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• Patron Saint of Games Journalism Departs

  Even if you only have a passing familiarity with games journalism, you've undoubtedly heard the name "N'Gai Croal" pop up from time to time. As the driving for behind Newsweek's Level Up Blog, N'Gai brought a certain amount of credibility to the much-maligned world of games journalism with his insightful commentary and fresh perspective on our hobby--after all, he's only been a gamer for ten years. Yet, even with all of his credibility and goodwill, N'Gai is following the same path many games journalists have taken lately by getting a job in the gaming industry itself. Here's the news from his final Level Up post: After Friday March 6th, my passions will take me beyond the world of journalism. I’ll be wearing many hats on this new journey: videogame design consultant, media strategist, consumer technology reporter, columnist, blogger and, as always, provocateur. The good news behind this is that it doesn't seem like the economy is forcing N'Gai out of his job, as we've seen with many games journalists in the past. The bad news--obviously--is that we're losing a pretty vital figurehead in the struggle to have games journalism be taken seriously. Read More... Posted Mar 04 2009, 02:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: level up, n’gai croal, bob mackey, games journalism, newsweek

• Worth Reading: Joe Rybicki's Ziff-trospective

  I know, I know; the whole Ziff-Davis/EGM/1UP thing is old news. By this point in time, you've probably heard quite a number of behind-the-scenes accounts of the antics behind Electronic Gaming Monthly, so much so that you may actually feel like you once worked for Ziff-Davis yourself. Rest assured that these feelings are natural and will pass with time. Until then, I must admit my intentions for revisiting the UGO-Gate well are pure, and actually inspired by the recent release of Retro Game Challenge. If you weren't aware (and you really should be), RGC features several issues of a fictional, in-game magazine very much inspired by the unprofessional (in the kindest sense of the word) enthusiast mags that made up the gaming press from roughly the late 80s til the late 90s. And, with the end of EGM just a month ago, RGC couldn't have come at a better time; it's a great reminder of the childlike wonder video games used to be about before we'd seen everything and become so jaded. So what better time than now to read an account of a ragtag bunch of professional enthusiasts with a penchant for property damage during the heyday of the gaming press? Read More... Posted Feb 20 2009, 04:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: 1up, bob mackey, egm, games journalism, ugo entertainment

• Watcha Listening to? A Life Well Wasted

  If it seems that I’ll I’ve been doing lately is pimping out podcasts, I have no choice but to plead guilty. It’s just that after the 1UP/EGM/UGO hullaballoo, there’s been a lot of podcast-related news to talk about—which is perfect for people like me who can’t spend a waking moment of the day without their headholes plugged with earbuds. But I must point out that today’s bepimped podcast is notable for not featuring a bunch of dudes gathered around a microphone for 90 minutes—not that there’s anything wrong with that. Former Ziff-Davis (and, presumably, current UGO) freelancer Robert Ashley’s new podcast, A Life Well Wasted, has already been compared multiple times to NPR’s This American life, but the comparison is so apt that I feel no shame in making it again. Read More... Posted Jan 29 2009, 01:30 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: 1up, bob mackey, egm, games journalism, watcha listening to, podcasts, ugo, robert ashley

• Things You Should Be Reading: The Review Score Symposium

  Who doesn't enjoy a good symposium? Wait, let me rephrase that. Who doesn't enjoy a bunch of brilliant games journalists pontificating on the purpose, methods, and changing nature of what they do? If you're into video games enough to be reading 61FPS, there's a good possibility that, like me, you have an invested interested in the vaguely-defined field of games journalism. And perhaps the most heavily debated element of this profession is the review score; after all, how many times have you seen someone completely lose their shit when a game they love (and possibly have never played) is rated lower than a 9? This topic of game reviews has been on the minds of games journalists N'Gai Croal, John Davison and Shawn Elliott (though I guess he's a former journalist if you want to be technical) for quite some time, and only came to light recently through a multi-part discussion on N'Gai's excellent Level Up blog. His own introduction to the series should give you a good idea as to what areas their conversation covered: Are reviews primarily a consumer guide, or should they serve another purpose? Do review scores deter intelligent discussion of videogames? Is the presence or absence of a review score the only difference between a reviewer and a critic? What is the role of the reviewer when the Internet is democratizing published opinion? How should reviews and reviewers evolve in light of the emergence and growth of Flash games, small games, indie games and user-generated games? This series is a definite must-read if you're interested in the review score phenomenon, or plan on reviewing games yourself one day. Read More... Posted Jan 20 2009, 02:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: john davison, shawn elliot, level up, n’gai croal, bob mackey, games journalism

• Watcha Listening to: Myself (Technically)

  Even though I've been at this Internet writing game for close to eight years now, I'm about as minor of a net celebrity as you can get. This means that if you somehow recognize my name, you're either extremely cool or hard at work on a Bob voodoo doll with movable parts--and I'm desperately hoping you 61FPS readers fall into the former category. Since my Internet popularity is roughly the equivalent of my high school popularity, I'm always completely flattered and taken aback when anyone recognizes me for the work that I do. So it goes without saying that I nearly plotzed (yes, plotzed) when podcaster Kole Ross recently invited me onto his Stand Under the Don't Tree and Riddle Me This program as a special celebrity guest. And now that I've been identified as a celebrity, I plan on immediately starting a vicious heroin addiction that will leave me dead before I reach the age of 30.  God, the things I do for podcasting. Read More... Posted Jan 15 2009, 03:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: 1up, bob mackey, egm, games journalism, podcasts, ugo entertainment

• You Should Be Reading Sore Thumbs

  When long-time EGM staffers Dan "Shoe" Hsu and Crispin Boyer both left the magazine just a handful of months ago, it was a pretty big shock.  The two were basically the last of EGM's "old guard," meaning that Dan and Crispin's tenure began in the mid-90s, back when Electronic Gaming Monthly was based out of Illinois.  Since EGM is the only magazine I've continually read for 18 years--I still remember an entire school bus in awe of their Super Mario World import coverage--it was more than a little disappointing to see such veterans of games journalism decide to call it a day. Of course, if I cared about Dan and Crispin as much as I thought I did, I would've known about their new blog less than three months after its launch. Pardon the massive oversight on my part. Read More... Posted Sep 03 2008, 08:30 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: 1up, egm, crispin boyer, dan hsu, games journalism