Riposte
Member
I'll start with a few, concrete examples and try to work my way out.
I would pay for Soren Johnson's writing on videogames. I guess what that means is that I'm not much interested in the skin-deep analysis that comes with most game reviews: even if professional gaming journalists at RPS or GB are better at it than the average troll on GAF, I learn more about the likelihood that I will enjoy a title from reading impressions here. I don't need professional product reviews. On the other hand, writing specifically focused on design theory, without bias among formats or genres, is a rare commodity that gives me a fair amount of pleasure. Soren would have an easier time than other authors coaxing money from me because he's an authoritative voice and his views are already of interest to me, but I don't think my interest in his sort of writing is limited to celebrity game designers. (Although a hypothetical subscription-based magazine or website would do well to have such an authoritative voice on hand, at least initially, to get me in the door).
I would pay for "Iwata Asks" or that enormous 4gamer (I think) interview with Miyazaki about Dark Souls. I guess that means I would pay for extensive interviews with game designers. Those specific interviews are on subjects that interest me more than the average video game, but I think I would be willing to pay a bit even for interviews concerning games that mean little to me (say, for example, Uncharted) if the interviews delved deep into the development process and how the designers thought about the game they were making.
I would pay for Opiate's posts on the business side of things. Industry economics and business strategies are much-bemoaned but rarely explored in depth. I would be pretty interested in writing focused on high-level business analysis of industry trends and the implications of new technology.
Now, I don't know that I would pay more than a few dollars per week for these individual items. But if you packaged them in one website and added the occasional insider info about the goings-on at certain studios, then I could see myself subscribing.
Or you would read it when someone posts it all on GAF.