“In God’s name, why would you start a niche video game website?” Yes, in this current online climate, creating outlets that focus on specific topics like retro gaming may seem extremely silly. People would rather watch or listen than read. Still, starting this site, alongside fellow editor Rob, has been so rewarding. With a team of six, we’ve created 244 articles, including 113 reviews.
Discovering gems like Tiny Thor, Topdee, Downdee, and Legend Bowl is extremely gratifying, as we aim to inform people about indie games they might otherwise have missed. At the same time, we offer a platform for indie games, developers, and publishers that struggle to find footing in larger online outlets, which often lack an understanding of the indie scene, or simple don’t care about it.
Our small team comprises of friends I made while being active in the international retro gaming scene and the local (Dutch) Xbox community. The idea grew on the XBNL Discord server, between myself and Rob. His completionist mentality and hardcore skills, he has the capacity to tackle games that are geared to his peers, as well supporting in day to day management added well to my casual gaming and knowledge of collecting games for 20 years. Jimmy’s incredible Evercade imports and Playstation collection proven extremely valuable too. Fleaman’s lighthearted and snappy writing has been inspiring, while Eddie’s articles are always sharp, offering a bird’s-eye perspective on the subject, making him perhaps the most dependable for readers. Later on, Seb joined, adding another unique flavor and perspective.
So, are we there where we want to be already? Far from it. We have so much going on, and with a year under our belt, we are starting to think about the next steps. This includes video content, which should significantly enrich our content and should make it easier to exploit our socials. Still, this is a hobby project that will never be driven by ad revenue or view counts, and we need to commit to our regular jobs as well. So we need to take baby steps and readers that want to help out with these particular aspects are always welcome! Though we’ve had a blast starting out, I can’t say we’ve found our cadence just yet. Apart from video, establishing a steady flow of balanced content is the main objective for the coming year. Having more interviews, guides, and spotlight articles will diversify our content, and articles like the X68000 feature and interviews with indie developers are the most enjoyable to produce too.
I want to thank Rob, Eddie, Jimmy, Fleaman, and Seb for sticking with me on this adventure! Please follow their respective social platforms and support them where you can. I also want to thank the PR firms, publishers, and developers that gave us the opportunity to report on their games. Thank you all!
