Author Topic: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!  (Read 24956 times)

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Offline PGC-Agent Cooper

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Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« on: March 07, 2009, 12:19:55 AM »
NWR turns 10 today!  To kick off the celebration, here's a few words from the Godfather himself, Billy Berghammer.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=17894

 March 7th 1999. My girlfriend was out of town, and I was kind of bored. The N64HQ had closed down months before, and rumors began swirling about the successor to the N64. One of my close friends in Milwaukee was part owner of an ISP called NConnect Internet and gave me some free space to create one of the first sites dedicated to the next Nintendo console.  So it was me, Front Page 98, zero experience in building a real website from scratch, absolutely no management skills whatsoever, and horrible design taste.  I still canÂ’t believe that a decision I made while bored on a Sunday afternoon would change my life forever, as well as many of the staff members that have drifted through the hall-less offices of PlanetN2000, Planet GameCube, and Nintendo World Report. Who would have thought that we would  bring together hundreds of thousands of Nintendo fans for years to come? Actually, letÂ’s make that exactly ten years, today.    


Happy Anniversary PlanetN2000, Planet GameCube, and Nintendo World Report! 10 Years!    


Billy with the First GameCube Sold in Japan

   


Wow!  And looking back at our first days online, boy were we awful. In the beginning, there really wasnÂ’t a “we” per say. In the beginning it was just me trying to figure out how to create a website. Since there really wasnÂ’t 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 wasnÂ’t 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 werenÂ’t for them, I wouldnÂ’t 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 toÂ…wellÂ…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 thatÂ’s why this site has been a continued success. I still stay in contact with many of the staff throughout the years today, and canÂ’t wait to see them again at E3 this year. ItÂ’s going to be one hell of a party, fellas.  IÂ’m extremely proud of the staff thatÂ’s 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

Billy Berghammer
Founder -- Planet GameCube.com

Offline BeautifulShy

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2009, 12:50:23 AM »
Wow 10 years! As Billy said that is quiet an acomplishment.I wonder if we will see any forum members from that time...
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Offline Bloodworth

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2009, 01:09:47 AM »
YEAH! PARTY TIME! Billy, you still owe me dinner.
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Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2009, 01:12:09 AM »
Wow, 10 years. That practically makes the site a senior citizen in Internet terms. I started browsing the site around 2002 and have been a loyal visitor ever since (it's even my homepage).

Glad to see you back Billy, even if it's just for this anniversary. I know I wasn't the only one a little sad when you left the site (even though we were proud of you for getting a job with Game Informer).
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Offline BeautifulShy

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2009, 01:25:29 AM »
Someone needs to post a Birthday cake with PGC and NWR logos as well as all types of Nintendo characters around the cake.
Maxi is dead. I killed him and took his posts and changed genders.
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I'm happy with thinking pokepal148 is just eating a stick of butter. It seems about right for him. I don't need no stinking facts.

Offline Guitar Smasher

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2009, 01:29:35 AM »
10 years...  I've been pondering this for the last 10 minutes and it's still hard comprehend.  I first visited the site around 2000 in search of Dolfin news (took me about 3 years to join the forums).  Probably the only reason I still visit is because the site's stayed fan-based/fan-oriented while the others followed the dollars.  I've always appreciated that.

I gotta say, I can't think of many things I did 10 years ago that I do today.  Congratulations on 10 years of passionate reporting, right from Billy to everyone else who's been involved.

Just curious, how many contributors have there been since the start?

Offline NWR_DrewMG

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2009, 01:50:50 AM »
In internet news, that makes you a cool hundred.

I'm thinking that I first started going to the site in 1999 or 2000, but I don't really remember.  Feels like ages ago.
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2009, 02:11:22 AM »
Aww, I remember N2000.
I'm glad the site here has stuck around this long. All of you guys have done a great job over the years and I appreciate all the work you've put into it and will continue to put into it. Happy b-day!
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Offline TheYoungerPlumber

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2009, 02:26:42 AM »
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!
::Michael "TYP" Cole
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2009, 02:29:35 AM »
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!

I'm very excited for this weeks podcast. Are you going to have any special guests from the past? Maybe some pirates?
I loved the 100th podcast edition so that just heightens my excitement for this one.
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Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2009, 02:34:59 AM »
Always good to hear from Billy.

Offline Stratos

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2009, 02:36:33 AM »
Can Louie the Cat make an appearance? I loved him. Wasn't he based on a real cat?
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Offline NWR_Lindy

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2009, 03:52:58 AM »
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.
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #13 on: March 07, 2009, 04:19:47 AM »
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.

Wow, 100 different people have worked on this site. That is very impressive.
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Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2009, 04:20:36 AM »
At first i thought the headline was "happy bday Nintendo Power", and I thought that didn't make sense.

It turns out it didn't make sense.
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Offline Enner

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #15 on: March 07, 2009, 06:02:14 AM »
I started visiting this site when it was Planet Gamecube and I enjoyed reading the content by fans for fans. Happy tenth anniversary and here's to the twentieth!

Offline BigJim

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #16 on: March 07, 2009, 07:00:34 AM »
COME BACK, BILLEH!
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Offline NovaQ

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #17 on: March 07, 2009, 08:54:19 AM »
Wow, ten years! It's been great to have a quality Nintendo fan site stick around for so long. Here's hoping it continues on for a good long time. Happy b-day, NWR!
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Offline oohhboy

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #18 on: March 07, 2009, 09:51:47 AM »
Holy ****, I forgot that photo even existed. A bit surprised to see myself and no less a me that really needs a haircut.

I think I remember running into PGC when they had some sort of exclusive story that one of the big money sites link from. I came here for the news, stayed for the intelligence. Over the years it's strength varied, but with the latest change in directorship, it is the strongest I have ever seen it. It's face, staff, address my have changed, but it's core is still relatively untouched.

It's is THE best place to discuss all things Nintendo on the net.
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Offline AV

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #19 on: March 07, 2009, 09:58:33 AM »


10 more years !! 10 more years !!!
« Last Edit: March 07, 2009, 10:14:44 AM by Mr. Adolph Vega »

Offline BeautifulShy

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #20 on: March 07, 2009, 10:45:17 AM »
Not bad Vega.
We need more cakes!
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Quote by Khushrenada in Safe Words 15.
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I'm happy with thinking pokepal148 is just eating a stick of butter. It seems about right for him. I don't need no stinking facts.

Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #21 on: March 07, 2009, 01:23:30 PM »
MOAR CAKE


Offline Mop it up

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #22 on: March 07, 2009, 01:27:59 PM »
Ten years, it is teh craziness!
This thread is awesome too because we're finding out how long everyone has been around.

I myself discovered this site around the time the GameCube launched in Japan, although for one reason or another I didn't actively start visiting the forums until a few months ago. The site is still bookmarked as Planet GameCube because I'm too lazy to change it.

Time to celebrate! Kisses for everyone!



...Er, I mean beer. Beers for everyone. Guinness.

Offline nickmitch

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #23 on: March 07, 2009, 02:30:15 PM »
Woo!  Let's all get wasted!
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Offline AV

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Re: Happy 10th Birthday, Nintendo World Report!
« Reply #24 on: March 07, 2009, 02:37:58 PM »
MOAR CAKE
 

That doesn't say Happy Birthday to NWR..Fail