I don't know where I've been the past few months.  Apparently, while I was busy vacationing over the summer to New York and what not, a product slipped back on to magazine racks everywhere, completely dodging my radar.  However big the announcement was, I missed it. 

When I was younger, I would make regular trips to my local grocery store with my mother.  Even then I found the whole shopping experience dull, so I would leave her and venture over the magazine racks.  On one sunny day in April, I noticed a magazine that I had never seen before: Electronic Gaming Monthly.  Featured on the cover was a game that I had been yearning for for quite sometime: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.  My decision was quick; I snatched up the magazine and bought using my weekly allowance. 

As soon as I arrived back at home, I read the magazine from cover to cover, literally.  I soaked up every bit of information that I could from the issue.  The wit, the charm, and the occasional intelligent insights drew me in like no other gaming magazine had before.  I loved every minute that I spent in its pages, soon subscribing and become a monthly reader.  It was EGM that introduced me not only to the gaming culture at large but also to new games that now rank among my favorite titles and franchises.  I learned about the social issues and growing pains of video games as an art form and an entertainment medium.  EGM also lead me to consider both journalism and writing as legitimate career paths. 

Fast forward to January of 2009.  I was disheartened to learn of the suspension of the publication of EGM.  In the following months, I tried to get my gaming news fix from other publications and websites, and while all of them provided great news and stories, none of them worked for me the way that EGM had.  I was accustomed to receiving a copy of EGM in the mail every month since that fateful April.  I largely fell away from gaming, playing a few titles here and there, but mostly following other pursuits like music and reading novels.

So imagine my surprise when this summer, while browsing the magazine rack yet again, I stumbled across a familiar face: the Electronic Gaming Monthly logo.  I couldn’t believe my eyes; my favorite magazine was back.  I bought the issue, this time with actual wages, and like many times before, delved into that issue’s contents at home.   

I found the summer issue of the new EGM two months ago.  Since then, I’ve started keeping up with games again, checking the news, reading reviews of both popular and obscure titles alike, and watching and reading previews of new titles.  Like before, EGM sparked my interests in gaming.  For the first time in about a year, I actually bought a new game.  I'm just as excited about gaming now as I was back when I was younger, if not more.

All of this may sound like sappy, kiss-ass writing, but it’s the truth.  Electronic Gaming Monthly played a large role in shaping some of my interests and holds a special place as my first introduction to real gaming.  I read some of the biggest controversies and stories in its pages.  Now, I can look forward to reading in the magazine that ignited my gaming interests what’s next for the industry as it continues to grow and mature into something special.  I believe I speak on behalf of most gamers when I say this:  welcome back, EGM.