1UP.com: CAGs Feedback Requested!

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CheapyD

CheapyD

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The folks at www.1up.com have asked me to get some feedback from the CAGs on their website.
Your help is greatly appreciated.

Spend some time checking out the various features of the site and kindly answer these questions.

1) Why would or wouldn't you use 1up.com

2) What specifically would you visit 1up.com for?
What wouldn't you vist 1up.com for?

3) When you visit, what sections do you typically visit? Can you find what you are looking for? What components do you like, what would you like to see different or what is not there that should be?
 
1. I won't use 1up anymore cause they screwed their dialup users and implemented a bloated, unnecessarily graphics heavy design only for the sake of making it look cool - which it doesn't do. The new format is not user friendly and finding things is a mission.

2. I used to go their for news, articles, reviews and previews.

3. I visited the areas mentioned above, finding things is difficult, and I would like to see the simple dialup friendly interface they had before.
 
I'm on DSL, and I still think 1up is too bloated.

Also I can't middle-click on a link on their site and have it open up in a new browser tab. Thats a deal killer for me.
 
1. I used to love their old site but their new site is too busy with animations and rolling menues. The white background is horrible to have to look at on a site and it seems more about the blogs than anything else.

2. I used to visit to look at news, review scores, and previews and screenshots. It seems like to much trouble now so I barely do.

3. I still have them on my favorites (after CAG of course) and I go every other day actually hoping they change back to their old style or an updated version of that. They could have just made it a little cleaner or slightly brighten up the colors but the new version seems horrible to me. I find myself going to GameSpot for reviews now more often.

I hope these help them go back to being the best site for videogames news and such :D
 
I'd like to echo the sentiments expressed above. I used to enjoy 1up.com's site, particularly the classics area. Once the new design was unveiled, it took me a few days of brief visits before I even discovered where they had moved the classics. Once there, I had additional difficulty finding the essential 50 feature article, with priority being given to a gripe column, "I want my money back!". They need to go back to usability studies and take a look at what they've done wrong. All of the features I looked for previously have been hidden away.
 
For some reason, every once in a while when I want to visit the 1up forums it says I'm banned, even though I had never posted before.
 
[quote name='CheapyD']1) Why would or wouldn't you use 1up.com[/quote]

I'd like to get some free streaming video content, video reviews if possible that dont talk down to its audience. They're fun, 1up can run ads in them for the cost, and it would give Gamespot a run for its money. I'm not gonna pay to stream "exclusive" stuff.... no way. Its all media to promote the sale of the products. Stream it for free! 1up sells ads, and publishers sell games. Gamers get happy.


[quote name='CheapyD']2) What specifically would you visit 1up.com for?
What wouldn't you vist 1up.com for?[/quote]
Defintately not for reviews at this point. That section is currently so horribly arranged and twisted, I can't tell who the heck is reviewing what (and from what Ziff-Davs publication they are hailing from).

[quote name='CheapyD']3) When you visit, what sections do you typically visit? Can you find what you are looking for? What components do you like, what would you like to see different or what is not there that should be[/quote]

I really only tend to check 1up's news radar, but honestly this new design works so poorly that I now cross my fingers in hopes that I'll actually be able to find the stories I'm looking for.

The BLOGs on 1up have been great to read though, but a pain in the arse to want to create my own, thanks to 1Up's navigation.

In other words, ad some video, retain the great media coverage 1up is known for, but work on the awful navigation system especially in reviews.

Thanks!
 
[quote name='CheapyD']1) Why would or wouldn't you use 1up.com[/quote]

It doesn't get through my office filters. Ask them to change their meta tags! CAG is the only game-related site that I can get to from work, I'd visit 1up.com every day if they could sneak through like CAG has.
 
Well I've never really gone to 1up and I just did for the first time. And the front page had so much crap on it, I cloesed the window as soon as it got done loading. Man how much crap do they want me take in ? I feel sorry for the dialup kids who have to wait for all that stuff to load. Why is it so hard to find a video game web site that is set up like a news paper ?
 
I work for a competing web site and I understand the challenge in trying to design a page with a good amount of information, but this page is a little out of control. The Flash window is a cool feature and I really like the top ten and how it works, but after that the site is a Gamespy like mess. Personally I would try and add some more color into the mix. The BG pattern looks pretty generic, I know the style they were shooting for but I would say that they missed. I still can't figure out what the draw of the blogs is. Are you a game site or a community site? Pick one and stick with it. I feel like GameSpot does a better job at putting games first and community second so just rip them off, everyone else does. And no I don't work for GameSpot but I have to give them credit where it is due.
 
Lately I have been very frustrated with 1up.com. I used to visit their site on a daily basis but now I rarely if at all go.

1) I think the site is way too busy and needs to be toned down a bit. Too much graphics and flash and I am using a T1. There is also a lot of information on the site and it can get confusing trying to find what you are looking for. Their site has also been down every day for the past week at some point in the day, but maybe they are fixing stuff so I guess I will let them pass on this.

2) I would visit 1up.com for the reviews and updated game related news stories. I have since migrated over to www.gamespot.com and www.ign.com for this though. I have no patience for sites that are down, slow and or confusing to navigate.

3) Reviews, news....
 
Thank god I already have their advertising adblocked or it would have taken even longer to load...

Have you ever seen the Saturday Night Live skit of MSNBC, where they have so many windows, scrollbars, and graphs, that you can't see the anchors anymore? 1up is kind of like that. Way too much Flash. I like the white background a lot though, looks very clean and professional, very few gaming sites use it.

Also, finding reviews requires me to jump through more hoops than a show dog. This is something gamespot does well, it has a searchbox on the main page specificly for reviews, and when I type something in, it actually -finds- the game I want. The reviews page has this stupid flash search that takes forever. And you can't browse by letter. You can sort them in alphabetical order, but you have to go to page 5, 6, 7, instead of A, B, C, or D. To make things worse, theres a lot of games they don't have anything about, like Ico. At least none that I could find.

On another note, it would help not to be whores for the industry. They gave Driver 3 an 8.5, out of 10. "Superlative." Its an industrywide problem, and you have to please your advertisers, but without credibility you won't have any readers. After seeing that, I'll certainly have to take future reviews from them with a major grain of salt.

What I'm trying to say is, Keep It Simple, Stupid. Make it easy to find what I'm looking for. And be honest about awful games even if they're your advertisers.
 
[quote name='Scrubking']1. I won't use 1up anymore cause they screwed their dialup users and implemented a bloated, unnecessarily graphics heavy design only for the sake of making it look cool - which it doesn't do. The new format is not user friendly and finding things is a mission.

2. I used to go their for news, articles, reviews and previews.

3. I visited the areas mentioned above, finding things is difficult, and I would like to see the simple dialup friendly interface they had before.[/quote]

CTRL+A, CTRL+C, CTRL+V
 
[quote name='CheapyD']1) Why would or wouldn't you use 1up.com

2) What specifically would you visit 1up.com for?
What wouldn't you vist 1up.com for?

3) When you visit, what sections do you typically visit? Can you find what you are looking for? What components do you like, what would you like to see different or what is not there that should be?[/quote]

1) i will not be using 1up b/c of the annoying advertisements and the bad layout (more specifically the "6 screen" giant video constantly playing in the middle of the screen).

2) i would visit 1up.com for the reviews, but that's basically it. i wouldn't for all the same answers stated for question number 1.

3) i go straight to reviews b/c the i don't have to see most of the ads plastered on the website. this is a hard website to navigate. they need to make it simpler and not so flashy.

EDIT: well said wsb, lol!
 
Thanks for the feedback.
This thread will get forwarded to 1up.com so I appreciate that you guys are offering constructive criticism and not just flaming.

Keep it coming!
 
Wow it looks like the ads take up more screen real estate than the content! Also, I had to click through an ad page just to see the homepage! If you have to do that, at least keep it to the subpages of the site.
 
yeah, based on the ad i had to click on just to get to the homepage, i willnot view your site, it looks like another IGN to me, and the loading times are shit
 
I just went to 1UP.com, and I have to agree with everyone above.

The new layout reminds me of any kid just starting to learn how to use HTML, or Power Point; going all out on the extraneous shit, and not focusing, instead, on how to provide an easy-to-navigate interface. Add to this that it took about three minutes for the page to load on my dial-up broswer, and the inconvenience is just far too apparent. Hell, three times the connection to the page timed out. The adpage to get to the home page is a real nice touch, too.

I used to use 1UP.com to read reviews for the magazines I don't read on a regular basis (OPM, for one), but now I can hardly find them; if I do, I can't tell just who wrote what.

The site, honestly, is a mess. It's classy-looking, for certain, but it's just too damn busy to be user-friendly. If they can cut the crap, maybe I'll consider it. Otherwise, I fail to see the point.
 
I'd be pretty upset if I asked a group of people what they thought and they came back with a response as unified as this.
 
[quote name='Sartori']I'd be pretty upset if I asked a group of people what they thought and they came back with a response as unified as this.[/quote]

I wrote an email, before the new site went up, to the guy creating it and told him what this whole thread basically says. I never got a response.

I hope this thread helps them come to their senses and bring back a decent site layout like before with less ads.
 
The loading takes way too long (56k here) and everything is too cluttered together. I used to go there for Features on upcoming games but I don't go there anymore.
 
Wow,

I do have to say it is a bit slow and I have went to teh site on T1.

Also there is no seperation between areas and witht eh white background it very hard to distinguish what is what. very confusinig..
 
1up is walking down the same path IGN has been heading in the past couple of years. Cram as much content on the page, and in the places you can't fit content throw in an ad or two.

Somewhere someone must be holding a focus group that says end-users enjoy waiting 15 seconds over a broadband connection for the 100k of pointless flash clips and graphics to download. I'd like to find that focus group so I could kick them in the crotch.

Every facet of the site is so unnecessarily busy. Keep It Simple Stupids! I'm finding myself reverting back to print publications (free ones, thanks to CAG) for my news (albeit it's a month old by the time it gets to me), or simple RSS news feeds where I don't have to fight through takeover ads and the like.
 
[quote name='Scrubking']So did 1up ever see this thread, and if so what did they say about the overwhelming opinion?[/quote]

Yes, I have sent the link over and it is being read.
They appreciate the feedback are working on bandwidth/load problems and improved navigation and content layout. There goal is to improve the experience for their core gamer audience.

Watch this thread for more news...

Thanks again, guys.
 
I have the same usual complaints, so no need going over them.

Advertising the blogs has just been lame. I don't care "who can be my friend", I want to read about video games. It seems like a lame excuse for the editors to plaster their faces over the site, for some egotistical reason. And they seem to milk the "hot chicks play games too!" thing as well. Take a gander in the newest EGM to see what I mean.

The reviews I've found to be pretty irrelevant. They're got some great wrtiers, but they're seem to be meant for print, and thus very short. IGN's are much better in this respect.

The news section is definitely the best part.

Occasionally their random articles are recent, but one of them said bad tings about Ys so I can't say I approve.
 
[quote name='Scrubking']Apparently 1up doesn't care about what we had to say since they haven't changed shit on their website.[/quote]

They are working on it...I don't have a timetable though...
 
[quote name='Scrubking']I am 100% convinced now that 1up ain't changing anything. Oh well.[/quote]
I know for a fact that they are. That should lower your percentage a bit.
;)
 
[quote name='Scrubking']I am 100% convinced now that 1up ain't changing anything. Oh well.[/quote]

If you're interested, one of the writers keeps a seperate blog and he had a little insight into it:

Well, you see, once upon a time there was this publishing company who launched a promising gaming website. Soon they decided to improve it, and everyone was excited, because it had enormous potential to be even better. To make the relaunch happen, the publishing company brought in a freelance contractor who referred them to a programming house for whom he had great respect.

But soon terrible things began to happen. The contractor slowly revealed the fact that he didn't know jack about games and in any case had little interest in the welfare of the site -- he was mostly using his role to scam money and boost his ego. The publisher began to realize that many of the programmers didn't know their jobs, and in any case the programmers' boss kept trying to renegotiate more money for previously-promised features which he suddenly decided were "out of scope."

And so the site relaunch loomed, and the people at the publishing company tried to remain optimistic about its potential despite the fact that what they were getting was ugly, slow, broken and altogether completely different than the site they had requested. Soon they were stuck nursing a malfunctioning, nearly-unusable website, which forced the people at the publishing company to work extra long hours to get things working the way they were supposed to (or as close as was possible given the limits of their new site).

A little while later, the publisher realized that people weren't buying many ads this year in anticipation of new console launches next year. So they did what anyone would do in this brave Republican era and laid off a bunch of full-time employees, only to give them work as freelancers -- the same tasks, but without pesky considerations like "benefits" and "stability." The publishing company decided that their website didn't need a reviews editor even though most people look at gaming publications for reviews and they were rapidly approaching the busiest time of the year for reviews. They also decided the site's daily content could easily be provided by a mere three full-time writers and still compete in scope and quality with their competitors, many of whom had three full-time writers for covering news alone.

The three remaining writers, of course, were interested in keeping their jobs, so they adopted 12-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week work habits. But since they were salaried rather than paid by the hour, the publishing company magically got four peoples' worth of work for the price of three!

Then the writers all died from severe ulceration and overwork a few months later. The end.
 
So basically the got ripped on their new site, couldn't afford it, fired everyone and now can't compete with the other guys, but are still going to magically pull a new site out of somewhere?
 
[quote name='Scrubking']So basically the got ripped on their new site, couldn't afford it, fired everyone and now can't compete with the other guys, but are still going to magically pull a new site out of somewhere?[/quote]

They'll force the writers and janitors to make a new one.
 
Yeah I agree that 1up is so full of unnecessary Flash. The main page takes a chunk out of my memory and I'm lucky to have broadband otherwise I couldn't imagine waiting so long, just to click on a few useless Flash links. KISS
 
[quote name='spreadyl']Yeah I agree that 1up is so full of unnecessary Flash. The main page takes a chunk out of my memory and I'm lucky to have broadband otherwise I couldn't imagine waiting so long, just to click on a few useless Flash links. KISS[/quote]

If there was a mobile version of it I'd totally use that instead.
 
I don't mind the GIANORMOUS flash menu system. Somebody obviously took their time on it. I just don't go there because everything is a chore to find. I understand you guys are focusing on the 1up.com blogs, but alot of people will go to websites for there reviews. Also good previews help to, you guys have had some good previews. Bottom line is, IGN.com took there old design and did a minimal change to it and added a rolling flash preview. Everything else stayed the same and it worked great. I really liike your old website alot, but you've made everything harder to see now. For instance i just paused and went to your website. As soon as i get to the front page I'm greeted by a cool looking flash animation previews, totally cool, but what about people who still have dial-up? You've just totally screwed them in the pooch. So, my first suggestion is if you want to have a bling bling front design, don't alienate the people who can't afford the bling bling front design, offer a un-blinged front page.

Now as i said before your stuff is impossible to find, and by stuff i mean reviews. When i loaded up your website just now you know how many reviews i found on the first page? Absolutely ZERO! I find it hard to believe that in the last week you guys have reviewed any games. In fact, ok i take that back when i just went to look i saw at the VERY BOTTOM on the left hand corner you have " Evil genius DR. EVIL: I want sharks with friggin' lazers attached to their heads." Why doesn't it say it's a review? I love going to websites and looking for their reviews first to gage how much i'm going to like the website. I'll usually read one of their old reviews on a game i like alot to see if i'm going to agree with their opinions. On your site it's become your 3rd most important thing.

Lastly, I think you guys need to spread out the website somehow. The site is so damn cluttered when you look at it. Don't go back to the old style 100%, but make it not as ugly to look at. I read the magazine from you guys and that is layed out pretty good, why does your site sorta seem like i'm being forced to look at your stupid polls and top scorers?

If all that was done you could have a pretty amazing website and probably get a ton more hits.

Maynard
 
I like simple web pages that are easy to navigate.

1up was very cluttered with things everywhere. The most organized thing was the very top of the webpage with reviews and what not - but it would be nice to have it organized by console.

Besides that - remove more things from the front page. I don't like that checkered block style of Reviews, Blogs, etc. on the front page. This is just my opinion though.

Simple and clean is how I like it.
 
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