Other Gaming Blogs Worth Reading
Been meaning to highlight a couple of other blogs I think you'd enjoy reading, especially if you're interested in the game industry. What I particularly like about both these blogs is that they're written by professional journalists, and bring a significantly higher quality of writing and opinion. In a world where Time Magazine's Person of the Year is "You", it's worth highlighting some of the better writing and thinking on the web.
You may also find these interesting because I can't say I'm always in agreement with their opinions. I've known both N'Gai and Dean for years, going all the way back to my Intel days, and we've always had spirited discussions. There are points of agreement, but I wanted to highlight that you'll definitely find a different viewpoint here than many of my opinions. Hopefully you'll take some of those and incorporate it into the overall conversation.
First off is Dean Takahashi's blog. Dean writes for the San Jose Mercury News, and his blog seems to be a combination of extended versions of his newspaper articles as well as his own opinion. You may also know him as the author of "Opening the Xbox". Dean definitely isn't one to pull his punches when writing about the Xbox, but he does have some great sources in the industry and you'll definitely find some fun stuff here. Worth watching.
Second is N'Gai Croal's "Level Up" blog. N'Gai (other than winning the award for coolest name) writes for Newsweek. I've know N'Gai for a long time, and I've always appreciated his very strong opinions as well as the reasoned backing he has for them. I'll be upfront and say that I often disagree with him, especially when it comes to Sony, but I also have to be fair and say that when we discuss different issues I can't discount many of the points he brings up. It usually comes down to a mutual "guess we'll have to see" sort of agreement... as well as a good excuse for dinner at the next trade show.
Take a read of both these blogs. Both N'Gai and Dean approach their blogs from a bit more of a journalist's perspective, and I think you'll find their perspective refreshing - even when they're horribly wrong. (Yes, that was tongue in cheek!) 