Hello, Ray Barnholt and Alex Fraioli here. We’re the two guys who own this website. It hasn’t been updated in ages, but we’re addicted to keeping it up, so here we are. It will always be a website, and now, we have a podcast about this website. Why? We’ll tell you, but let’s properly introduce it.

The podcast is A Game Site About Nothing (AGSAN), and is all about the before, during and after of Crunk Games. But again, it hasn’t been updated, so again again – why a podcast? Podcasts are nothing if not an incredible waste of time for all involved, and before that it was personal websites. We have decades of experience in both.

In all seriousness, Crunk Games was an integral part of our early friendship. We met at age 18 when being “hired” as writers at the gaming website The GIA before it decided to shutter, tried to recapture the magic at a site called Gameforms, then at the start of 2003, launched Crunk Games while trying to build “careers” writing about video games, as we took opportunities to be freelancers at places like 1UP.com (a bigger, even deader game site!).

AGSAN was our 20-year anniversary project. Through 2023 and 2024, we recorded a series of chats about notable periods of time involving the site in one way or another, in an unflinching account of what went on behind the scenes. We talk about friendship, career, conflict, E3, Joel, love, anxiety, depression, Joel, how much Penny Arcade sucks, and above all: video games. Maybe “unflinching” is too strong, because in true Crunk Games tradition, there’s wisecracking too. Basically, we felt there was a dearth of podcasts about the specific experience of being 20 years old and writing about video games, so we hope this provides some perspective.

Originally, AGSAN lived on the Patreon page for our pet podcast No More Whoppers, and only to paid subscribers. We write this a year after AGSAN ended, and decided to put it up on Crunk Games, for free, to act as a sort of “walking tour” for the site, because it is certainly little more than a museum exhibit by now.

You can listen to all the episodes as an actual podcast just by adding our RSS feed (see button on the right) to your preferred podcast app or platform (or it might already be listed there! Search “Crunk Games!”). But here’s a little episode guide with embedded audio players just for convenience. Thanks for visiting!!!

Alex + Ray 💌

Prologue I
The early years of internet game media and “semipro fansites” of the 2000s help us get where we’re going.

Prologue II
Alex and Ray collide as we enter — then exit — the GIA. Eight weird months follow.

3: Dreamweaving
Crunk Games launches at the start of 2003, and by golly, we have thoughts about video games.

Discussed: Game Boy Advance 2003 Buyer’s Guide

4: The Medium Leagues
A short detour about the start of our “dream” jobs as professional writers.

5: JOE3L
An introduction to our Canadian friend, who we took to E3 2003 for a new round of gaming adventures.

Discussed: E3 2003 Photo Album

6: Tokyo Drift
An old friend helps us out, which is somehow a problem? Plus, why Square Enix has been very weird for 20 years.

Discussed: Tokyo Game Show 2003 Report | SCROLL

7: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
A jaunt through our memories of E3 2004.

Discussed: E3 2004 Photo Album | Restaurant Taisen

8: A Good Bad Time
Crunk Games hums along in its second year, but behind the scenes, it nearly falls apart.

Discussed: Doko Demo Issyo: Watashi na Ehon | Toro and the Shooting Star Guide | Tendo Dokuta

9: Slowly, Now
With our lives changing in 2005, the site is neglected, and the end is in sight.

Discussed: E3 2005 Photo Album | Crunk Games’ 2005 Public Apology

10: Nothing, Forever
Highlighting the final years of Crunk Games, and what it all meant.

Discussed: Crunk Games 3(60) | Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 | Boku no Natsuyasumi Portable | Phantom Crash | Karnov (the Movie) | A Completely Factual History of Dragon Quest | The Game Center CX Episode Guide

11: Epilogue
With one of us moving to San Francisco and the other to Japan, the post-Crunk Games world runs us ragged.

Music Credits

Theme: Joelsmusic

Ending: “Websites” by The Genuine Fakes