miked here. Just some guy that claims he will become involved with this forum but never actually does. I was going to make a new thread about this, but it seems like its lightly being talked about here already, and might as well use this one, as there is already a thread for that.
I have been visiting the site for what i would like to say is 12 years, or possibly more.(Back when this site was really nothing more than a blog. If someone knows the original URL so i can type it up in the wayback machine, i would greatly appreciate it. This one only goes back to 2005.) For some reason I still stop by about once a month to see if any new articles have popped up, and I lurk the forums for a bit. Every time i stop by it feels more and more like this site is well.... dying.
Back in this sites heyday, articles on this site were posted constantly, several times a month if not more. Hell this place was a bible for people such as myself, especially in a time when "retro" gaming wasn't really a mainstream hobby. Now we have hundreds, if not thousands of youtube channels, various websites and blogs, and even print magazines dedicated to the hobby, but this site has been around what feels like so much longer.
When I first started coming here there was obviously a love for old games. A true passion. I understand people get busy, get jobs, have kids etc. and racket himself was the guy creating the majority of the articles. But it still surprises me that nobody has stepped up to the plate to create new content. Granted i did see the thread mentioning a new podcast, which would be a step in the right direction.
Still, when i do stop by it seems like I learn something new just by reading a few posts in the forum, and it kind of boggles my mind why this never gets turned into an article for the front page. Yeah the forum is what you could call active but it seems like this place maybe has 100 people actively posting, and it feels like less every time. With a dead front page it almost feels like this community doesn't want to grow anymore.
I do appreciate the attempt last year at new articles, but even those felt a little half assed to me, at least compared to the older one. I mean, sure there might be thousands of PC games from the past, and would be damn impossible to make a definitive list, but the hidden gems article only briefly mentioned 5 games, one of which was Street Fighter Alpha 2, hardly a hidden gem in my eyes. No offense noise, SFA2 is my favorite in the series.
More confusing is that retro gaming and retro themed titles are for popular than ever. Does the AT Games Sega system suck? Of course it does, but why wouldn't you post a review of it, or the newly released NES classic? Or the RetroAVS? How could you not post reviews of modern retro themed games like ShovelKnight, or the endless supply of indie titles on steam? While the rest of the internet grows with new content related to this hobby, racketboy only seems to grow smaller.
It sucks to swing by and see you guys bickering about politics in the world thread. i honestly miss what this site used to be. A positive place to learn and talk about old games. It never came across as big headed, or highly opinionated, but mostly factual. Probably the closest thing i have ever encountered online that felt like true gaming journalism. Whether it be from a viewpoint of nostalgia, or whether you just never stopped playing these games in the first place, you could always learn something new. And remember folks, its not possible to be nostalgic about something you never stopped doing.
Not sure what I'm trying to say here, but I don't want this site to disappear. It has taught me 95% of what i know about his hobby. Not trying to get too wishy washy, but it makes me sad when I see the dead front page with articles from 6 months ago and a link to a podcast that has been dead for almost 2 years. Hell, all of the guides are riddled with outdated prices, dead links and missing images, and that just sucks.
Don't let this place die guys. I don't post, but regardless this site has been very special to me for a large part of my life. I really am rooting for you guys to pull this place back together, and i will always stop by from time to time to see wants going on. I just don't want it to be a 404 error someday.