I found out about the news while listening to the Retronauts podcast last night, where the group fondly reminisced over Gamepro's history. It made me very sad to think that the majority of its employees have to go through this holiday season without a job.
Gamepro was good to me throughout the years. I got my first issue in November 1995, as a replacement for Sega Visions. They sent a nice letter stating that they were ceasing publication, ,and that the remainder of my subscription would be filled with Gamepro.
And wow, Gamepro was amazing to this 12-year-old kid! Sega Visions was great, don't get me wrong, but Gamepro showed me games outside of the Sega spectrum. I read all about Chrono Trigger and fantasized about owning this game, even though I had no Super Nintendo to speak of. They had articles about going to school to become a game designer, features on hot arcade games, and an awesome editor named Johnny Ballgame (the greatest Gamepro editor that ever lived).
In fact, Gamepro was my first published article on anything! In issue #125 (December 1999), I wrote to Gamepro asking why the N64 only had kiddie and racing games, instead of more "mature" games like the Playstation. Gamepro replied that I needed to look around and see that the N64 had a lot more than just racing and kiddie games. True, the N64 had some amazing games, like Zelda and Goldeneye (two games I loved), but I still think I was right on the money when I said the N64 was filled with racing games.
I since quit subscribing to Gamepro in the early 2000s, and up until 7 years ago, I had all my back issues stored in the closet. I wish I had kept them, as they'd be a nice thing to relive.
Since this is a religious gaming web site, I wanted to post my memories as a reminder that the people we love and look up to are always in need of prayers. Definitely keep the good folks from Gamepro, and the others without work this holiday season, in your thoughts and prayers.
God bless.
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