An update on Delisted Games [UPDATE #3: New News]

[UPDATE #3: 07/30/23] Hey everyone! I’m sure you’ve spotted the recent news posts but to make it official: I’m happy to announce n64ra has joined the site and will be mostly focusing on news of upcoming delistings and shutdowns. 

And since my original announcement has been pinned here for a while I’m now going to let it sink down the homepage and into Delisted Games history. The site’s About and Supporters pages have also been freshly updated. My original post from June 16th, 2023 continues down below.

[UPDATE #2: 06/28/23] With news posts slowing down I’ve updated the homepage to display new game pages as well. This will further highlight the work of HandMaskTar and any other new staff working on pages and it will also keep the homepage (and hopefully the SEO) more active.

I did what I could to fill in the space around the box art so it looks a little more uniform on the page. Platforms are also now visible so you don’t even have to click to the page to see where it was delisted. Company and Platform pages also now have this same treatment. That’s all for now!

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Hello Everyone,

As I start to write this post I’m suddenly realizing why so many delisting announcements boil down to phrases like “after careful consideration” and “it is with a heavy heart“.  After putting so much of my energy and time into this site it’s impossible to find any arrangement of words to convey how it really feels to be moving away from it. Every elaborate string of thoughts that I have seems to coalesce into one of those types of boilerplate phrases but I feel like more explanation is necessary here. So please stick with me through this wordy post.

.   .   .

After seven years of chronicling the comings and goings of games, services, storefronts, and entire platforms I am no longer able to keep up as more delistings and shutdowns happen seemingly every day. It’s not at all surprising to see older games and services lost as the industry continues to grow all around the world. As a kid who desperately wanted his passion for games to be recognized on par with other forms of media I am still thrilled about how gaming just gets broader and more widely accepted.

But after playing games for over 35 years, and covering them in one journalistic form or another for more than 20 of those, I find myself today at odds with modern games. There are plenty of “various reasons” behind my decision but above all else this is why I am stepping away from Delisted Games. I don’t have the same passion for gaming as I once did but I still strongly believe that it deserves preservation, appreciation, awareness, and advocacy. Doubly so when it comes to delistings and digital availability which is often glanced over in the break-neck pace of games coverage.

I really don’t want to see Delisted Games fall completely dormant and abandoned so I am seeking those interested in taking over management of the site or contributing as an Editor or Writer. I will retain control of the backend, the server, the domain and hosting but on a minimal level.

Since the beginning I’ve tried to keep the content on the site fact-forward and objective, not scandalous, profane, or clickbait-y. With games production being the way that it is there will always be conjecture and speculation in this work but I hope to see the site continue to be level-headed going forward. With that in mind, if you’re seriously interested in contributing to Delisted Games’ future please contact me at:

Patreon supporters have already been contacted about their ongoing donations but to be publicly transparent, any funds that the site receives going forward (from Patreon or Ko-fi) will go towards maintenance costs: service fees, domain renewal, security upkeep and the like. 

Display ads will remain as they are now as this is the vast majority of the site’s income. Don’t worry, I am not going to sell the site off to a sleazy domain parker; if you’re one of those types reading this, don’t waste your time or mine even asking.

And I assure you the site isn’t going to disappear without warning anytime soon. I’d use the phrase “foreseeable future” but I think we all know how meaningless that one is nowadays. Rest assured the site is continuing to pay for its own upkeep at this time. As for the day-to-day operations, I will try to keep up with the news submissions if I have time but no guarantees there.

.   .   .

This was really hard to put into words but I hope I was able to get across that I don’t want to simply pull the plug on the site or its supportive readers, fans, and contributors. The site is so much bigger and broader thanks to everything you’ve shared, commented, and submitted over the years!

One more time, thank you for everything you’ve brought to Delisted Games since 2016. It’s been a completely unprecedented adventure for me and I hope to see others continue this work into the future.

Sincerely,
Shawn Sackenheim

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P.S. Here’s a follow-up post with links to the resources, communities, and sites I’ve used over the years if you’re looking for ways to keep up with new delistings and upcoming shutdowns