I feared this day might come, but, I think I am done with blogging for now. I thought about this long and hard and have found many reasons for me to stop blogging at this point in time. For one it has always been a struggle between playing games and writing timely blogs and I have been playing more games than ever in the last month or so. Second, and let me make this VERY CLEAR, I DON'T CARE ABOUT POPULARITY but I think I have seen the last "0 Comments" blog I can take (I know about the new comments system glitch but this happened even before)... It's hard on morale when I spend upwards of TWO HOURS on a blog to see it flop so hard in the comments section. I mean, I don't even get that guy who posts a useless comment just because he can... Out of over 100 trackers I have about 3 people who frequently comment. I would love to discuss games with people, but the discussion never starts unless I say something controversial. Third. GameSpot is a bloody ghost town. Other than a handful of remaining mainstays that still post there is not much of a community. Giant Bomb isn't an option either as it always has been a ****ing joke as a community.

The biggest thing is: I am tired of text blogs. If I were to continue with Now Loading and such it would have to be much more... more than GameSpot could ever handle... we're talking a custom Now Loading website, text blogs, a podcast, live streams and other video content. I have been blogging since 2004 (7 years, 7 months) and I am turning 31 in four months and I feel I need to go big or go home with Now Loading if I am to keep doing it at this point in my life. In other words turn it into more than just a time sucking hobby.... As I said, that is the main reason I have to step away from blogging as it is, so that I can see what the feasibility of doing all that is. It would require a fair bit of cash and serious and proper dedication to be successful at. That's the only future I envision for Now Loading and it may be a ways off or it may never happen but if it ever does I will let you know about it.

With that said my blogging days on GameSpot are over... but if you'd like to keep track of what I have been doing mostly gaming wise PLEASE follow me on twitter: @alpha99. I'm not the best at updating but since the blog is done I will try to post my thoughts on games more often on there.

I am sorry this is good-bye, I was enjoying Now Loading In-Depth for awhile but playing a game to write about it to seemingly zero interest is losing half the point... I mean there has got to be someone out there that is interested in my thoughts on Phantasy Star II and wants to share their personal thoughts on the game with me... but nope... there isn't even anyone to criticize my writing or suggest things that might make me better or more interesting. It's like writing into a black hole. I do appreciate my long time readers (you know who are, likely you'll be the only ones to read this) but I feel like I am back in 2004 where I was basically talking to myself. 7 years, 7 months, 718 blog posts and I have made miniscule progress in the blogging world... not even keeping a frequently updated blog is enough to spur interest. As I said I have no want of popularity or fame, I just want to create a community of discussion on games... and I have failed to do that with Now Loading in its current state.

So long to everyone I have met on GameSpot, hopefully we'll talk on Twitter and you'll join me if my venture to take Now Loading to the next level comes to fruition. It was fun, but it is time to move on to whatever comes next. Later.

Thanks for reading,
Tom Aitken (alpha99)

Now Loading
September 3, 2004 - May 23, 2012
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