Ben-DutkaYes, the time has come.
I have to assume that most of you have seen the handwriting on the wall for some time, though I never stopped working. The bottom line is that due to other obligations, I can no longer continue at PSX Extreme, even in a part-time capacity.
For those of you who don't know, this brings a very long tenure to a close. I've been at PSXE for nearly 10 years and in those years, I have produced news, previews, reviews, features, interviews, newsletters and more. I even did a PSXE show in the short-lived PlayStation Home theater, did some videos for YouTube, and ultimately, there are in fact over 25,000 pieces with my name on them at this site. Obviously, it will feel very weird not putting up articles on a daily basis, especially at night (though in truth, I won't miss it that much). 😉
Budget has been a problem for a long time, which prompted me to look elsewhere some years ago for other opportunities. Even though I found those opportunities, I always found a way to keep PSXE going on a daily basis. But now that I've embarked on a very challenging new full-time venture – I'd rather not go into details at this time, though I will say it is not related to video games – I realize I have no time left to spare. As much as I've enjoyed keeping the PSXE name going, I just don't have the time and frankly, I have to say I don't have the will, either. My interest in the gaming community has waned considerably in recent years, as many of you probably already know.
I still love games and I'll still play them, and I'm willing to bet I'll be more likely to chat about them online when it's no longer a job. And as there are many members still here who have been with us since the start (amazingly enough), I have suggested that someone, perhaps one of our volunteer writers, set up a forum somewhere so the PSXE community can still meet. Speaking of those volunteers, they have free reign to continue to post pieces here, so it's not like the site will be completely dead overnight. However, the owner has made it clear that if there's another chink in the archaic armor that is this site's system, he's just going to shut it down.
I will try to do a Week in Review, or something of that nature, on weekends, just to drop in. And I'd like to see that forum or community off-site, if one should exist. But as of Monday, I'm officially done; this also means the Facebook and Twitter pages will unfortunately languish as well, and there will be no more newsletters. There's really nothing else to say, I guess. I could reminisce and address specific things, from the good to the bad, but the truth is, I just don't care enough anymore. I don't mean I don't care about all the readers who made the site possible over the years; I just mean I've, well…I don't like this term but maybe "burnt out" is indeed accurate.
All I can say is thank you and though I'm moving on, and I have little interest in being involved in anything gaming-related from a business standpoint, I will always remember my time here with melancholy wistfulness. I may feel disconnected and very much removed from it now but PSXE, and this industry, has been a very big part of my adult life. Reminiscing is good every now and then, but let me add that constantly looking back does us little good and in fact, can be downright harmful. With that said, I have my sights firmly fixed on the future and if any of you happen across my path, I'll likely slow to give you a handshake, even if it's only virtual. 😉
Goodbye, goodbye. I have no more words.
Well best of luck ben. I enjoyed coming here because it was the only place where I found different articles. Everyone else pretty much says the same things. It was also a place with a consistant community which is hard to find. I'm sure I'll accidentally bring the page up from time to time out of habit. Take care
Ben, you Will be missed.
Thank you for The years, The disscussions,and psxextreme.
Farewell sir
As so it finally happened. I'm glad for you Ben.
This doesn't come as a surprise for me at least, I've think I've felt a vibe from you being quite tired of pulling this wagon for at least 2-3 years now?
So yeah, that's why I say "finally". I'm glad to see you got to move on. You very much deserve it.
You've annoyed the white out of my eyes sometimes, Ben. It shouldn't be a surprise. And I guess I've done the same to you. But what I'll miss the most from you are the reviews. Always rock solid – and with honorable few exceptions they've been spot on.
I'll also miss the community here. That's why I kept coming back even now that I no longer do any gaming on a Playstation.
It's been a ride. And surprisingly, now with PSXExtreme gone I suddenly get this feeling that I'll never return to Playstation again. Up until now I always knew I would, but now… I'm not so sure anymore. *That's* how much of an influence this site has had on me.
@NextGenGamer I figured a forum with an area for articles would do dandy. I've got some ideas on how to lay it out and it's looking good. One of the benefits would be that the comment system wouldn't be as janky. 😉
@HANZ64 you got it, thanks. And yeah, that's what I was thinking. I've been keeping up with this place and the opinions of the more vocal people and I'd hate for that to just go away.
@WorldEndsWithMe happy to help!
I felt the vibe too but I guess I assumed that if Ben left the owner would replace him, maybe even try to revamp the place. A new writer would do it for less pay. But you know how business venture folks are, they get into all kinds of things and leave many behind.
Could always trust those reviews from Ben.
What's your reason for not gaming on the Playstation platform anymore? Perhaps you game on the PC platform now? Or just not gaming anymore in general?
When I got my first ps3 I found this site and frequented it quite a bit around 2008. That blue ps3 giveaway is how I found the site as well. Something made me check the site this morning, It's been years since I checked in so this is sad news. Seeing some of the commenter names I hadn't thought about in so long brings back some good feelings. Good luck with the future Ben, thanks for everything.
@Hanz,
I'm a Linux geek at heart, and it just so happened that Steam arrived to Linux just about time when I was dead tired of the PS3. And I've eagerly kept following the gaming-adventure on this new gaming platform. It's fun to follow first-hand.
@World,
It became pretty clear to me that the "owner" of this site – whoever that is – has for all practical purposes abandoned this project for a very long time already.
@Ben,
In fact I'm surprised you've even been able to make a living out of this. And again – thanks for the years we leave behind! It's an era, indeed.
We all knew your love of games was dieing out. Always post something depressing about games when they are supposed to be fun. Well it was a good run. I'm out.
Frankly, I can't find a "depressing" editorial I've done recently. Not sure what you're talking about.
Just to clarify, there is no writer on this planet who would do what I did here for LESS money. Just trust me. The last few years it was much more a labor of love than anything else.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 5/1/2016 9:32:19 PM
Thanks for everything Ben, always liked like 99% of your articles (except the FF ones, cause I'm a raging fftard, he he), but I trusted each and every one of your reviews for the last 10 years.
You and probably this site will be missed.
All good things must come to an end I guess… I wish you well Ben, I'll miss your reviews.
Man, I was looking forward to discussing VR here. We need this community running still!
It's games like Uncharted that make me smile. I wish I had time for R&C because I know I'd enjoy myself.
I have fun playing the division though when I get time. But its not the same type of fun.
Damn that was very sudden, i do not comment often but i have been coming to this site everyday or every other day for the last 9 years?, the blue ps3 give away also brought me here. It's been fun, thank you Ben
Playing games at a younger age is where it was at. At that early age, you could easily use games as an escape, with little worry or concern for anything else.
But as we grow older, new priorities and responsibilities take over, and eat away at any time that perhaps previously would have been used for gaming. For me personally, I have to really 'make' the time to play these days, otherwise I end up not playing anything at all!
Though tbh, these days, I'm mostly dipping in here and there, perhaps playing a quick match in street fighter or taking a quick nostalgic trip on the PS2 emulator, visiting my old save files etc.
There's so many modern titles I've missed out on that I plan to revisit in the near future. I'm just too busy right now with my own works unfortunately, and I want to play those games at a time where I can be 'guilt-free'.
I just hope that time comes…
Good luck on your next adventure Ben. It is sad indeed, I've become accustomed to having your name beside PSXExtreme. Do remember to visit every now and then, and never stop playing my friend!
I'll take genuine, honest articles & reviews ahead of your average game-site fake-excitement-fluff any day!
Well yeah, he could have put on a character that was excited and ready for fun with all the games like we see most everywhere.
But I think I'm glad we got his genuine journey from excited PS2 gamer to PS3 gamer to PS4 gamer who ultimately echoed a lot of older gamers in interpreting the homogenization of genres and lack of unique ideas as a step in the wrong direction for gaming, which diminished his love.
At least we knew the real him.
Well I have been coming here since the beginning, however I didn't start commenting until I disagreed with Bens Alpha Protocol review and the rest is history.
As much as Ben and I debated, I never took any of it personally. I love debating, and without his opposite opinion I wouldn't be able to do something like that. I respect you Ben despite any of our disagreements, I have fond memories from years ago of us debating, and agreeing on things.
Those will stay with me forever.
Also I would like to shout out to the community here. I have made a lot of friends and while I don't necessarily game with any of you often I felt a sense of community and comradery here unlike any online community I have been a part of. The comments section was truly special here.
In fact I think this sites community is better than pretty much any MMOs guild/community I have been a part of.
Anyway, thanks to Ben and every single person on here who commented, agreed and disagreed with me. I cherish those conversations more than you guys will ever know.
I forget exactly when I joined the website but I've been reading it pretty much since it first started. Appreciate all the hardwork over the years, Ben. Also always enjoyed the comment section here whether it was agreeing or (more times than not) disagreeing with others. I frequent a few other PS websites, hope to see some of you over there as it's likely close to the end of the road for PSXE. It hasn't been my main source of PS news for a few years now anyway but I'll always remember it as one of the best websites.
You gave great reviews and put your heart into them and everything you believed on this site. I will miss this site and the peeps here. Good luck in your life's ventures.
It's been a couple days since this announcement but I thought I'd write a proper message to really sum things up for me. Filling in the legacy like everyone else.
I found PSXE at the dawn of 2008 when I was Year 9 at school (so 3rd year after finishing primary/elementary). I think I was maybe 13-14, that year I got my first PS3 and the first game was *gasp* Grand Theft Auto IV (still one of the greatest games I've played to this day alongside The Last of Us). I had a lot of funny moments, debacles, scuffles with people here because of my strange, overly excited and naive writing style of expression. This was due to my age and being Thai. It literally wasn't until perhaps one year later that I started to make more sense. I know from the bottom of my heart that you guys at PSXE must've helped shape the person that I was becoming, around that point in time.
I distinctly remember the comment where I shared the fact that Final Fantasy VII and VIII taught me English when I was 6 years old once I landed in New Zealand. The responses that I got were profound and strengthened my connection with the community.
The Supreme gaming website in NZ is called NZGamer(dotcom). I'm a loyal part of it simply because of the AWESOME, real, sponsored prizes that they giveaway. Even after all the ~10+ things I won – most noteworthy being an Xbox One Forza 6 Edition + Logitech G29 racing wheel… it was nothing in comparison to PSXE. I hate to sound like a self-nation-loathing racist creature but A LOT of times I just HATE the way New Zealanders speak and express themselves (specifically how they DON'T). Every article over there just has people saying "That -Sounds- cool, I -Might- keep an eye on this", "This game -Should- be awesome", "-Looks- good. Might buy it if reviews are good". Everything is a God damn estimation, possibly, prospect, chance. It's only 4.5 million people but nobody has the guts to say anything emotional, funny, clever or outside of the box. Which is strange because we have many notable geniuses who think extremelyyy out of the box. I just feel like their traits are so much more relatable to people outside of Oceania than not. Still an amazing country that I'm proud of. Hell I even appreciated some of the absolutely dumb things people say here like the raging from _______ and a couple newer guys.
This place was pretty much my getaway. I even found 'ffrulez' as one of the three users here who is also from NZ, and we've been casual PSN friends since 2008. I even see him streaming on Twitch regularly. I really disliked PlatformGamerNZ because he brought with him the exact attitude I was sick of hearing of. Some of you liked it though, which was nice.
PSXE was the perfect mix of NZ's politically correct conservatism and USA's IGN/Destructoid pure internet meme regime.
I've still yet to get started on your book from Amazon, Ben! In the upcoming Week In Reviews, I hope to share news of me finishing it. I bought it on Day 1 of your announcement to pay it forward and show support.
If I do something cool in the future I'll remember you guys here and give a little back. We'll have a chat if I can still contact anyone 🙂
Have a fulfilling future, and play on!
I missed all of Ben's Sunday night tweets last night. I always enjoy that as part of my weekend before work on Monday.
PSN: BankeA
I'll be gaming on it forever unless Sony unlinks it if they allow name change purchases.
My love of gaming feels changed too now as PS4 is changing, feels like a time to reassess. Sometimes the things you thought would make you happy don't anymore and other things gain your attention and the time of day you play changes or real life demands attention. I think I need a rethink now as so much responsibility hovers and my instinct is to disappear into my gaming chair. When I do though, I notice I'm not smiling as much lately.
Hoping VR can give me back some of that excitement 🙂
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 5/1/2016 1:55:46 PM
Wow… so the day has finally come! I've actually seen the writing on the wall for quite some time now. (It was just a vibe I got over the past year or two.)
I've been on PSXExtreme for probably close to 8 years now… I think I may have officially signed up in 2008, but I forget. It was definitely around the time of the PS3/X360 fanboy wars.
I remember coming on here and "Joshua360" was the guy stirring up the pot and defending the 360 to the bitter end.
Then came "________", who somehow pretends he has both the PS and Xbox, but it was pretty obvious he was all Xbox and nothing Sony did was right. lol
Finally, there was "KidPresentable"… easily the best writer and most mature of the 3, but was also obviously here to keep everyone in check about PS versus Xbox.
I've had a great time here, though I don't post much. Of all the sites I've been on (Joystiq, Kotaku, EGM, Gamespot, etc), THIS is the site I bookmark and visit daily. The people on here are smart and discuss issues intelligently (for the most part). I really like that.
Ben, your articles and reviews were always a good read, though I only read them *after* I play the game, cuz I'm one of those people who don't like spoilers. lol
Your writing is also quite exceptional compared with the tabloid writers of Kotaku or Polygon. (I swear they're all Xbox fanboy teenagers that work there)
Anyways, I just like to congratulate you on your new career path. We get older and our priorities change, but gaming will never leave us. Do what you love and follow heart. Who knows… our paths may cross again on the Internet in the future!
Ben suggested and off-site PSXE forum, so I was thinking maybe we can create that community on PSN? This way everyone on there will be from PSXE, and we'll already have each other's PSN IDs, so we can game together as well.
If one isn't already started, I can create one and add PSXE members on there. My PSN is "SnakePete", if anyone wants to friend me on there. (but please mention that you're from PSXE, otherwise I likely won't accept the invite)
Thanks for everything, Ben!
I remember you Simcoe.
Come back…come back…the power of PS4 compels you…
Thanks, that's nice to know. I think Burnout Paradise helped though.
I'm sure I will, it's not like I've sold anything!
I think I have been coming to this site for about 10 years now, back when Arnold wrote articles too. This was the (or one of the) first sites I came across when I got back into gaming and the only site I would regularly check. I haven't been around this site much lately (or gaming in general) as my gaming time has eroded away with new responsibilities and new hobbies/interests.
It's nice to see a lot of old names on here, wishing Ben well on his next endeavour, and I wish him the same.
Thank you Ben and all the best to you!
This site is the only reason that I even started reading gaming related news daily, so this is indeed sad. Thanks for all your time and work, Ben! Good luck on your new venture.
Holy cr@p
Thanks ben!!
Came here in the 2007-08 ps3 days
Well done on all the hard work!!!
Holy crap! I picked a great week to get back into gaming. Last two years I got obsessed with vintage minibike restoration. It was good to physically work away from the couch. Gaming is extremely time consuming. I had been stuck at the same spot on Mass Effect 3 for who knows how long and needed space from games. Just recently I have been fixated on getting my PS4 and decided to come back here to inform myself and I see this news. Very very sad but very understandable. I can only imagine the time Ben needed to do what he's been doing for us all through the years and its really hard to have a real life and a gaming life at his level. I wish you good luck Ben. I'm sure you must be doing the right thing for youself.
Whoa…something told me to check this site for a U4 preview and I saw this. No secret we weren't fond of each other…so uh…yeah, if anyone is interested in adding me:
Tron04
Been commenting since 2006, with months of gaps inbetween.
The amount of comments here testifies to your genious mind, Ben. It's been a while I visited this site and never really commented much, but sweet Jesus I'm going to miss your reviews. Thank YOU!
Thanks Ben! I appreciated the site for giving what felt like honest feedback and thoughts on gaming. Not a marketing site or clickbait nonsense.
Also, I felt like part of a community. I could post (few) thoughts and not feel like I was being critiqued by a bunch of 14 year old kids ripping on each other and every thought. I'm 40, and as my wife tells me often, I shouldn't be playing games anymore. Well, we know that her view is sad but it's my life, so this site gave me relief, if you will.
Anyhoo, thanks Ben and all the regular posters over the years. I feel like the site and posts and community mostly stayed true to what I found and appreciated years ago.
Thanks again Ben and all!
Stay Classy PSX…
Yeah I was looking forward to discussing VR too, but we will see if this place is going then or if people will actively migrate the the new forum to stay in touch. I'd like that. I know I'll have a lot to say on my experiences as a day 1 adopter (I'm never a day 1 adopter of anything). but it's VR man! And the bundle had free software! Had to be done. It's the dream and gamers aren't giving it a sufficient chance based on insider and gamer experiences.
Almost a year gone. Cheers Ben, hope all is going well in your new journey in life!
– Serendipitydeus
Know exactly how u feel, World
I think that's around the time I came around 2007, 2008. I had suffered an issue and after , found myself with nobody and nothing and somehow decided to see if there was anything about new games on the internet (hadn't even considered the possibility there could be daily news on gaming before) after sifting through a few of the fanboy run sites and being disgusted I found this place and people… like me!
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 4/30/2016 12:07:07 AM
I don't remember how I found this site, but I think it was from the newsletter. And how I started getting that, I have no idea.
Dude! end of an era. it's a shame to lose you, you're one of the good ones. Best of luck to you with all your future endevours.
Also you're really getting me the James Taylor. Damb you!
Good luck with your new ventures Ben, and thank you.
I've been coming here since the PS2 days and will be sad to see this place go. I remember when the comments section started, when Arnold and Shadow were still around, and World had a picture of, I assume himself, with a katana. I haven't always been on top of leaving comments often, but I read most articles and comments daily, and this truly was a special site that will surely be missed by myself and I'm sure many others.
It would be great if we could keep this community going somehow. My PSN ID is EuRoRaT if anyone wants to add me.