When we finally clambered out from our cave, what we discovered was something wonderful, awe-inspiring and totally unexpected: Videogames - and videogamers - had become normal. And this is the part that's truly terrifying to the hardcore; the realization that the videogames, our secret, shared hobby, have moved on without us. That the mainstream doesn't need us to tell them how important videogames are, because they're too busy finding that out for themselves.
Don't believe me? Watch a beautiful, blonde television personality review Wii Fit on none other than NBC's Today Show and draw your own conclusions.
There are two possible courses of action one can take in this situation. One can either put on blinders, walk around with one's hands clamped over one's ears shouting "LALALALA!" and refusing to acknowledge the world has become a more complicated place. Or, more constructively, one can embrace the change and move forward with the understanding that, although this Brave New World of mainstream gaming may not have been entirely of our own making, it is a world in which we can nevertheless find a place for ourselves as leaders, mentors and guides. All we have to do is deign to share.
And so, dear readers, that is what we at The Escapist have decided to do - something we've been doing all along, in fact. The Escapist was founded on the principle that we should share our passion; that we should strive to define the era of videogaming and impart our love for the medium to those who may not yet understand. We have done so with aplomb. Now, we've opened our hearts to that ever-expanding community of you who do understand, and instead of preaching, instead of leading with the hammer, we're guiding you with a gentle hand to where you may not yet have known to go - and allowing you to point us to where you want to be led.
We have, in effect, performed the most excruciatingly difficult trick in the media business: We've swallowed our pride. We may be the editors of one of the world's best videogame websites, but without you, the community, the readers, the gamers, we're nothing at all.
Russ Pitts is Editor-in-Chief of The Escapist.
