Happy Anniversary PlanetN2000, Planet GameCube, and Nintendo World Report! 10 Years!
Wow! And looking back at our first days online, boy were we awful. In the beginning, there really wasnt a we per say. In the beginning it was just me trying to figure out how to create a website. Since there really wasnt too much information on N2000/Project Dolphin, a lot of it was speculation, dreams, and me babbling. But I had high hopes, big dreams, and very little else to do with my time since I was between radio jobs and living off of unemployment. At this time the interwebs were still very much in their infancy; the blogosphere wasnt even close to existing yet, the webcrash was still a few years out, and sites like IGN and GameSpot were just starting out.
After I networked up with a number of ex-N64HQ/OperatioN2000 staffers, Justin Nation decided to close the doors to his Dolphin site and move his forums and some features over to my server. One by one I recruited a number of writers who were just as excited to find out what Nintendo was cooking up. I never paid anyone for their hard work (except with games and hardware), and over the years people lost jobs, girlfriends/friends, and life opportunities for their contributions to our efforts. I owe an awful lot to the staff of this website. If it werent for them, I wouldnt be where I am today.
Over the next week or so the staff will be featuring their memories of our site, and breaking them down year-by-year for the decade that this Nintendo website has been rolling along. As far as my favorite moments, there are really too many. In fact, for the most part, all of them were chronicled in the four years I was the Director of PlanetN2000/Planet GameCube. This website was my life. From its birth in Milwaukee, to moving up to Minneapolis for another (and my final) radio job, until I passed on my responsibilities when I basically ate, slept, and **** this website from morning to
well
morning.
However, if I had to pass on one favorite memory, it would be when I finally got to meet people from the staff. Whether it was E3, GDC, Space World, or Nintendo events, it was nice to finally put a face to the many AIM, ICQ, IRC, or phone chats. People from all walks of life and from all over the world would come together for a shared passion for Nintendo, and a bigger love for this website. These folks work their asses off around the clock to deliver you fresh and entertaining content, and thats why this site has been a continued success. I still stay in contact with many of the staff throughout the years today, and cant wait to see them again at E3 this year. Its going to be one hell of a party, fellas. Im extremely proud of the staff thats kept this website alive through its many iterations. Ten years is an accomplishment any website should be proud of let alone a website whose staff has always done it for free. Happy anniversary Nintendo World Report! I look forward to seeing the next ten years to come!
Word.
B
Wow, 10 years. That practically makes the site a senior citizen in Internet terms.What's that, sonny? I can't hear ya!
Wow, 10 years. That practically makes the site a senior citizen in Internet terms.What's that, sonny? I can't hear ya!
Seriously, though, it's been a lot of fun strolling down memory lane. I hope you guys will enjoy this special!
Louie is real. In fact, he's still alive! Billy recently moved out to L.A. and had to drug poor Louie to get him on the plane.
I'll be digging through some old photos and putting them up, and I know for a fact that we have some old shots of Louie.
As for the podcast, who knows? Anything can happen. ;)
As for former staff members, our database is over 100 deep. There's a ton of people in there that I don't even know.
MOAR CAKE
I want to know some of the staff's stories.
I actually started by doing release dates way back in the day on Justin Nation's old site The 64 Source. That was probably 1998. Then Max Lake took over The 64 Source, then he shut that down, and I think after that I moved over to Nintendojo for a short while. Then I took a break for a year or so, then Max started writing for PGC and got me hired there IIRC, then I quit PGC for a while (maybe a year or two?). Then I came back to PGC about 2003/2004-ish, and here I am.
Just another rags-to-riches story. LOL
I found the site by serendipity. Gamespy used to have dedicated sites for various PC games (planetQuake, planetHitman, etc) I typed in planetgamecube.com and was shocked and dismayed that it wasn't a Gamespy sight. Years later, I'm still ticked off about it.This is precisely how I found the site too.
Hey Jonny, I remember all too well the chaos of that time period. A perfect storm of E3, EA, AOL, family, and other issues collapsing onto my corpse, capped off by a sudden layoff. They had to freeze me for the last 6 years until they found the cure for spontaneous cerebral cortex combustion. What would I do without the fine folks at Prescott Pharmaceuticals?
In any event, SO many memories since the early web years of 1996. The HQ, PN2K, PGC, now NWR... fun times! Ten more years!
http://www.planetgamecube.com/media/0/1/12.jpgI remember that picture, it is simply incredible. I stared at it for an hour studying its attention to detail. I love the Smash tournament taking place on the telly, where the Virtual Boy is using Pichu... and has already been eliminated. That's probably why the Virtual Boy person is slumped over on the table clutching a beer.
In another ten years it wouldn't surprise me if I will be dead.http://www.planetgamecube.com/media/0/1/12.jpgI remember that picture, it is simply incredible. I stared at it for an hour studying its attention to detail. I love the Smash tournament taking place on the telly, where the Virtual Boy is using Pichu... and has already been eliminated. That's probably why the Virtual Boy person is slumped over on the table clutching a beer.
speaking of commercials, i remember i sent Berto through the mail a stack of cds. A few had commercials, however the amount of content would be minimal now with Youtube and all. Back in the early days I saved about every trailer, every screenshot, and every rare commercial i could get a hold of, now they're available everywhere. I think I sent him something else to fill the rest of the box, but neither of us remember what that is.Oh **** thats right! I still have those cds and the book! Man, I should go dig those out and see whats on em again.
edit: i sent him Game Over with the CDs...they had them ridiculously cheap at EB games, so i got him and a few other friends one.
They had to freeze me for the last 6 years until they found the cure for spontaneous cerebral cortex combustion. What would I do without the fine folks at Prescott Pharmaceuticals?
Brave man, I could have sworn I heard the potential side effects of that drug were: Spontaneous Dom DeLuise Transformations, Crayon Worship, and Lollipop Guild Syndrome?
I came to PGC probably like 2001 or so simply because it loaded way the **** faster than IGN. ;)
I have to agree on the minimalist approach as to one reason why this site here is awesome sauce. One of the reasons I stopped visiting GameSpot is because the site strangles my computer with a single-minded fury rarely seen amongst websites.
10 years? Has it been that long? :o
Its been so long, that there's no longer the little icon for a beer and wine glass... :'(
One thing that stuck out with me was the Aussie(and token New Zealander, you know who you are...) population in the forums when I joined. I didn't know they even had Nintendo down there... :P
The prize turned out to be a Limited Zelda Edition Gold GBA SPWow, did these things ever actually get released in the US? I remember waiting to get one of these, but I never saw them for sale outside of Europe.
The funny thing about it all is that, like two days before this all happened, I totally aped one of Lindy's previews to put together my own for NI. Hah.
Yeah, they never released it here in the States. I borrowed (and then, through apathy or silent anger, eventually owned) a charger from one of my friends, since it showed up with a UK power cable.The prize turned out to be a Limited Zelda Edition Gold GBA SPWow, did these things ever actually get released in the US? I remember waiting to get one of these, but I never saw them for sale outside of Europe.
And then I won the DS from PGC and my desire to ever acquire an SP vanished.
Incidentally, the only reason I ended up with an original GBA was to have something to do on the train ride to E3 2003 (which was a few years before I joined this site).
The prize turned out to be a Limited Zelda Edition Gold GBA SPWow, did these things ever actually get released in the US? I remember waiting to get one of these, but I never saw them for sale outside of Europe.
And then I won the DS from PGC and my desire to ever acquire an SP vanished.
Incidentally, the only reason I ended up with an original GBA was to have something to do on the train ride to E3 2003 (which was a few years before I joined this site).
Yeah, they never released it here in the States. I borrowed (and then, through apathy or silent anger, eventually owned) a charger from one of my friends, since it showed up with a UK power cable.
Muahaha! It was actually your Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow preview. I wish I could find my preview, but the Wayback Machine's being testy.The funny thing about it all is that, like two days before this all happened, I totally aped one of Lindy's previews to put together my own for NI. Hah.
I KNEW IT!! YOU SON OF A BITCH!!
As always, god damn late to the party, but even if late, congrats PGC/NWR! I can't remember why I stumbled upon the site, but I know I'll never leave, even though I'm not exactly a notewrothy forum participant.
One thing that stuck out with me was the Aussie(and token New Zealander, you know who you are...) population in the forums when I joined. I didn't know they even had Nintendo down there... :P