Xbox Ireland now under new ownership

The former owner, and the editor, left separately for personal reasons

In December 2005, XboxIreland.com was sold to Jason Powell with an address listed as ‘Joseph Gardner Way, Liverpool, GB’. Mark Scully, the previous owner and creator of the site, is no longer involved with Xbox Ireland – according to Cian O'Mahony, the then editor, Scully left for “personal reasons beyond his control”. 

Speaking to Games Toaster, Cian O'Mahony said that he left “because of university and work commitments”, adding “to give the site the attention it deserves I decided that it would be best if it were managed by someone else. I may return in the distant future”

An apparently unregistered ‘Guest’ user on the sites forums named ‘the Chief’ who’s posts have become official announcements, lists user ‘xXCKY2K’ as ‘Content Editor’. ‘The Chief’ also lists new ‘Site Contributors’ as ‘crazy gooner’, ‘olie3146’, ‘Scrapper’, ‘AwakeDreamingUK’, ‘wind it up’, ‘sunny_boy’, and ‘skantmaster’. Jason Powell, the site’s new owner told us “I would also like to state that the staff list is in the process of getting up dated”.

Also, on the main section of the site, a statement reads - “The Xbox Ireland team would like to apologise for the recent activity on the site. Due to management issues as well as other matters, the site hasn't been updated on a regular basis lately”.

Related articles

Clarification: XI: we used facts, we did not infer or imply (Dec 10, 2005)
XboxIreland.com launches, backed by publishers (Nov 28, 2005)

Comments

[pleb]

Have you anything positive to say about that site by any chance? Talk about trying to maintain your omonpoly on Irish games sites. |How about you try and help new Irish sites rather than knock them?

[Guest]

Because rather then report on proper gaming news, he posts about other irish sites and puts them down to make him feel better about his own.

[Cian Ginty]

To the first poster, who goes by the name 'pleb' - we posted facts, we did not infer or imply (for 'good' or 'bad'). An example of us trying to maintain a monopoly would be what? Reporting the facts?...

Games Toaster is a general Ireland-focused games site with mostly Irish news, Xbox Ireland is an Xbox only site with mostly international news – how do the two directly compare?

To the second 'Guest' poster - Is news about Xbox Ireland not 'proper gaming news'? Is such not news worthy for an Ireland-focused games site? Where have I 'put' 'down' Irish games websites, where is my opinion expressed in the above article?

[pleb]

For example, why mention the message "The Xbox Ireland team would like to apologise for the recent activity on the site. Due to management issues as well as other matters, the site hasn't been updated on a regular basis lately” being on the main site.

Is it newsworthy for you to reveal that their site has not been updated? I don't think so. I don't see you reporting when other sites are not updated. Why not let the reader visit their site and see it themselves.

You have reported upon a number of the negative aspects of the site, as you did before, and ignored the positive parts.

Be a little positive for a change. This is the second or third time you've tried to rubbish them, even if you do deny it. If it happens again, I, for one, won't be reading Gamestoaster anymore.

Irish games sites should give each other support. They're few and far between as it is.

[Guest]

Xbox Ireland is having problems,I don't see how that is newsworthy here? Management has changed,hardly a big issue to write about considering its not a massive site...

[Le Chuck]

Nope, the author here just wants to have his cheap shot.

I don't see him pointing out any of the positives eg. XboxIreland's site design is alot better than the one here, but you don't see him reporting on that.

Cian, you may not have said anything negative but that doesn't mean you didn't imply it. Relax and stop seeing other sites as a threat.

Did it ever occur to you that XboxIreland may be able to help you, just like you could help them.

[Guest]

Three articles all about the one site...very fascinating stuff Cian..

[Cian Ginty]

With the not-being-updated quote, I think you got me wrong there, I used the not-being-updated quote because mainly just as an illustration of how Xbox Ireland told their viewers about the change. If anything, I’d read that as something like ‘sorry we had changes in the background, but we’re back in full swing now’. It’s good to see a site communicating with its readers. I wasn’t trying to directly report the not-being-updated fact, why would I because Games Toaster is desperate for not been updated quite often?

On is Xbox Ireland newsworthiness, on one hand there’s comments asking me to support other Irish sites, then other comments are telling me that a management and editorial staff change at the site – possible two of the largest things which could happen to website or organisation – is somehow not newsworthy.

Even if it wasn’t an interesting enough story to publish, we have a responsibility to update our record on topics we report on – news publications do this by publishing new stories not editing old ones – this is what we done.

As before, look to the right hand side panel – what other site does this, in fact what other Irish games site has links to all/most of the others? And only about one of these links was requested – we actively found and published the rest.

Their site design is a subjective matter; it’s a view not a fact, as is ours. Our design is bland and desperately lacking in colour (we're going to try to fix this some what at some point), but functional and a reflection of our fact-based news coverage. This is just one view on our design; others may hate it or think it’s just tolerable. Anyway, do I really have to talk about the newsworthiness of their site design – which is actually partly illustrated in an image in the above article?

As for the perception that I see Xbox Ireland as a threat, as I said in my comment above - Games Toaster is a general Ireland-focused games site with mostly Irish news, Xbox Ireland is an Xbox only site with mostly international news – how do the two directly compare? Attacking me with comments like “cheap shot”, doesn’t exactly make me “Relax”, but I’m replying coolheaded, without resorting to cheep shots.

Three articles, one publicising the fact a new Irish games site launched, the second just a clarification on the first, and the third new info and an update on the first. And the conspiracy theories pile in…

Will we make in four? How about anyone write about the site (the positives or not, it’s up to you) and we will publish it under the header ‘Emails’ (see the ‘Have your say?’ page vie the top right hand side menu). I’ve previously offered this to the former editor of XI, and I offered the new owner and other staff to comment further then the questions I sent them – offers which at this time have not been taken up.

[lechuck]

And must you not ask why the conspiracy theories have plied in? Surely there's something behind it when so many people think you are guilty of criticising them.

This site can't get that many readers and look at the amount of comments on this article accusing you of wrongdoing. The customer is always right, after all.

[Cian Ginty]

I don’t mean to demean your views, but I’d be very cautious using three to five people who have commented here as to be representative of Games Toaster’s reader base. Since the first article we have received at least two private correspondences telling us how humorous reading the complaints was, we haven’t let this affect how we have tried to address any complaints. And as someone commented above, this story is may be of little interest to a lot of people.

Our story about the Sun’s headline ‘PlayStation Killer’ is a good example of getting loads of viewers with no comments. Stories we have previously done have mirrored this, for example our articles on the GAA game or the Xbox 360 have had numerous visitors but little or no comments compared to those who viewed the page.

One good thing about being featured on Google News, News Now, and Topix.net (and sometimes being featured highly in some Irish-related topic searches on Google/MSN/Yahoo) is that while we get regular users who want to know all about games and Ireland (that’s one reason why we cover ‘small’ stories), the sites named and others who link to us on once off bases provide readers who are only interested in few topics or just larger stories.

‘lechuck’ whatever about “many people think” we have addressed comments posted by the above people. We did not just take ‘cheap shots’, we did not focus on just one aspect of the comments, but we tried to addressed all points made by the concerned posters.

You got 2 e-mails yet three to five people have complained, I'm another one now.

That's 6 to two e-mails. Guess you know what the majority thinks or do I have to point it out.

[Cian Ginty]

Six anonymous complains does not translate to six people complaining.

Again, I’d be very cautious using these comments as to be representative of Games Toaster’s reader base – this could be at best six people who are involved with XI.

Anyway, we have addressed all detailed complaints, and have received no outstanding response to such. We cant reply to just "I'm another one now".

[Edit: Forgot to add my name to this comment early while away from my home PC]