A Gamers Haven: The Koalition Has Landed

Gaming and hip-hop seems like they’re worlds apart. However, they might not be as disparate as you think. Both have loyal and passionate fans. Each has a fair share of heroes with larger than life mythos. In a mashup reminiscent of a Reeses Cup, The Koalition has combined the two topics to create a thriving web property. From their modest beginnings as a bunch of guys voicing their opinions in a gaming forum, the Koalition staff has banded together to fill a space that’s often ignored — the African-American gamer.

According to Managing Editor/Director A.B. Frasier, the mission is simple, “introduce more gaming to the hip-hop world.” To that end, news-driven gaming content and reviews rub elbows with celebrity interviews and music videos. While every artist interviewed by the staff may not be a gamer, it can still be a win for the site. By featuring artists on the site, there is a unique opportunity to get their content in front of an audience they might not necessarily encounter if the site was gaming-only. In addition to the Koalition’s target demographic of gamers 18-30+ in the United States, the site has an international following. With writers living in England, the website has covered the grime scene featuring artists like Baby Blue.

Like most websites, thekoalition.com is ad-driven, but Fraiser alluded to several business ventures in the works in the realm of consulting. Page views are at 50,000 a month with continual growth. That’s no surprise since the site  was named the 2009 Black Weblog Award winner for best technology site/blog. But with every triumph, there’s a roadblock. Their Koalition crew have seen their share of challenges along the way, the biggest of which is procuring the actual games.

“I notice on the hip-hop side of things, you don’t really have to be a popular or well known site to get an interview with an artist,” Frasier explains. “All you have to do is be in the right place at the right time. When you’re running a gaming site, these developers and game publishers really won’t give you an exclusive or a copy of the game to review unless you’re a worthwhile publication”

Challenges aside, TheKoalition.com continues to brush the dirt off their shoulders to bring readers the latest in gaming trends. Some trends that have drawn A.B.’s interest include Microsoft and Sony’s entry into the motion control gaming market and the rise of pre-order downloadable content which Frasier calls an “increasing headache for gamers.” He’s taking a wait-and-see approach to 3D gaming, but noted that in a poll conducted on the site about the trend with the majority voting that they’re excited about gaming in the third dimension.

African Americans are some of the biggest video game consumers and yet we are horribly underrepresented in the industry. Hopefully with sites like The Koalition and fellow black gaming sites, Konsole Kingz and TrueGameHeadz leading the way, we’ll start to see more video game heroes that look like us.