Nice Email

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VideoGameCritic
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Nice Email

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 2nd, 2019, 11:01 am

I received a nice email today which really puts things into perspective.

Dude I can't believe your site is still around. I've literally grown up reading your site over the years, so it's almost nostalgic for me now. Is it still run by the original creator? 20 years later, and still going strong. I can't think of ANY other website thats lasted that long. Simply awesome.


Not sure how "strong" the site is, but it definitely has staying power!

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Retro STrife
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Re: Nice Email

Postby Retro STrife » March 3rd, 2019, 2:08 pm

Well he's certainly right about that. One thing I've always said is that it's amazing that you're still putting out content every few days, without missing a beat, and doing it now for 20 years. It's so easy to get bored or burnt out doing online content, especially as a one-man show. Plus, it's not just writing content -- you have to be constantly buying and playing new games in order to make that content possible. Conservatively, I'd guess it probably averages at least 5-10 hours of work that goes into each of your paragraph reviews - but correct me if it's higher. That's a huge commitment, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work that we sometimes overlook. I certainly appreciate it - much of my game library has been built based on your reviews for the past 15 or so years, especially for the more obscure systems where reviews are so hard to find.

So, since 1999 started it all, when is the official "anniversary" date? And anything planned for the 20th anniversary? One more year and the site will be old enough to drink.

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Re: Nice Email

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 5th, 2019, 7:58 pm

This site is a self-licking ice cream cone! Gotta buy new games to keep the site going!
I think the site officially began in June 18, 1999. I say that because that's the oldest review date I can recall.

It probably only takes about an hour's worth of writing (not counting play time) to hammer out a review, and I've become very efficient over the years. I also tend to "sandbag" reviews so if I need to take a week or two break I can still keep the site updated.

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Retro STrife
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Re: Nice Email

Postby Retro STrife » March 6th, 2019, 8:35 am

Interesting. And yes, my guess of a 5-10 hour average to do each review included playtime; but obviously there's a wide range depending on the game, with newer games probably involving more time.

What was the first review or first set of reviews?

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Retro STrife
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Re: Nice Email

Postby Retro STrife » March 6th, 2019, 10:07 am

And maybe this calls for a new banner? A 20th anniversary banner could be rolled out in June.

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noah98
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Re: Nice Email

Postby noah98 » March 6th, 2019, 8:06 pm

This site is probably my favorite resource for retro gaming on the intent. I can't even count the number of times I've pulled this site up in a used game store. I don't get to post very often (crazy busy job), but I really do appreciate everything you do, Dave, for the retro community.

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Re: Nice Email

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 6th, 2019, 10:56 pm

Retro STrife wrote:Interesting. And yes, my guess of a 5-10 hour average to do each review included playtime; but obviously there's a wide range depending on the game, with newer games probably involving more time.

What was the first review or first set of reviews?


It was a big set. I think that was the first time I had automated the process of generating the review pages. The site was around in some form before then but not well organized. It was around that time when I transitioned from Dave's Video Game Reviews to The Video Game Critic. The domain changed a few times over the years.

I just checked the database and there is still one review dated 6/1/1999 and a handful dated 6/17/1999. For the most part I re-wrote all those original reviews.

newmodelarmy
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!

Postby newmodelarmy » March 8th, 2019, 7:38 am

I have been coming to this site off and on for probably 15+ years. I am not into retro gaming but I do enjoy reading the reviews. Congrats on (almost) 20 years. Not sure how or why you do it but I am glad that you do. Simply put, there just isn't anything like this on the internet. I agree with the comment that there is a certain nostalgia with this site and that is not a bad thing. Not sure what your plans are for the future but I hope you keep it going for many years to come. Thanks!

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Re: Nice Email

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 9th, 2019, 11:47 am

newmodelarmy-

Thanks for the kind words! I was especially pleased to hear there's nothing else like my site on the internet. I don't frequent other review sites so I had no idea.

Why do I do it? That's a really good question! I guess it's because I am endlessly fascinated by video games and their evolution over time. Also because I like to collect things.

I definitely have a soft spot for the old-school systems which did the best they could with finite resources. While I still appreciate modern games, let's face it - the sky is the limit with those, so it's harder to be impressed.

Sometimes I do want to stop running the site, because it can be a headache at times. But I always get a lot of support from the community and that really keeps me going.

VGC

Voor
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Re: Nice Email

Postby Voor » March 11th, 2019, 10:00 am

Ever think about allowing non pre approved posting? I understand your logic, but it seems like the boards would get more traffic...


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