This is a hello post
I pitched it as a supergroup. The slide on my presentation was a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album cover not because I have any particular affinity for “Teach Your Children” but because the super-constituents themselves are right in the band’s name. My supposition was that making a dent in video game coverage in 2012 would require more than great content – which I know this team can deliver – and more than great technology – which I know Vox Media can deliver. It would require visibility, insight, and dedication, which are far more difficult to ensure.
While I wouldn’t call assembling this murderer’s row of gaming writers an “easy task,” I was frequently surprised at how eager people were to be a part of something new. Like I wrote in my goodbye post, video game media is changing and has been changing for as long as I can remember. Some organizations can’t accommodate that change and we’ve seen the results.
Vox Games, which we’re humbly calling this new endeavor until we’re ready to share the final name, is different and I think our founding team shows that. I’m beyond thrilled to be working alongside Brian Crecente, arguably the hardest working and most talented reporter in the business, a trait that I understand perhaps better than most after competing against him for the past six years. Then there’s Russ Pitts, whose thumbprints are all over The Escapist … and its six Webby awards, one of which was snatched from my clutches last year.
Or perhaps you’re a fan of the other Russ, Mr. Russ Frushtick? Formerly of MTV News, Russ is the guy that gaming writers go to to find out what they should be playing. And let’s not forget Chris Plante, who was hired mostly because his name rhymes with mine. Also, because he’s an excellent writer and I’ve long coveted his byline and now it’s all mine. Or Arthur Gies, who joins us from a short stint at Joystiq though he’s probably best known for his work at IGN, the Rebel FM podcast, and his stellar writing.
Last, but most certainly not least, we’ve got the brothers McElroy, who I’m proud to call friends in addition to colleagues. Simply put, it would be difficult to find anyone smarter, harder working, and funnier in our entire industry. And we’ve got two of them!
In short, we’re looking to build the world’s best video game site, whatever that means. That’s going to take us a while so you’ll find our bylines on The Verge while we’re busy erecting that edifice. What we’ve got now is our foundation and, while it may be as strong a foundation as one could imagine, it’s just that. There’s so much more we need to build and we’ve got so much further to go.
(PS - Yes, we’re still hiring. Stay tuned to @voxgames for more info on that construction project).
Here are the personal posts from the entire founding editor team. Go ahead and catch ‘em all!
