Show IH: Video Game Collection & Backlog Manager
Built a prototype over 3 weeks, then launched very quietly in early July (used a bit of money to advertise on facebook, and did a bunch of organic promotion on reddit and in comment sections on gaming news sites). We've gotten a ton of great feedback from users, so we are working through that, but would love to hear more from this community.
Our biggest open question is around monetization. People use our site when they are trying to decide what game to play next, so it seems natural to plug into that "moment of intent" and, given our deep knowledge of users' game preferences, recommend games, including sponsored results. However, we are not totally sure how to test such advertising at a small scale (we are at around 600 users right now). It seems that most people buying ads would want us to have a very large audience first.
Is this mostly used for games that are yet to be released? One thing you could do is comparing prices of box-sets and digital downloads across vendor sites and displaying the cheapest price with an affiliate link.
Also, I think Indie studios might be interested in sponsoring their games for a minor fee. Definitely concentrate on growth, but even with 600 members, you might be able to get partners on board.
Right now, people primarily use the site to track games they already own across various platforms. However, a wishlist feature is something we have seen requested, and it's on our shortlist. We'll definitely figure out a way to include affiliate links, thanks for the suggestion!
It's also an interesting idea to reach out to indie studios and see if they'd be willing to partner with us for promotions. Thank for for the idea!
Oh look! Some competition :D