reamed by The Agency.

"Why the joint Walmart/Hitachi new console will kill the Playstation, 360, and wii in the UK and Europe this coming Christmas"

It'll be entirely theoretical, but no point in mentioning that until you get the clickthrough :D

A single player multiplatform RPG is hardly going for quite the same market as an MMO shooter, The Agency is looking pretty poor anyway.