I wouldn't ordinarily do this but, rather frustratingly, my feedback seems to be falling on deaf-ears elsewhere, so thought it best to create a post in the hope that someone, somewhere might take this constructive criticism on board.
For a bit of background, I was first attracted to this site through Alex's excellent and entertaining YouTube videos - I stayed for the high quality articles - and signed up when I saw the well-moderated forums here. Nintendo Life has since become my #1 most visited website - so please know that I'm only offering the below thoughts because I'm a fan and I care.
Whilst the YouTube channel is as entertaining as ever - and the forums are still a friendly environment to discuss all-things-Nintendo with like-minded people - the overall quality of the content on this site seems to have fallen somewhat and I think it needs addressing.
Take this article, for example - just one of a few recently that I believe have fallen below Nintendo Life's usual standards. The title of this article is 'Chrom And Dark Samus Appear As Echo Fighters In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' - as someone who has never played a Fire Emblem game before, I clicked in the hope of at least being able to find out who Chrom is and which specific game(s) they have been in - but learned nothing. The article is devoid of information - essentially little more than just repeating the title and asking for comment. To be quite honest, I felt duped in to clicking something for the sake of an extra click.
I tried approaching the author directly (because, it pains me to say, they seem to do this more often than most) but they chose to ignore my criticism and spin me some line about having to generate clicks 'to keep a roof over our heads' instead. I appreciate that 'clicks' are a major source of revenue for you guys - but if the articles fall below a certain standard, people will stop clicking. I learned nothing from clicking the 'Chrom and Dark Samus..' article - the bare minimum I expected was to come away at least knowing who those characters (in my case, Chrom) are - but I was left none-the-wiser. Considering how impressed I've been with the quality of the content on this website over the years (and still am a lot of the time) it - and others like it - are disappointing to see.
As I say, I'm only writing this because I'm a fan and I care. I just feel that, as a minimum, each article should contain at least a little bit of relevant information - to use the above as an example again, just a line or two on who Chrom and Dark Samus are would've made it worth the read and had me coming away feeling as though it was worth the click. I'm sure that, on days of Direct's, there's a lot of news to get through and you may be a bit more pressed than usual to get these stories out there - but please ensure that the articles are least worth reading.
I don't want this to turn in to some kind of slanging match - I'm just offering a bit of feedback that I hope will be taken constructively. I've become a fan of this site, above all others, because of the quality of the editorial content - I just want that to continue. The quality is still there - the recent review of Minit, for example, made for a truly excellent read - but, in recent times, some lower quality content seems to have been slipping through the net.
You guys get far more right than you do wrong around here, but I hope you can take this on board nonetheless
Hey there. I can't speak for the website itself - and as a fairly new writer here at NL - but we always appreciate feedback whether it be good, bad or indifferent. Thank you for taking the time to write a constructive piece of feedback where it's clear you're passionate for one of your favourite Nintendo websites. I shall flag this to the team.
@NaviAndMii thanks for the feedback, we'll certainly take that on board.
There's a couple of bits of context that I think was worth mentioning. Firstly, whenever there is a Nintendo Direct we try to get an article for the key/main announcements. The reason for this is that people can then see at a glance all the key talking points and then we can expand upon it within the article and it gives people a place to talk about it.
I can see that sometimes the way things are broken down can then appear to have some "thin" articles such as this. That comes down to how the editors decide to break things down into manageable chunks of content. I agree though, in this instance, the article could have expanded on who those characters are and give a bit more background.
The other driving force is speed; we often get criticised for being too slow compared to other Nintendo sites. This is usually down to the fact that we do take longer than others to put real content into the article, rather than a couple of sentences and a link.
Combining those two factors probably gives you the answer for the example you've raised.
It's a little disingenuous to accuse the author of going for the clicks, it's extremely frustrating for us when we're accused of such things because it simply isn't the case. Hopefully the above gives you some insight into how things came to be.
Anyway, thanks again for the constructive feedback (we do appreciate it!) and I'll make sure the relevant people get to see it.
Thanks for taking the time to reply @antdickens - much appreciated!
I totally understand that my initial feedback may have been a little blunt - I should've taken the time to be a bit more constructive - but, just on this point:
It's a little disingenuous to accuse the author of going for the clicks, it's extremely frustrating for us when we're accused of such things because it simply isn't the case. Hopefully the above gives you some insight into how things came to be.
...the only reason I made the 'accusation' is because that's how it sometimes comes across - when an article is totally devoid of content (on a site which relies on clicks for revenue) it can almost feel as though you've been 'duped' in to clicking - especially when you see repeated instances.
I hope that you can see what I mean with the recent 'Chrom and Dark Samus..' article I mentioned above - NintendoEverything managed to provide more detail in just one sentence than the author of the above did in five.
"Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has revealed a pair of new Echo Fighters. Chrom from Fire Emblem and Dark Samus from Metroid will be in the game."
...not a great 'article', by anyone's standards - but it at least had a little bit of relevant information to take away.
It's simply just a request to see some actual 'content' in each piece of content.
I don't want to 'make a mountain out of a molehill' here - I'm a fan, and have far more praise than criticism for this site - I just felt it worth my time to sit down and put my thoughts down properly in the hope that the site can offer an improved experience going forward.
I definitely appreciate the points you made - I totally understand that there is pressure to get stuff out there - but it's not worth sacrificing your otherwise high standards for.
That's all - for the most part though, keep up the good great work! ..and thanks again for taking the time to read and reply - it means a lot!
@NaviAndMii no problem, I've always welcomed feedback (good and bad!) and therefore appreciate the time you put aside to give the feedback, there's never any hard feelings. You're just trying to help.
Again, thanks for making your points and they have been passed on to the team
@NaviAndMii I think it's fair to forgive a site blurting out headlines during a direct. Folk will find that useful. If it was a piece posted much later (with time for thought!) then your point is hilariously accurate.
I never drive faster than I can see. Besides, it's all in the reflexes.
@GrailUK No, to be fair, that particular example was posted in the hectic aftermath of the Direct - just, since it was so short, it was maybe worth a quick proof read before being published, that's all! Not a major issue by any means though - the overall standard of the overwhelming majority of the content ranged from good to excellent, as always
The responses from both @Richard_Atkinson and @antdickens were both prompt and reassuring - I felt it worth raising, but I've been left more than satisfied with the replies!
@antdickens@Richard_Atkinson firstly I'd just like to say I'm a big fan of the site. I first discovered the site during E3 2014 while looking for coverage of the big events. I quickly found myself using only this site for my Nintendo news fix and soon after found the forums to be just as great. It has only occured to me tonight to take the time to pass on my gratitude for taking the time to produce such a great sight. I think you all receive a lot of undue criticism in the comments section of articles but I appreciate that articles are more than a screenshot two lines of text and a link even if that means articles take a little more time. I really enjoy your features articles especially on retro content maybe any chance of more of that?? I've also noticed a big improvment in weekend content which I imagine has been hard on some of the team putting in more hours so again its appreciated. I wouldn't call the site perfect because well there isn't a perfect site anywhere but you guys are certainly the best Nintendo site around.
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Topic: Falling standards
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