I spend a lot more time reading of articles than I do writing them. My lunch hour has always consisted of firing up the internet and browsing a select few websites to catch up on what’s happened in the last half a day. But now, one of my favourite websites is being forced to close its doors. If you didn’t already know, I’m talking about Joystiq, which (after 10 years) is about to shut up shop.

It started as a rumour, reported by a few other websites. Joystiq took the news on the chin, reporting on their own rumoured demise, updating the article when it was finally confirmed. AOL, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to close Joystiq after dwindling visitor numbers. Callous corporate overlords are shuttering everything Joystiq-related, eventually folding its still-warm corpse into the larger Engadget brand. While I have nothing against Engadget (which I also read regularly), I do take issue with AOL’s decision.

Show me a single gaming website that isn’t facing dwindling page views. OK, now show me one that isn’t using shitty click-bait or low-content articles to entice people into clicking that “Read More” link. Go ahead, I’ll wait right here. Right here.

Didn’t think so.

The last few days have seen a bitter-sweet string of articles; these writers, who have been a not-insignificant part of my life for quite some time, are soon to be jobless. But they soldier on, still reporting, still creating. Still writing for the website they obviously love, right up until the last second. As someone who was inspired to games journalism primarily by the content I read here, I know only too well how hard a job it can be. It’s not easy to write articles on a regular basis.

This collection of individuals – infinitely more professional than I can ever hope to be – have been scattered to the four winds. While I won’t pretend to have agreed with everything they wrote, Joystiq was always my favourite place to go for news, reviews and all-around gaming content. Let’s not forget that we’re also saying goodbye to things like Massively (a Joystiq subsidiary), which was a long-time excellent source of MMO news and updates. In one fell swoop, AOL has left a hole in my gaming life that cannot readily be filled.

I dare say that I’ll find somewhere new to go. Perhaps the gaming section of Engadget will be enough to satisfy me, or maybe another site will come along to echo the style and quality of the dearly departed orange square that sat in my bookmarks toolbar. In all likelihood, I’ll just have to settle for getting my news from other sources, bereft of my favoured haunt.

Joystiq staff past and present: thank you for your work over the past ten years. You will be missed by myself and many others. It sucks that this is happening to you and I wish you all the best.

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