Wazap!
 | |
| Public | |
| Industry | Gaming, Search Engine |
| Founded | Berlin, Germany (April 2004) |
| Founders | Andreas Rührig & Timo Meyer |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Divisions | Wazap DE. Wazap JP, Wazap CN |
| Website | Wazap! |
Wazap! is a vertical search engine, video game database and social networking site to distribute gaming news, rankings, cheats, downloads and reviews. As a vertical search engine, it indexes gaming sites and categorizes the information as news, reviews, cheats, downloads, previews and articles. Wazap uses a search algorithm, developed internally, to rank indexed pages according to their relevance. Further relevance to the Search engine results page (SERP) is obtained from user interactivity. Users can "Top" or "Flop" any of the results on the SERP and influence its relevance. Wazap's "bot" or "crawler" finds gaming related sites across the internet and tags pages according to the pre-defined categories. They also use a user submission tool. Wazap combines internal proprietary information with their indexed gaming-related information from the web. The results obtained are then accessibly displayed according to the derived quality, publisher submissions, user popularity and preference.
History
Wazap first launched in Japan as a community website for gamers. Initially a mix of gaming news and user generated content, Wazap was then brought into a larger, more global role of gaming search and information distribution. Wazap AG had two regions at launch, Wazap (JP) and Wazap (DE). Both officially launched in 2004 with Japan first and then Berlin, Germany shortly thereafter.[1] In November 2006, Wazap launched Wazap (CN) in China. The US version of Wazap launched in June 2007.[2][3]
Origin of the name
The origin of the name "Wazap" has historical relevance to both Japanese and English languages. "Wazap" is a combination of the word "Waza" and the English word for "up." In Japanese, "Waza" means "technique." Judokas, apprentices of the martial art of Judo, may connect the term with another word. For example, "waza-ari" means "technique existent." The two words "waza" and "up" were similarly combined to create a new word which means "to improve, to reach/aim higher."
Features
Wazap's ranking system works dynamically with user-generated content. Results are presented based on quality and user popularity.
Gaming Web Search
Wazap's Gaming Web Search uses two methods to find video game content on the web. Firstly it uses an automated web crawler to find and index gaming content. It gathers information from gaming content sites, from gaming blogs, forums and independent news sources. Secondly, Wazap accepts user submissions. Each user submission, pending approval by the content filter, is added to the search index. Once a page is indexed, it is tagged for content and type. Wazap's web search algorithm determines whether the page is a gaming review or preview, a media item like a demo, video, mod or patch, a cheat or a news item. Based upon these tags, a search query will automatically filter the search results and display them on the Search engine results page (SERP). This Site has been closed now and re-directs to Japanese page.
Wazap uses a dynamic XML structure which generates an automatic RSS feed based upon the search query. When users search Wazap's web search, they can add the RSS feed to any RSS reader. As Wazap indexes gaming content that's relevant to their search query, that new information will be distributed to the user's RSS reader.
Game Database
Wazap's Game Database contains over 10,000 video games. As new games are announced and as older games are cataloged, the game database is a constantly growing feature. Wazap organizes the database by game console and genre.
| Platform | Genre | Sorting Field |
|---|---|---|
| PC games | Action games | Popularity |
| Xbox 360 | RPG | Sales |
| PlayStation 3 | Strategy games | Name |
| Wii | Entertainment Games | Release Date |
| PlayStation 2 | Adventure games | Recently Released |
| Xbox | Sports games | Available Soon |
| Nintendo GameCube (GC) | Simulation games | |
| PlayStation Portable (PSP) | Platform games | |
| Nintendo DS | Racing games | |
| Game Boy Advance (GBA) | Children's games | |
| PlayStation (PS) | ||
| Macintosh | ||
| Linux | ||
| Sega Saturn | ||
| Game Boy Color (GBC) | ||
| Nintendo 64 (N64) | ||
| Dreamcast DC | ||
| Nokia N-Gage | ||
| Game Boy (GB) | ||
| Sega Genesis |
Each game is organized to display the cover art of the game, an aggregation of ratings from multiple review sources and user rankings. Users can then comment on the game, find related games and browse the top results from Wazap's web search organized into cheats, news, articles, downloads and natural web results.
Community
Registered users can create profiles noting their games of choice, game ratings given and bookmarked favorites.
Another social component of Wazap's site is the commenting feature. Registered users can provide opinions, commentary, reviews, previews, evaluations and analysis.
User Influenced Search
Wazap also uses user activity to determine the order of the search results. As users search for information, they select "Top" or "Flop". Based on the user's response to the search result, multiple "Flops" could result in the site's decrease in the order of search results. Similarly, multiple "Tops" from users can bring more relevant content to the top of the page.
Algorithmic Search
Wazap uses an algorithm to determine the order of results on the search page. This algorithm measures multiple aspects of the individual page to determine the page's content. The algorithm then determines what the applicable keywords on the page are and what position the page will result when those keywords are searched.
Reviews and rating system
Games are categorized on a sliding percentage scale ranging (0-100%). This rating method is applicable to specific game titles across multiple platforms and the registered user can only vote on any chosen item once to ensure unique results.
News items, articles and search results are categorized and ranked using the top 'TOP/FLOP' voting feature.
Two types of scores are displayed within the Games Database. The first is the aggregate of various gaming publication reviews while the other is solely the aggregate of Wazap! users' scores and votes.
Executives
- Andreas Rührig: CEO & Co-founder[4]
- Timo Meyer: COO & Co-founder
- Philip Gienandt: CFO
- Alexander Piutti: CCO, & General Manager, Europe
- Jeff Tang: General Manager, China
- Thom Kozik: General Manager, U.S.
Awards
In 2007, Wazap AG (Germany) earned a 2007 Red Herring Award - European Division.[5] The Red Herring award is noted as a valuable tool in measuring companies that will serve as leaders of innovation in the field of technology.