Is it just me?

[Chocolate Death]

Is it just me, or does the site seem more for TCG players and kinda push everyone else aside? I mean, the front page has tons of links about how to set up a deck and getting advice on decks and how to play TCG and etc, but nothing for the games aside from the calendar or articles. I mean, I understand the TCG is ever expanding and a large aspect of the community, but I still feel like VGC players are kinda swept aside a bit. Sure, we may not get as many new things as TCG, but we still do need as much help as TCG, if not more in some cases. And, yes, I know there's other sites for competitive. But, those sites don't tend to be very friendly towards fresh blood sometimes. I... I dunno, I feel like I'm just being picky. That, or I'm kinda still irked about how my friend wanted to get into VGC and found this site and ended up saying he'll never use it since it's for TCG only. I told him that wasn't the case. but he's budging about as much as that infamous Snorlax.

Also, I apologize if I put this somewhere where it shouldn't have been, or wasn't allowed to say stuff like this. It wouldn't be the first time I got in trouble for saying something about something I have a little issue with on a forum I'm on.

 

[Vom]

While it may look that way, the site has forums for both the video games and the card game. Both have spaces for general discussion and news (TCG/VG News & Discussion), competitive play (TCG/VG), for advice on teams (Rate My Team) or decks (Deck Garage), even both have a place for new/returning players to ask any questions they might have, related to either the games or the TCG.

About the front page, what you're saying is inaccurate. While the Forum Discussions section does have only TCG links, the News section has both a Games and a TCG tab, the calendar also does, and for what it's worth WPM's tweets cover both too.
The reason for this is most likely because the TCG community on the site is bigger than the VG one, but taking into account the links above it would be false to say that PokéBeach is a TCG-only site.

 

[iSharingan]

I have to say I've noticed a similar trend. I know it used to be you could get decent help for a VG team (VGC or otherwise) but recently the VG section has be very neglected and most of the 'good' players and analysts have either moved elsewhere due to the inactivity or been alienated by staff/other members. Whats more, many (but not all) of the 'new blood' players aren't very receptive of some advice they are given in RMTs/etc, further complicating things.

True, the site does have areas designated for VG discussion, but that doesn't mean much when they're not as easily accessible (much less widely used). I don't see an easy fix to revive the VG section (after all, players like myself who have nothing to do with the TCG for various reasons aren't helped at all by the over-centralization in that regard, plus it's also equally reliant on the activity of the members/staff as much as it is design/accessibility to players [often unfamiliar with the site] seeking info). I know I've personally had to resort to skype/other communication methods with other active players I've talked to to get anything done regarding building a team or doing any game-related research, as public threads here always seem to get swept under the rug - especially if they involve the actual games and not simulators.

If even half the VG projects I have become aware of over the course of my time here were actually finished (also reliant on actually keeping people on the project and not bumping them down/off the project or letting them wander off >.>), our VG section could easily rival the other VG-central sites (both in activity and available data). As it is, though, it's much easier to just go to other sites - even if the people there are far less charismatic or helpful when it comes to questions.

TBH, I doubt this 'coming soon' is what I think it is (lets just say I've 'seen things' back in the day), but even if it is, I don't think it'll be enough to revive the VG side entirely. This is probably bc I've seen too many projects (like the gen 5 OU/UU/etc pokemon analyses - which no longer even exist on the public portion of the site) get scrapped bc they became outdated before even half done.

So no, it's not just you, Chocolate.

 

[Leaf_Ranger]

Is it just me, or does the site seem more for TCG players and kinda push everyone else aside? I mean, the front page has tons of links about how to set up a deck and getting advice on decks and how to play TCG and etc, but nothing for the games aside from the calendar or articles. I mean, I understand the TCG is ever expanding and a large aspect of the community, but I still feel like VGC players are kinda swept aside a bit. Sure, we may not get as many new things as TCG, but we still do need as much help as TCG, if not more in some cases. And, yes, I know there's other sites for competitive. But, those sites don't tend to be very friendly towards fresh blood sometimes. I... I dunno, I feel like I'm just being picky. That, or I'm kinda still irked about how my friend wanted to get into VGC and found this site and ended up saying he'll never use it since it's for TCG only. I told him that wasn't the case. but he's budging about as much as that infamous Snorlax.

Also, I apologize if I put this somewhere where it shouldn't have been, or wasn't allowed to say stuff like this. It wouldn't be the first time I got in trouble for saying something about something I have a little issue with on a forum I'm on.

I came back today after months just to take a peek at the forum and I see this...
Well, to start, the reason why I left was because that with the revamp the site was back in full to the TCG stuff that was previously seen as scrapped and unavailable stuff in the front page. Also, the anime discussion was ruined when a very nice thread that kept going ended in favor of discussion episode by episode with a new thread for each, which was fruitless in discussion.
So, even if someone isn't also into competitive or non-competitive stuff, it may feel like something dried.
...

 

[Shining Raikou]

Let me help to shed some light on this, maybe it'll make more sense to all of you.

PokeBeach has historically had a focus on the TCG primarily, and that does continue to this day. The previous front page was very TCG-centric and the current front page continues focus on the TCG, while also featuring important news from the VG, anime, etc. We don't want to leave others out and have always supported news and dedicated parts of the forums/staff for VG, Art, and more. Truth be told, these sections don't always go over as well as we want them to when changes happen, and recently we also haven't had as much staff support for VG and a few other areas. While we are looking to recruit more people to help us, we can't make changes overnight to the forums. Please bear with us during our shortage of help, and maybe even express interest in helping us out yourself! The forum is always stronger and better when we work together.

Additional feedback may be submitted to my PM box if there are any further criticisms, concerns, or questions. I hope we can work together to improve our present situation.

Thank you!

SR