N'Gai Croal to leave Newsweek for consultancy career
by Christopher Grant 
{ Mar 4th 2009 at 11:53AM }
Croal has posted his final piece on his LevelUp blog, but if you want moar Croal, you'll still find his monthly column in Edge magazine, a personal blog at (the currently parked) ngaicroal.com and, of course, Twitter. If you had to read one piece of work from Croal's coverage of the gaming industry, the man himself recommends his investigation of the unfortunate Gerstmann-gate incident and (here's the good part, folks) "the contempt publishers have for the enthusiast press," calling it "one of the posts I'm proudest of." We're inclined to agree.
So, here we are ... from one editorial we to another, we'll selfishly miss your contributions at Newsweek but wish you the best in the new gig.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
David @ Mar 4th 2009 11:59AM
Good luck N'Gai... you're the King. (Shit, I imagine if he left Newsweek, he's getting a better paycheck from the new job. Good for him.)
Markez @ Mar 4th 2009 12:03PM
Ahhhh yes, the cream puff consultant gig nonsense. This is when you know you've arrived. This probably means he'll be sleeping in late, housing donuts down, and contributing the occasional piece to some mag or newspaper.
Jack Tretton @ Mar 4th 2009 1:44PM
"This probably means he'll be sleeping in late, housing donuts down..."
I think his love affair with the crueller began a long time ago.
Dirty @ Mar 4th 2009 12:03PM
Maybe he left because newsweek is racist.
Markez @ Mar 4th 2009 12:06PM
That sounds like something a racist would say, racist!
smcn @ Mar 4th 2009 12:08PM
N'Gai please.
Brucie_K @ Mar 4th 2009 12:10PM
I love you, Dirty.
DiRT @ Mar 5th 2009 4:27PM
I love you, MAAAAAAN!
tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 4th 2009 12:06PM
Maybe now there will finally be a black person working on Resident Evil.
SoxFan13 @ Mar 4th 2009 12:12PM
This makes sense since he's posting on Level Up about once a month recently.
gb @ Mar 4th 2009 12:13PM
I don't like him. He pulled the race card with re5. Instead of rising above, he sunk below. For shame.
tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 4th 2009 12:16PM
My feelings on him are mixed. He has written some fantastic articles, but he's also said some dumb things like the RE5 thing. I'm also pretty sure he was the one who made the asinine comment "develop games for wii, then port up". It was also hard to not laugh at him for his defense of The Club on an old 1up yours podcast.
Mr Khan @ Mar 4th 2009 1:11PM
Odd, because his statement about developing games for the masses, then refining them for the smaller audiences was highly respectable, in this topsy-turvy industry that likes to have the elite dictate to the customers and make products just for themselves, it was a bold stance
I'll grant that its not plausible from a technical perspective (since the gulf between the Wii and PS360 is a bit too vast for that), but its an excellent theory, a theory grounded upon why the most successful PC devs (namely Blizzard and Valve) are so successful (relatively low minimum requirements). This idea that the bleeding edge is first priority is nonsensical from a business standpoint, and both Valve and Blizzard have devalued this idea from an artistic standpoint also
tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 4th 2009 1:29PM
It was respectable to you, someone who doesn't have anything other than a wii and therefore is used to getting inferior products. But for people like me, making an inferior game then porting it to our systems would, almost always, result in lazy cheap ports that are no better than the inferior system's. That would be a problem to me.
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 4th 2009 1:31PM
http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2008/04/race-and-resident-evil-5-trailer.html
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 4th 2009 1:34PM
And tmac, when you can actually point out to me out a game on the "superior" systems that's as good as Mario Galaxy, I'll concede that you have something to say.
Markez @ Mar 4th 2009 1:35PM
He finds a way to troll the Wii on an article about N'Gai, and you want to feed him?
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 4th 2009 1:37PM
I'm bored. It also gives me a chance to probably laugh at his new found love for the PSP.
Master Bruce @ Mar 4th 2009 12:17PM
He's an "august statesman"? Never heard of him.
Zoot Suit Jedi @ Mar 4th 2009 12:50PM
He's going to consult game developers on how racist their content is and how to replace that content with the senseless killing of thousands of white dudes.
Zoot Suit Jedi @ Mar 4th 2009 4:49PM
I'm a comment zombie.
BTW, sorry white dudes, I meant European Americans
Jarvis Slacks @ Mar 4th 2009 12:55PM
My God. All you losers shut up. Ngai Croal has done more for the gaming industry, and more for the games you guys play, than all of you combined. He's interviewed and talked to more important people than you'll even think about talking to. He's actually done important work. The fact that you can't even from complete sentences, or don't know the contributions he's done, proves that half of the gaming community is populated by impossible morons.
Zoot Suit Jedi @ Mar 4th 2009 1:09PM
Actually, Mr. Croal has yet to talk to me, and according to my mother, I am the most important person in the world.
Markez @ Mar 4th 2009 1:14PM
Right now I'm thinking about talking to a billion Super Dave Osbornes, a billion Abe Lincolns, a million Dame Ednas, 4 Christopher Grants & 2 Ronald Reagans. Honestly, I'd like to see N'Gai top THAT. Also, I didn't know he's done froming sentences since this is about a consultant gig?
Impossible Moron sounds like a badass game, dude.
Brucie_K @ Mar 4th 2009 1:29PM
Comedy gold, Markez.
I can smell the burning all the way from here!
Christopher Grant @ Mar 4th 2009 2:04PM
I voted you up!
rTwelve @ Mar 4th 2009 3:33PM
Upvoted Slacks. Reasons: He is right in his argument. Also: you are morons. Also: Mooooooooooooose is a moron.
DiRT @ Mar 5th 2009 4:30PM
And how exactly does someone "from" a complete sentence?
F TANK @ Mar 4th 2009 8:54PM
At least Whoopi will always be able to fall back onto "The View" if consulting doesn't work out. Am I the only one that doesn't want him directly tampering withgaming?
why not the LS2LS7? @ Mar 4th 2009 12:57PM
Maybe he'll go on to be a pundit. He'll maybe be better at that than most, because he has 10 years of gaming experience. This is in contrast to his work as a gaming journalist where he is frankly hampered by how his obsession with movies seems to cause him to see games as a red-headed stepchild. And his lack of gaming experience (seriously, only 10 years!) means he ends up as a good writer with junior-grade gaming knowledge.
Donald @ Mar 4th 2009 1:04PM
It's a shame he has to leave, but I'll pick up Edge every now and then to see what he has to say. Maybe he can appear on the Joystiq Podcast soon, too.
But the "Not N'Gai" picture - is that J "God in male form" Allard with dreads?
ScottG13 @ Mar 4th 2009 1:07PM
Wow, that sucks. He's been a terrific voice in this industry in the last few years. I wish him a supreme amount of success and hope he'll keep contributing to the community in column and podcast format.
TheDemiurge @ Mar 4th 2009 1:09PM
As much as I love the enthusiast press, they don't bring much legitimacy to the gaming industry. N'Gai has done more on that front than any other journalist. I'll miss him.
Mr Khan @ Mar 4th 2009 1:14PM
I have a lot of respect for him, too, because his opinions seem to grasp the scope of the industry. He seems to see the big picture, an industry where artistic expression and commercial stability can co-exist, a somewhat revolutionary idea in this day and age where people seem to think that a good game and a commercially successful game must be two different games
Mr Khan @ Mar 4th 2009 2:14PM
I would also like to add that he was severely underrepresented in the actual Newsweek mag. Very, very rarely did i see his works there, and i generally get my weekly dose of Newsweek
mister_d @ Mar 4th 2009 1:18PM
He always struck me as having more interesting perspectives on games journalism rather than on games themselves. "Consultants" to any creative medium always end up ruining things. Most games are created by adults for adults and work best when they're not interfered with by third parties ("consultants", producers on the publisher side, focus groups, etc) who are not a port of the development team.
samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Mar 4th 2009 1:30PM
Jeez, the latent racism here is about as potent as it gets.
Donald @ Mar 4th 2009 5:43PM
I sense a great deal of Haterade being consumed ITT
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 4th 2009 1:30PM
He will be missed.
Not!
For whatever reason it may be, I just couldn't stand him on GT's Bonus Round videos.
David @ Mar 4th 2009 1:32PM
So who cares? One of the most overrated figuers in the gaming industry.
Gemini Ace @ Mar 4th 2009 1:40PM
He's off to discover racism in places it doesn't exist!
Maverick Saturn @ Mar 4th 2009 1:44PM
Had an influence on me, don't care about who else he didn't have one on, anyway, always for the better, hope his new career path opens up more opportunity
David @ Mar 4th 2009 1:45PM
Accusing people of racism doesn't make him a better journalist, It's hilarious how one can't say anything against Croal without being accused of racism. Stop it please.
343 Guilty Fart @ Mar 4th 2009 1:48PM
I always liked him. Hope to see him in more Bonus Rounds.
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 4th 2009 2:11PM
>:(
gLitterbug @ Mar 4th 2009 2:10PM
Maybe game companies should hire better writers instead, who come up with storylines and characters that don't have cliché and predictability written all over it. Or throw the money at designers that come up with games that try different things.
On the other hand, maybe a "N'Gai approved" seal on the game box will be enough to shift more units to the targeted demographic.
Deck @ Mar 4th 2009 2:28PM
I've really liked N'Gai. He's been a fresh face. Maybe not one I have agreed with on EVERY single thing, but he has done a great job. He will be missed.
I am hoping he can still jump on some podcasts now and then. I know he used to go on 1UP (now Listen UP) from time to time, hopefully he will still do that.
Vegnagun bwf @ Mar 4th 2009 2:29PM
I straight up don't like N'Gai Croal. It seems like he's always trying to create some new controversy in video games. He agreed that there was racism in RE5 (let's be serious, there isn't), he said that game blog sites like Joystiq put EGM into it's hot water (it's not that simple), and I'm really sick of that type of reporting.
j.howlett @ Mar 4th 2009 2:36PM
i liked his work, and wish him well
AJ @ Mar 4th 2009 2:37PM
N'Gai was a great representative for the gaming press. Having "Newsweek" associated with his work gave him instant credability in the "Mainstream." And he never did anything to tarnish that image. He is a class act and always wrote that way. Not to mention how he helped offset the "Soulja Boy" stereotype of African Americans who play video games.
He could have easily thumbed his nose at the enthusiast press, like many other mainstream mags have done in their coverage of videogames. After all, no one at Newsweek would have likely called him on it. But he embraced the Internet and enthusiast press and as such, he became a part of it and seemed to get respect from both sides.
Good luck to N'Gai.