Zero Punctuation Decline In Popularity

[Eagle Est1986]

It is maybe because those earlier videos used to have comments filled with "first!", "second, lol", "Wow, first page" etc. People don't really do that anymore, thanks to the staff's hard work, hence there's a lot less comments.

As testament to his review, last week the entire site was crashing due to, one can safely assume, weight of traffic. That was around 5.00 to 6.00 The time directly after Yahtzee posts his latest offering.

 

[Virgil]

Anyway onto the matter at hand. Maybe its just me but has anyone else noticed a significant decline in the amount of people watching Zero Punctuation?

Nope

Could any "official" people share some viewing statistics? No...?

Nope

http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation

Traffic figures, happy? Page views is the third tab. It's not a perfect measure, but statistically I imagine it should be fine.

Alexa is wildly inaccurate because of the way they gather data. Quantcast is better, though still not perfect.

I just hope escapist doesn't delete all his old videos

That would be kind of dumb. I mean, we even kept the videos from Videogame Theater [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/videogame-theater].

 

[cianer]

How bout you shut up.

Wow, you're gonna get far around here with that attitude, tell me, what's bothering you?
People not agreeing with you? Or actually disproving your claims?

He's just trolling. Trolling quite successfully too since there are 123 posts over 4 pages at time of writing this. Ignore him and he'll get bored and go away.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

SSBB has something of a cult following, yet Yahtzee tore into as if it was a mediocre fighter with a cheap novelty concept (oh how true that statement, to an extent) which angered those who expected him to praise the game as if it were Halo - which he ironically dethroned. Fable II however has cited much disappointment amongst its fans, must of whom agree the game was a general letdown. Wait until Little Big Planet or if he is willing, Final Fantasy XIII are ripped upon, then you will witness the cult assault once again.

Not to mention, negative feedback is on average more common then positive.

 

[anti_strunt]

Could any "official" people share some viewing statistics? No...?

Nope

Oh, well.

I'll keep watching anyway. Don't cost me anything...

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Meh, he's overly caustic and devoted to comedy but he always raises valid criticism and tends to frame most "bad" games within his own opinion. I'll keep watching, because he's funny.

 

[KarmicToast]

I am possibly the biggest SSB fan in the world, and *at the time* when SSBB came out-it could do no wrong (though I have since changed my mind) I still thought that review was one of my favorites. Whenever people have never seen him before I always start them on that. And as far as "attacking the fans" is concerned...that's BS. Did you hear those emails? They attacked first, he was just hitting back. What did anyone expect him to do? He is Yahtzee Fucking Croshaw for fuck's sake. He wears a smarmy hat! He wasn't just going to lie down and take all of those dumb responses! That's what he does, and what he is great at.

 

[Limasol]

I do think that there is an increasing attitude towards bitching on the guy recently. A vast majority of the people get tired of the joke after a few episodes. The ones posting here are the religious minority. Some people think he is a flash in the pan and after the initial refreshing introduction to the humour its just meh now. I watch his vids every week but its been a while since ive actually thought that one stood out

 

[GonzoGamer]

I don't comment on ZP but I still watch.

I've never gotten angry at Yahtzee for tearing apart a game I like; I actually find it funny because he usually picks on bits that I didn't mind but overlooks my peeves.

The only time a ZP review made me angry is when Yahtzee talked about how cheap and crappy No More Heroes was THEN recommends everyone buy it. Actually, it didn't make me angry, just disappointed: he lost a lot of cred with me for making that tedious grindfest even more overrated; as if it needed help.

I also don't like the new intro and miss the unpredictable intro that urged me to turn the volume up not down.

However, the reviews are still hilarious and thats why I watch.

 

[GenHellspawn]

How bout you shut up.

Wow, you're gonna get far around here with that attitude, tell me, what's bothering you?
People not agreeing with you? Or actually disproving your claims?

Yes, Richard, you really needed that ego boost didn't you?
You're slightly less retarded then some idiot that comes in and randomly tells everybody to shut up. Want a medal?

 

[GenHellspawn]

Nope, already got mine.
So, how was your day? Any problems at school chum? Got beaten up?
Show me on this doll where Mr. Longbottom touched you...

Because I really can't see any other explanation for the way you just lashed out at me. Anyways it's up to you and your psychiatrist to resolve.

lolwut? It's called The Internet. Simmer down, junior.

 

[GenHellspawn]

Tsk tsk, you're flame baiting, but alright, if you want to play it that way well, I'll just go ahead and ignore your posts.

Well, maybe something to consider would be...I don't know...not flaming back? If you see a giant sign in the middle of a public square that says "Kill everybody wearing blue" do you heed it's advice?

 

[Librarian Mike]

I think Yahtzee is good for gaming, in that he offers a counterpoint to most game criticism which is overly forgiving of flaws. I mean if a game gets a 7/10 with most sites/magazines, there's a good chance it has some serious problems. After all, that guy from Gamespot got fired for saying that Kane and Lynch was essentially 'pretty good'. He didn't rip it, but pointed out a few issues with the gameplay. For that reason, I think gaming needs Yahtzee.

At the end of the day though, he's just giving an opinion. I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but as long as his stuff is funny and informative I'll keep watching.

 

[Padawanabee]

Tsk tsk, you're flame baiting, but alright, if you want to play it that way well, I'll just go ahead and ignore your posts.

Well, maybe something to consider would be...I don't know...not flaming back? If you see a giant sign in the middle of a public square that says "Kill everybody wearing blue" do you heed it's advice?

Yes.

 

[Crazyshak48]

To get back on the topic, I think that if there has been a decline in Yahtzee's number of viewers (which I don't think there has been, but I'll roll with it for argument's sake), I think it has more to do with 2008 being a mediocre year in gaming. Yahtzee states that himself in the E3 review. Nothing really good has come out in a while. Who really gave a crap about Haze or Too Human? I suspect that once he reviews Fallout 3, Little Big Planet, and Gears of War 2 we'll see a further increase in viewers and a resurgence of his classic mulching of big name games. And if he actually takes the plunge and reviews FFXIII...I can smell the bile already

And as for stuff like Halo and SSBB, anything that gets overwhelmingly positive reviews from the gaming establishment is painting a target on themselves with the caption "I want Yahtzee to eviscerate me." He just takes their high scores as a challenge to pick every possible nit he can find. I believe that helps my earlier argument as well, since with the possible exception of Dead Space there just hasn't been anything worth raving about lately.

 

[The Wooster]

I think Yahtzee is good for gaming, in that he offers a counterpoint to most game criticism which is overly forgiving of flaws. I mean if a game gets a 7/10 with most sites/magazines, there's a good chance it has some serious problems. After all, that guy from Gamespot got fired for saying that Kane and Lynch was essentially 'pretty good'. He didn't rip it, but pointed out a few issues with the gameplay.

As much as I'd love to jump on the whole 'Gamespot fired him for the cash' bandwagon (I don't think it's an unreasonable conclusion) I've seen Gertsman's review and it's amateurish, badly structured and vulgar for a profesional review. I wouldn't want a review like that on my site.

As for Yahtzee. I honestly don't know. Either I'm kind of burnt out on him right now or I'm developing a nasty case of envy seeing as I write in a similar manner myself. Eitherway the last few reviews haven't been as hilarious as I remember the earlier ones being. But like I said, it's probably just me.

 

[The Wooster]

As much as I'd love to jump on the whole 'Gamespot fired him for the cash' bandwagon (I don't think it's an unreasonable conclusion) I've seen Gertsman's review and it's amateurish, badly structured and vulgar for a profesional review. I wouldn't want a review like that on my site.

Yeah, but it's the badly structured vulgar unprofessional reviewers who become famous. That's the kind of person you ~do~ want on your site.

Not really. It's funny reviewers that get famous. I can go read a million vulgar reviews on the GAMEFAQ forums or on Something Awful, what's usually missing is talent.