PALGN
Encyclopedia
The PAL Gaming Network is an Australian based video game news and reviews website
that focuses on the videogame industry and culture in PAL
territories, particularly Australia
and the UK
. It was launched in 2003 by a group of PAL forum members on the IGN message boards who were disenfranchised by the American site's move to subscription based boards. In August 2003, The Sydney Morning Herald
said the upstart website's "dedication to console gaming in PAL markets is admirable."
PALGN has grown to be one of the largest independent video game websites in Australia, garnering over a million hits from over 300,000 unique users each month.
, PlayStation 2
, PlayStation 3
, PlayStation Portable
, Nintendo DS
, Wii
and PC
. Reviews and previews are usually timed to coincide with the launches of the game in PAL territories, and feature and editorial content usually deals with the local and greater PAL videogame scene. However, the nature of the global industry means most articles are suitable for international audiences as well.
PALGN covers every major videogame release on every platform, and the site's review archive is now over 1,600 games strong. PALGN is recognised as a major source of critical review by metascore sites Metacritic
and GameRankings and scores given by PALGN are used to determine the average rating a game receives on those sites.
Users can also select to view release dates by individual platform, and a click on a title will link to all PALGN coverage of the game.
studios, Tom Crago, Head of the GDAA, and Greg Tannahill, Democrats Candidate for the ACT. The format went weekly in 2008, and has been running for over a year. The format was recently updated into the 'Palcast' hosted by Anthony Capone, Jahanzeb Khan and Jarrod Mawson. A special series of four podcasts recorded live from Los Angeles at E3 2010 were recorded and hosted by editors Adam Ghiggino and Jeremy Jastrzab.
In 2006 PALGN launched a Game Exchange forum. Thousands of successful transactions have taken place since then by over 300 users.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that focuses on the videogame industry and culture in PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
territories, particularly Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was launched in 2003 by a group of PAL forum members on the IGN message boards who were disenfranchised by the American site's move to subscription based boards. In August 2003, The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
said the upstart website's "dedication to console gaming in PAL markets is admirable."
PALGN has grown to be one of the largest independent video game websites in Australia, garnering over a million hits from over 300,000 unique users each month.
Main site
PALGN's main page has links to the latest news, reviews and previews for all major videogame platforms, including Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and PC
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
. Reviews and previews are usually timed to coincide with the launches of the game in PAL territories, and feature and editorial content usually deals with the local and greater PAL videogame scene. However, the nature of the global industry means most articles are suitable for international audiences as well.
PALGN covers every major videogame release on every platform, and the site's review archive is now over 1,600 games strong. PALGN is recognised as a major source of critical review by metascore sites Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and GameRankings and scores given by PALGN are used to determine the average rating a game receives on those sites.
Australian Release List
One of the most popular features of PALGN has been the comprehensive Australian release list which has been published since 2004. The release list is now based on the same data used by retailers and publishers, is updated in real-time, and allows users to see the scheduled date for a game's release, the status of that date (rumored, tentative, confirmed), the retail price, and even the rating given by the OFLC.Users can also select to view release dates by individual platform, and a click on a title will link to all PALGN coverage of the game.
Podcast
After a few intermittent podcasts, PALGN finally launched an ongoing podcast in 2007, co-hosted by Evan Stubbs and Daniel Golding. It has featured industry guests such as Joseph Hewitt, Senior Designer at AuranAuran
N3V Games is an Australian video game developer and publisher based in Brisbane, Queensland.-History:Auran was established by Greg Lane and Graham Edelsten in 1995, and released its first game, Dark Reign: The Future of War, in 1997...
studios, Tom Crago, Head of the GDAA, and Greg Tannahill, Democrats Candidate for the ACT. The format went weekly in 2008, and has been running for over a year. The format was recently updated into the 'Palcast' hosted by Anthony Capone, Jahanzeb Khan and Jarrod Mawson. A special series of four podcasts recorded live from Los Angeles at E3 2010 were recorded and hosted by editors Adam Ghiggino and Jeremy Jastrzab.
GamerKids
In October 2007 PALGN launched GamerKids, a version of the site designed for younger readers and their parents. Some PALGN content is shared with GamerKids, and there is also unique content specifically designed for the youth market. Popular gaming blog Kotaku described GamerKids' design as "a little crazy on the eyes." Due to the new design, the GamerKids website now links to PALGN itself.Forum
PALGN began as a forum, and has maintained a lively community of Australian and UK gamers for nrealy ten years. The forum has boards for discussion of videogame related matters for every platform, as well as boards for general chat and entertainment industry discussion.In 2006 PALGN launched a Game Exchange forum. Thousands of successful transactions have taken place since then by over 300 users.
New Design
On the 8th of July, 2008, a new look PALGN was created from a survey earlier in the year. The website update included comments from the Forum at the bottom of a Feature or News item, and an improved navigation system. It also integrated GamerKids into PALGN's main content.Administrators
- James Peter - Founder
- Jeremy Jastrzab - Executive Editor
- Adam Ghiggino - Managing Editor
- Anthony Capone - Communications Officer
- John Buck - Art Director
- James Varoutsos - Technical Director