DASHGAMER.com October Update

Hey guys, Welcome to another update here on DASHGAMER.com. It’s Post PAX season, and as many are winding down from all the festivities from the big event, we here at DASHGAMER are ready to bring you nothing but hype, as we close out the year in a big way. Of course much like every year, post PAX leads to Awards season and we have some news regarding the 2019 DASH AWARDS that we would like to share with you all today, among many other projects and events as we march towards the beginning of a new year. Before we begin, just an expression of gratitude towards all of our readers, listeners, and guest contributors that helped our outlet get to where it is today. Without your support, we would have never been recognised as a legitimate media outlet this year at PAX AUS 2019. We thank you all for your continuous support, and hope to deliver you the quality content you all deserve. Thank you.

Picture: @vsmonty/@BlueShift77

With that said, let’s get into our updates that we’re very excited to share with you all here today, and a few of them are straight banga’s. So get ready!

It’s a bitter-sweet day here at DASHGAMER.com, as we announce that we have mutually parted ways with ATEBIT, an outlet we have been part of since late 2017. Brendan White, founder of ATEBIT, initially approached Buddy and I shortly after we announced our new podcast venture, The DASH Culture Podcast. We were welcomed in with open arms by the ATEBIT team, being one of the very first outlets to become part of the #ATEBITCollective, alongside other prominent podcasts such as The Hungry Gamers, The House of Mario and I Speak Giant. We have been fortunate in building many personal and professional relationships during our time with ATEBIT, collaborating on podcasts and videos, while also working closely with Brendan to get multiple new projects off the ground including ATEBITMANIA, new merch and graphics as well as playing a key part in the launch of ATEBIT’s Patreon.

With the growth and success of DASHGAMER.com throughout 2019, it was all but inevitable that our departure from the Collective would occur sooner rather than later, and while myself and Brendan would occasionally tease it, I personally had a date set in mind to make the announcement. Brendan and I had discussions in mid-September, both agreeing that it was time for us to mutually part ways, going off to work on our own projects as sister networks.

“It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside the guys from DASHGAMER.com but seeing the trajectory on which were on, knew it would only be a matter of time until they outgrew us and shifted their focus towards global domination. I can’t begin to express how thankful I am for the continued support, knowledge and friendship that Dash, Buddy and Holmesy have provided and I can’t wait to see what happens next for DASHGAMER.com. Much Love, Stay Dashing.” – Brendan White

Myself (Dan Rizzo/DASH), Buddy Watson and Chris Holmes would like to thank Brendan for his ongoing support of our ventures here at DASHGAMER.com, and to our friends at ATEBIT we wish nothing but the best for you now, and in the future.

The 2019 DASH AWARDS are right around the corner, and we’re very excited for this year’s presentation. Now we do have some major changes to announce for this year’s festivities. In the past three to four years, we have been proud to hold the Community’s biggest awards across social media, spanning over a combined 3.4 million social media impressions, and recognised by some of the biggest outlets including, Geek & Sundry, Critical Role, Kinda Funny, Rooster Teeth, Sugar Pine 7, Funhaus, IGN and more. We’re thankful for each community’s unabated support in years prior. In 2017, we evolved the DASHGAMER Awards into the Dash Community Awards, which saw it reach new heights and achieve the unimaginable with multiple communities congregating to celebrate this medium we love; Video Gaming, and online content creation. It was our goal to highlight the efforts put in by developers, studios, content creators and influencers across the board.

We were glad to see the Dash Community Awards inspire other outlets to pursue a similar approach in promoting and presenting their own vision of gaming community awards. With that said, we’re taking a step back this year from presenting the DASH AWARDS partly as community voted awards. There will be some awards in which we will have open for public voting, but most awards this year will be determined by our outlet. This does not indicate that we won’t be back in 2020 as a community event, but with our site going into the new year as our own established independent outlet, we would like to present this year’s Game of the Year, directly from our own contributors that have worked non-stop this year. That said, there will be involvement from other outlets that will determine our awards, but fewer awards this year will go to a public vote. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved with the DASH AWARDS in the past, and look forward to continuing our established relationships with the awards, in the near future.

With our content expanding on a daily basis, it was time for our website to refresh it’s outlining of numerous categories we cover here on DASHGAMER. Our homepage has brand new look, now featuring our latest posts across segregated categories and genres that we are proud to cover here, including our latest features, Reviews, Podcasts, Anime, Music, & Movies. As you scroll through our front page feed, you will now find a streamlined display towards presenting our content, at a broader approach. We previously featured our latest posts, but with each category now given their own space on the front page, it gives our readers a chance to catch up on content they may have previously missed from our awesome contributors. Our Movies & Music categories have been grouped into “Entertainment”, but still remain separate through category feeds, so you may search them individually.

We have also redesigned our “About Us” page, highlighting our Editors & Contributors, Brands & Outlets that we have the pleasure of working with, and the Entertainment & Coverage we provide throughout our multiple channels. We have also updated our code of Ethics, giving a basic understanding on how our review scale works, and other disclosures. Other minor cosmetic changes are scattered across the site, so keep an eye out for those and tell us what you think. Lastly, we will be featuring “Partner” content on the front page, over the coming weeks. This is a trial for now, just to highlight our friends across the community who help contribute content with DASHGAMER.com. Each link on the homepage under the Partner banner will lead directly to said contributors content, so be sure to check out our friends and their awesome features.

Lastly, we now have news on our Anime Podcast. In 2020, we will be partnering with our good friend Joel Gralton from Ani-Game, to present a monthly Anime podcast, that will cover seasonal Anime. We’re in very early stages of producing the podcast, but the initial thought of the show at this time will be based on our Anime Analysis articles, where we will review different seasonal shows and give our thoughts on them. We look forward to working with Joel, and many other contributors within the Anime community, and are very excited for this project to launch in Q1 2020. In the meantime, be sure to check out Ani-Game.com for more of Joel’s work, including his established podcast series Talent Talk, where he interviews many voice actors of notoriety within the Anime and Gaming community.

That wraps up our October 2019 Update, once again we thank our supporters for their continual support in everything we have produced this year across our channels, including written reviews, opinion pieces, podcasts, and playlists. As we approach DASH Culture Episode 50, Buddy and I will be sure to have something special planned for the occasion (if we stay on schedule) which will land on the DASH Culture End of Year Extravaganza 2019. DASH & Holmesy the podcast series will continue as per usual with our Catherine series “Break Your Hearts” later this week, and will return with a one-off “Take Your Hearts” Persona 5: The Royal episode in November. We recently announced DASH & Holmesy “Heart to Heart” which will be our third season of the series, looking into The Last of Us franchise. We have many other projects on the back burner right now, that we’re ready to bring forward heading into the new year, and we can’t wait to share more with you, potentially in our next scheduled update in early December. Until then, have a great Spring everyone!

– DASH.