15 years of reviews!

[velcrozombie1]

Thank you for creating this wonderful site. I've been coming here for about 3 years at this point, and I remember spending 3-4 days reading almost every review you had after discovering it.
I hope you continue to work on this site for as long as it continues to make you happy to do so, and not a second more
Good luck in the future and God bless.

[Atarifever1]

[QUOTE=pacguy19][QUOTE=Gentlegamer]Ironically, you have cut and pasted copyrighted images and trademarks from the various systems as graphics in your review sections, and all of your banners have copyrighted images of game characters.[/QUOTE]
That's different. He's using it for review, which is fair use, and they're plagiarizing, which is illegal and not fair use.[/QUOTE]

I worked for years at a university writing help centre, and a lot of the students who use that service come from cultures where plagiarism isn't an idea. I despise plagiarism, but trying to explain why it was wrong to people who don't come from a similar culture to me made me realize how difficult an idea it really is.

"No see, that isn't your idea there."
"Yes, I know that."
"Yeah, but your reader may not know that."
"Well you knew. You are a reader."
"Yes, but I'm good at this. Someone else might think it is your idea."
"Oh. Okay. So? If they ask me, I will tell them where it came from."
"Well, the author of that idea should get credit for it right when you use it."
"Oh yes, I am very grateful for their idea."
"No, they need you to reference them here, and to not say exactly what they said the exact way they said it."
"But surely they meant it the way they said it."
"Yes, but you should reword it in your own words."
"But then people might think it is my idea!"
"Not if you reference the original source of your idea!"
"But none of my ideas are my own. Everything I know came from somebody!"
"Yes... but not... high level... ideas... that... are complex... I guess."
*Blink blink*

[Jon1]

Congrats for 15 years. This is definitely a wonderful site. I can't think of any other site that's been this dedicated systems like the 3do, Jaguar, and of course, my favorite system of all time, the Neo Geo. Just the fact that there are coming attractions for a system like the 3do is fantastic.

[Weekend_Warrior1]

Congrats on hitting 15 years! I've been checking out the site and commenting on the message board for about ten years now and it never ceases to amaze me how frequently you update your main page with new reviews and extra content. It seems to always be updated at least twice a week, and that is what keeps me checking the site virtually every day. 

 

You've always put a lot of work into your site even though you had/have a job, wife, kid(s), and personal life that extends beyond gaming (I'm assuming? lol). Plus, you also spend quite a bit of time writing and responding to topics here in the message boards. Honestly, I don't know how you continue to do it. But you've somehow managed to fit it all in and keep the site running strong for 15 years, and that is highly commendable. So keep up the hard work and I'll keep comin' back!     

[gleebergloben1]

VGC, a few questions:

1. What is your happiest/proudest moment since running this site?

2. Which 3 reviews are your personal favorites?

3. Which review(s) did you find the most challenging to write?

4. Are you stoked at all about being in Wikipedia? If it were me, I'd be patting myself on the back early and often.

5. Any big changes/new features you're contemplating for this site?

[VideoGameCritic]

Good questions!

1. I think this may have come very early in the site's life.  My site was actually given favorable mention in the San Francisco Chronicle - yes, an actual newspaper!

2. None spring to mind.  I think they all tend to blend into each other after a while.  Sometimes I will start reading reviews on my site, and it's almost like reading them for the first time.  I do find them very entertaining though.

3. I think the new Game Boy (original black and white) reviews have been the toughest.  Since I never owned one so it was difficult to gauge what's good and what's bad.  I basically had to play a wide range of games to learn the strengths and limitations of the system.  And while I tend to use the Super Game Boy, I feel compelled to also play the game on an actual Game Boy (SP) to experience what it was originally like.

4. The Wikipedia page is somewhat flattering but I avoid looking at it because I feel very self conscious.

5. Nothing immediate.  I was planning to host the message boards myself and integrate them better into the site, but that has been delayed.  I've also thought about developing a system that lets readers leave short comments about each review.  Selling merchandise is still on my radar as well.

[billydeethrilliams1]

The best gaming site on the internet. Congratulations man.