Next week I start work on another gaming website: Movemodo.com, a PlayStation Move-specific site from the guys behind Nintendo Life. That gives me another site to maintain, and means I’ll have less time for The Collected Writings, sadly.

However, my super-smart brother Phil, of PhilNewton.net, has been busy developing a new look for this site that will finally fulfil the title’s promise. Everything I’ve ever written online – be it for Nintendo Life, Twitter or here – will be contained within these hallowed virtual walls.

There will be a few visual tweaks, but you’ll mostly notice a huge increase in content. For this blog over the past few years I’ve written nearly 100,000 words: for Nintendo Life in August alone I’ve written over 10,000, and I’ve been writing there since January 2008. This could provide some very interesting statistics, to me at least.

Soon this will be a digital vault of everything I’ve published online; well, the good stuff anyway. I’m very excited.

PS You might have seen this photograph of me in GamesTM issue 99, page 88

Looking back over our wedding day photos, it’s hard to believe it was nearly a year ago that all the fuss was made over Hannah and myself.

Lots of people travelled a combined distance of hundreds of miles to be there; guests took time off work, left children with carers and everybody did what was necessary to join us there on that one day.

I look at the photos now and I find it astonishing, really: a true one-off occasion, with friends and family all present to show how much they cared for us. It’s humbling and heartwarming at the same time: it’s a wedding cliché to say that everybody’s presence mattered, but it genuinely did. Old friends, loved family members, energetic children: every person there made a huge contribution to the day.

Hannah is in Berlin this week, a place that is arguably more “our city” than anywhere we’ve ever lived. The zoo, the parks and the streets belong to us, and not having her around is naturally getting me down. To know she’s there, revisiting some of our favourite places from our honeymoon, is enough to bring a smile to my face, though.

I remind myself every day how lucky I am to have found Hannah: we’ve been together for nearly ten years now, and I look back and laugh at the 17-year old boy I was when we first met. But I still see a lot of him in myself and Hannah is still recognisably the girl she was all those years ago: passionate, forthright, beautiful and unique.

Of all the billions of people in the world, all it took was a short message to introduce the two of us. I don’t really believe in fortune or luck, but I truly feel we’ve beaten the odds. I miss her now, but when she’s back I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve been writing for Nintendo Life for about two and a half years now. In that time I’ve been to London, Paris, Poland and Dewsbury, reviewed over sixty games, written hundreds of articles and met dozens of wonderful people, from PRs to developers.

That said, there’s still that nagging feeling that, because I have a day job to pay the bills, I’m not quite a meaningful part of the industry yet. Not to say that the industry metes out status by the size of your pay packet, but to make my living solely from doing what I love to do – that is, writing about it – is a long, long way off yet.

There’s the thought that I still measure my success in a print medium, that to transfer across from writing online to getting my name on paper is a huge step up, when if anything the overall industry is trending in the opposite direction. Perhaps that explains why I’ve been so reluctant to start work on a piece to pitch to magazine editors, though it’s much more likely I’m simply being lazy.

I do wonder where I’ll go next, and I don’t mean geographically. This year promises to be a huge year for me to prove I’ve got what it takes to make a name for myself in such a hugely competitive industry. From small beginnings I have the opportunity to go global, and that brings a smile to my face.

The answer to that seemingly rhetorical question is “yes”. I am in the industry: I may not have influence, but I have a part to play. The 10-year old me would have dreamt of this lifestyle and it seems blasé of me to criticise it. I have the opportunity to make my dreams come true and I’m going to do just that.

It’s been a long time since I posted here, mainly because I’ve lost Internet access at home, but now I’ve got a little time I thought I’d fill you in on what’s been happening up here in York.

Working Man

As usual I’m working myself hard at Gamestation and things are going from strength to strength. I recently organised two launch events – a 32-player FIFA 08 tournament and a 48-player Halo 3 event with networked 360s. Both were hard work but I actually had a lot of fun, and hopefully I can put on some bigger and better events in the future – you know you’re onto a good thing when the commercial director of Gamestation picks up on it!

Ring Ring

As most of you know by now, I asked Hannah to marry me in July and she said yes. We haven’t set a date yet but we’re looking at Spring 2009 in the Lake District. I can’t wait!

Flattering!

Another high point of July was settling into our new flat – it’s still in York but further out, and it’s ten times nicer than our last two places despite not being a house. I hope we’re going to stay there for a while.

I’ll try to set up some automatic posts for the next few weeks and months, but beware – it could be another six months until I post, although I promise it will be absolutely worth it.

I’m listening to Puncture Repair by Elbow, from Leaders of the Free World

Hello and welcome to another truly tremendous edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers, hosted right here at the Carnival’s spiritual home, the Collected Writings of James Newton. Normally I devote more time here, but at the moment I’m going through a period of upheaval as I’ve recently moved to a new flat, so there’s no regular Internet access! Hopefully it won’t be too long until I can come back and update regularly, but still, there’s more than enough good content in these websites to sustain you!

Don’t forget – please leave a comment on a blogger’s work and consider submitting an article yourself for next month’s carnival. It’s going from strength to strength and that’s because of your contributions, so thanks!

I’ve not enough time for the usual witty intro, but the posts speak for themselves. Enjoy them and come back in a month!

Justin Consuegra presents Unique Gift For Men: Real 1up Mushroom posted at The Men’s Gift Guide, saying, “Video Game guys are gonna love this gift idea. Absolutely unbelievable!”

Jeremy Hitchcock presents WTTF: Welcome to the Future » Archive » Quickie posted at WTTF: Welcome to the Future, saying, “Which would you choose?”

Utsay Ahmed presents Addiction not applicable to video games posted at Utsay Dot Net.

Jigsaw hc presents Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars Review posted at Jigsaw hc’s Rants & Reviews.

Jigsaw hc presents Carcassonne Review posted at Jigsaw hc’s Rants & Reviews.

Jigsaw hc presents Eternal Sonata Demo Review posted at Jigsaw hc’s Rants & Reviews.

James Nicholls presents Another attack on Sequels and Clones | Gaming Legends posted at Gaming Legends.

Chris presents How I (Gradually) Became Less Obsessive About Playing Video Games posted at How to have more social success.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Working Memory Training from a pediatrician perspective, focused on attention deficits posted at SharpBrains, saying, “A new application of videogames: training worming memory, which usually is a key deficit in people with attention deficit.”

Once again, another top-notch Carnival from you all. Thank you for your submissions! You can enter the next carnival of video game bloggers by using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Thanks again for coming, and come by next month for another cracking Carnival of Video Game Bloggers!