It's not easy to get on 'the list'. No1. They only have a limited number of review copies that they send out.
No2. You need to have lots of readers..and they need to be relatively same audience that a game publisher is trying to get to.

If you have all this. The next step would be to contact them or go to their press site. But there isn't just a button saying ' Give me a review copy'. You will have to apply for this by email/call.

No.3 You WILL be disappointed. I have to be honest here. They won't send you a review copy. You need to have good amount of reviews already and good traffic to even get considered. You cannot start at the top. So, review some games you already have or just buy one game a month and build up your 'review portfolio' . If you've got some questions or need any help, do send me a message.





Thanks Milos. I guess it will be an uphill struggle but I'm hoping the fact that we're a fairly nich publication (only for Sussex) will give us an advantage. Perhaps we should be targetting only Sussex based developers?

I disagree with Milos. You can't compete with CBS or Fox Entertainment or any of the other big sites. Gamers go to the big sites for reviews, you can sometimes get a small bit of people you know that will come to your site, because they're in Sussex or people you know. Everyone and their blog now a days reviews the AAA titles. Meanwhile there is this huge Indie market being almost completely ignored. There are a few Indie sites that do reviews and have captured a HUGE audience because of it.

Also all this big sites have player blogs, which also review games. I tend to spend time reading GameSpot and 1UP blogs myself, as well as player reviews. I would never go to a small site for the sole reason, I just don't think about it. When I want to read a review my first stop is
http://www.gamespot.com/users/lordvarmint/games_table?mode=own
and
http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/213466/bayonetta-empowering-or-exploitative/
and
www.1up.com
and
www.ign.com

I do occasionally go to http://www.villagegamer.net/ because it's local, and it's interesting to read about local game news as well. But I never think of it for reviews. I usually read the reviews on her site well after I've read reviews on the sites above. She's passionate about her writing and seems to be a true gamer, from reading her Dragon Age and Assassin Creed reviews. She seems to have an excellent eye when playing a game, which translates well into her writings. I'd probably go there more if she had reviews first before the other sites, player reviews and I'd like to see developer reviews and developer reviews of other games.

I generally read the player reviews as well as skim over the site review. Player reviews mean more to me, because it's actually people who shelled out cash for the game, where site reviews are paid for reviews and seems like none of the site reviewers are gamers. They struggle with the simplest of controls, seem to have this hate attitude and are very opinionated. I know thats all part of the marketing of the game, they do this to prompt player reviews to defend the game and create conflict.

Personally I think start up sites like yourself, should talk to the guys that are in your same position but on the development side. As an Indie game developer, it's almost impossible to get a review on the big sites, mostly because it's paid for by the big publishers. And there is a lot more Indie developers out there, that even the Indie focused sites can't handle the load and a lot of developers just get ignored. So why not focus on those games instead of following the band wagon and just being another wanna be big site doing AAA titles.

Thats my 3 cents.

Great advice Andrew.  Much appreciated. Register with GamesPress.com There you'll find contact details for most games companies' PR firms (i.e. email addresses and phone numbers).

You may also be able to find this info from publishers' individual websites, - even if there's a generic phone number, the person who answers can often pass on the correct contact details you need.

Send the PRs a brief explanation of your site, explain your intentions with the games column, and ask if you could receive review copies. If you don't hear back in a week or so, follow up with a phone call.

You should be okay, although it can take some time, but if you get stuck, hooking up with a local games retailer may help also - which could also lead to potential local ad revenue, or greater awareness of your site from the shop's customers.