Happy belated 3.5 years to me! This coronavirus shutdown/stay-at-home thing has all our days blurring together, and I totally missed my usual April 16 date to post my annual half-year State of the Blog Address! As longtime followers may know, since the blog’s anniversary is on October 16, that means April 16 is the halfway point to another year online, so I like to step back and talk about where the blog is now, and my plans for the coming year.

The most important thing is, so far, my family and I are safe and healthy since this C-virus (I like using that because it sounds way more Resident Evil) has taken hold of the planet. I hope all of you reading this are doing well also, and if this pandemic has affected you or your loved ones in any way — health-wise, emotionally, or financially — you have my sincere wishes for your well-being. My wife and I are both out of work at this time, as our governor has shut down our places of business. While I refuse to get political or indulge in social commentary on this blog, I can only say that I hope we can get back to work soon as long as it’s in a safe and considerate fashion.

My posting schedule has become much more irregular. In 2020 alone, I did only two posts in January, one in February, one in March, and like five in April. I hate to admit that I’m slowing down a little, but it seems to be true — it was due to being busy with life stuff, so the multiple posts in the last six weeks is a testament to the amount of free time I’ve had.

How is the blog traffic? Pretty much same as ever. I’m averaging visitors somewhere in the 10-20 range every day. Small but steady. Still kind of waiting for that threshold of discovery to be crossed, where people realize how rad this blog is.

So! What are we talking about? The Neo-Geo turned 30, can you believe it?I was proud to have finished Shenmue III and dissected Portopia in the past month. I think I will be expanding the Portopia article and using it for a strategy piece in one of the upcoming issues of the Retro Game SuperHyper fanzine.

Which makes this a good place to talk about the fanzine. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE doing the fanzine and am going to continue it, but the immediate future is going to be just a bit complicated. You see, I’m actually forced to plan the next TWO issues of the fanzine right now, because originally my plan was to make issue 4 “the Japan issue,” and include front-to-back coverage of my trip to Tokyo that is currently still scheduled for September. But then the Rona hit, and now I have no idea if I’ll actually get to go on that trip this year, or if I’ll have to postpone it until next year. So since I can’t put all my ‘zine eggs in the Japan basket, I’m planning an alternate/backup issue 4, in case I don’t make it to Tokyo. So to break it down: If I DO get to go to Japan in September, then issue 4 will be the Japan issue and issue 5 will be the backup issue; if I DON’T go to Japan, then issue 4 will be the backup issue and issue 5 will be the Japan issue. Got it? So, I guess I’ll know by late August or the beginning of September which way it’s going to go.

And that’s not to say that the “backup” issue is going to be second-rate; quite the opposite, I’ve got some super cool plans for that one too. As a matter of fact, I’ve already drawn the cover art! Want a sneeky peek?

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Either way, if you don’t have the first three issues yet, go buy them now!

Back to the blog, what’s coming up?

Well, next is probably going to be an overview on the PC Engine Mini, since I just got mine, and I’ve been monitoring the saga of the TurboGrafx-16 Mini US launch, which is just a total fustercluck. I’m also still working on a piece on Death Stranding, which, even though it’s not a retro title, I feel a need to try to place it within Hideo Kojima’s oeuvre. I’d like to do some more videos and get back to the chiptune thing, as always. Still active on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so please find me there!

Meanwhile, please do remember that I have t-shirts and fanzines available for sale. Every little bit helps in a time like this and I appreciate your support more than you know! And not just me, but please be sure to seek out other gaming blogs, streaming channels, publications, and arcades that need your help and do what you can to support them too.

So that’s where things are at. Comfortable, and yet I’m always trying to drum up more readership and awareness. Still having fun. Are you? What do you like about the blog? What would you like to see more of? Sound off in the comments and as always, thank you so much for reading!