FileRush didn't survive new years eve

[alienchild]

The short version:

As a way to ring in the new 2006 year, we've decided to discontinue the File Rush file section. This covers the bittorrents and direct downloads featured on the front page of filerush.com. Filerushnews.com will of course continue under the expert abilities of Brandon Shipe, and I'll be refocusing my efforts into areas where I can assist with that where possible.
Go to FileRush (http://www.filerush.com) to read the longer story.

What a tragic start of the new year...

[Draft]

That sucks, but I'm surprised it took this long. File Rush was at the forefront of BT file distribution, but that's all they had going. Once larger websites like 3Dgamers started seeding torrents, there wasn't really much reason to use File Rush anymore.

[lpmiller]

tragic? TRAGIC?

[fitbabits]

This saddens me. Good luck to Brandon and the gang in 2006!

[jeffool]

Yeah, I'll go with tragic. I always searched them first when looking for game files. Sorry to hear that aspect didn't work out, Bri. Good luck in the future, pal.

[doubtingthomas]

Yeah, that sucks, I always picked them first as well. You click on the file, and are then taken directly to a page with a bit torrent option. I guess that wasn't a good profit model compared to filtering through page after page and option after option on every other download site just to get a patch, video, or demo. This blows.

[zeeeg]

I only recall using them a few times, but they didn't seem any better/worse than any other file download site. (well, they were better than fileplanet of course) *shrug*

[Heretic Machine]

Wait... Filerush doesn't have files anymore? I'm not sure there is a reason for that site to exist if they aren't at least doing bittorrents.

[A-Team]

Thanks for the kind words guys. It was a tough decision to make after being in operation for two years, but Hood and I felt that there was no way around closing File Rush. Seeing as though we have never asked for donations or required users to register, much less pay for downloads, File Rush was only being paid for on three fronts: Google ads, AdBrite ads, and Hood himself. Combined, the revenue generated through Google ads and AdBrite ads was not enough to cover server expenses, which meant that Hood had to foot the bill.

At this point, I'm more worried about the negative feedback we've been getting about our news selection than anything else. I've always felt like my work was better than what some of the naysayers stamp it as, including our daily news and in-house content; many hours were invested on my behalf to attract new faces and give longtime viewers from the AIXGaming days a reason to stick around. I'd like to think that people were just too upset about the loss of the BitTorrent downloads to put in a good word about our news coverage, but I guess we'll just have to sit back and see where we stand come February.

This ordeal has made me question the progress I've made with my writing over the past 23 months, but I stand by everything I've ever written on our site. Whether that's a good thing or not is up to the gaming community at large; the people that find my work to be worthwhile even with the numerous other websites out there.

Sorry for the long, drawn-out post. It's been a rough time for all parties involved, but hopefully everything will work out in the end.

[Ph00p]

The few times I used the torrents from that site it was kinda slower than other sites of less legal nature, seemed like when you host a site with legal torrents you attract shitmonkey leechers I guess, thats a shame but ah well, it was a good idea while it lasted I guess.

[Draft]

I guess you're going to have to step up A-Team, and create content that makes the site worth visiting.

Thought it is going to be kind of wierd to have no "files" on a site called File Rush ;)

[A-Team]

The few times I used the torrents from that site it was kinda slower than other sites of less legal nature, seemed like when you host a site with legal torrents you attract shitmonkey leechers I guess, thats a shame but ah well, it was a good idea while it lasted I guess.
We had a lot of problems with users taking our tracking links and posting them on sites like TorrentSpy. That didn't exactly lead to our demise, but it made it harder to satisfy everyone that came through out site.

I guess you're going to have to step up A-Team, and create content that makes the site worth visiting.

Thought it is going to be kind of wierd to have no "files" on a site called File Rush ;)
Yeah, I've got to think some things over and look at my options. Not that I have too many options at this point, but you never know.

[Royal Fool]

I guess you could just make a habit of reporting news on file downloads and link to other sites... or, um, yeah.

Anyway, sorry to hear this.

[easi]

This saddens me greatly. I could always count on filerush for a no-bullshit way to get my demos, game movies and such. I also maxed out my 10Mb cable a few times there. Now I'm going to have to wade through a bunch of intrusive, annoying ads every time I want to check out something. Most of the other sites out there just don't 'get' their target audience like filerush did.

[Syl]

I used filerush quite a bit, as i don't like registering to places just so i can simply download directly - torrents just make more sense to me.

Like most way's i'm linked to things - i always got linked to interesting items on Filerush through Gametab somehow. Hopefully this is also the way in which i can find a new download supplier.

[hotdrop]

they should have had some sort of system to reward seeders with accounts and what not like many private BT networks .

[GrinR]

For what it's worth, I'm a member of two of the largest and most popular EXCLUSIVE bittorrent sites - empornium.us and ... one other. By enforcing ratios, limiting user numbers, and focusing on specific content - these sites offer me what I really want: maximum download speeds and the best content.

The main draw for me to upload is to get a better ratio, and on one of these sites torrents are available based on ratio - the better your ratio, the sooner the hot files are available for you.

Free will always be killed by freeloading idiots. Always.

[Nomad]

At this point, I'm more worried about the negative feedback we've been getting about our news selection than anything else....

More than anything, the naysaying I'm hearing as a result of closing the file section has been a comment on the loss of the site's most valued feature, not necessarily an objective review of the quality of the site's other offerings. My notion of Filerush was mostly of a legal, maintained hub for both community projects and corporate content. I've remained mostly unmindful of the news posts, as most of your critics may have, but all of that, including the subsequent negative feedback, spawns from the lone fact that the potency of Filerush-the-content-hub far overshadowed that of Filerush-the-news-site in the minds of readers.

In short, inflammations of public opinion should be taken with a small Siberian salt mine, and I still have great faith in the site's potential.

[A-Team]

they should have had some sort of system to reward seeders with accounts and what not like many private BT networks .
For what it's worth, I'm a member of two of the largest and most popular EXCLUSIVE bittorrent sites - empornium.us and ... one other. By enforcing ratios, limiting user numbers, and focusing on specific content - these sites offer me what I really want: maximum download speeds and the best content.

The main draw for me to upload is to get a better ratio, and on one of these sites torrents are available based on ratio - the better your ratio, the sooner the hot files are available for you.

Free will always be killed by freeloading idiots. Always.
Both of you made some good points about how things could've been better, but money is the biggest issue at hand here. It takes 20mbit seeds to at least get patches and movies off the ground to hundreds of people, and at least a 100mbit seed to get larger files out there to enough people so that you don't have to worry about draining away your bandwidth allotment for a particular month. Servers cost money, and I'm not talking a few bucks a month.

That said, I believe it was Hood who once told me that download sites are a dime a dozen. We thought that hosting free files, securing friendly relationships with publishers to get files faster, and maintaining a small community would be enough to pay the bills. Neither of us were looking to become millionaires off of making news posts, writing reviews, or putting up downloads; we wanted to give the gaming community something that they could appreciate, and do so without opening our own wallets.

That bold statement from Hood came back and bit us in the butt. With established download sites like 3D Gamers, Fileshack, FilePlanet, GameSpot, and WorthPlaying, it was like trying to play a game of 1 vs. 1 on a basketball court with dozens of other people trying to play their own games. Sure, we saw tremendous growth in the 35 months following my joining the AIXGaming team, but so did everyone else.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that yes, it was a big loss for people who just wanted to download their files without being hustled for cash, but File Rush was a long ways from supporting itself. We could sit here all day and converse about how we could've made File Rush a cost-efficient site, but what's done is done.

[GrinR]

I think the download ratio being tied to the speed of available downloads is a good idea. It has been my opinion for a long time that competing for the common man's money is a loser's game. For the little entrepreneur, you want to go for a specialized market, own it, then branch out. Go for that Brandon - set up a portal site for torrents that limits things by ratio and user account, then offer a "paid user" option for leeches, and you have a model that works.