Hey folks, Valkor here and welcome to the next level of “The Other View”. Those of you who were with us in the beginning know that every year I like to update the site with a new design. I do this 1) to keep myself on my toes when it comes to HTML and 2) I really enjoy doing, especially when I come across a template I like. And I really LOVE this new look. It makes things a lot easier in the updating plus everything is much easier to find, on top of that I’ve fully implemented a search engine, which I did in 2007, but never got into it until now. And believe me it’s gonna be needed because there’s tons of new content on the way; 2009 will be a most exciting change.
The biggest change is the departure of Krush. Though you’ll still find some of his articles around, he has quit the site altogether. Just so everyone is clear, Krush is/was the creator of TOV or I should say he created the basis of TOV, but him and together brought it to full life. 6 years ago he came to me with an idea that we should have a site that’s kinda like Maxim, where we would have a lot of fun checkin out the latest gadgets, listen to some hot music, and garnish all over the site a bevy of babes. While we have sorta strayed from our initial idea, nonetheless the dream still holds.
In my eyes, Krush’s departure was expected. If you noticed in 2008 his updates were really lacking and his role on the site never came to fruition; basically he was the business side and I maintained, but ultimately it was his site and he was the true face of TOV.
Prior to the year’s end and me heading off to CES 2009, Krush and I came into words when it came to how the next iteration of how the site should look. He said he had someone lined up to do a total overhaul, but I was told it wasn’t to be available till the end of 2009. To me it was pointless because I knew I could whip something up in a few weeks, which is the site you see today. But when I introduced this new look to Krush, he was not pleased by it, announcing changes that in my eyes just didn’t fit with what we were doing. And we parted ways, not talking until after I had gotten back from CES.
After not speaking with him prior to CES or maybe a few weeks after, I received an invite from Sega, to which I passed this along to Krush and it was then he stated that he quit, that he didn’t have time for the site and that he was done. I asked him repeatedly if he was sure and what company were meeting with, stressing the name because... well it's Sega damnit! To which he answered yes, he's done with the site. By quitting from his own, he pretty much relinquished all rights as owner, thus making me senior editor. We came into this partnership on a verbal agreement and we parted ways on a verbal agreement. With that in mind, I changed his password and deleted the Krush account. Not because I didn't want him to have access to it, but mostly because it was one less email I needed to check. Why did I delete the account? Honestly I had foreseen his quitting the site long ago (again his lack of updates), it was just a matter of when that I wasn’t sure but I knew it was gonna come; I simply wanted to cut ties and move forward. I had events that needed covered, reviews that needed to be written and a new look that needed work. I’m still a bit backed up, but I have a good crew, so I know I’ll be caught up soon enough.
Now I bet you’re wondering why I’m telling the internet world this. I’m writing this mostly because Krush has stated he has begun a new blog and that he’ll make mention of what happened, basically calling me a liar and a thief. I don’t know the name or where it’s located, but I want both sides of the tale to be told rather than just his side. I don’t want to be accused of doing something I know I didn’t do and I want folks to pass their own judgment based on both sides. I put off writing about this because I didn’t want things to escalate, but Krush has made statements that I stole the site from him and that I didn’t respect him. However that simply was not the case. But I do wish him the best at whatever he chooses to do.
That brings us to the now: The new TOV. The new look still has some kinks, but again it’s more streamlined than before. Also it’s the return of GameView, with new team writer Webster. I’m very excited about having GameView back because it has opened a lot of doors, namely E3 2009. So with that I wanna thank everyone who’s been supportive of what we’ve been doing, I do apologize for the lack of updates lately, but as you can see I wasn’t just sitting on my hands. LOL Trust me we’re back into full swings and the reviews will be a-flowin. But he have many more surprises in store, because with a new look we get a new View, a View I hope you come back to again and again.
Valkor Out!
