Since it is March 1st, I thought I'd give our loyal readers an update on what's been happening behind the scenes at IMG.



Back in early January we received notice from CNET that they were closing down the Gamecenter Alliance program, which IMG was a part of since April of last year. The Gamecenter Alliance program was, for all intents and purposes, a banner network. They sold the ads, we put them on our site, and CNET paid us (rather well, in fact).



With the revenues generated with the CNET program, we were able to launch new sites such as the wildly popular Macgamefiles.com as well as the IMG Network sites. During that time we were also able to triple our readership in a span of about 6 months, and maintain that growth today.



So, when CNET told us they were shutting down the Gamecenter Alliance, we were left with a dilemma. How were we going to make money so that we could stay afloat, and more importantly, what could we do to keep IMG growing? One thing was for certain: we wanted Mac-oriented ads back on Inside Mac Games. And as you've probably noticed, since February 1st, we've been running primarily Mac-related ads on the site.



Today we're proud to announce that five Mac-specific companies have signed up to sponsor Inside Mac Games: Aspyr Media, GraphSim Entertainment, MacPlay, MacSoft, and Pangea Software. Without their generous support, Inside Mac Games would not have been able to continue operating in its current form. To them we say a big "Thank You!"



IMG is also proud to announce that we've teamed up with Backbeat Media, who will be selling the ads that appear throughout IMG. Unlike CNET they are working with us to tailor the content to better suit your needs and the needs of our sponsors -- be sure and check out our banners, and click on a few if a product or service interests you.



The result of all this is that IMG will not only be able to continue to serve the gaming community, but to flourish as well. In the past few months we've been working on the monumental task of converting our site from an html-based system to a fully-scripted database system. This means that IMG doesn't have to touch an html editor ever again (woohoo!) to update the site. The scripted system allows us to easily publish previews, reviews, features, and news items in a matter of minutes. The IMG site will be cross-indexed and searchable in a way that was not previously possible, and we will offer many innovative ways to tunnel through our years and years of content. More importantly, when we redesign the IMG site (look for that soon), we can do a switchover to a new design without "breaking" the site. Don't worry, we aren't going to "fix" anything that wasn't broken in the first place -- we will refine the site, not radically change it.



Before CNET informed us of their decision, we had plans to launch two new Mac-game related web sites this year; we decided to hold off on those plans until we were back on our feet. We're now moving ahead with those plans, and you will see results soon.



So, what does this all mean to you, the IMG reader? Since we started IMG back in 1993, our number one goal has always been to help grow the Mac games community. And I think, in our own way, we've been able to do just that.



So, in closing, I'd like to thank our sponsors, our loyal and hard-working staff, and our faithful readers for making IMG what it is today. If you have any comments or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at tuncer@insidemacgames.com.

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