Consoleation Status Report: Free Agency

There have been a few changes going on outside of Consoleation, and I know that activity has been slow here. I wanted to write a few words about what’s been going on.

For starters, I regret to report that the League of One project is on indefinite hold, and likely won’t be resuming. I won’t get into specifics, but changes at Kmart necessitated the decision to halt the project. This unfortunately means that any links to my work there are now dead. It’s unfortunate to see work disappear. I am grateful to Josh Deane with Kmart for the opportunities afforded to me as part of the project, from the privilege of covering E3 last June to getting a chance to share my work with thousands of other readers. Josh had a great vision and it’s unfortunate that the project wasn’t able to mature and grow as we all thought it would. Being a part of KmartGamer last year was one of my career highlights, and I’m honored to have been a part of it.

As a result of the discontinuation of the League of One project, I’m now a “free agent” on the writing circuit. I’m hoping to network with several sites to see if I can earn a writing position and stay active in the gaming press community. For now, I’m dedicating some time to a new independent writing venture, called Armchair Analysis. This site deals solely with the business and sales data side of my writing, including NPD analysis and interpretations of industry news. I’m keeping the content there strictly professional with the hopes of possibly getting the work syndicated or picked up by a larger website to gain a writing spot somewhere. I would like to resume writing reviews as well, although unemployment makes that a bit of a challenge as far as buying current games to play through. I have my fingers crossed that I can earn a spot somewhere soon. In the meantime, I invite those of you who enjoyed my industry-related posts here to visit Armchair Analysis and follow my writing there.

As far as Consoleation goes, this blog will remain active. I’m shooting for updating it once a week with assorted content, including reviews of older games and reports of additions to my collection. Thanks to a decent expected tax return– since I made so little last year– I’m hoping to apply some of that towards older games and systems. A Dreamcast was just graciously donated to me recently, and I’m looking to get an AV cable to test it and see if it works. The main target on my wish list is an NES, but other platforms including SNES, Genesis (w/SEGA CD), Nintendo 64, and the original Xbox are all on my radar. As the collection grows, I’ll be talking about it here. In about a week’s time, the laptop that I’ve been using for my writing will be mine to keep, so writing will be more consistent.

Finally, it looks like I’ll be heading to Weirs Beach, NH in a few short months to take part in the 14th Annual International Classic Video Game Tournament at FunSpot. It’s been 10 years since I last took part in the event, and I’m excited to participate and get together with some of the very best arcade game players in the world. In 2002, I set the a Twin Galaxies-recognized record on the Mania Challenge coin-op. It’s a record that stands today. I’m not sure what I may shoot for when I’m there, but to be in an actual arcade setting again is going to be pretty awesome.

Thanks to all of you who have been checking in with Consoleation and being so understanding as there’s been a lot of transition. The blog will be celebrating its fourth year in 2012, and I’m grateful for all of you who have taken the time to visit it.