This is one of those posts where I ramble…it’s just a giant wall of open and honest thought. I apologize for any parts that don’t make sense! Hopefully the basic idea gets through. Have a look, and enjoy! I’ll see you all in a few, short hours. I’ve been known to dish out some major love on the site from time to time. This always comes as an ‘End of Day’ thought for you guys. I feel it very important to let you all know how much I truly care about you, and what you all mean to me. I’ve always, ALWAYS wanted GoNintendo to be a place where you could come to get Nintendo news, but also feel like you were hanging out with some friends at the same time. I’m about the furthest thing you can get to from corporate. It’s people that matter to me, not positions, financial situations, manner of dress or anything else like that. I want to know you guys, and I always make it a point to be open with you. I’m not a business man…I never will be, and I don’t pretend to act as one. I am a guy that loves Nintendo, loves bringing you Nintendo news, and loves doing all I can to put a smile on your faces. With that said, GoNintendo is indeed a business in the most basic sense of the word. It takes a lot of people to successfully run a business. That’s why I wanted to change pace for a bit and thank all those that actually helped get GoNintendo tot where it is now, coming from the back-end of the site. I don’t believe I’ve ever properly thanked those people…so this is my chance to do so. First and foremost, I have to give an absolutely huge thank-you to Cortjezter . To be perfectly honest, GoNintendo wouldn’t be what it is without Cort on board. I took Cort on as a board mod back when the site was still very young, and it was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Not only has Cort done an amazing job with the boards, he also took on a million other roles for the site. Basically, if I had an issue that I was too dumb to figure out (there are tons!), I turn to Cort. Every single time he was a huge help, in one way or another. I can’t even begin to tell you how crucial he is to the day-to-day of GoNintendo. You may not see his face or read his work as often as mine, but trust me…he’s invaluable. The best part is, I gained a great friend over the years as well. That’s just the icing on the cake…and I’ve always liked the icing better. I can’t thank Cort without also thanking TDuck . Talk about one of the smartest guys out there! His knowledge of site-building and all things tech is absolutely staggering. Without his technical know-how, this site would have been dead in the water a long time ago! TDuck toiled away on this site for days and days on end, and he continues to keep a close watch on the situation. This all happened out of the kindness of his heart. It’s almost too much for me to thank. I don’t even know how to show my gratitude for the amazing dedication he has. Rounding out the tech group has to be our hosting guy . I’ll never forget the first time I talked to him. I asked him if he was sure about taking on GoNintendo, because I thought it would be more work than he realized. That turned out to be true, and the site was a constant headache for years and years! It took us a long time to get to a point where things ran smoothly, but he has always been there to help. Our hosting goes far above and beyond the call of a normal hosting outlet. His patience with me should be rewarded, because I can be a real pain in the ass when there are site issues. Thankfully, he is always more than willing to help. Speaking of willing to help, I have to make mention of Bethany . Bethany was the first person to take on the job of ’stand-in RMC’, and she held that position for a couple years. Those 6 hours of free time a week may seem small, but they are actually invaluable to me. It helps me keep my sanity to step away from the site for that little bit. Bethany did an outstanding job with the time she spent here, and she may return some day in the future. I’ve yet to meet Bethany in person, but hopefully one day soon that can happen. I owe her a trip to E3! As you all know, Bethany is wrapping up college, which left my stand-in spot open. That’s when none other than Deux Michaels jumped in. Many of you know Deux from his time on the podcast, as well as his editor spot over on the on-hiatus GoneMicrosoft. For all intents and purposes, Deux was the ‘RMC’ of GoneMicrosoft, and now he plays the part of me every Wednesday. He really has a passion for the site, and is more than happy to jump in for my break every week. I’ve been friends with Deux for over 10 years now, and that friendship is completely invaluable. They tell you never to mix business and friendship, but when you have a friend you love as much as Deux, you know that only good can come of it. The same goes for the entire podcast crew . The regulars, the one-timers, and those that come and go with each show. Those podcasters are my friends first, and show personalities second. To think that I’m lucky enough to have friends that are so willing to help me is enough to make me tear up. These guys and gals put aside a few hours of their weekend time to come talk games with me and all of you. I would do that for them in an instant, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate their sacrifice…greatly. I seriously couldn’t ask for a greater group of people to have in my life. To work with me just to help out…it’s truly amazing. Those guys always put a smile on my face, as do the long line of comic creators for GoNintendo. We’ve had various comic creators come and go, each of them bringing their own flavor to the site. Love their work or hate it, I wouldn’t trade any of their time spent on the site. Our latest comic creator has a completely unique style in both art and humor, and I’m absolutely honored to feature Cory’s work every week. The same would go for Touch Fuzzy , the host of the short-lived GoNintendo Radio. I was absolutely blown away by the quality of GoNintendo Radio, and I would love for Touch Fuzzy to come back to the ship. It just seems that the opportunity came and went, as Touch lost the use of all his recording equipment. If he’s out there, and he wants to take another crack at the show, it would be my pleasure to make that possible. I always like having unique content for the site, and I can’t say how happy I am to continue that tradition with Rinry and Jot . I completely lucked out with scoring these two extremely talented people for the site. From the first time I saw Rinry and Jot’s work, I knew I had to get them involved with GoNintendo. Their attention to detail, extremely personal presentation, and humor was a package that seemed absolutely genuine. I am ridiculously proud to have them creating videos for GoNintendo, and I hope we get to see more of their content as the years go on. I know that they’ll always bring out top-notch features! I also have to give a major thank-you to D3stiny_Sm4sher for his recent stint of reviewer for the site. Having someone to solely review games is a godsend, and I couldn’t be happier with D3stiny’s work. He is extremely professional, and always makes sure to fill me in on all the plans he has. I don’t think of his reviews as a feature for the site, but instead, a viewpoint of the site as a whole. I trust his work, his judgment, and his approach to reviews. A clear passion comes through in his writing, and I love being able to bring that to you. Of course, I wouldn’t be where I am now without help and guidance from the people that handle our advertising . Without them representing us, I would have had to shut the site down a long time ago. They helped me turn my passion into a career. That was something that I never even imagined happening. Right when I had spent my last penny (honestly!) on the site’s hosting, they swooped in to help me get things on track. The site could have died within thirty days of that last bill all those years ago, but these guys made my stay possible. They stick with me to this day, and I’ll do the same with them. The pleasure is all mine. Going hand in hand with that is the great group over at Destructoid . These guys always help us out in huge ways, share our stories with others, and work with us whenever they can. Having a joint E3-party was an absolutely amazing experience. I still can’t get over that event. It’s my absolutely pleasure to share links and personally know some of the crew that make Dtoid run. May we both continue on for many, many years to come! I think I might be killed if I didn’t make a special point of thanking Mom Brain , as she’s the one that supported me throughout this entire adventure. To think that she stuck with me when I was a blogger working for years without a single dime. It’s not like I’m the most handsome guy out there! Thankfully, she believes in me, and continues to do so. She’s extremely proud of what I do, and I couldn’t be happier to have her in my life. I’m doing a job that didn’t exist 10 years ago, and even though we both didn’t really know what would happen, she stayed by my side. That’s a pretty amazing thing, if you ask me. I absolutely have to thank all those in the game industry that helped me, and continue to help me learn about how the game industry works. Tyrone Rodriguez, Geoff Keighley, the Golin Harris staff (current and those that have left!), Tommy Tallarico, Denise Kaigler, Stephen Totilo, Patrick Klepek, Christopher Grant, Matt Casamassina, Chris Buffa, Jeremy Parish and so many others that I know I’m forgetting. I was worried about doing this post because I knew I’d forget to mention people. Please don’t take it personally…I just have trouble naming all those that have aided me. Feel free to punch me in the face when you see me if I didn’t mention you. Finally, I can’t end this article without thanking all of you guys once again . You, the readers/podcast listeners/news tipsters are the life of this site. I wouldn’t have any reason to have made this entire post without all of you. I know that I’ve played this song a million times over with you guys, but it’s such a beautiful one. Thanks for putting a permanent smile on my face. I can only hope that it’s contagious! You are my constant, unrelenting inspiration. Ah…it always feels good to do that. I hope it helps make someone else’s day. I just know that things will only get better from here. As I’ve said before, changes are in the works. These changes wouldn’t be possible without all the people above. A new chapter is coming, and I’m taking all of you guys along for the ride. Hold on tight, friends! Details in the next few days…or weeks? Soon, that’s all I can say!
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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Giving thanks to all those that make GoNintendo possible
