4 ms·

NYT makes money from games?

snapcaster 8mo ago
I work with many people who pay for the subscription to play the games
rootusrootus 8mo ago
I don't have numbers in front of me, but yes, NYT has basically said exactly that. Their games portfolio is a major driver of digital subscriptions.
- shimman 8mo ago
  I wouldn't be surprised to learn their recipes also drive a decent amount of revenue too. Their physical cookbooks are top notch (big fan of their no recipe recipe cookbook).
  - barkerja 8mo ago
    Their recipe and cocktail repository is excellent. It's a large part while I'm a subscriber.
  - bigstrat2003 8mo ago
    I'm really confused. What is a "no recipe recipe cookbook"?
    - shimman 8mo ago
      It's this one: https://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Cooking-No-Recipe-Recipes/dp/1984858475 https://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Cooking-No-Recipe-Recipes/... Basically tells you have to make various dishes saying without specific amounts and just going more on feel and what tastes good. I love this tip about adding anchovies to pasta sauce to get a very rich flavor on the cheap. Honestly like to think of it as the "stoned but competent" cookbook because the directions are quite easy to follow and come out tasty :) Also the material they used for the "flexible" edition is really nice to use as you cook.
      - rootusrootus 8mo ago
        > Basically tells you have to make various dishes saying without specific amounts and just going more on feel and what tastes good. This is how my mom taught me to cook, and she decided (unilaterally I assume) that it was the definition of gourmet cooking. I went a lot of years thinking that was the literal definition, ha. Though in retrospect, it is not 100% wrong, and I don't think she was joking when she said it.
      - bigstrat2003 8mo ago
        That is a super interesting book concept, thank you for the link!
amdsn 8mo ago
I'm not sure about all of the ones they host, but for the crossword app you need to subscribe for full access.
simonw 8mo ago
There's a joke in the news industry that the NYT is a games company with a loss-making news organization attached to it as a side-project.
- jimmydddd 8mo ago
  Like Harvard is a hedge fund with a school as a side project.
- dwd 8mo ago
  Fun read... https://priceonomics.com/porsche-the-hedge-fund-that-also-made-cars/ https://priceonomics.com/porsche-the-hedge-fund-that-also-ma...
IncreasePosts 8mo ago
The modern NYT has been described as a games company that occasionally engages in journalism
- paulcole 8mo ago
  Who has described them this way?
  - IncreasePosts 8mo ago
    This user: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=IncreasePosts https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=IncreasePosts
burkaman 8mo ago
They have a games-only subscription option: https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/games/ https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/games/
carefulfungi 8mo ago
Their recently shipped scrabble clone is excellent! One of the cleanest scrabble / words-with-friends implementations I've played.
- rootusrootus 8mo ago
  Yeah I'm hooked on it for the moment. The previous games are entertaining once a day, and we share results amongst our family for fun, but the Crossplay game is a lot of fun head-to-head.
Beijinger 8mo ago
I mean, why not? Sometimes it seems to me that airlines make their money not on flights but on branded Credit Cards.
- dwd 8mo ago
  Frequent flyer points are where they make their money. So much so that many airlines would run at a loss just flying passengers. All their partners hand over real cash for points to give their customers, that often either expire or are never redeemed. I think it was the Economist that stated that airlines operate as unregulated banks. Flying people around is a secondary thing they do.

I work with many people who pay for the subscription to play the games

I don't have numbers in front of me, but yes, NYT has basically said exactly that. Their games portfolio is a major driver of digital subscriptions.

shimman 8mo ago
I wouldn't be surprised to learn their recipes also drive a decent amount of revenue too. Their physical cookbooks are top notch (big fan of their no recipe recipe cookbook).
- barkerja 8mo ago
  Their recipe and cocktail repository is excellent. It's a large part while I'm a subscriber.
- bigstrat2003 8mo ago
  I'm really confused. What is a "no recipe recipe cookbook"?
  - shimman 8mo ago
    It's this one: https://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Cooking-No-Recipe-Recipes/dp/1984858475 https://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Cooking-No-Recipe-Recipes/... Basically tells you have to make various dishes saying without specific amounts and just going more on feel and what tastes good. I love this tip about adding anchovies to pasta sauce to get a very rich flavor on the cheap. Honestly like to think of it as the "stoned but competent" cookbook because the directions are quite easy to follow and come out tasty :) Also the material they used for the "flexible" edition is really nice to use as you cook.
    - rootusrootus 8mo ago
      > Basically tells you have to make various dishes saying without specific amounts and just going more on feel and what tastes good. This is how my mom taught me to cook, and she decided (unilaterally I assume) that it was the definition of gourmet cooking. I went a lot of years thinking that was the literal definition, ha. Though in retrospect, it is not 100% wrong, and I don't think she was joking when she said it.
    - bigstrat2003 8mo ago
      That is a super interesting book concept, thank you for the link!

amdsn 8mo ago

I'm not sure about all of the ones they host, but for the crossword app you need to subscribe for full access.

simonw 8mo ago

There's a joke in the news industry that the NYT is a games company with a loss-making news organization attached to it as a side-project.

jimmydddd 8mo ago
Like Harvard is a hedge fund with a school as a side project.
dwd 8mo ago
Fun read... https://priceonomics.com/porsche-the-hedge-fund-that-also-made-cars/ https://priceonomics.com/porsche-the-hedge-fund-that-also-ma...

IncreasePosts 8mo ago

The modern NYT has been described as a games company that occasionally engages in journalism

paulcole 8mo ago
Who has described them this way?
- IncreasePosts 8mo ago
  This user: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=IncreasePosts https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=IncreasePosts

burkaman 8mo ago

They have a games-only subscription option: https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/games/ https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/games/

carefulfungi 8mo ago

Their recently shipped scrabble clone is excellent! One of the cleanest scrabble / words-with-friends implementations I've played.

rootusrootus 8mo ago
Yeah I'm hooked on it for the moment. The previous games are entertaining once a day, and we share results amongst our family for fun, but the Crossplay game is a lot of fun head-to-head.

Beijinger 8mo ago

I mean, why not? Sometimes it seems to me that airlines make their money not on flights but on branded Credit Cards.

dwd 8mo ago
Frequent flyer points are where they make their money. So much so that many airlines would run at a loss just flying passengers. All their partners hand over real cash for points to give their customers, that often either expire or are never redeemed. I think it was the Economist that stated that airlines operate as unregulated banks. Flying people around is a secondary thing they do.