Throughout the seven-year history of this site, we have strived to bring the best coverage of everything related to the Sega Genesis and its two add-ons. This year, that commitment was put to the test, more than at any other time. It’s no secret that the site was down for a little more than a month after having suffered a series of brutal hacking attacks. The site was offline and in danger of disappearing altogether, but thanks to the efforts of the community, it has managed to endure.
I like to think of Sega-16 as more than just a simple website. To me, it’s a place where people can go to share their love of a particular era in gaming history. Since we started back in 2004, the site has managed to develop a thriving online community, where fans from all over the world gather to discuss, debate, trade and sell, and basically hang out. People come and go, as with any online forum, and while some move on to other forums and places, many come back and stick around. To me, that is the very definition of community.
Sega-16’s community isn’t just one to talk about its favorite gaming hardware. When the chips are down, it has no qualms about showing its sincerity. Thanks to the efforts of more people than I can mention here, Sega-16 managed to upgrade its forum, secure a new design for the main site, and pay all the expenses involved with such a massive and time-consuming transition. There is no way I could have brought the site back from the brink all by myself, and to those who donated their time, money, and council, I thank you.
Their efforts paid off in a major way. Since the old design was poorly coded and a major security risk, we were forced to find an alternative that suited our needs but also didn’t threaten our hosting. We decided to make the jump to WordPress, a popular and pretty standardized blogging software, and after some tweaking and adjusting, we’ve managed to preserve all the functionality of the old site. All of our articles (all 1200+ of them) will be coming back in time, as they must be ported over manually. Rest assured, however, that no content has been lost. Sure, the new design takes some getting used to, but I’m sure that our readers will eventually come to see that this was the right choice, from an administrative and technical standpoint. We want to make sure that we’re able to keep the site secure and updated, thereby securing our ability to bring all the reviews and features you’ve come to expect from us.
We will continue to update three times a week, with the reviews, interviews, and comprehensive articles that have made us the definitive source for everything Genesis. We encourage our readers to comment on our articles and even provide a reader score for all the games we’ve reviewed. You can also head on over to our forum and become a member of a solid community that continues to grow and endure. There’s a lot happening here, but I can honestly say that after seven long years, we’re just getting started.
This is what a community does. It grows and changes, and it endeavors to become a better thing that it was before. Sega-16 is a much stronger force in the retro gaming scene thanks specifically to the efforts of those who want to see it succeed – our staff, readers, forum members, and all those great people behind the scene who have kept the site up and running all these years. They are what have made Sega-16 what it is, and with them in our corner, we have lots of great years ahead of us.
I would specifically like to dedicate the site’s relaunch to former staff writer Rodger Swan, who died in January 2010. For the months that he wrote for us, Rodger brought great energy, sincerity, and a friendly smile to everyone. He moved on to bigger things and was producing a very popular vblog about life in Hanamaki Japan at the time of his death. The videos are wonderful to watch and do a great job of showing just what a special person Rodger was. He was a prime example of the kind of video game fan we all hope to be, someone who brings their warmth and friendship from the real world into their virtual one, and our forum is a dimmer place since his passing. Rodger will be sorely missed by all of us, and we urge our readers to check out his reviews and articles. Uploading his work to the new site was a powerful reminder of just how quickly something special can be taken away.
Rodger was also the type of guy that we like around here. Very humble, and friendly. He was indeed one of us, and he passed much, much too soon. Rest In Peace Rodger Swan.
Glad I took a moment to read this post if only to discover Rodger’s excellent vblog. It reminded me a lot of the years I lived in Japan. Rodger is exactly the kind of guy that Japan dreams of when it brings over English teachers. You do him a great honor with his mention in this post.