Andy's Retirement Statement #2

12-20-2006

As you may have noticed, Emulationzone.org has turned 10 years old. That is one heck of an accomplishment for a site that originally started as a bet amongst friends to see who could come-up with the best website. I remember starting the site with nothing more than an idea and a yearning to see this idea reach its potential.

Over the years the site morphed away from being a site about console emulators to instead focus on the “spin-off” subjects from this genre, such as utilities, ROM hacking, fan sites, and the like. While the site had its share of failures, it had it’s successes as well, such as SSRG, ‘ZRN, Emulinks, and a little Sonic site known as “SonicHQ”. The site even survived the great “UltraHLE” debacle, in which a “perfect” N64 emulator was released during a time in which the N64 was Nintendo’s flagship console.

But as times change, so do we. And for myself, I have grown tired of the genre and feel it’s time to leave it all behind for the new generation to pick up and continue. So with that, after 10 years of service to the gaming community, I, NO CARRIER, am announcing my retirement from Emulationzone.org and its affiliates. The site will remain up as long as ZTNET can afford to do so, as so will sites hosted on the ‘Zone. In fact, many of these sites will continue to be updated in my absence, including ‘ZRN.

And yes, I know, “Ha ha, we heard that one before.” I originally tried to retire from the ‘Zone in 2001 so I could focus on my new job and on grad school. However, shortly afterwards I returned and continued to work on the site in a limited capacity. Why? I guess I came back because the sites I was leaving behind were not left in an acceptable state. Perhaps I came back because I enjoyed the site as an outlet for fun. Perhaps I came back to try and finish my work? To put it in another words, I came back because it was not time for me to leave.

But after working on the site for 10 years, I feel it is time for me to move on. I have grown tired of the genre and whole heartedly want to move on to do other things. And for that reason, my second retirement will stick. And with that, I say farewell and thanks for sticking with us over the years.

Andy Wolan
NO CARRIER
Founder of Emulationzone.org