2008 VGA Advisory Council

2008 VGA Advisory Council

Geoff Keighley (Host / Executive Producer, SPIKE TV)

As Spike's resident gaming guru, acclaimed videogame journalist Geoff Keighley has been covering the game business as a reporter, reviewer and television host for more than 16 years.  He is the host and executive producer of Spike's "GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley", the #1 rated videogame show on television.  Airing every Friday night, GTTV is known for its hard-hitting interviews and blockbuster world premieres.  Geoff also hosts the popular roundtable show "The Bonus Round" on GameTrailers.com and continues to work as a journalist for publications such as Entertainment Weekly. In 2004 he was named one of the top 30 journalists under 30 by NewsBios.

 

Ricardo Torres  (Editor in Chief, GameSpot.com)

Ricardo Torres, who has been a key member of GameSpot's editorial team since 2001, brings a decade of editorial experience to the position and an in-depth knowledge of the gaming industry.  As editor in chief, Ricardo will oversee GameSpot's award-winning editorial staff in their coverage of the latest games and breaking news

Previously, Ricardo was editorial director of GameSpot.  In this position, he secured exclusive previews of some of the most highly-anticipated games in the industry, wrote hundreds of reviews and previews for the site, and managed event coverage in the US and abroad. 

Ricardo has been featured in stories appearing in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today.

Ricardo holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Davis. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to games, his interests include creative writing, photography, painting, music, and travel.

 

Stephen Totilo  (Reporter, MTV News)

Stephen Totilo has worked as MTV News' first full-time gaming reporter since May 2005. He reports videogame stories for the news division's online and on-air. He also serves as editor of the influential gaming blog MTV Multiplayer. He's covered everything from "Dead Space" to "Desktop Tower Defense" and was recently challenged by rapper Soulja Boy to a one-on-one Xbox Live match. He earned a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. His work can be seen at www.mtvnews.com and multiplayer.mtv.com

 

Andy McNamara (Editor in Chief, Game Informer Magazine)

With over 9 years experience as the Editor in Chief of Game Informer Magazine, and over 13 years of professional gaming, Mr. McNamara is one of the longest-standing video game journalists in the industry.

 

Brian Crecente  (Managing Editor, Kotaku)

Brian Crecente, a former crime reporter at several national papers, is the managing editor of Kotaku. Crecente helped to launch Kotaku in October 2004, and has since appeared as a gaming authority on CNBC, ABC World News, Fox National News, CNN and NPR. He has been quoted by the BBC, New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine. His articles have appeared in The New York Post, Playboy Magazine, Wired Magazine and on Scripp's newswire and MSNBC. He is a regular contributor to Variety, The Rocky Mountain News and Paste Magazine and has been profiled by the Sydney Morning Herald and El Pais.   He currently lives in Denver, CO with his 7-year-old son and wife.

 

Christopher Grant  (Editor in Chief, Joystiq)

Motivated by either an unhealthy Messianic complex or a dearth of career opportunities (he never could decide which), Chris put his college education to good use as a carpenter before becoming editor-in-chief of the popular gaming blog, Joystiq. If he isn't busy playing or writing about games, he's doing other, no doubt less important, things (though he probably shouldn't be). He hangs his hat in the cultural epicenter of the video game industry ... Philadelphia.

 

Chris Baker  (Senior Editor, Wired Magazine)

Chris Baker writes and edits articles about video games and other geeky topics for Wired Magazine. He has also contributed to Slate, Entertainment Weekly, Spin, Blender, Maxim, Giant Robot, Film Threat, EGM, and 1-Up (the zine, not the site).

 

Brandon Boyer  (Editor, Offworld.com)

Brandon's wild, pure, simple life has seen him at various times acting as artist, programmer, indie record label head, writer, columnist and editor, whose work has appeared in web and print publications like Edge magazine, Game Developer and Gamasutra.com. He currently blogs at brandonnn.com  and is quietly hard at work on a number of yet-unannounced web projects.

 

Tal Blevins  (VP Games Content, IGN Entertainment)

Talmadge Blevins is the editorial lead for the IGN Entertainment games network, overseeing all videogame-related content creation and publishing on IGN.com, GameSpy.com, TeamXbox.com, the Vault Network, the Planet Network, VE3D.com, and all other sites in the IGN Entertainment family. A Masters graduate of the University of Georgia, Tal joined IGN.com in October 1998. He is a founding member of Snowball.com -- which later changed its name to IGN Entertainment -- and has worked in the videogame journalism industry for nearly 15 years. In addition to the IGN sites, Tal has had articles published in Next Generation magazine, Games Business magazine, PC Gamer, GameSpot.com, and TV Guide, among other publications. He has also appeared as an expert in the field of videogames on several national and international television and radio networks, including G4TV, Spike TV the BBC and NPR.

 

Shane Satterfield  (VP, Content for Spike Digital Entertainment & Editor in Chief, GameTrailers)

As VP of Content for Spike Digital Entertainment and Editor in Chief of GameTrailers.com, Shane Satterfield is responsible for conceiving and creating all content for GameTrailers.com and Spike.com, as well as coordinating content distribution with Viacom's various brands and global partners.

Prior to joining MTV Networks' Entertainment Group, Satterfield served as Editorial Director for TechTV and G4 Television. He scheduled, coordinated and executed special coverage for the network including landmark programs such as E3, Tokyo Game Show and a three-hour live launch special for the Xbox 360, as well as scheduling and producing 140 episodes a year of X-Play, a show Satterfield co-created and the most-watched video game television show of all time.

Before that, Satterfield held various posts at GameSpot.com, including Magazine Editor, Features Editor and Platform Editor for the site.  Prior to his stint at GameSpot, he spent several years publishing his own gaming Web site, Street-Level Gaming.

Satterfield graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

 

Sam Kennedy  (Editor in Chief, 1UP.com)

Sam Kennedy brings over ten years of experience in online and print gaming coverage to his position as Site and Editorial Director of the 1UP Network. Sam created a name for himself years ago within the online gaming community as the 16-year-old founder of Gaming-Age.com-one of the longest running fan-based video game web sites. While managing the day-to-day activities of Gaming-Age.com, Sam discovered and recruited a number of today's most talented industry writers-many of which are now employed for such outlets as EGM, GameSpot, and Play Magazine. From his college dorm-room on the East Coast, this young, entrepreneurial gaming editor impressed the West Coast's top gaming web sites. Sam was hired to relaunch GameFan.com and soon after accepted a News Editor position at GameSpot. Sam then decided to move into the world of print publishing. Initially working for EGM, Sam helped establish a West Coast editorial office for Ziff Davis Game Group. Soon after, he was tapped to help relaunch Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and served as News Editor. He then went on to launch Ziff Davis Game Group's online destination for gamers, 1UP.com, and several other 1UP Network properties, including MyCheats.com and GameVideos.com.

 

Chris Kohler  (Editor, Game|Life)

Chris Kohler is the editor of Game|Life, the videogame section of Wired.com, and the host of Wired's weekly gaming web show. He is the author of two books on games: Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life and Retro Gaming Hacks.

 

Bryn Williams  (Managing Editor, GameSpy)

Bryn Williams has been a part of the videogame industry since 1998 where he started work for DieHard GameFan.com as a web editor. From there, he moved to Gamers' Republic magazine and then to incite.com based in San Francisco. Moving back to SoCal in August 2000, he joined the editorial team at GameSpy.com. Since then, Bryn has worked as news editor, Nintendo Editor, Senior Editor, and also Console Editor-in-Chief. Most recently, he took the position of Editorial Manager and works alongside a great team of dedicated videogame editors that all bleed GameSpy green.

 

Eric Bratcher  (Executive Editor, GamesRadar US)

Eric Bratcher is the Executive Editor of GamesRadar, one of the largest and most visited videogame websites in the world. He has been a videogame enthusiast for three decades and a videogame journalist for the past nine years, starting as a freelance writer and moving on to permanent positions at Next Generation magazine, PSM 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine, and finally GamesRadar.  He lives in the San Francisco area with his wife and a pet pig named Bacon.

 

Francesca Reyes  (Editor in Chief, Official Xbox Magazine)

Francesca Reyes was somewhat alarmed to realize that she has an entry in Wikipedia, but then suddenly relieved to find that it's empty. She's noted as the editor-in-chief of Official Xbox Magazine, but the site doesn't go into more detail than that, and that's just fine. Sooner or later she figures someone will note her past work (stretching back all the way to 1997) on videogame publications like Ultra Game Players, PSM, Next Generation, and Official Dreamcast Magazine. Or her fondness for Landstalker and Jet Set Radio.

 

John Davison  (President & Co-Founder, What They Like)

As president and co-founder of What They Like, Inc., John jointly manages the daily operation of the company and directs all content generation for its first editorial product, What They Play (www.whattheyplay.com).

John brings nearly two decades of experience in the interactive entertainment media industry to his role as president of What They Like. With expertise in every major sector of the video game media, he has contributed to a variety of well-respected print and online consumer and trade publications in the US and Europe.

Prior to What They Like, John was senior vice president, editorial director of Ziff Davis Game Group. In that role he shaped and directed all 1UP Network editorial products, including 1UP.com; MyCheats.com; GameVideos.com; the 1UP Show video podcast; Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM); Games for Windows: The Official Magazine; and a variety of special issues.

John also served as editor-in-chief of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, successfully guiding the monthly publication through a series of significant transitions, and led EGM through similar evolutionary milestones in the late 1990s.

Before moving to the United States from his native England and joining Ziff Davis, John was the publisher of Dennis Publishing's market-leading UK PC gaming magazine PC Zone.

 

Libe Goad (Editor in Chief, AOL GameDaily)

Video game vet Libe Goad has been covering the electronic entertainment industry for a number of popular consumer magazines and web sites for almost a decade. Today, as Editor-in-Chief for AOL GameDaily, Goad is responsible for directing the content of one of the biggest video game networks on the Web. Prior to AOL, Goad ran the video games coverage for men's consumer magazine Sync and Blender Magazine. She also reported on consumer technology news for PC Magazine and other Ziff Davis properties and was the Editor-at-Large for gaming enthusiast site HappyPuppy.com. In 1999, Goad started the popular women's gaming Web site GameGal.com.

 

Zoe Flower  (Managing Editor, What They Play)

Zoe Flower has enjoyed a long-term love affair with the video game industry, from various television and media roles, to work in game design and production. Currently, she is the Managing Editor for What They Play (www.whattheyplay.com), the only online resource built by game industry veterans with a goal to educate families about today's video game culture. Zoe oversees the day-to-day editorial of the website, cracking her whip on a team of fabulously knowledgeable writers (including herself). Her favorite job perk is also a guilty pleasure - playing kids' games that she can pretend are actually work. Of course, Zoe's latest passion is her two-year-old daughter Violet who she hopes to share her gaming passion with (just as soon as she can figure out how to do so without trash talking).

 

Rob Smith  (Editor in Chief, PSM Magazine)

Rob Smith has been working in videogame magazines for 15 years. Smith held various editorial positions on PC and console game magazines in the UK before moving to the U.S. He was launch Executive Editor of the "legendary" PC Accelerator before becoming Editor-in-Chief of market-leading PC Gamer. Smith took over the reins as EiC of Official Xbox Magazine before moving up the chain as Associate Publisher of OXM, PC Gamer, and Maximum PC. Smith returned to his editorial roots to lead PlayStation: The Official Magazine.

 

Nick Chester  (Editor in Chief, Destructoid)

Not much is known about Nick Chester, although his alliance with the black market arms dealer Destro is very clear. Nick Chester provides the troops, and Destro provides the guns and armor. Nick Chester was a member of a secret and very ancient society (Cobra-La) banished to the Himalayas by early society. He was a brilliant scientist, until an experiment using a gene-altering plant disfigured him. He was then sent out by the leader of Cobra-La (Golobulus) to reign in the destruction of mankind and freedom. After failing time and time again to destroy the G.I. Joe force, he lost his power to command the troops of Cobra to the genetically superior Serpentor, who was created by the diabolical Dr. Mindbender using the DNA from the greatest leaders of mankind.
 
Nick now has a new life as Editor-in-Chief of independent video gaming blog Destructoid.com, and currently resides in Baltimore, MD with his wife and son.

 

 

Kristen Salvatore (Editor in Chief, PC Gamer)

Kristen Salvatore's publishing career began 14 years ago as an editor for middle-school textbooks...long, long after her gaming career began on a Texas Instruments TI99/4A. A deep and abiding love for shiny gadgets eventually led her into technology publishing, first as the Managing Editor of Maximum PC magazine and later as the Managing Editor of Computer Gaming World magazine. She spent a year as the Executive Editor for the world's best-selling PC gaming magazine, PC Gamer, before becoming the publication's Editor-in-Chief (and its first-ever female EIC).

 

N'Gai Croal  (Senior Writer, Newsweek)

N'Gai Croal is a senior writer at Newsweek. He has written about technology since he joined the magazine in February of 1995 as an associate editor. In September of 2006, he launched a videogame blog for Newsweek called "Level Up" that quickly became an industry must-read. He also writes the much-praised "Playing In the Dark" column for Edge magazine in the U.K

 

Aaron Boulding  (Video Games Analyst, ESPN)

Aaron Boulding is the Video Game Analyst for ESPN, spearheading game coverage across all platforms for the Worldwide Leader in Sports. He has written and commented on videogames for several online and broadcast networks including MTV2, Fox Sports Net, G4TV and NBATV. A seasoned online journalist, Boulding was a founding editor of IGN.com where he covered the launch of Microsoft's Xbox and created the NFL's Under the Helmet site. Prior to receiving a BA from UC Santa Barbara and a Master's degree from UC Berkeley, Boulding spent countless hours dominating video games in arcades and convenience stores up and down the West Coast.....often on one quarter.

 

Scott Alexander  (Senior Editor, Playboy Magazine)

Scott Alexander is Senior Editor of Playboy Magazine where he handles technology and videogames. Previously he's been an editor at iVillage, CNET, Ziff Davis and Popular Science.

 

Mike Snider  (Entertainment Reporter, USA Today)

Mike Snider, age 45, began covering digital entertainment for USA TODAY in 1992 when he attended his first Consumer Electronics Show. Two years later, he began writing about entertainment technology full-time. Since then, he has been to every Electronic Entertainment Expo and has written about games, HDTV, movies, music, home video and occasionally goes unplugged to write about books, golf and other sports. A native of Kansas, he was graduated from the University of Kansas in 1986 with a B.S. in journalism -- no jokes! After working as a general assignment reporter covering police, courts, health care and politics at The Examiner in Independence, Mo., and Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader, Snider became a medical writer for USA TODAY's Life Section in 1990.

 

Brandon Sheffield  (Editor in Chief, Game Developers Magazine)

Brandon Sheffield is Editor-In-Chief of Game Developer magazine, a trade magazine dedicated to the art and science of video game development, and Senior Contributing Editor to Gamasutra.com, Game Developer's sister website. He founded - and still runs - insert credit, an early home for subjectivity in criticism and game coverage, and holds degrees in Cinema Television Critical Studies and Japanese Languages and Culture from the University of Southern California.

 

Jeff Gerstmann  (Editor in Chief, Giant Bomb)

Jeff Gerstmann first started attending and covering video game industry trade shows when he was still in high school. Now, the 14-year veteran is one of the most prolific game reviewers of all time. Gerstmann recently formed and launched a new independent video game web site at giantbomb.com, where he routinely comments on game industry news, offers reviews of games, and appears in ridiculous videos and podcasts. When not playing video games, Gerstmann can often
be found sleeping, thinking about sleeping, or making an appearance on Spike TV, Good Morning America, or any number of other nationally viewed television stations and programs.