http://www.ign.com/blogs/craig-ign/2010/11/15/saying-goodbye/
The time has come, gang. It's been nearly a decade and a half for me at IGN and this coming Friday it'll be all over and done. I will be leaving the company a few short days from now.
I've been at IGN since April of 1997, among the first round of hires to build up Imagine Media's — now Future Media — web entity known as the Imagine Games Network. In the first year I went from championing the SEGA Saturn to working on multi-console coverage at Next Generation and Ultra Game Players Online, then building up the PC site and settling into PlayStation coverage. Eventually I settled into my ultimate niche: handheld gaming. I certainly gave every portable system a fair shake, but let's face it: it was a Nintendo world right from the start.
For more than ten years I championed the Game Boy and Nintendo DS content at IGN, ultimately taking over all of Nintendo last year…and had one hell of a time.  But this comes to an end on November 19th.
Let's get all the rumors out of the way:
– I am not leaving to join the rest of the long lost IGN Nintendo crew at Apple.
– I wasn't fired over my GoldenEye review (the Wii version rocks. Get it).
– Bozon isn't returning to take my place.
– I am not Batman, but I'd like to be.
I will be taking the next couple of months off to find my next calling. I'm not fully against continuing my writing career, but this might be prime opportunity for me to get into the development side of the industry. I am very sad that I won't take charge on the Nintendo 3DS the same way I did the GBA and Nintendo DS at IGN –Â I am super excited for that upcoming system, moreso than I have been for previous Nintendo consoles and handhelds.
I enjoyed the heck out of the last 13-plus years, and, you know what? I'm leaving on one hell of a high note. I'm incredibly proud of the things I've done at IGN with more than a thousand reviews, hundreds of features, countless news stories…and I got a chance to meet some of the most amazing and influential people in the industry. And I've worked with so many great people at IGN, many of whom are still here. On top of this, I get to leave with Donkey Kong Country Returns as my final review.
I don't plan on vanishing from public view. Along with the many, many social network outlets that'll steal away my soul, it'll be difficult to take the reviewer out of me, and wherever I end up, I plan to — at least on a personal basis, and just for fun — review Nintendo 3DS games in 2011 and beyond. WordPress is a wondrous thing, people. Until I get everything set up (I have until February, after all), please hit me up on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/crankycraig) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/crankycraig). I'd love to hear from you.
I have no doubt that IGN will continue to be insanely successful without me. Secretly, I'm hoping everything crashes and burns when I leave. Shh.
Thanks for the awesome run, guys.
...in other words, it sounds to me like IGN's Nintendo branch is pretty much dead at this point.
