Wasted, a new portal about games, is starting this week. Behind it are Christian Schiffer and Jagoda Froer, who are starting an "experiment that has never existed before in German-speaking games journalism" with the digital offer. The crazy idea: The portal should be financed 100 percent by the community.
The stingy average internet user will probably gasp at the idea: You want your money. Christian Schiffer and Jagoda Froer launched the gaming portal Wasted this week, which is all about video games. The project is to be financed via Patreon and thus on a voluntary basis by means of subscriptions.
Exclusive content instead of three cappuccinos
Countless games magazines have already failed due to paid subscriptions or are taking the ruinous path to shutting down the printing presses, but in the digital area such formats are picking up speed thanks to paywalls or Patreon. Now, with Wasted, a portal has seen the light of day. It's about games, the tone is snotty, the presentation is at least special - somehow "indie" - in this combination it's definitely new.
“Our goal with Wasted: mainstream in content and indie in form. We have a strong community focus and attach great importance to the elegant integration of interaction options on our website, as can already be tested on the Wasted quartet cards, ”says Jagoda Froer.
Jagoda Froer, who blogs about indie games among other things, is the editor. Editor-in-chief is Fabu, whom some might know as the former mastermind behind Superlevel.de. Wasted is also the online successor to the award-winning print magazine WASD. "If the WASD was the Sputnik rocket of game journalism, then Wasted is a full-blown Mars mission," says WASD founder Christian Schiffer, who is also the publisher of the new portal.
The makers explain what Wasted is in the announcement published at the start: It is a "full range of games journalism", with reviews, analyzes and newsletters, but also a series of podcasts, including "Wasted Weekly", a talk format with Sebastian Tyzak ( GameTwo) and Portfolio Royal, which will cover everything related to video games, business and stocks.
Speaks to the stingy free reader Wasted Despite the subscription model: Some articles can be consumed completely free of charge. The really great stuff, however, hangs behind the payment barrier - and that costs the equivalent of three cappuccinos per month (around eight euros), the reference prices apparently come from Wanne-Eickel and not from Munich or Hamburg. However, the following also applies: For just under six euros you can buy half a kilo of cappuccino powder, which, according to the manufacturer, is enough for around 50 cups.
Optionally, there are also more expensive subscriptions with some bonus content and goodies. Over 100 patreons are already supporting the project - the makers have set an initial goal for 250.
The payment model in the games segment is not entirely new, but somehow it is. Competing portals have long been using paywalls and paid subscriptions, but they also harass their readers with aggressive affiliate articles. Others do it like us and plaster the screen with annoying advertising banners in the hope that some lunatic will click the wrong button or actually be interested in how to become rich, beautiful or famous overnight or in the hospital with "a trick like a private patient can be treated". Wasted is apparently more frugal and only wants to get the money that fans deliberately pay voluntarily, not only to feed authors, but also to directly support game journalism.
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