I'm writing this just to make sense of it all. This is the first time that a strangers death has affected me so personally, and most of it is because the fruits of his career has been such an integral part of my favorite pass-time. I dare asking questions that may be considered too soon by some, but how do we replace Ryan Davis? What of the site now that he is gone? The short answer is that we cannot replace him. He was level-headed good natured moderator of all the media content that kept things civil and professional. But now that he is gone who can replace him? Can he even be replaced? The site will not be the same without him, and I think there will be definitely something missing that gives the Bomb its personality. I dread that this might actually make the site suffer. I want the site to succeed in light of this. I have followed and enjoyed all his fellow co-workers content just as much for the last decade, and would not want to have this burden placed upon them. I think this would require someone to fulfill his legacy. But how could someone fill Ryan's shoes? If they hire just anyone, they will surely be a pariah and their existence will just be a reminder of Ryan's passing, that this new person is not Ryan. We will need someone we respect just as much, and that we know also respects Ryan's legacy, but who is also respectful of the shoes they are filling... that they are doing a service in memory to his name, but also need the qualifications to professionally fill the hole Ryan left behind.

I like to think that the legal battle's Jeff had gone through to leading him to where he is today was a classroom for the true test of what choices he has to make now. The tweet he gave earlier today, "I will eventually have something to say about all this, but today is not the day", and then go on to say the podcast will continue, shows his fortitude, professionalism, and experience in dealing with such ominous matters. The site will go on. And he will make it work. This is a change we will all have to get used to, and I don't think there is a better community of followers to back them up.

For the longest time since the PS3's launch, I have only had a PS3 while the rest of my gaming friends only had 360s.  Sure I could go over to friends' houses to play, but it meant I had no one online to play with, which is so essential to many games now that don't offer split-screen co-op or multiplayer.  Really... whatever happened that gamers can no longer go over to friends houses to play a game together.  Everything has to be done online only now if people want to team up.  This keeps us lazy and sitting at home in our darkly lit rooms essentially by ourselves.  Even though we might be playing against friends and strangers alike online, those online buddies may as well be bots.  Among the name calling, bitching, and ten year old boys that sound like little girls, there is no real life social interaction like punching your friend in the shoulder when he killed you five times in a row.
 
Whatever happened to the days of LAN parties where people would drag their PCs or XBOXes over to one friends house, put out a couple liters of vodka and mixers, order a few pizzas or a shitload of Taco Bell, and game until the sun rises?  Do people really do that anymore now that its so much more convenient to sit at home without having to shower or even bother putting on clothes?  And if people don't have the same hardware is a LAN party even an option?
 
I may have to start LANing again.  I have a couple new gaming friends that for a while had strayed from their gaming.  Recently they both just got brand new PS3s.  One of them has been buying any game that has moved into the $30 range, which is great, since I've been broke since the whole recession thing and have been getting to borrow his games.  The other I've been trying to show him the ropes and get him into some of the great games that have come out in the past year.  I've been pretty excited that I finally have some PS3 buddies, but still the problem surfaces that I can't go to their house and play a multiplayer or co-op game, without it having it need to be online.  I also have lost my cable internet at home so I couldn't even play that way if I wanted.  Seems my only choice is to drag my PS3 and clunky TV over to a friends house and hope they also have gotten copies of the same games.  In the meantime, passing the controller whenever we get too freaked out in Dead Space will suffice.

This is my first Blog for Giant Bomb officially stating that I am transferring my usage of the personal page on Gamespot to using the GB page.  Any blog or review that I write on one page I'm cutcopying it onto the other.  I'll do this till I get tired of it.  I do kindof wish GB had a page on the profile to catalogue what games I have so I could transfer over what I had on GS site, but yet I've been lazy to keep that thing updated anyway.