IGN Closes What They Play

October 21, 2011

Website What They Play, the parent-focused gaming web site operated by IGN has suddenly been shut down, with the URL of the site being redirected to IGN's front page. The staff at the site that enjoyed four years of operation claim that they were not informed of IGN's intentions to close the site. Still, it's not hard to understand why IGN decided to pull the plug - it has not been updated since February of this year.

What They Play was founded in 2007, and was acquired two years later by IGN parent company News Corp. All told the site had information on around 16,000 games, and was recommended by major retailers as a great resource for parents by retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

A message on the site's official Facebook page offers a message from head of marketing Tom Byron:

"Hi all,

It appears that What They Play is no more. IGN has quietly taken it down and replaced it with...IGN. As a member of the team that launched the site on November 12, 2007 and helped build it over the next two years, What They Play's passing hurts, but the great memories live on. Thanks to all our supporters for making an awesome site and time even more awesome.

Regards,

Tom Byron, former head of marketing for What They Play"

Source: Game, Set, Watch

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Comments

Re: IGN Closes What They Play

Submitted by Yammo on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 07:37.

IGN? Who even watches that page? As far as I'm concerned they might as well close down the entire IGN site. It's about as useful as Fox News... most of the reviews there are just paid advertisement by the publishers anyway. Of course they would shut down any service where people could write anything resembling truth.

Re: IGN Closes What They Play

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight on Fri, 10/21/2011 - 12:56.

Basically, What They Play wasn't making IGN any money so they canned it. Sounds about right. Forget the fact that WTP was never a money making property and never had the market to make money. It was more a non-profit style site in its content.

Looks like it is time for another property to step up and fill the void.

E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower

Shout box

NyuRena: You nailed it James! Yikes..06/18/2013 - 1:56pm

james_fudge: With MS willing to share with the government, an always listening device should give everyone pause.06/18/2013 - 1:37pm

james_fudge: you can't turn off the Microphone on the Kinect and it has to be plugged in. It's not rocket science.06/18/2013 - 1:35pm

E. Zachary Knight: The Humble Bundle Guys just don't like me having money in my pocket do they? https://www.humblebundle.com/06/18/2013 - 1:12pm

E. Zachary Knight: CMiner, I know that my Android camera is off unless I am using an application that turns it on. Same with the microphone.06/18/2013 - 12:38pm

CMiner: Can you turn off the camera on an iPhone? Like, -really- turn it off, not just change a setting that -tells- you the camera is off?06/18/2013 - 12:13pm

james_fudge: when they make it a requirement, yes they are06/18/2013 - 12:10pm

CMiner: I just don't think Microsoft bears any more (or less) responsibility for privacy with its Kinect camera than do the makers of laptops or smartphones with integrated cameras.06/18/2013 - 12:00pm

Imautobot: The ability to operate the console without the camera is key. It's a peripheral, not directly integrated into the console, and yet it behaves as if it is. Thankfully I don't have kids, and won't have an Xbone either.06/18/2013 - 11:49am

CMiner: Oh, I agree that the decision to make the kinect mandatory/always listening is terrible.06/18/2013 - 11:48am

E. Zachary Knight: CMiner, and the easier the provider makes to do such things, the better. The fact that the XBone will not even funtion without it plugged in and turned on in some fashion makes a world of difference from a PC Webcam.06/18/2013 - 11:38am

CMiner: It takes steps on the user's part to ensure 100% privacy (unplugging, uninstalling, putting tape over it, not putting it in the kid's rooms, etc)06/18/2013 - 11:29am

CMiner: My point is that no webcam producing company can guarantee that no one will ever ever ever be able to access video from that webcam without your knowledge and permission06/18/2013 - 11:28am

E. Zachary Knight: Of course at that point, you are still opening up yourself to Windows zero day vulnerabilities and back doors that they are happy to share with the government before Windows users.06/18/2013 - 11:26am

E. Zachary Knight: Cminer, I don't because I wipe the OS and reinstall something more secure, Linux. Even still, just wiping the OS and reinstalling Windows fresh removes all the bloatware PC companies install.06/18/2013 - 11:26am

E. Zachary Knight: I agree that the Kinect requirement of the XBone has my civil liberty senses tingling. Just another nail in the coffin for me.06/18/2013 - 11:25am

E. Zachary Knight: Honestly, I wouldn't put anything with an integrated camera in my kids' rooms. You are just asking for trouble. Of course, I am not a fan of having tvs/videogames/computers in kids rooms in general.06/18/2013 - 11:24am

CMiner: In the case of integrated webcams on laptops, do you have the same concern that people at Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc might be spying on you?06/18/2013 - 11:24am

E. Zachary Knight: I love awesome indie devs. Incredipede is free if you run linux! http://www.incredipede.com/linux.html Thanks @ColinNorthway You're the best.06/18/2013 - 11:23am

Imautobot: More creepy is that the Xbox Camera can see in the dark. Now we're in Buffalo Bill territory.06/18/2013 - 11:21am

All shouts

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