In a few hours we'll no longer be able to post new content here until the new site becomes live. Thought I'd post a short blog post commemorating the event. Especially since I've neglected the blog and this is my last chance at redemption.

In the case of GameSpot, change is always welcomed because at this point the current architecture of the site is a mess. Fuse splintered the community as well as the site into two, the unions literately acted as a gateway to the past with their old designs that harken another era, HTML never worked, and there was always a glitch around the corner earning GameSpot the portmanteau of "Glitchspot." There seems to be, however, many here who are hesitant of change and for good reason. Unions shall be spirited away and that short lived gamer social network Fuse is being gutted in favor for a more integrated system. To top it all off, we're also going to lose the long standing leveling system and the ability to download videos. Besides the removal of Fuse, I don't think the other changes were exactly planned by the technical staff, but they saw these removals necessary because they were not supported under the new engine. Essentially, the aspirations of the site developers has ultimately fallen through and it is now the users who have to suffer an inconsequential consequence of a "site restart" so to speak.

The new engine that GameSpot shall be transferring to is nearly identical to the one that Giant Bomb uses (That's because they're the same); and this wouldn't be the first time that GameSpot has borrowed from another one of CBS' properties. With that said, what some feel is ultimately lost by the change is GameSpot's originality (Though I'd argue that functionality is a more preferable option at this point). The number of users threatening insincere departures is on the rise because of the change. Leaving is everyone's prerogative, however, if you're not here you're not going to be able to participate in the aftermath thus losing your (and others) capacity to change the site in your favor.

GameSpot is more than simply aesthetics, coding, and content. GameSpot is a vibrant community and home to some great staff members. Staff members who want to be liked and to appease everybody; but know its an unreasonable goal. One cannot be interesting to everyone forever. Sure, there may be some things that the community should have a voice in, but we're in no way entitled to anything here because the bills are footed by the people up top and thus power ultimately stems from them; this is a privately owned enterprise. As long as the community remains the same, a large audience continues to come, and everything works (better than what is currently set up now), I couldn't ask for much else. I may want improvements or have personal peeves about the new site design, but as we've seen, GameSpot is dynamic and ever changing and as long as one remains here they have the capacity to change it.