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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.

Click here to start a new discussion thread


GMR Magazine[edit]

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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)[edit]

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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

Final Weapon[edit]

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

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

GameLuster as a source?[edit]

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)[reply]

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)[reply]
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)[reply]

Beebom[edit]

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

@Supergrey1 (I know its been a while since this was posted and to no response until now) Since Beebom also covers things outside the video game sphere, it may be better to ask this at Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard instead. JuniperChill (talk) 14:49, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your suggestion. Still, I'm rather unfamiliar with WP:RS/N on English Wikipedia, so I may just have to trouble others to submit it. Supergrey1 (talk) 14:46, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Nintendo Blast (Brazilian Website)[edit]

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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)[reply]

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)[reply]
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)[reply]

80 Level[edit]

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There is seemingly no prior discussion on this source. Is it reliable? — 🌙Eclipse (talk) (contribs) 19:37, 18 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Remap Radio has articles now[edit]

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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)[reply]

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)[reply]
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)[reply]

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

Punished Backlog[edit]

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

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)[reply]
I am not saying that this website is reliable (since its not anywhere in VG/S). I am saying it looks like one because this review from Octopath Traveler II just yesterday is a long one, and if you look at that website, it goes pretty in depth. I am also asking because I cannot find this anywhere in VG/S or its archive. JuniperChill (talk) 09:40, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Looks neat and "reviews are in-depth" are not really hallmarks of WP:RS. Axem, and other participants, are looking for the nominator of a site to present what they believe makes a site reliable or unreliable. We do have a staff page which is in far better shape than many sites posted here, but not a lot of credentials or experience for anyone outside this site. Their "Write for Us" page though is asking for volunteers for "blog contributors". It doesn't seem like they just take open user submissions though. No editorial policy is evident. I'm not seeing any evidence that other reliable sources are quoting them. All in all, feels like a well done but still young group blog. -- ferret (talk) 14:08, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Ferret: The site's reviews are used by OpenCritic, if that helps. Not very many previous jobs are listed for the writers, but most of them at least list a college education. I think it is unrealistic to require a source to hire former writers for reliable sources to become one, since not many of those writers are going to want to leave a good job like that. QuicoleJR (talk) 16:39, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It does not. OpenCritic and MetaCritic have many sources we consider unreliable. -- ferret (talk) 16:46, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Still, some of their employees, including the founder, do have some experience. I think it seems reliable enough, although I understand that that opinion may not be universal. QuicoleJR (talk) 19:17, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Also, the founder apparently writes for RPGFan, and Alyssa Payne has experience at The Escapist and TheGamer, so that helps. QuicoleJR (talk) 16:41, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Is it finally time to include the Punished Backlog into the main page? It looks like this has been thru a proper discussion to finally include it. It seems like its possibly a reliable source now. JuniperChill (talk) 13:19, 7 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This discussion is at best inconclusive. I do not believe a history of reputation and fact checking has been demonstrated, per my comment above. I'm not seeing any evidence that other reliable sources are quoting them. All in all, feels like a well done but still young group blog.. So consider this a clear Unreliable for now. -- ferret (talk) 14:16, 7 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I would agree that this discussion should be considered inconclusive. QuicoleJR (talk) 14:17, 7 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
End of the day, no one countered any of the points I brought up. Low credentials (only a couple with more established presence), no editorial policy, no reputation, references to self as a blog, unpaid volunteers. -- ferret (talk) 14:21, 7 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

OnlySP/Only Single Player[edit]

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Stumbled across this cited on Desmond Miles. The site is defunct, but while the article in question was decently written ([2]), looking at the Staff page (which was apparently under construction for awhile) and the About Us page doesn't given the highest confidence as it leaves me to worry it's more just a project between friends. Checking the EiC's background too turned up nothing I could fine other than some mentions of other writing and the usual "professional gamer" stuff.

Hoping I'm missing something here. Kung Fu Man (talk) 14:11, 2 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Cult of Mac[edit]

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I'm currently looking for sources to verify statements in the Geometry Dash article and came across this website. One of the editors wrote a book that seems to have been published by a reputable company. The other editor worked at Wired, so I really would not see why this source is unreliable at all. — 🌙Eclipse (talk) (contribs) 14:53, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Leander Kahney is a reputable journalist and The Cult of Mac is a decent source, but I'm not really sure that applies to the web site, which comes off to me as a discount-Apple Insider or Macrumors (sources which I try and avoid where possible on Apple tech articles here.) Couldn't find an editorial policy anywhere, as well. Is there any examples you have of more clearly-reliable sources referencing its coverage? Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs talk 15:41, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There's mentions of the website on al-Jazzera, Engadget, and Wired. — 🌙Eclipse (talk) (contribs) 16:12, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
(courtesy pinging @David Fuchs) — 🌙Eclipse (talk) (contribs) 16:16, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think the above mostly speak to Kahney's reliability, rather than the Cult of Mac site itself. Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs talk 14:56, 5 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Deadline[edit]

I've seen this source that have been used almost everywhere and it feels like we need a consensus for this if this is reliable or not. 🍕Boneless Pizza!🍕 (🔔) 02:37, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Deadline is a reliable source per WP:RSP, a discussion here isn't necessary in my opinion. λ NegativeMP1 02:40, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yup, see WP:RSPDEADLINE. I see no reason why it would be different for video games. Sergecross73 msg me 02:42, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Can we list it in the page here in vg sources that it is reliable. Thanks. 🍕Boneless Pizza!🍕 (🔔) 02:54, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure why we would, since it barely covers video games (only 14 articles this year, mostly about strikes, layoffs, and acquisitions). It seems unnecessary to list a non-VG source that's already covered at WP:RSP. – Rhain ☔ (he/him) 03:03, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Fair enough 🍕Boneless Pizza!🍕 (🔔) 03:12, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Cheat Code Central (redux)[edit]

Find video game sources: "Cheat Code Central" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR · free images · free news sources · TWL · NYT · WP reference · VG/RS · VG/RL · WPVG/Talk · LinkSearch · LinkTo I was cleaning something up and saw this cited and was about to remove the article before I recognized the author's name, Jenni Lada, on the page. She's a longtime Siliconera writer, and currently their Editor in Chief. Looking a bit deeper, I noticed the last time the site was discussed on here was 2015, and checking wayback the site at the time didn't have a staff page. Now it appears to, listing an editor with some credentials, and the website's publisher, which lists it's own staff here. There's a section at the bottom that lists the writers, and going to their individual pages they appear to have some credentials as well.

Is it worth reconsidering after all this time? Kung Fu Man (talk) 03:52, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

EDIT: To clarify, I am suggesting more in the lines of their editorial pieces such as this, not the list barrage.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 04:09, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I know I've been against them in the past, but that was back in the early 2010s, and they seemed to be churning out some really low-quality listicle type stuff for Sonic the Hedgehog related articles. Things do change though, so I'm open to discussing further, to see if there's a way to draw the line differently now... Sergecross73 msg me 16:35, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Garaph[edit]

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According to the website, it lists "Japanese video game sales data" and I can't find it on Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Sources so I believe its reliability is to be discussed especially as it is used in the Mario Party 4 good article. DanganMachin (talk) 12:45, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  • I could check the archived page, but it wasn't letting me load the page itself to investigate beyond that. I believe the only reliable sales trackers for Japan are Media Create and Famitsu, so I'm guessing probably not. FYI, the citation in the Mario Party 4 mentions Media Create in some capacity, so maybe the sales figure could be found from them? Media create wasn't mentioned anywhere in the actual archived Garaph link though, so its unclear to me what its referring to. There's a chance that this is some sort of fan's compilation of Media Create's data too, which would not be acceptable for use unless, again, it could be pulled directly from Media Create in some direct, non-WP:OR way. Sergecross73 msg me 17:12, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The Game of Nerds[edit]

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This is another website used in the Mario Party 4 good article which is absent from Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Sources. Articles seem to be user-generated but I am not sure. DanganMachin (talk) 12:51, 12 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

  • Unreliable per their About Us page, which explains that the website was just created by someone who wanted somewhere to discuss nerdy stuff (their words, not mine) and that most of the writers are just random enthusiasts who signed up to write stuff too. Doesn't appear to be a professional publication. Sergecross73 msg me 17:04, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Game Donga[edit]

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Game Donga is a video game-focused news website based in South Korea and established in 2004. It's a joint venture of Donga Dotcom and "Game Gru", the latter of which I can't find any information of. Donga Dotcom is a digital publication division of The Dong-A Ilbo, a newspaper founded in 1920 and a well known news media. However, its About Us page and nature of being a joint venture suggest The Dong-A Ilbo has little-to-none direct quality control over this website. It has been rebranded to IT Donga since 2018, but the website itself including the URL still goes by Game Donga.

About Us lists the current journalists working for this particular group, but most of their introduction reveal little about their career. The editor-in-chief, Jeong Dongbeom (정동범), has no known record before joining Game Donga. One notable journalist is Jo Hakdong (조학동), who has a LinkedIn page. He appears to be one of general managers, claims to be Virtua Fighter 3 tournament winner, and co-authored a book, Smart Phone Game Global Service Guide, published by Korea Creative Content Agency. I found the digital copy on the agency's homepage, but I can't find his name in this and therefore can't tell if he really wrote this. As far as I know, none of these personnels had any turstworthy journalism experience prior. I could't find editorial policy.

And the articles... I figured any recap would be underselling what's going on in this website, so I'm gonna translate a few:

  1. (Review) Diablo 4 beta test... No innovation, more PC (March 29, 2023) - A preview report on the beta version of Diablo IV, the author thinks its character selection screen, most of which were generated as black characters for him, is forcing PC (political correctness; this word generally shows up a lot) on him. The Druid reminded him of Disney's 2023 film The Little Mermaid and made him decide not to look forward to the full release.
  2. We hate ugly characters! Gamers changing the characters to enjoy the game (February 29, 2024) - The first paragraph opens with the author's own insight into the current video gaming, in which too much PC caused backlash because the characters in video games suddenly turn gay or lesbian as if there's an LGBT quota to meet. He cites Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West and a female character in the 2025 Fable reboot (he's probably talking about this trailer) as prime examples of intentionally destroying character's attractiveness to appease false political correctness. The article talks about mods for Baldur's Gate 3, Hogwart Legacy, and Cyberpunk 2077 that make the characters attractive, and notes video games should look for gamers who want to meet pretty characters.
  3. (Video) No forced political correctness! A Steam curator snipes PC organization (March 6, 2024) - An article about Sweet Baby Inc. It introduces the company as "video game narrative developer who injects political correctness in their works". The author sympathizes with the goal of the Steam curator and says this kind of curator emerged because people were getting fed up with forced PC.
  4. Shift Up's Stella Blade rises as an opposition against woke video games (April 5, 2024) - A report on Stella Blade's launch, the article shifts its topic to external controversies in the halfway, highlighting IGN France's reports. It argues its protagonist, Eve, has offended people driven by PC and drew undeserved criticisms, and in response, the gamers tired of PC have now gathered to fight back, all over the world. As an example, the author attached an screenshot of a tweet that photoshops Eve as a fat woman.

I should mention these were written by three different authors, one of which is Jo Hakdong I mentioned earlier, who did Article 1.

My verdict on Game Donga is that it fails WP:RS to be of any use. Despite its connection with reputable Dong-A Ilbo, this was barely translated into creating useful contents and the website is run by people without credentials, a fact clearly shown in its articles, providing on flame baits rather than actual reporting. It has a habit of information laundering, like Article 4, which tries to spin a tweet by insignificant person as a general opinion even though there's no grounded proof to assume so. I suggest this website be marked unreliable. Emiya Mulzomdao (talk) 13:48, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Going just on what's presented here, I'd have to say unreliable. That said, if you have the expertise to evaluate Korean sources, please continue to do so! We desperately need vetted and reliable non-English sourcing. -- ferret (talk) 14:11, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Unreliable per the lack of editorial policy and writers with professional credentials. Sergecross73 msg me 16:53, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Fanbyte 2[edit]

It seems the media apocalypse has claimed another one. :( This was previously discussed at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Video_games/Sources/Archive_25#Fanbyte , which leaned toward maybe reliable since it had some known names on the "About" page (2022 version), and Fanbyte is currently marked "other reliable". Unfortunately, lots (all?) of these names don't appear to work there anymore, including EIC Danielle Riendeau (https://twitter.com/Danielleri says she's at GameDev, https://x.com/imranzomg?lang=en says "formerly" Fanbyte, https://x.com/hunktears says "formerly" Fanbyte). If we advance to the 2023 version, their about page is merely a redirect to their bare-bones help page about subscriptions to WOWhead and refunds and such. And after mid-2023, they took down the About page entirely. The current Fanbyte front page is just game-guidey stuff for a handful of popular games designed to match search terms ("Best Build for Lyney Main DPS", "Best Build for Arlecchino Main DPS", etc.). Anna Koselke appears to be a known name at least, but she's also churning out listicles. It unfortunately seems clear that some savage cutbacks happened, and they're just barely keeping the lights on with low-effort, low-paid stuff. I think that Fanbyte post-2023 should probably be downgraded to situational. SnowFire (talk) 06:13, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I thought we actually already had a conversation that essentially supported this recently. Or maybe it stalled out before a decision was made? Sergecross73 msg me 12:01, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Checking the archives: Oh, it's at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Video_games/Sources/Archive_30#Fanbyte. Yeah this already came up, but it looks like the section was quietly archived - the main WP:VG/RS page does not link to the 2nd discussion and still marks Fanbyte as reliable, which is why I didn't know it'd occurred. SnowFire (talk) 16:36, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Gotcha, I wondered if that's what happened, but didn't have the time to dig it up earlier. Anyways, I agree with what you're saying and what we were saying at that discussion. Unless there's any new opposition, I think we've got enough support for it. Sergecross73 msg me 16:44, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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