Well, you're probably packing your daks with joy that you're now taking a squizz at your very own IGN AU site, ain't ya? Ok, that's enough of the token Australian slang - you're here to look for gaming and entertainment info, not see a bunch of guys pretending they're Kath Kim. If our IT monkeys have done their job correctly, hopefully you're reading this page from somewhere located in Australia, and you can see our beloved Aussie flag hanging just below the IGN logo at the top of the page.
If you're actually reading this from a salt mine in Uzbekistan, and can instead see a picture of goatse under our IGN logo, things have gone much worse than we could possibly have anticipated, and there's a good chance the Internet is about to burst into flames. But what happened to my beloved US IGN site, we pretend to hear you ask? Fear not beloved reader, as IGN AU is just an extension of everything you know and love about the IGN you're used to.
Thanks to the wonders of the Interweb, you've been automatically redirected to the Australian site, but that doesn't mean you'll be forced to read Ty the Tasmanian Tiger reviews instead of the latest Gears of War hands-on. We're not going to stop you from seeing any of the US content whatsoever; it's all here in its entirety, every last nugget. No, you special bunch are actually getting quite spoilt with IGN AU.
On top of the fact that IGN AU readers will get every single shred of US content, you'll start to see a healthy dose of local Aussie content as well. This means you're actually getting more content than our overseas game friends. Not too shabby, eh?
We'll be presenting all of the local news stories we can bribe out of disgruntled employees, and you'll now see the relevant information such as price, release date and OFLC rating when reading about upcoming titles. Australia has some very talented local developers, with the likes of Irrational, Creative Assembly and Krome (to name but a few) establishing themselves as world class creators. Rest assured that they'll all be getting the in-depth IGN attention you'd expect.
IGN isn't just about games; you'll also find extensive film and music sections. Australia has a wealth of genius in these areas, so we'll cover these bases too. Well, once the staff can stop fighting about who gets to interview Holly Valance first.
The fun doesn't stop there though. If you've ever been to the US before, you'd probably realise that there are some subtle differences between Yanks and Australians. Like the fact that most Australians don't own a semi-automatic weapon, and would never eat at a place called Fat Burger.
These variations also cross over into our gaming culture. For example, our online gaming community isn't nearly the size of the US, which can present interesting challenges when it comes to finding online games over Xbox Live. As a result, we're going to create localised reviews and previews of the biggest releases.
This doesn't mean we'll remove the US versions of these reviews either; they'll always be published on the IGN AU site. Obviously, sometimes our opinions are going to differ from our US pals, but we're cool with that. A difference of opinion can open up very interesting debates, which is something we encourage.
Due to the fact that IGN AU has just kicked off, we're still busily setting up features to help give you guys an even better site. So you may not notice a huge difference for the first few weeks - apart from a few dozen mistakes as we figure out how these website thingys work. But as the dust begins to settle after our initial launch, the content machine will kick into overdrive, leading to more localised stories.
Keep your eyes peeled for local forums, local reader reviews, and some of the biggest game-related competitions ever seen in Australia. Provided the lads here can pull off podcasts and video segments without looking like Steve Urkel's geekier cousin, these are on the way as well. We hope you dig reading the new IGN AU as much as we love working on it, and look forward to being your helping gaming and entertainment guide for many years to come.
Okay, cool - my two cents worth. Hello, constant readers, and welcome to IGN Australia. I'm Patch.
*cue tumbleweeds and crickets* As Bennett already mentioned, we're your local reps for all things IGN. By God, we're proud to be a part of proceedings, and rest assured, goof-ball Australian stereotypes and rednecker slang will be kept to an absolute minimum from here onwards. On penalty of castration should this golden rule be sullied.
We have high hopes for the Australian gaming scene - there is some fantastic work being done in local software houses and world-class developers are rapidly adopting this home-grown talent. We're here to cover this kind of stuff, and a boatload more. As a result, you'll get all the content the US gets, and then some.
Over the coming weeks, as we swing into rhythm and pump out the goods, expect to see exclusive interviews, reviews, pubcasts (yes, pubcasts) and hands-on playtests with a decidedly local slant. There are also some cool new features on the way that we can't talk about quite yet. Remember, this isn't at the expense of anything you'd ordinarily see.
It's the opposite, in fact. So smile, bucko! Right.
Without further wankery and stalling for time, we warmly present IGN Australia.
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