Wikipedia Founder Starts "Open Source" Gaming Web Site

Wired Game|Life’s Chris Kohler reports that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has announced the debut of gaming.wikia. Aimed to be an open-source web-magazine for gaming enthusiasts, the site is gearing up to be a mix of user-submitted opinions, cheats, and tips. Gaming.wikia is a component of the Wikia project, which also has sites dedicated to music, cars, and health.

Kohler comments that, “I know that sounds like NeoGAF run amok, but think about it: you can actually go in and edit other users’ articles.” While the site’s content is currently sub par, I’ll have to disagree somewhat with Mr. Kohler. I don’t think it’s NeoGAF run amok; it’s NeoGAF minus the drudge. If its managers can attract a large and intelligent user base that’s diligent about policing itself, then the site can have the all strong opinions and fantastic discourse found in NeoGAF. Best of all, its users would be instrumental in weeding out the angst, name calling, and general havoc that comes with any forum filled with ardent enthusiasts.

The market is already saturated with traditional enthusiast gaming publications. Gaming magazines have been struggling to reach the same ad revenue they enjoyed in the ’90s, partially due to the limitations of the format (long lead times and limited interactivity). GameSpot and IGN dominate the traditional review/preview/news web-site model. If a company is brazen enough to start a new site then a different angle is clearly required. Ziff Davis’ 1Up was able carve its own slice of the pie by highlighmting its editor’s personalities, giving users their own blogs, and fostering heavy interaction between users and editors.

Gaming.wikia is looking to take audience interaction a step further; its users will be the ones driving its success or failure. It’s an interesting gambit, to be sure, and there’s a potential niche to be filled. While there are millions of gaming enthusiasts out there, the question is how many of them care enough to participate in a site like gaming.wikia?

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