A big feature for 1UP, hopefully the first of many. And it's not even focused on comedy! Your little boy is growing up.

Remember, Issue 14 of GameSpite Quarterly (where this article is printed) is still on sale.

It's a sequel to this article from last year. I really want to do more video game comedy/satire stuff soon.

In case you weren't paying attention to my other outlets of self-promotion, the first issue of GameSpite Quarterly is now on sale in both a standard $12 paperback edition, and a $36 special hardcover edition for all of you big spenders out there. This being the 20th anniversary of the Game Boy, the inaugural issue of GameSpite Quarterly is devoted entirely to Nintendo's famous portable system. For more about the issue itself, check out GameSpite's blog post on the subject. and/or its online table of contents.

Times is tough, but $12 is a pretty good deal for 160 pages of good games journalism you won't find anywhere else in the world of print. Please pick up a copy if you can; we have a lot of great stuff planned for the upcoming issues. And because you asked for it, every issue of GameSpite Quarterly will be printed in English using actual words and sentences. Just try finding that in other magazines.

SUPER AWESOME EDIT: If you want to avoid paying blurb.com's unfriendly shipping rates, use the order code "hpfreeshipping" (without quotes, obviously) to get free shipping. Nice!

Originally ran in the final EGM.

The Stand Under the Don't Tree and Riddle Me This radio show/podcast interviewed me last night about games journalism and general nerd stuff. Here's a link:

http://tinyurl.com/9mqzk9

My section starts at 29:10 but you should probably listen to the whole thing. I approve.

The comments section is amazing.

My first post for 1UP's new Retro Gaming Blog.  You should probably bookmark the blog as a whole, because even my capacity for self-promotion has its limits.

Note to people viewing this now: this post is mainly for the benefit of my blog, and the fact that I feel the need to obsessive-compulsively catalog everything I produce. Please deal with it. Thank you.

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Starting in December of 2007, I became a freelance writer for the video game website 1UP.com; here's what I've done for them so far.

Updated somewhat frequently.

Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists	01/06/2009
Top 5 Worst Videogame Sidekicks	12/30/2008
Top 5 Worst Christmas-Themed Video Games	12/24/2008
Thanksgaming: Surviving the Holidays	11/26/2008
Top 5 Least Scary Things About Resident Evil	10/27/2008
Top 5 Worst Famicom Games	08/19/2008
Top 5 Worst Dressed Video Game Characters	08/01/2008
Top 5 Disappointing Video Game Sequels	07/18/2008
Overcompensating	06/18/2008
Top 5 Worst JRPG Character Names	06/13/2008
RetroNotes: Grand Theft Auto	04/29/2008
Launch Failure: The Most Explosively Awful Console Launch Titles	04/16/2008
RetroNotes: Mario Kart	04/10/2008
Power Down: The Most Useless Power-Ups in Video Games	04/08/2008
Mystery Smash Theater	03/12/2008
Return of the Revival: Good and Bad Videogame Comebacks	03/04/2008
Smart Bombs: Celebrating Gaming's Most Beloved Flops	02/05/2008
The PS2 Lives!	01/17/2008
Rise from Your Grave: Videogame Franchises that Are Gone but Not Forgotten	12/10/2007

Electronic Gaming Monthly Articles

Freedom of Choice: Some of GTA4's Other Online Modes	August 2008, Volume 231
Top Ten Videogame Dogs	January 2009, Volume 236

Electronic Gaming Monthly--the only national publication with 100% more Bob Mackey than anything else on the market--has graciously decided to use my talents once again. So go out, pick up the latest issue (January, Vol. 236), and turn to the last page to see what I do best: pen pop culture-based lists. Also, you should read the other parts of the magazine. And you should probably buy it, too; it comes with a free Wolverine mask on the cover!

(Well, you can USE IT as a mask.)

Okay, it's not exactly MY book, but it does have a handful of my articles.

GameSpite, one of the sites I write for, has compiled the first year's worth of articles into two separate volumes; and as of today, volume one is now available to buy. AND YOU SHOULD BUY IT.

350 pages of quality writing about video games for a mere 25 dollars? A bargain! Here's a link where you can order it:

http://www.toastyfrog.com/verbalspew/archives/entry_1015.php

Keep in mind that each book you buy will help put food on my table, even though I typically eat off of my lap. But the principle is the same.

Actually, this is from last week; but with all the election stuff happening, I neglected to post a link to my article about an eight year-old Game Boy Color game. Lucky for you I realized what's truly important in this world.

Also, GameSpite head honcho Jeremy Parish is thinking about turning our first year and a half of GameSpite articles into a 200-250 page book. Go to this post and tell him that you want to buy it. I'm sure GameSpite in paper form will be perfect for both bathroom and bedtime reading. Here's a small preview of what may be the cover:



Do it for the kids.

Some fun video game stuff I wrote yesterday:

WTFriday: Goldman's Drama Academy
When Booth Babes Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Booth Babes

I wrote about Nintendo's advertising in the mid-90s. Didn't all commercials look like that back then?

Warning: if you don't know what Nippon Ichi is, you won't understand a damn thing about this article. But I have more entertaining links below this banner:



And now, some heartwarming video game-related stories from my childhood, AKA, Help Me, My Son Is a Nerd (It's not a comedy!).

The Mega Man Robot Club

The Nintendo Literary Canon