Time sure flies – This very day some 30 years ago, the World Wide Web was taking shape, well maybe it already had for some time, but it was fairly new to me and everyone around me. Prior to this day back in 1995 I had been messing around with a small Nintendo related Fanzine, called NES Journal – it was a horrible attempt at trying to make something that everyone else would enjoy.
Not only was my English even worse than it is now, mind you this is not my native language, but I would like to think that it has gotten a bit better over the years. Well anyway, the Fanzine had some major limitations, being it was a text file being distributed to a mailing list.
I really wanted to do something else though, how cool would it be to include pictures, make a visual presentation of something, even though I had no idea what that would be, other than it had to be Nintendo Entertainment System related. This was also around the same time I managed to import my very first NES games from the US, bought through Usenet, for those of you who remember that being a major part of the internet in those days.
The school I was attending at the time was installing something on the lab computers called Netscape Navigator, and another program called HTMLed Pro. Today this is of course old news, but back then it was amazing to see that you could quite easily code something that would show graphics and text, and the more animated icons the better, right?
I was super hyped about this new web browser and what you could do, I wanted to make something but it should not be a web version of the NES Journal, I was so done with that thing. I fellow student of mine was babbling about him wanting to create a website about antivirus products for Amiga or something, and his site should be named Binary World.
So, I totally, kind of, party stole his idea and NES World, or NESWORLD, was born. The first few pages were nothing much than ripped content from a Danish (Swedish) magazine called Nintendo Magasinet (Nintendo Magazine), but it didn’t take long before I started to receive some content from readers of the website, like pictures and specifications of a Nintendo clone (pirate) console and much more. I started doing some content like “same game – different name”, games that had different names in various regions – I think that page was quite popular at one point, although it is long lost now.
The years went, I had a blast not only writing new content for the site, the best I could, while also being inspired by the few other Nintendo related fan-sites around at that time, like tsr’s NES archive, or Jeff Bogumil’s NES site.
NESWORLD also changed its appearance quite frequently back then, only because I liked to mess around with Paint Shop Pro. At one point a guy sent me a re-drawn picture of a Nintendo press picture that I incorporated into the logo. That was, I think, the revision just before what you see on NESWORLD today. Unfortunately he got mad about the usage, and lack of credit given. Threats of lawsuits came flying – and even though I loved the look of the site at the time and did not think I had done anything wrong, it had to be removed. If you’re out there reading this, I am sorry that I angered you with what I did or did not do and thanks for the pictures of both the NES and Gameboy.
When you’re young, or maybe just because of me being me, a few other dramas also occurred, things were said and done that just seem stupid today. But when you’re young and there’s not really much to worry about, I guess even minor things can grow (get) out of hand.
During the very late 1990’s and early 2000’s I had a “break” from NESWORLD, creating a website about N64 backup copiers and the gaming scene surrounding that, called 64scener. It became quite successful for a few years, and even lived into the Gameboy Advance/Nintendo DS era. Earlier projects also included Classicon, a website that never got off the ground – but the idea was that it would cover what could not be included at NESWORLD, because it was exclusive to the NES, for whatever reason – Classicon eventually died, it was just too much to maintain and I don’t think any content from that website ever made it to NESWORLD when it started featuring articles for other consoles – it was just easier to have everything in one place, one site.
I think the hey-day of NESWORLD was around 2008 – 2010 where it had the most visitors ever, a message board buzzing with life - it was a true joy to open the site everyday and see so much activity. For whatever reason, times change, that came to and end and 2010 also was the year my first daughter was born, so the website naturally was demoted to 2nd row.
Other personal things happened over the years and NESWORLD grew more and more obsolete, so much to the point where there was probably no return. Second to no updates did not help either, visitor “hits” plummeted and I had lost most if not all interest. Why make a website that no one reads anyway when it’s easier just to go on Youtube and watch a video about a product instead of having to read an outdated website.
With that said though, I still haven’t been able to abandon the website, and the more I think about it, there is still so much stuff I would like to write about, I have collected so much obscure junk over the years that I would love to write about – even if it’s just for my own enjoyment when making whatever content that might be.
So, it’s not over yet, I am still around – even though the updates are scarce, my “work in progress” folder is growing. Who knows, maybe someday something new will be added?
Anyway, that’s it from me for now – thank you to everyone who has visited my tiny corner of what is now a massive flow of information, something that is so different now than when NESWORLD came to life. Again, thank you so much to everyone that was part of the NESWORLD Forum, those who wrote me an email, those that shared information, those who laughed at my poor English, it was well deserved but hey, I was just a kid, although in my late teens, trying to make something about a big interest of mine. Last but not least, a huge thanks to all of you who helped me host the website over the years, without you, Jeremy (Parodius Network), Conjurer, Stumble (Internet1) and others, NESWORLD would not have been here today.
Happy 30th birthday NESWORLD!
