After almost two decades as a game-industry journalist/critic/writer/editor, I decided it was time to move on and try something new. Friday, Oct. 3 will be my last day as GamesBeat’s editor-in-chief, and I am leaving video game media altogether.
Why? I simply received a great opportunity and offer, and it made me realize that this is as good a time as any in my life to make such a big change. I’ve been doing gaming journalism for 18-and-a-half years now, and I’ve been hovering around the same position (editor-in-chief or editorial director) for 13 of them. So I hope you don’t blame me for seeking new challenges. I want to grow and learn new things in the industry that I love, and this new company is offering me a chance to experience “the other side.” I can’t, however, reveal what I’m doing at this point — the company for whom I’ll be working has its own plans for announcing my hire.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1564543,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"B"}'](Now, before this gets turned into something completely stupid, this has nothing to do with the anti-journalist movement known as #GamerGate. Even though I haven’t been dragged into that drama in a negative way, it is certainly at the top of the list of “Things I Can’t Wait to Leave Behind.”)
I’ve rewritten this post several times now. It’s been difficult for me to decide what I want to say.
I have way too much in my career to reflect on, from my early days in the print-magazine business with Electronic Gaming Monthly to my brief stints at Gamers.com and G4 to attempting to run a business with Bitmob to closing this chapter of my life at GamesBeat. (All that reflection is not a post. That’s a book. Or maybe a bunch of Tweets over an extended period.)
I have way too many people to thank from each stop, including peers, coworkers, industry contacts, mentors, bosses, and more.* (It would be a crazy-long list that would end up upsetting me because I forgot to include someone important.)
I just have way too much to say or write, so I’m going to save all of us the time and keep this as short and simple as possible. So … until you hear the official announcement of my new gig, this is goodbye for now. I hope you stay in touch with me via social media.
Some housekeeping:
- GamesBeat is in great hands. The team here is as passionate and hard-working as you’ll find anywhere, and I know they’ll continue to pump out great coverage. I’m helping them out with a transition plan, which includes the (hopefully) full and revised release of our community site. Check our About page for more about how you can contribute content and make some money while doing so.
- From the moment I knew I was accepting the job and through my last day here, I have been avoiding any conflict of interest — editorial decisions that would benefit my future employer or hurt any of its competitors. GamesBeat and VentureBeat know where I’m going, so they can watch and vouch for anything that I do.
- I’ve been fortunate that VentureBeat has permitted me to pursue some passion projects on the side, and my new employer will as well. So keep an eye out for some board game projects from me and my video game-industry pals. We’re creating a card game as well as a new tabletop reviews/discussion show that’s a little reminiscent of the old 1UP Show (only without the skits, high production values, or budget … so maybe I shouldn’t have made that comparison). Please stay tuned for those!
– Dan “Shoe” Hsu
* OK, let me at least thank my big bosses (and one business partner). Without them, I wouldn’t have had one dream job after another. Special thanks to: Joe Funk, Ed Semrad, John Davison, John Ricciardi, David Hodgson, Dennis Fong, Simon Cox, Wade Beckett, Demian Linn, Dylan Tweney, and Matt Marshall. I should also thank Crispin Boyer (who taught me more about writing and grammar than any textbook), Bill Lessard (who gave my career a big boost by putting me in front of the cameras and microphones of mainstream media), and Wendy Welch, Tricia Gray, Sebastian Haley, Stacy Cohen, and Dean Takahashi (who also helped me get jobs in this biz, though I’m purposely not including the pal who referred me to my next one as that may give it away). I owe a lot to these fine people. Finally, a huge thanks to wonderful wifey Christina Ha, who is my biggest supporter in the world. I wouldn’t know what to do without her.