Welcome everyone to the new MGC In-Depth site!  This site is a new sister site to the main Midwest Gaming Classic site that will go 'in-depth' about many show related things.  Whether you wanted to find out more about a product unveiled at the show, the background of a show speaker, what it is like to put together the show, or just about anything else beyond what we have been able to provide to you in the regular site, you'll want to sign up for the mailing list here and stop by regularly for more great articles!

For this first article, it only makes sense to interview the person behind the idea of creating this site, and the main driving force behind it, J.D. Norman.  When J.D. came to Gary and me about creating an 'in-depth' site, we loved the idea and how passionate he was about it -- but, instead of me telling you about it, let's ask him!

Why did you come up with the idea for MGC In-Depth?

    About a month after the Midwest Gaming Classic 2011, we had a situation where one of the products revealed at the show eventually got picked up by a number of different online blogs and forums.  Although I was happy to see the exposure for a great company and product, this was more than a bit troubling to me personally because we had announced both the product and the company responsible for it numerous times before and shortly after the show took place, yet it still took several weeks before the video game media picked up the story!  Something had to change.

    With MGC In-Depth we would like to give an increasingly larger community of fans a place to not only get the latest announcements and features about the stuff at the show, but also a place where you can find out just what goes into creating the show, the people involved, interviews with personalities at the show, and much more.  We are basically creating our own media organization that will not only cover the show but also the games and things you could find there.  That means all of the classic games and consoles, modern consoles, arcades, new and old pinball games…  That and more is all fair game for the new site.  MGC In-Depth will be the perfect companion piece for the Midwest Gaming Classic.

What do you hope to cover with the MGC In-Depth site?

    Anything and everything related to the Midwest Gaming Classic.  Once the Midwest Gaming Classic’s site announces a new event or personality at the show, we’ll expand on that announcement with additional information or things like an interview.  Yet we’re not simply going to echo what was just on the Midwest Gaming Classic’s main site.  We’ll do features on the games at the show, the people that put the show together, and the events.  You’re as likely to see an article about the museum as you are a feature about one of the pinball machines there.

We are basically creating our own media organization that will not only cover the show but also the games and things you could find there.

    Over the last ten years the MGC staff has accumulated a lot of stories, witnessed a lot of history making at the show, and have all found unique perspectives on the video game industry and the people behind it.  Sometimes this information is announced and then lost, other times we simply forget to make much of a fuss about it online.  MGC In-Depth will look to correct that and keep people informed.

Can people contact you with article submissions or ideas?

    Certainly!  As much as MGC In-Depth is a place for the community to find out more about the Midwest Gaming Classic, it is also a place where we welcome the community to take an active hand in creating the content found here.

If I have a question, how do I get in touch with you?

    At the bottom, right-hand corner of the page you’ll see a Staff section that includes a link for contacting myself or the rest of the MGC In-Depth staff.  You can also go there by following this link.

How long have you been involved with the Midwest Gaming Classic?

    I attended the Jagfest 2K1 as a reporter and I helped organize a year later at the Midwest Gaming Classic 2002.

What is your favorite part about the Midwest Gaming Classic?

    Seeing everybody at the show and watching all of the hard work pay off in the end with a great show is a lot of fun, but I have to admit that it is the sheer quantity of seeing hundreds of pinball machines, video arcades and nearly every console known to man under one roof and almost all of them playable.  There’s just not many shows out there were you can find someone playing a PlayStation 3 next to someone playing a Super A’Can for the very first time, or find someone that has only heard of a pinball machine before get their first chance to play some of the best games the industry has to offer.  The variety is absolutely incredible to see and best of all play.