N’Gai Croal leaves video game journalism

From the farewell post at Newsweek’s Level Up – N’Gai Croal, one of the best and most successful proponents of improving videogames journalism, had this to say: “I guess it’s finally time for me to level up.”

While he will still be contributing his (excellent!) column in Edge Magazine, N’Gai has left the proverbial building for greener pastures. He will be sorely missed, especially for his incredibly thought-provoking chats with MTV Multiplayer’s Stephen Totilo (via the superb Game Club series) and frequent contributions to various gaming podcasts and specials. More importantly, his “lead-by-example” approach to improving games journalism (via intelligent, learned prose, informed discussion and fascinating cultural analysis) will create something of a vacuum in the often sensationalized, vapid world of the gaming blogosphere.

This is not to say that we’ve lost the only great writer in the field (hey, you’re reading Gamertell, after all!) – but it does, perhaps, signal a need for the rest of us to step things up a bit. There’s no substitute for good reporting, strong, entertaining writing and solid analysis – in this industry as much as any other. To provide anything less is to do a disservice to the field that we love so much.

Best of luck to Mr. Croal, who will surely excel at his new positions. From his post:

“I’ll be wearing many hats on this new journey: videogame design consultant, media strategist, consumer technology reporter, columnist, blogger and, as always, provocateur.”

Read [Level Up] Read [MTV Multiplayer]