IGN facts for kids
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| Type of business | Subsidiary |
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Type of site
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Entertainment |
| Available in | English, Arabic, French, German, Hungarian, Serbian, Swedish, Hebrew, Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Greek, Romanian, Korean, Croatian, Turkish, Czech, Portuguese, Japanese, Hindi |
| Founded | September 29, 1996 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California,
United States
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| Founder(s) | Jonathan Simpson-Bint |
| Key people |
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| Industry | Video game and media journalism |
| Employees | 250 |
| Parent |
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| Registration |
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| Current status | Active |
IGN is a popular American website that focuses on video games and other fun entertainment. It is run by IGN Entertainment Inc., which is part of a bigger company called Ziff Davis. IGN's main office is in San Francisco, California.
The website was started by Chris Anderson and launched on September 29, 1996. It covers many topics like games, films, anime, television, comics, and technology. You can find IGN content on many platforms. These include mobile phones, game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation, and streaming services like YouTube and Twitch.
IGN used to own other websites for gamers and entertainment fans. Some of these were Rotten Tomatoes (for movie reviews) and AskMen. In 2013, IGN was sold to Ziff Davis.
Contents
The Story of IGN
IGN started in September 1996 as the Imagine Games Network. It was founded by Jonathan Simpson-Bint. At first, it was a group of five separate websites. These included sites like N64.com and PSXPower, each focusing on a different game console.
In 1998, IGN launched a new main page. This page brought all the individual sites together under the IGN brand. It made it easier for people to find content from over 30 different channels.
In February 1999, PC Magazine named IGN one of the best websites. This was a big achievement for the growing company. Later, in 2002, the company changed its name to IGN Entertainment. It also started a special membership service called IGN Insider, which is now known as IGN Prime.
By June 2005, IGN had over 24 million visitors each month. It was one of the most visited websites on the internet. In September 2005, a large media company called News Corporation bought IGN for $650 million. IGN celebrated its 10th birthday in January 2008.
IGN Joins Ziff Davis
In 2011, IGN Entertainment bought a rival company called UGO Entertainment. This company owned 1Up.com. Later, in February 2013, News Corp. sold IGN Entertainment to Ziff Davis. Ziff Davis is a publishing company that owns many well-known magazines and websites.
After this sale, IGN made some changes. They decided to focus on their main brands, IGN and AskMen. This meant closing down some other websites like GameSpy and 1Up.com.
How IGN Rates Games
IGN has a special way of reviewing games and giving them a score. A reviewer from IGN plays a game and then writes about it. They give the game a score from 1 to 10. This score helps people know how much the game is recommended.
The score is based on different parts of the game. These include how it looks (graphics), how it sounds (audio), and how fun it is to play (gameplay). The overall score is not just an average of these parts. It's a final decision based on the whole experience.
Over the years, IGN has changed its scoring system a few times. They tried different scales, like a 20-point scale or a 100-point scale. But in January 2020, they went back to the simple 1 to 10 scale. They found this was the easiest way to show how good a game is.
Sometimes, a game gets big updates after it's released. If these updates change the game a lot, IGN might re-review it. This means they play the updated game and can give it a new, possibly better, score. Examples of games that have been re-reviewed include League of Legends and Minecraft.
IGN 'Best of' Awards
Every year, IGN hosts an event called 'Best of'. This event celebrates the best games, films, television shows, and comics of the year. IGN staff members choose the winners for each award.
Readers can also vote online for their favorites. This allows fans to pick the 'People's Choice' award in each category. It's a fun way to see what both experts and fans think are the best entertainment options.
IGN Podcasts
Besides its website, IGN also creates many different podcasts. These are like audio shows you can listen to online. Some podcasts focus on specific game consoles. For example, "Podcast Beyond" is for PlayStation fans, and "Podcast Unlocked" is for Xbox fans.
There's also "Nintendo Voice Chat" for Nintendo fans. Another popular podcast is Game Scoop!. In this show, different editors talk about the latest news and topics in the video game world.
IGN Around the World
IGN has many different versions of its website for different countries. As of 2021, there are 28 editions in 25 languages! Some of these are run by Ziff Davis directly, like the versions for the US, UK, and Australia. Others are run by local companies that have a special agreement with IGN.
When you visit IGN.com, the website often tries to send you to the version for your country. This is done using your computer's location. Each country's IGN site has a special logo with their country's flag. But you can always choose to visit the original American website if you want.
For example, IGN Middle East launched in 2012. It offers content in both English and Arabic. IGN India started in 2013 and focuses on gaming news and events in India. IGN Japan launched in 2016. It translates English articles and also creates its own content about the Japanese gaming industry.
IGN Pro League (Esports)
In 2011, IGN started something called the IGN Pro League, or IPL. This was a professional esports competition. Esports are video game tournaments where professional players compete against each other.
The IPL held tournaments for popular games like StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and League of Legends. However, in 2013, IGN decided to stop the IPL. They felt it was hard to compete with the growing number of other esports events happening. Later, the game company Blizzard Entertainment took over the IPL staff to work on their own esports shows.
Television and Films by IGN
IGN has also created some of its own television shows and videos. Here are a few examples:
- Gamer Nation (2003)
- Game Scoop! (2006–)
- IGN Originals (2008–)
- IGN Daily Fix (2009–)
- Up at Noon (2012–2021)
- Devs React to Speedruns (2019–)
See also
In Spanish: IGN (sitio web) para niños
