Digital Foundry leaves IGN, now independent [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl7bIJ2yu4I

by zdw • 12 months ago

93 34 12 months ago

It feels like I’ve seen most places that went independent die out but I don’t have any data to back it up.

mrbungie• 12 months ago

As a videogamer I hope Digital Foundry survives this, because they give lots of data-based insights about the industry, especially from a tech perspective. And as a follower and fan of their videos, I must add that these guys seem smart enough to figure it out.

reaperhulk• 12 months ago

DF already has a vibrant Patreon community so they’re not starting from scratch on funding themselves. I’m excited to see what they can do going forward.

SlowTao• 12 months ago

I get the sentiment but I have to give it to DF, they have been taking the slow and steady route. That is a path to success in their field.

ekianjo• 12 months ago

so Independent that I need to sign up to read that post.

eigenspace• 12 months ago

Read what post? It's a link to a video...

coro_1• 12 months ago

They produce nice material. Sometimes they're so focused on frame-rates it's annoying though.

tills133• 12 months ago

I mean that is what normal people care about, too. If the game is a stuttery mess, it is more negatively perceived than if the game is graphically meh imo. _As someone who does care about framerate_, I do what you are getting at, though.

famahar3• 12 months ago

I'm curious what you think of games at low frame rate for artistic intention. I'm making a game and locking it at 30fps not for technical limitations, but because I actually like feel of it compared to the overly smooth high FPS. The game I'm making isn't fast paced so it feels appropriate. I sometimes lock my games to even 14fps.

msh• 12 months ago

If above stuttering mess I care more about how the graphics look rather than frame rate (competitive online fps games excluded).

krelian• 12 months ago

I mean that is what normal people care about, too.

Depends on how you define normal. I think it's much more likely that the number of people who care about it deeply is extremely small - a small sub-group within the group of people who see gaming as their main hobby.

Zee2• 12 months ago

DF cares much more about frame timings, not necessarily framerate. In many of their videos they praise games which achieve a locked, stable, hitch-free, 30fps. In some cases, frame time stability can be almost as important, or even more, than absolute average framerate.

Especially when Unreal has been infamous for shader compilation stutter, where even a on-the-surface 60fps average can feel terrible due to inconsistent frame timing and hitches.

rs186• 12 months ago

The audience of digital foundary care about frame rate, simple. If they are more interested in other non technical aspects of a game, they wouldn't be watching/reading their reviews in the first place.

blitzar• 12 months ago

£500k in revenue in 2023 - not great for youtube money.

deng2• 12 months ago

Yes, they're surely not getting rich, but it's commendable that except from selling their own merch, they do not go the raycon/nordvpn/brilliant/younameit route. With Adsense alone I'm pretty sure this would not be sustainable, but they have a pretty successful Patreon.

AIPedant• 12 months ago

Not quite true, they got in trouble recently for running a Nintendo ad without properly labelling it (until it was pointed out, the video is fixed now): https://youtube.com/watch?v=V10wHzV5zp0

Screenshot of original video: https://www.resetera.com/threads/digital-foundry-posts-an-ad...

It is a bit shameful that games journalists didn't cover this at all - seems almost like an omertà. Even assuming the mislabelling was an honest mistake, running the ad in the first place makes me trust them less. Worse, I used their videos when deciding to buy a Switch 2! I would have been much more skeptical (likely ignored them entirely) if I had known they were taking money from Nintendo.

seanalltogether• 12 months ago

I hope they are successful. What I appreciate about DF is their ability to explain what techniques the developers chose to use in the rendering process. Game engines are so buzzwordy these days and they're often good about showing in the videos which rendering techniques are turned on or off based on settings.

Digital Foundry leaves IGN, now independent [video]

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