Gaming Target - Features: State of the Site Address 2004

Written by Matt Swider on January 24, 2004

State of the Site Address 2004: It may be a take-off of Conan's State of the Show Address, but he ripped-off the President, which is much worse.

As you have no doubt noticed, more than a few things have changed at Gaming Target, namely the look and feel of our site's layout. This redesign has been a long time in coming and because it's finally here, we're now ready to announce additional features that will appear alongside our fifth year of video game coverage. So, you could say the State of the Site is rather strong as we prepare to move into new territory during the upcoming months of 2004.

Unlike our last design, which spanned from May of 2001 to November of 2003, the content that appears on Gaming Target is now integrated, a word that seems to be the future of all things to come. We're no longer dealing with standalone news, reviews, previews or other article types, but rather building profiles of individual games and compiling all related information into one convenient location. This setup allows instant access to various items including those that are new to the site like codes and dedicated media. You can easily sort through the games we have covered thus far by clicking the first link within the УprofilesФ section of the navigation panel.

However, our profile integration doesn't stop with individual game items, as is the case with many other sites. Instead, we continue the trend by building a complete game series that incorporates all the titles within a given franchise. Since Gaming Target strives to cover games individually even when they are released on multiple platforms, this provides an easy method of sorting through the different versions as well as seeing the past, present and future of your favorite video game series. Companies also benefit from a similar profile setup that's complete with a listing of games they've been involved with through publisher or developing. From either a series profile or a company profile, each game title listed links to the appropriate game page containing items of news, reviews, previews, special features and interviews, codes, and media. Rounding out the profiles are people and terms, one being a who's who of industry names and the other a glossary of gaming-related terms. As time goes on, we'll be including many more individuals and words in these areas as well as expanding on our current staff page to include profiles for each of our hard-working staff members.

Besides profiles being a bigger part of the site, Gaming Target is also working on several other pages that will soon be up and running. Accessories will be an added measure to review the most essential as well as the more unique hardware that compliments your gaming lifestyle. A complete codes index will deliver a daily listing of cheats, hints, tips and so forth for getting around the impossibilities of the latest games. And, to know when the latest games are coming out, a thorough list of release dates is also set to appear in the weeks ahead. Screens/Media, already part of our game profiles along with codes and release dates, will also be exhibited in its own index that will contain the newest screenshots and even some movies for eager gamers to salivate over.

These soon to premier pages of Gaming Target are something to look forward to, but not the only benefits bound for readers. Visitors who sign up for a free membership account will be able to take part in our impending forums, post comments in reply to various pages, submit letters to our mailbag and even enter a monthly contest, like the ongoing giveaway we have going in the Karaoke Revolution Contest. Membership won't be available until the forums relaunch, so anyone and everyone can enter into the contest or submit a letters in the meantime.

Other than integrating much of what we have to offer and including member benefits, Gaming Target is committed to delivering quicker updates in its current sections, including more updates within its newest sections and expanding further with even more up-to-date additional sections as time goes on. Meanwhile, you'll soon be able to search through our content faster as well with a highly-requested search engine for the site. Much of our future will be dictated by the reaction we receive from our readers, so don't be afraid to open up to us over the next couple of month at feedback@gamingtarget.com. God Bless Gaming.