GamePro has finally dumped the tradition of personas. Writers will now work under their real names.
This is a good thing, and long overdue. I enjoyed being Dan Elektro and Bad Hare, but it was harder to be a cartoon character as gaming itself aged up. The industry got more sophisticated, gamers grew with their hobby…and I was still a naked silver guy. I kind of thought that with the advent of Gamertags, the nicknames made sense — it’s what the whole gamer community does; everybody has a handle or a nickname. And seriously, should you be forced to take shit about not writing under your own name from a guy named GokuSaiyan1984?
But the time had come. I have seen both sides of this one over the years, but it’s a liability now in our snark-filled gaming world, and I’m glad they can move beyond it at last.
That said, I still have some Dan Elektro and Miss Spell action figures in my garage. Mint on card!