Tuning into the show WCG Ultimate Gamer each week and doing the articles/podcasts made me curious about WCG (WorldCyberGames) in general. I did what the average person would do: I went to their website. Perplexed, I went to their YouTube profile.

Let’s just say I’m very confused.

The WCG Website

The site design/layout is confusing but more important; the content is outdated or incomplete. As of this writing the WCG Ultimate Gamer news has not been updated since episode three (tonight episode five airs). Then there is another site (WCG 2009) that is broken now (perhaps a new launch?). Back to the main WCG site; the JavaScript navigation links at the top are not working. Even more perplexing are news selections like this one:

Qualify soon for WCG Team USA 2009

As of this writing, that is all it says. Is it known how to do this and I’m clueless or is important information missing?

The WCG suffers from a common trend many site developers fall into: over-complicating things. I’m not a designer but, for example, why are the navigation links JavaScript? Those links are not working for me right now and from a usability standpoint there is not a backup (using regular HTML links) for those who have scripts turned off for security reasons (mods for FireFox like NoScript have it off my default). Today in WCG has the most current link dated Feb.25th but on the splash at the top they announced they launched a new US site.

In essence, the site does not blend together at all due to over-complication. The content is not displayed in optimal methods for the end-user.

WCG YouTube Profile

The WCG YouTube page has a lot of interesting and entertaining videos. The problem is: you most likely do not realize it is there. The profile seems to be lost in time. For example, when you go to the profile page the first video you see is the trailer. Not the current episode. Not a highlight from what is currently going on in the show. Instead, they have the trailer, that is three months old, as the first thing you see when you go to their profile page.

The second thing is just weird. New content is published with old dates. I subscribe via RSS so I can see the dates when new videos are released. Let me give you an example. Joel has a series of videos where he talks about what happens each week. I love these videos and found them by accident. They are my favorites, seriously. The problem: They have the date of the March 16th. For example, Joel Talks Isolation – Episode 4 of WCG Ultimate Gamer was released yesterday…that is when appeared in my RSS feed. However, look at the date. March 16, 2009. Look at the pageviews: 21. That’s because no one realizes it is there because it has an old date on it. Logically, we know they did not release the video on the 16th because it would have been on YouTube before the episode aired. SWooZie Calls Home – Episode 4 of WCG Ultimate Gamer has the date of Mar 19th, again a date before the episode aired. Then there are new videos like Guitar Hero Metallica Solo Montage Part 2 with the description:

Yeah these are somewhat hard and somewhat fun I just got bored

Don’t ask me who is playing. I have no clue. Yes, there is a bunch of text at the end and I admit I might have zoned out with all the jokes…but I can’t say “X made this video” or “Wow, X has some serious skills”. What’s the point in making a video like that and no one knows who you are?

What’s the point in publishing new content with old dates?

Consistency Please…

WCG has a lot of information that needs displaying in a fluid form. It is common to add JavaScript, Flash, Ajax, etc. to a site and the implement isn’t optimal. In the end users want to quickly and efficiently receive information. Even if I subscribe to the site via RSS the content still doesn’t match. Look at the News page. As of when I am writing this the current entry is dated Apr. 2nd, about Blizzard’s April Fool’s Day. Now look at the RSS feed for that section. The latest entry is March 31st.

It doesn’t have to be this difficult. I hope they fix things soon because I really wish them the best of luck.