So, I noticed two days ago (maybe three?) that the ability to comment on news articles has been removed. The comment box is gone, and a little icon that reads " Discuss this article in our Forums!" is there instead. What's the reasoning for this? 

jasonpanella said:

Quoting myself to say — it makes total sense. FFG doesn't *need* to let people comment on the news releases, especially when these days doing so results in people complaining about something off topic. That's what forums are for. 

 Personally, I already miss the comments section.

As a player, I like to see what other people in the community have to say about these announcements, and often posting comments has been quick blurbs as opposed to in-depth discussions. I often will leave a line or seven about an announcement (especially on the LCGs i play) rather than discuss in depth in the forums with people who tend to be more involved than me in the particular game.

As a game store owner, I like to see how people immediately respond to new game announcements, to get a feel for what people are excited for, to see what they want from the games. This helps inform me on what games might be popular in my store, and which items I should keep an eye on. Also, as a player, this sometimes brings a game to my attention that I might otherwise pass on.

I understand that there have been some semi flame-wars in the announcements, and perhaps FFG feels that by redirecting people to the forums and taking this information off their homepage it may deflect any negative press the comments section may be creating...but I also think that the positive for the community outweighs the risk of backlash against the company. But, that is just my opinion, and FFG will have to do what they feel is best for them.

Then again, I could be COMPLETELY wrong about the change, but this is the only scenario that make sense.