We’re pleased to announce that Siliconera will be offer its own free email newsletter. Every week, you can get one installment of Siliconera Speaks Up in your inbox to catch up with all the gaming news, reviews, and features you might have missed during the week. 

What can you expect? Good question! Primarily, this will be a way to help you catch up with something important you might have missed. We’ll curate a list of our most popular articles of the week, so you won’t miss out on major announcements and news stories. Did a big game drop? Links to our reviews will be there in case you want more insight into the title before making the plunge. 

Each week, there will also be an exclusive feature found only in our newsletter for subscribers. So if you sign up for the Siliconera Speaks Up newsletter, you’ll get an extra article to read in your email that won’t appear anywhere else. 

Finally, at the end of every newsletter we’ll name a few games (or game updates) coming up in the next few days. That way, you’ll never miss out on a possible title.

Here’s how you sign up:

Our first issue is coming soon, and we’re looking forward to providing easier access to news and articles soon!

The post Sign Up for the Free Siliconera Speaks Up Newsletter appeared first on Siliconera.

Greetings, everyone!

Every year at Siliconera as of late, we've been offering up surveys to help get feedback on the site. The goal is to help determine coverage spheres, see what people might (or might not) want, and generally find out what we should also consider doing or changing. Well, that time of year is here again.

Here's our latest Siliconera survey, and we would appreciate people filling it out. Topics include the site proper, game coverage, possible other topics people might want to occasionally read about, and thoughts on our current or possible video content.

Thank you for your time!

The post Siliconera 2022 Site Feedback Survey is Live appeared first on Siliconera.

Siliconera now has its own TikTok channel and Snapchat show. On both, you can see clips from some notable Vtuber segments around the web. On Snapchat, you can catch our series and see a weekly episode with a few special segments. On TikTok, each short segment highlights a notable moment during others streams.

Want to follow along? You can already see some of our videos now!

Here's how you can follow us on Snapchat:

You can also tune in on TikTok.

The post Siliconera Snapchat and TikTok are Live appeared first on Siliconera.

Hi, everyone!

Just wanted to let people know we’re in the process of moving to a new host today. This means things might be a bit weird. Tech is handling things, and we aren’t expecting any issues.

However, we wanted to let everyone know in the event anything does happen. (And not have anyone worried that this might be some bad April Fools’ joke.)

We are expecting everything to be completed within the next few hours. Also, following the move, our search function will return.

Hope you all have a good day!

The post Pardon Our Dust as Siliconera Moves appeared first on Siliconera.

We want to make sure we're properly serving our community. What would you like to see more of from us? Is there a sort of content we aren't offering that you would enjoy? Please take our survey and let us know what you think.

Thank you for your time! Hope you have a lovely day!

The post What Would You Like to See at Siliconera? appeared first on Siliconera.

2020 has been something of a transformative year for everyone at Siliconera. We joined the Enthusiast Gaming family and merged with Japanator. Our content expanded, bringing scored reviews to the site for the first time. Forums were brought online as another outlet for the community to come together and expand on discussions from our news posts and other featured content.

It's no secret that Disqus has been experiencing a lot of issues lately. There have been plenty of days where it just doesn't seem to be working. Sometimes the timecode is out of sync and trying to reply to comments is impossible. Other days, it flat out goes down for hours. Going forward, we have made the decision to close Open Thread in hopes that we see fewer Disqus errors.

What does this mean for our Open Thread users? On January 1, 2021 we will be permanently closing Open Thread. This is a difficult decision, as we know there are quite a few members of our community who visit OT. We ask that you utilize the forums and our Discord server instead. Please use this month to explore and settle in with our community platforms. Start a thread, share your art, tell us about your 2020 Game of the Year picks. We can't wait to see you there.

The post So Long and Thanks For All the Posts, Open Thread appeared first on Siliconera.

Hi, everyone!

Today, we’re introducing a new, optional feature for our readers that will hopefully make browsing our articles easier for you and help support (i.e., pay) our writers and staff. Siliconera+ is a way to read and visit without having to deal with any sorts of ads.

We’re kicking things off with one tier and option. For $1.99 per month (or $19.99 per year), you’ll have an ad-free experience on the site.

However, we are working to offer additional options for visitors. We’ve taken input from surveys into consideration. Based on your feedback, we’ll offer two additional tiers with things like an email newsletter which goes over important stories and includes original articles, discounts at some stores, and opportunities to help choose which games we’ll stream and playtest. (To be clear, this would not influence which news stories we cover. People at higher tiers would only be able to help vote on which games we would stream for you or if we go out of our way to playtest certain games.)

We thank you in advance for your support and want to keep trying our best to provide the most up-to-date gaming news from Japan. We have great things planned, like more streams and our newly launched forums.

Thank you for reading!

The post Introducing Siliconera+ appeared first on Siliconera.

Hello there, Siliconera community! It's Annette, your friendly social media manager here to ask a quick favor from you all.

As you all know, the staff work hard every day to make Siliconera the best place for you to find your gaming news. So it should come as no surprise that we are always talking about ways we can improve your time here.

One of the discussions we've had lately revolves around offering an ad-free viewing experience for a low monthly fee. We get it. Ads are not our favorite thing either, but that is how we pay our staff and keep the lights going in our secret internet bunker. If you have a few minutes to take this survey for us to give us an idea of what we might be able to offer as part of a "premium" Siliconera service, that would be very helpful and we would really appreciate it.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, feel free to ask them below. I will do my best to answer them for you.

The post Siliconera Potential Paid Membership Feedback Survey appeared first on Siliconera.

Hi, everyone! Siliconera is adding a new type of article. Every once in a while, for major releases relevant to the site, we’ll be conducting scored reviews.

So, what does this mean?

How often will we see Siliconera reviews?

Siliconera will remain 90-95% news, with about one feature each day. That feature could be an interview, a playtest or a review.

Reviews will not appear at the same frequency as interviews or playtests. There will never be more than one review per week.

A game could get a review, then also get more focused playtests in the form of guides or closer looks at more specific parts of a game. However, a playtested game might not get reviews.

How will Siliconera get review copies?

Review copies, unless noted, are provided by the game's publisher or developer. However, there will be no undue influence on reviews. In addition, we will not conduct any playtests or reviews on games for which there is a conflict of interest.

At the end of every review, we will also fully disclose whether we received a review copy.

What will Siliconera’s review scale look like?

Siliconera will have a ten-point review scale with no halves or decimal points.

1. A score of 1 means that a game is completely broken, to the point that it is unplayable.
2. A score of 2 means that a game may work and not be broken, but there are points where it is irredeemable and not worth playing.
3. A score of 3 means that a game probably has one interesting aspect. Maybe the soundtrack has some real bangers. There could be one character with an interesting arc.
4. A score of 4 means we are looking at a game that, if the price is cheap enough, could be worth it. It probably isn’t great. It is very likely tedious. There could be an okay story or maybe there’s an interesting skill tree system. It is worth acknowledging, but maybe not owning.
5. A score of 5 means we’re looking at an average game. It won’t be earth-shattering, but it works and can sometimes be fun. Especially if you like its genre or someone involved with its development.
6. A score of 6 means that the game might be really appealing to someone who likes that developer, genre, composer or artist. But it won’t be perfect, and people who don’t have some sort of connection going in might not be feeling it.
7. A score of 7 is considered good. It might not be on entirely solid footing, but it’s a game that will be of interest to fans of the genre and maybe have something that catches the eye of people interested in similar genres.
8. A score of 8 means we absolutely recommend it. Even if you don’t like the genre, you might really like it! Things really come together, and there’s not just one element that’s special. The whole game is great.
9. A score of 9 is a fantastic game. If you own the system it is on, you should own the game. It might even do something special for the genre as a whole. If you get it, even if you normally don’t like that kind of game, you will very likely have a good time.
10. A score of 10 is a game everyone should play. If you don’t have a system it is on, you should consider getting that system. It does something important and notable for the genre. It might need a patch or two, as games don't need to be totally perfect to achieve this core, but it is otherwise remarkable.

What happens if a major patch or update is released that significantly changes a game?

Should there be a major change, Siliconera will have a follow-up playtest going over the alterations. If it is enough to merit a review score change, we will add a paragraph to the review explaining the updates, assign a new score and offer a link to the playtest update going over the changes.

The post The Official Siliconera Review Guide appeared first on Siliconera.

Hi, everyone! Just wanted to alert you all to Siliconera's latest game giveaway on Twitter. Until March 20, 2020, people have a chance to acquire a Granblue Fantasy Versus PC key. Our friends at XSEED Games have given us three Steam keys for the fighter from Arc System Works and CyGames based upon the mobile game.

So, how do you register to possibly get one of those three copies? Well, all you have to do is follow us on Twitter. Then, you have to like and retweet the following tweet. If you do, you'll be entered and could be one of the three people who will get a Steam copy of the game. (The winners will be DMed the code, so please keep your DMs open and wait for us to message you if you are picked as a winner!)

Need new friends to keep you company? Our friends at XSEED Games have given us codes to share with you! You could win 1 of 3 Granblue Fantasy Versus PC codes by entering.
1. Follow @siliconera
2. Like and RT this tweet.
Winners will be picked on March 20, 2020. pic.twitter.com/lZ7kk7WFfD

— Siliconera (@siliconera) March 17, 2020

Granblue Fantasy Versus PC and PlayStation 4 versions are immediately available worldwide. And don't forget that Zooey was recently revealed as a future DLC character!

The post Don’t Forget to Take Part in Siliconera’s Granblue Fantasy Versus PC Twitter Giveaway appeared first on Siliconera.

Hi, everyone!

Siliconera is going to be updating its logo! Our community's opinion is super important to us, so we wanted to run some early-stage options by you. While we want to involve everyone in the process, please understanding that design by committee isn't the ideal way to make a firm design and we're going to try to make some sane compromises based on your feedback.

In terms of creative direction, we wanted to preserve some part of the dinosaurs and joystick that have been an iconic part of our image since 2003, as well as incorporate elements of the site we just merged with, Japanator.  We have three in-progress candidates so far. Two adopt variants of the  Japanator mascot, Ai-Fi, into the design, while one sticks with the two dinosaurs who have been with us over the years.

So now, we ask you to please weigh in on the designs we have so far. We may share other earlier doodles in the comments, so keep an eye out! The final product may be slightly different, as we're still gathering internal feedback as well.

Feeling extra creative?  Feel free to post your own design ideas in the comments as well. We'd love to see your remixes.

Also, to help give you a better idea of how things could look, here's a gallery showing all of these images in-action.

[gallery size="medium" ids="827011,827010,827009" link="file"]

Thank you in advance for your help, and please feel free to let us know more of your thoughts in the comments!

The post Help Siliconera Pick Our New Logo appeared first on Siliconera.

Greetings, everyone!

We are about to head into a new era… a Siliconera, if you will. Siliconera and Japanator are teaming up. All of the news and features you’d expect from Japanator are going to find a new home at Siliconera, where we’ll all work together to talk about our passion for Japanese games and culture. Now that we’re both part of the same network, we feel like it’s only natural to perform a Fusion Dance and team up.

Don’t think of this as a goodbye. Think of this as a “We’re moving down the street.” The people you know and love from Japanator will all still be here. We’re just all coming together as one community.

Siliconera and Japanator BFFAQS

Hold on! What’s Japanator?!

We’re glad you asked! Japanator is a Japanese culture blog that focuses mainly on anime, Japanese film and music, and Japanese gaming, and currently hosts writers Christian Chiok, Red Veron, and Josh Tolentino. Japanator hosts cosplay galleries, seasonal anime previews, weekly recaps and reviews, and features and interviews with creators. After a few years and much deliberation, we’ve decided that coming together with Siliconera is the best way forward for both sites.

What will happen with Japanator’s Christian, Josh, and Red?

You’ll now start seeing them appearing on Siliconera, ideally! We’re working out the details, but expect to begin seeing stories from them in the near future.

Will we still see insights into Japanese life and culture?

Indeed you will! Since Siliconera is focused on video games, you’ll occasionally see news stories like “Check Out a Day in the Life of a Manga Author” or “Japanator Exclusive: An Interview with TRUE” appearing on the weekends.

I come to Siliconera for video game news, not stories about anime, cosplay, and Japanese pop music. What does this mean for me?

As always, we’re going to do our best to make sure any supplemental stories have a connection to video games. For example, if we did a news story about a mangaka, it would be one who has helped contribute to a game or whose series has been turned into a game. If we did an interview with a Japanese musician, it would be one whose music appeared in games.

Japanator did reviews and Siliconera does playtests. What will happen here?

At Siliconera, we do playtests instead of reviews so we can better express our passion for games and keep coming back to certain elements of them we consider important. (Plus, we feel there are times when even a “bad” game can have something good about it, and we’d like to try and remain passionate and positive about them!) So going forward, you’ll be seeing only playtests and not reviews.

Who do I contact if I have any concerns/questions about this?

Our comments are open, so please let us know. In addition, you can reach us at tips@siliconera.com.

We’re really excited to come together like this, and we hope everyone can join together to celebrate things they love about Japanese games and pop culture!

The post Siliconera and Japanator Are Teaming Up appeared first on Siliconera.

Hi, everyone!

You may have noticed that Siliconera looks a little different when you first popped in this week. That’s because from here on out, our new default look is dark mode. We’ve turned the night vision on!

From here on out, you now have two options when visiting Siliconera. You can go with dark mode or light mode. At the top of the page, next to our icons for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and our RSS feed, you’ll see a little sun. (Praise the sun!) It is a toggle that lets you swap between the darkness and the light.

All you have to do is click this icon, both on your desktop and mobile devices, and you can swap between the two.

Next, we'd like to hear from you! What do you think about dark mode? Do you have any comments, compliments, or requests? Is the site easy for you to read? We want to make sure it is as accessible as possible.

Thanks, and hope you all are having a great day!

The post Welcome to Siliconera’s New Dark Mode appeared first on Siliconera.

Welcome to Siliconera. We’re a site dedicated to covering interesting video games and all things related to them. We hold our community in high regard and try to make it a friendly, informative place for people. We achieve this by enforcing a carefully designed set of rules and ask that you adhere to them so everyone can have a good time. So whether you're in the comment section or taking a break from talking about serious business on the main site in the forums, these guidelines will help everyone feel comfortable.

1. Be Self-Aware and Don’t Be Rude: We also will not allow harassment, antagonism, and/or picking fights. Debating is fine. But once we see inappropriate behavior, a warning will be issued.

Hate speech and racism will not be tolerated. This applies to someone you are directing a comment to in a thread, groups of people in general, and our staff. It will result in an immediate ban. It also means statements where people who try to excuse their behavior with, "It’s okay, because I’m [insert race/gender-preference]” won’t be allowed. You don’t have to like or respect other people, but you do have to treat them with common courtesy.

Some swearing will be permitted. That said, any comments using curse words will be held in our moderating panel for review by a Siliconera staff member. Swears may not be directed towards community members, staff members, or companies. We reserve the right to edit or remove swear words from your comments if need be in order to approve them for viewing on Siliconera.

Rampant swearing and five of George Carlin’s Seven Words You Can’t Say on TV aren’t allowed in article comment threads. (“Shit” and “piss” are the two that are.)

You know yourself better than anyone else. Are you posting in good faith? Are you being unreasonable or childish? Are you being a creep? Before you post, ask yourself: “Is what I’m posting the way a mature adult would behave?”

2. No NSFW or Illegal Content: We do not allow nudity, underage objectification, sexual harassment, or obscene behavior in any Siliconera section. This especially applies to things like gifs and YouTube. We don't allow theft or linking to illegal content.

If we see people abusing the privilege, then we will be forced to remove the ability to post gifs, YouTube videos, and links.

3. Stay on Topic in Articles: For example, if an article is about a game and censorship is not mentioned, bringing up censorship there will get you a warning. Likewise, talking about things like console wars or port begging will get you a warning.

Unless an article is specifically related to platform choices or censorship, refrain from complaining about platforms, what platform a game is on, and censorship.

4. Behave Yourselves in Our Forums: Our forums are a place to discuss topics that might be considered provocative or off-topic elsewhere, like censorship or console wars, but that is still not a license to deliberately troll or antagonize others. Hate speech, trolling, and acting in bad faith are never allowed. Debates can be heated and passionate without devolving into arguments and toxicity.

5. Do your research before you post: Siliconera holds its community to high standards. With the amount of rampant misinformation going around the net these days, it’s more important than ever for us to rely on facts, separate truth from fantasy, and exhibit common sense. If you can’t do this, don’t post.

6. Extreme Circumstances May Occur: We know that a few visitors will try to skirt the rules and make things unpleasant for regular users. We reserve the right to take action to curb your behavior when we feel it's crossing the line, even if it's not an explicit violation of the above rules.

In most instances, if someone breaks a rule once, they will be warned. If a second is broken, they will be banned. In extreme circumstances, no warning will be issued and someone will be immediately banned.

...And that’s it. These aren’t difficult rules to follow. Be mature, be tolerant, and we’ll all be fine. Siliconera has always valued having a small, but productive, community over a large, out-of-control one. As such, we aren’t afraid to bring the hammer down on anyone that makes things unpleasant for others, but we would really prefer not to.

If you feel you’ve been unfairly warned/banned, send an email to tips@siliconera.com with the subject line “Moderation Query,” and our moderation team will be in touch to begin the appeals process.

The post Open Thread Like It’s 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.