N'Gai Croal
|
Mar 4, 2009 11:00 AM
knockknock.biz luggage tags. Photo courtesy of
justinph.
I guess it's finally time for me to level up.
It
was the summer of '99 when I convinced my then editor to send me on a
tour of the U.S. videogame industry. When I finally returned three
weeks later, my head was still spinning. I felt as though I'd seen the
future of entertainment. It was then that I made it my mission to put
NEWSWEEK's coverage of this growing medium on the map. I did that in
print, with cover stories on the Japanese launch of the PlayStation 2
and the spread of online gaming. I did it online, with the debut of the
blog N'Gai Croal's Level Up. I did it on television, with appearances
on MSNBC and CNN. You all watched me push, prod, praise, scold, discuss
and debate videogames across multiple media, both mainstream and
enthusiast. That's because my editors were prescient enough to let me
apply my talents and establish my reach beyond the magazine, from
co-blogging with MTV News to writing a monthly column for Edge and
more. For this, I say to them all, thank you.
Having achieved all
of this, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I've accomplished
what I set out to do ten years ago. And now it's time for me to take
that decade’s worth of accumulated knowledge and do something else with
it. After Friday March 6th, my passions will take me beyond the world
of journalism. I’ll be wearing many hats on this new journey: videogame
design consultant, media strategist, consumer technology reporter,
columnist, blogger and, as always, provocateur. You’ll be able to keep
track of my various adventures at ngaicroal.com, and feel free to reach
out to me via email at ncroalbiz@gmail.com. It’s been a pleasure
conversing with all of you, and I look forward to continuing our
dialogue in the years to come.
Cheers,
N’Gai
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