Written by Ryan Smotherman  on October 01, 2001

Xbox Target Launches: Come one, come all, Gaming Target has evolved!

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The gaming world as we know it is in for some big changes, and everyone here at Gaming Target is ready to take a huge stride in order to stay with the times. What's this big stride? Well, for one we have now officially put the Sega Target portion of the site on the back burner, which was very painful for myself, as I'm pretty sure you're all aware of my Sega addiction by now. But it was necessary for us to move on to even bigger and better things, namely, Microsoft's Xbox. That's right, just a little over a month from now that big black box (or crate as people in the forums like to call it) will be hitting store shelves, and Xbox Target proves that we here at Gaming Target are serious about Microsoft's launch into the wonderful world of console gaming. This site's launch is actually rather unique, it is opening just in time to give you the most up to date previews that'll get you ready for that big purchase on November the 15th. But that of course isn't our only goal. Once the system hits, look for a massive amount of reviews to be rolling in on all the Xbox software that we can get our grubby little hands on.

Editorials will play a huge role here as well, if you take a gander over at Sega Target's article section, you'll notice I'm a huge fan of them, and that's not about to stop here. Patrick and I are also working on a comprehensive launch guide; in this four-part feature we each give our takes on all the launch games for the Box. Also, our Senior Editor, Eric Lahiji, has a few surprises of his own in store for us, which should make for some worthwhile reading. Not to mention the rest of our amazing staff.

A little over a month ago, Matt and I began talks about gathering staff members and basically doing all we can to get the site in order. In amazement to me, Matt put me in charge of the hiring, which makes sense I guess, seeing as I was the future to be Editor-In-Chief. So, my what seemed to be long journey began. The best way I figured to get people's attention on the opening staff positions would be by putting posts in Xbox related forums (man I'm a genius). I was in total shock, not to mention over ran by the sheer number of applications that I received. In a weeks time I had the entire staff fully assembled and ready to go. In my opinion, we have one of the most diverse and interesting staffs on the web today.

There is a nice mixture of the younger guys with the more experienced УmatureФ ones here at XT, leaving for some varying opinions (damn the old guys and their Atari fetishes). In fact, I'm so proud of our Xbox team that I got everyone to write a small bio of themselves for posting in this introduction, waitЕ that doesn't make much sense, I'm proud of them so I give them extra work to do, o well, they probably had fun bragging about themselves anyways. This not only lets you readers get a good idea of who we are, but it also lets the newly found staff get to know one another better too. So without further ado, here is your Xbox Target staff.

Editor-In-Chief- - Ryan Smotherman
Hey everyone, and welcome to the grand opening of Xbox Target. I'll go ahead and be honest with everyone, for my position I'm sorta under qualified, especially compared to some of the people under me. The only site I've ever worked for is Gaming Target; I started as a News Writer when the site reopened back in May, and in some very favorable position changes I ended up with the Sega EIC position (my love for Sega played a huge role in this). With it though came some enlightenment, I learned a lot about myself when it comes to my writing skills and my overall EIC abilities. I'm the one responsible for editing work, scheduling, and basically making sure everything runs smoothly. Plus, I will be writing a piece of work each week, all this and no pay? I guess I'm a dedicated man, hell; just being a part of the gaming industry in any way excites me beyond belief. And I'm coming at you guys with over 15 years of gaming experience, so get ready.

Senior Editor- Eric Lahiji
My name is Eric Lahiji, 18, and I live in Santa Monica, CA. I remember my first video game console, the NES. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Since that day I've been addicted to games, and in turn I've been interested in creating them. By that I mean that I strive on becoming a 3D animator, for any company. I feel that art is the most important aspect of the video game...well, maybe you can stick gameplay in there somewhere, but oh well. In my previews/reviews/articles you will notice weird things. I will not tell you what, but I re-read my articles sometimes and notice something. A quiet snicker and I'm done for the night. Well, I'd love to tell you guys more, but they strictly said "brief". I hope you enjoy everything I write here on Gaming Target, and for those of you that supported me at 123Xbox, I hope you find a new home...here.

Associative Editor- Daniel УMonkФ Pelfrey
Hi everyone, my name is Daniel Pelfrey, and I've been a long time writer here at Gaming Target, you may recall my work from the Sega section of the site. Here's a little about my gaming life- I have 9 consoles at home, 11 after the upcoming holiday season. My taste in games ranges greatly, but you won't find a lot of "M" rated games in my house. That just wouldn't be appropriate for my 9-year-old son now would it? I'm one of the few gaming parents today that writes about the industry. I have a great perspective in that I don't just observe videogames from the viewpoint of an adult gamer. If it weren't for my son, I never would have been clued in on such great games like Rayman. Of course, it will be many years before my son gets clued in on Fear Effect.

Editor- Douglas Malcolm
Hey there Xbox fans, Douglas Malcolm here. My first assignment for this fine new site is to tell you a little about myself, so here goes: At 217 years old (in dog years), I've been gaming for quite a while. My first system was one of those 7-games-in-one units that Sears was putting out in the late 70's, pre-Atari 2600. Life was good. Eventually, the Commodore 64 came out, and low and behold! Life was better. Many years and many consoles later, it seems as if gaming has become almost as ubiquitous in this country as the Television. This pleases me very much. I've been having my mutterings and ramblings published online for 4 years now, first (and still) as a book reviewer for Bookideas.com, and later as a game reviewer and staff writer for the Dreamcast site Swirlvision. Time moves on, and so must I. I believe the Xbox represents the next quantum leap in gaming, especially in the area of RPG's, and thus I now find myself a staff member and writer for Xbox Target. I'm excited to be here, and excited about the direction console gaming is headed in for the foreseeable future. See you around the site!

Editor- Russell "Dashiell" Garbutt
Ever since I came across a table-top version of "Boot Hill" in 1979, I've been a hardcore gamer. Over the course of the last 20+ years, I have owned every major console to come down the pike. The sheer number of titles I've played (and beaten) is beyond the scope of this document. I've worked at Acclaim Entertainment in 1996-1997, and subsequently I became a video game journalist. I've been a writer for NextGen, ODCM, and DailyRadar. Currently, you can find me at PlanetPS2 and PlanetXbox. I've watched the whole industry evolve over the course of the last twenty years, and I'm confident when I say that 2001 is going to be a watershed year for both games and gamers alike.

Editor- Patrick Geurs
Hi there. My name is Patrick Geurs, I am 22, and am one of the new writers for Xbox Target. I have been a gamer since I don't know how long. I remember the old Atari, and thinking that was just the best thing ever. I was probably 6 or something at that time. Hehe, it was funny too, always begging my friends to let me play their Nintendo or whatever. Yeah, I had it bad, so sue me. See, my parents never really bought me any of those machines, so that was the only way I could play at all. Now that I am older, I have the means to buy all my own stuff, so muhahahahЕ. oh, sorry. As far as writing experiences go, I really don't have a ton of experience doing this kind of stuff. I was a reporter for the school newspaper in High School, but that scope is nothing compared to what is going to be reached here. Oh well, my friend always told me that I had a B.S. degree in BS, but please, don't tell my editor, ok? He'll never forgive me. Well enough about me now. I look forward to providing you all with some fun and entertaining reading in the coming months.

Final Note Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone that could be here to check out the site's official launch. I'll also let you in on a little secret- every staff member here at Xbox Target is dedicated in creating one of the greatest, most informative Xbox coverage sites on the web. And the quality of our work should prove it. Hopefully all of you out there will realize this and make Xbox Target a permanent home for all your gaming needs, we're certainly hoping you will. In the mean time, enjoy your stay here and be sure to say hi to everyone in the forums.

Thanks for all the support,а

Ryan Smotherman
Xbox Target EIC