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Krappadizzle
Member
Evil Smurf King
Member
Crowza
Member
Technically, it was the forums from Gaming-Age, which was a gaming news site. I think I first registered to post around the time leading up to the Dreamcast launch in Japan (1998). The forums were heavily Sony-friendly, partially contributing to the eventual focus on sales numbers to win arguments. IIRC, the forums split when the GA news site folded and eventually became just the Gaming-Age forums. Once EvilLore took it over, he saved the forums by continuing them on a different host and rebranding them NeoGAF. If you visited Gaming-Age prior to the forums being split, that is why you would think it was older. I'm not sure of the exact age. I'm thinking maybe 1996?
That is just my memory and I could be wrong. Anyone else remember?
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Nydius
Gold Member
Man, it's difficult to believe I've been registered here 11 of those 20 years. I was a lurker for several years prior, I couldn't sign up because my ISP prior to 2013 had abandoned giving out ISP-based e-mails and I was using 'free' e-mail services that weren't accepted.
Hope this place lasts for 20+ more. Forums are a dead artform and it's nice to have a place like this where we can discuss outside of the normal bullshit that pollutes places like YouTube, Reddit, X, and Twitch.
Hope this place lasts for 20+ more. Forums are a dead artform and it's nice to have a place like this where we can discuss outside of the normal bullshit that pollutes places like YouTube, Reddit, X, and Twitch.
wondermega
Member
It's a little hazy when my involvement with gaf began. I was an artist at Neversoft in the mid-aughts and the dude sitting next to me (wonder what happened to that guy?) clued me into the forum.. or maybe we were just discussing it already and he mentioned "yeah I thought I noticed more classic gaming posts on here lately, that you?" OF COURSE NOT PFFFFT, I StiLL HAVEN'T GOT APPROVED TO POST! Back then you could potentially be backlogged for.. years... but I lurked constantly and was happy as a clam about it.
It's been a wild ride and I've made some friendships along the way. Made a couple of indie games with some other posters I've met over the years here (I wonder how many of those have happened?) and in general have ridden my gaf-addict waves through the highs and lows. I dabbled in a few other forums back in the day but this has honestly been the only one that's stuck with me over the long haul. And now, in mid-2024, this place feels like an archaic artifact of a much older internet, a reminder of how things "used to be" when they were better. And geez dude, 20 years? That's so insane. Who can possibly imagine how much longer gaf will still exist & what it will look like, down the road? Another 10, 20 years? If you think it looks dated now, at that point it will look like cave paintings!
Anyway it's a testament to those who run this place, and those who frequent it, that it is still very special and (still) such an addiction. Here's to many more - thank you Evilore (who I met in person many E3 gaf meetups ago!), mods, and honestly most of all to the random wacko posters in here who have slaved over the well-made "official game" posts, the amazing weirdness (behuhuhu the rub hive) and the many jokes. Never change! Vive le gaf!
It's been a wild ride and I've made some friendships along the way. Made a couple of indie games with some other posters I've met over the years here (I wonder how many of those have happened?) and in general have ridden my gaf-addict waves through the highs and lows. I dabbled in a few other forums back in the day but this has honestly been the only one that's stuck with me over the long haul. And now, in mid-2024, this place feels like an archaic artifact of a much older internet, a reminder of how things "used to be" when they were better. And geez dude, 20 years? That's so insane. Who can possibly imagine how much longer gaf will still exist & what it will look like, down the road? Another 10, 20 years? If you think it looks dated now, at that point it will look like cave paintings!
Anyway it's a testament to those who run this place, and those who frequent it, that it is still very special and (still) such an addiction. Here's to many more - thank you Evilore (who I met in person many E3 gaf meetups ago!), mods, and honestly most of all to the random wacko posters in here who have slaved over the well-made "official game" posts, the amazing weirdness (behuhuhu the rub hive) and the many jokes. Never change! Vive le gaf!
Yes, the complete timeline goes back to the mid-90s. Originally it was GEO as far as I know. From circa 1998 it became GAF. At that time it was the forum section of the Gaming-Age news site. The dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and the Gaming-Age owner, Jim, decided to part ways with GAF as it was a low ROI aspect of the site taking up a lot of server resources, and he seemed to prefer working on the news and reviews site aspect of things rather than a forum. At that point a group of us stepped in to keep GAF going as volunteers, including myself and Hitokage (RIP), and Jim initially helped set a deal up for IGN to host us on IGN Snowboards.
The Snowboards platform was nuked by IGN before long, though -- forums are very difficult to keep alive due to poor monetization and high resource usage, a recurring theme -- so we lost that database and migrated to EZBoards, which let you lock in a very low price for 6 months before scaling its pricing based on traffic. So we did that for three six-month intervals, having to start over each time, before they changed their terms.
After that we had a couple years where we were hosted by a gaming network (the name escapes me at the moment), but it was a bad time all around. We didn't have ssh access to the server and they put awful malicious ads on the forum in exchange for hosting us. The hosting performance was also terrible and the site would lock up basically any time gaming industry news hit, which was more or less daily.
Then in May 2004, the Puzzle Donkey thread happened in the off-topic forum and it became very popular, with a thread size larger than anything else we had so far. This crapped out the database and corrupted everything. We didn't have SSH access so we couldn't make any database backups, the gaming network was completely uncommunicative and had been for some time (they became defunct soon after), and we were all frustrated and exhausted by dealing with the site's problems. It looked like RIP for GAF, but I didn't want to give up, so I asked Jim to put up a news story with a Paypal link on the Gaming-Age front page. He graciously obliged and I was able to raise a bit of money from the community, which I used to take GAF independent. Nomads no longer.
The site burned money for a while since it was very difficult to monetize a pure forum back then, and I had to put my own cash in, but I eventually got things sorted out and was able to grow the forum exponentially from there. Thus became NeoGAF, unbroken to today.
BlackTron
Member
One more year till Neogaf is old enough to drink alcohol legally
FTFY
Hypereides
Member
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nani17
are in a big trouble
I tried to join here years ago but i needed a premium e-mail or something back then which I didn't have. I can't remember how I came across it in 2018 but remembered that it used to locked like I said but this time it was open to any e-mail and signed up straight away. I used to be part of many other sites at the time like Neoseeker and I was mod on an old PES site called WENB which was dying a death so I spent more time here which I'm glad I did.
EviLore
What was behind the whole needing a premium e-mail was it to stop spammers and BS posters?
EviLore
What was behind the whole needing a premium e-mail was it to stop spammers and BS posters?
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Trogdor1123
Member
I got banned once a long time ago. I’ve never been able to figure out why. I’d like to review that memory…
Draugoth
Gold Member
nani17
are in a big trouble
Diseased Yak
Gold Member
I've been around for most of it, I don't recall how long and can't be arsed to look. Fantastic forum, has been my home page for over a decade.
GAF costs me SO MUCH MONEY. If it weren't for you all, I wouldn't know of half of the games to buy that I do nowadays. Thanks guys.
GAF costs me SO MUCH MONEY. If it weren't for you all, I wouldn't know of half of the games to buy that I do nowadays. Thanks guys.
duck_sauce
Member
Cheers 
ThatStupidLion
Member
interesting! congrats.
20 years. wow. I joined this much earlier to inception than I thought.
my first registered account was around 2006/2007. at the time it felt like it had been established well before that. it got a perm ban without warning just a message that said something about being a fanboy...which confused me because I rarely ever posted...i'm guessing the few posts I did make were about my favorite sega genesis games....anyways, was annoyed about that for awhile and then remade a new account in 2011
20 years. wow. I joined this much earlier to inception than I thought.
my first registered account was around 2006/2007. at the time it felt like it had been established well before that. it got a perm ban without warning just a message that said something about being a fanboy...which confused me because I rarely ever posted...i'm guessing the few posts I did make were about my favorite sega genesis games....anyways, was annoyed about that for awhile and then remade a new account in 2011
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Klayzer
Member
I will tell you. Those PS3/360 NPD threads were legendary. Still remember how Xbox guys, were predicting Sony's impending exit out of the console race, because of how much money they were losing with the PS3. Now, its kind of ironic how PS guys are doing the same thing now with Xbox. Both were wrong, obviously.
I have been here 11 years, so I missed 9 years of GAF, I wonder how it was back then. Congrats!
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synchronicity
Member
As I get older, I find a far reduced need or desire to express, well, much of anything, lol. And so I post very little here or anywhere else really. But I'm still here as a lurker, enjoying the variety of content, and occasionally have a desire to offer my own input. I've really enjoyed this site over the years, even before I was a member. And I'm grateful that this place exists. Thanks for all the memories and good luck to the future of Gaf.
Angelcurio
Member
I remember i started visiting the site around early 2005 or even earlier, during the start of the ps3 rumours and reveal era. I used to visit and be a part of PS3forums, searching for news of the PS3, but after a while i noticed that most of the PS3 news and rumours actually came from here. So, after waiting for months for my account to be approved (which was common back in the day to wait for months until your account was approved), i was finally admitted in 2006.
One of my best memories from that time were the Resistance Fall of Man Nights at the start of the PS3 era, when console makers werent even dreaming about GAAS.
The original RFOM Neogaf Clan.
Edit: Thanks for the Gold
John Marston
John Marston
One of my best memories from that time were the Resistance Fall of Man Nights at the start of the PS3 era, when console makers werent even dreaming about GAAS.
The original RFOM Neogaf Clan.
Edit: Thanks for the Gold
John Marston
John Marston
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NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt
Biggest Trails Stan
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Agent X
Member
NeoGAF is still standing tall and proud after twenty years. This place has been a great gathering ground for video game enthusiasts and industry insiders alike. It's been molded by its members, and likewise has also left its own stamp on the industry.
Through the years, we've witnessed dinosaurs killing robot zombies in Scribblenauts, Jeff Bell offering advice on contributing to society, Denis Dyack meltdowns, the rise of Doritos Pope in all his nacho cheese splendor, and Square Enix (and countless other companies afterward) shooting themselves in the foot. Of course, there was also the illustrious NeoGAF Resistance clan, as
Angelcurio
kindly mentioned above.
. Congratulations to
EviLore
and the crew for your success. Grab a huge piece of the anniversary cake...you deserve it!
Through the years, we've witnessed dinosaurs killing robot zombies in Scribblenauts, Jeff Bell offering advice on contributing to society, Denis Dyack meltdowns, the rise of Doritos Pope in all his nacho cheese splendor, and Square Enix (and countless other companies afterward) shooting themselves in the foot. Of course, there was also the illustrious NeoGAF Resistance clan, as
Angelcurio
kindly mentioned above.. Congratulations to
EviLore
and the crew for your success. Grab a huge piece of the anniversary cake...you deserve it!
stickkidsam
Member
Cheers to all of you beautiful bastards!
I’ve loved this forum since I read about ass hair and Cambodian jungles. Thanks for keeping this place alive Evilore!
I’ve loved this forum since I read about ass hair and Cambodian jungles. Thanks for keeping this place alive Evilore!
Hypereides
Member
Great memories and moments playing R:FoM with [GAF] folks like Kittonwy, Gofreak, Wollan and others.I remember i started visiting the site around early 2005 or even earlier, during the start of the ps3 rumours and reveal era. I used to visit and be a part of PS3forums, searching for news of the PS3, but after a while i noticed that most of the PS3 news and rumours actually came from here. So, after waiting for months for my account to be approved (which was common back in the day to wait for months until your account was approved), i was finally admitted in 2006.
One of my best memories from that time were the Resistance Fall of Man Nights at the start of the PS3 era, when console makers werent even dreaming about GAAS.
The original RFOM Neogaf Clan.
dreamstation
Member
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt
Biggest Trails Stan
Pejo
Gold Member
Damn that's crazy how many near misses GAF was from destruction before I had even heard about it. Thank you for all you've done throughout the years to keep the site running and humming along, even at your own expense. I hope your efforts are continually rewarded and GAF remains viable for a long time to come!
Congrats to everyone on the site and thanks to the mods/admins/technical team as well for doing an underappreciated job and keeping things civil, fair, and running smoothly.
Glad you all have enjoyed the site and made some fun memories, whether you’ve been here since the beginning or more recently. Forums have been a dying breed basically from the start, so it’s really special to still be going strong in 2024 with one of these at the same time as people are walking around with AR headsets on.
John Marston
GAF's very own treasure goblin
You are special to me & much appreciated in here.
Don't let that shit go to your head though
dreamstation
Member
This place and Whirlpool (Australian forums) are the only places I frequent. I don't visit any publication websites like IGN or what have you, I get all my news from here and there so thanks for that.
Frwrd
Member
Now that I think about it... I must've been a NeoGaf "lurker" between '06-'08, can't exactly remember when I started. I remember reading a shit ton of stuff on here and laughing my ass off as always. Good times indeed.
EviLore
congrats on the achievement brother/sister, hoping to still be around to see your next 20 
EviLore
congrats on the achievement brother/sister, hoping to still be around to see your next 20 
Success
Member
Thank you
EviLore
for always staying a true gamer and strong leader for the community. I am sure you could have made so much more money literally selling out.
The NeoGAF community is eternal and we are incredibly grateful to you.
To NeoGAF!
EDIT:
I put my money where my mouth is and actually bought GAF Gold for the first time. It is a small gesture, but I hope it shows at least that I care and cherish this community.
EviLore
for always staying a true gamer and strong leader for the community. I am sure you could have made so much more money literally selling out.The NeoGAF community is eternal and we are incredibly grateful to you.
To NeoGAF!
EDIT:
I put my money where my mouth is and actually bought GAF Gold for the first time. It is a small gesture, but I hope it shows at least that I care and cherish this community.
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Dirk Benedict
Member
Congratulations, man. I've been here a solid 11, but have lurked since I saw the crusty-ass Gaming Age Forums in 2000 or so. That said, this place has come a very long way and weathered a very difficult and "coordinated" storm. I'd say, we made it, Fam
EviLore
and @TheEntiretyOfNeoGAF
While difficult times for the entire World are ahead, I look forward to spending more time here, Regardless. Many like-minded individuals, here. Something I can appreciate.
EviLore
and @TheEntiretyOfNeoGAF While difficult times for the entire World are ahead, I look forward to spending more time here, Regardless. Many like-minded individuals, here. Something I can appreciate.
Angelcurio
Member
Thanks a lot for the Gold!You are special to me & much appreciated in here.
Don't let that shit go to your head though
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
Hypereides
Member
stickkidsam
Member
simpatico
Member
My oldest GAF account must be around 2004-2006. Good times. Really think the site doesn't get enough credit as a influential part of the social media ascent. A lot of the humor and memes passed through here. Something like 4chan->GAF->mainstream. I appreciate the gaffers who filtered through the 4chan abyss to bring the good things out of it. A nice middle ground that still exists today.
Humdinger
Gold Member
GAF is the only forum I inhabit anymore. Been a member 14 years but only really active since the great purple exodus. Prior to that, I'd read, but it was hard to have conversations, not just because of the lefty mods but because there were so many damn people, threads would just be pages of one-liners piling up and burying any back-and-forth discussion.
It's much better now - slimmer, trimmer, freer. Thanks for keeping it running for so long.
It's much better now - slimmer, trimmer, freer. Thanks for keeping it running for so long.
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