A Bitmob-to-GamesBeat update

Shoe_headshot_-_square
Tuesday, October 09, 2012

GamesBeat logo

Not that long ago (OK, OK ... it was a long time ago!), we announced that VentureBeat had acquired Bitmob. Naturally, since we've been telling everyone the merger would be done in a couple of months, it didn't. It's taken a lot longer than that.

Well, we're almost there now.

The code's finished, and we've done a lot of testing on it. We really, honestly, totally, truly believe that, by the end of October, Bitmob will shut down for good and move completely over to GamesBeat. If we do it right, we'll have migrated all profiles and articles over, and we can do the "business as usual" thing over there.

Phase one of this migration will be missing a few minor features from Bitmob, but it will have gained some new ones, too (especially in the Department of War Against Spam). We'll be improving the site from this upcoming initial launch, but the main hurdle now is just getting the first version of the site up with the ability for community members to post stories.

Please stay tuned!

In the meantime ...

 

Here are a few cool new things we've done (or are doing) on the GamesBeat side that you might've missed here:

  • Threeview: A critic, an analyst, and an academic review major game releases
     
  • Pitch us in one Tweet: Indie developers pitch us their games in 140 characters or fewer; here are the top 10 winners.
     
  • BYOT (Bring Your Own Topic) podcast: #4 celebrates 25 years of Street Fighter weirdness, and #5 is a really fascinating (honest!) look at the business of mobile gaming. I learned a lot from hosting this particular episode. I highly recommend it, and I don't make such recommendations lightly.
     
  • GamesBeat's massive Street Fighter tournament: Vote and help us determine who's the ultimate World Warrior from the series' 25 years.
     
  • GamesBeat's housecleaning contest: We're giving away 14 days' worth of games and prizes. Join in before you miss out.
 
Problem? Report this post
BITMOB'S SPONSOR
Adsense-placeholder
Comments (16)
Twitpic
October 09, 2012

I've been on-and-off this site since '09, for various reasons, but I have fond memories here and I will miss Bitmob. Remember Game Club? Remember Twitterviews? Remember when I finally got a story promoted to the front page? I sure do.

All of that said, I'm really happy and excited for all the people on here that have worked so hard and come so far - congratulations, guys! I've witnessed this from the beginning, and I hope GamesBeat brings great memories to me and others, too. 

Keep up the awesome work!

Twitpic
October 09, 2012

Quick addendum: my writing increased exponentially because of this site. Thank you.

Shoe_headshot_-_square
October 09, 2012

That's great to hear, Chris! I'm glad you'll be sticking with us. :)  Yeah, to be honest, if VentureBeat didn't swoop in, we would've shut down Bitmob by now. We're doing well traffic- and reception-wise, but we didn't necessarily have a business infrastructure in place to make money (no sales team). Demian and I were spending a lot of our own money to keep this afloat, and VentureBeat will allow us to keep the idea alive.

I hope we can keep all you guys happy!

Mindjack
October 09, 2012

GamesBeat is Bitmob on steroids. That's why the merger doesn't make me sad. Many of the staffers who made this site so delicious are there, myself included. And the community, the best on the net, has been very patient and supportive.

Stick with us, Cosmo, because the best is yet to come!

100media_imag0065
October 09, 2012

Man I am really looking forward to the move. It should dramatically increase the eyes on the great, large community here. Things are changing, and I couldn't be happier. Not that I don't like what Bitmob is now, because I love it. I added Bitmob into my website rotation a few weeks after it launched, and have visited it at least 4 times a day since then. I may not comment on every article, but I read just about every single one. There are so many talented people here. It's truly magical stuff.

Wasn't there some kind of partnership with Gamepro at some point? Wasn't Gamepro supposed to publish some Bitmob articles in the mag? Am I remembering that right? What ever happened with that I wonder?

Shoe_headshot_-_square
October 09, 2012

Ed, I'm surprised you *don't* comment on every article! ;)  I see you everywhere!

GamePro is no longer around. Sadly, that magazine shut down a while back.

Demian_-_bitmobbio
October 10, 2012

GamePro actually did print a number of Bitmob stories in a few of their issues back then. And I think the authors were compensated as GamePro freelancers, too! At least that's what GamePro said they were going to do....

Shoe_headshot_-_square
October 10, 2012

I think GamePro talked about giving the community writers gift cards or something like that. Not sure if that actually happened, though.

Default_picture
October 09, 2012

I've been here since the beginning (though I didn't comment or start writing for a while), and it's sad to see Bitmob go, but it's heading in a good direction!

Assassin_shot_edited_small_cropped
October 09, 2012

I wouldn't be writing full-time today if it weren't for Bitmob. I don't manage to read the site much these days—just a brief stop once or twice a week—but I still love the community and hold some great memories, like the Game Club, Meet the Mob, the thrill of the front page, my Bully and Civ 5 Game Diaries, and the dozens of incredible articles that could never have existed on another site.

As I mentioned to Jasmine on Twitter a couple of weeks ago, Bitmob may have spawned more professional games writers than any other website or university. I think that's brilliant, and I certainly owe a lot to the guidance and influence of the editors here for my professional growth.

I'll be sad to see the name die, but I'm super happy that the spirit lives on. And on a bigger platform, too! That's just awesome. I hope it just keeps getting better.

Shoe_headshot_-_square
October 10, 2012

Richard, I would LOVE for you to write about your experiences here and how it led to your professional writing career! (unless you have already and I missed it)   :)

Assassin_shot_edited_small_cropped
October 11, 2012

Sure, I'd be happy to.

Default_picture
October 16, 2012

One of my favorite things about Bitmob is being able to track the amount hits on my posts. Will my current stats transfer over and will gamesbeat continue to track them? Thanks!

Shoe_headshot_-_square
October 16, 2012

Yikes, I'm pretty sure the existing post counts won't carry over. :(  But our plan is for you to be able to track this on GamesBeat, yes. It might not be working initially (I can't promise anything work work initially!), but it is in our specs. Please be patient with us. This is not easy re-creating Bitmob in GamesBeat's environment. :(  We're working hard on it, trust me.

Anime_adam
October 16, 2012

Still a huge fan of Bitmob. Excited to see where it goes from here. Good luck with the site migration. My day job is a Project Manager at a startup, and so I can identify with your woes.

Shoe_headshot_-_square
October 16, 2012

Thanks, Adam!

You must log in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.