If it doesn’t already exist somewhere, is there an archive somewhere of your reviews of games for kids? Would be cool to be able to reference the top games per age group. Have gotten plenty of good recos from here already for my gaming 4yo
So the newsletter is called "Crossplay", but there's a marked lack of crossplay cosplay on the feed. I think remedying that should be a major goal for year two, Patrick.
I subscribe to your Substack and I'm not even a father yet. I'm most likely in the minority of your readership, but your perspective and writings are unique amongst most of the video game journalism & discourse I'm exposed to. As I get older and my priorities shift & perspective change, individuals like yourself provide me something that aligns more than others in the past (e.g. Giant Bomb from several years back).
Keep up the fantastic work Patrick! You got a subscriber in me!
Congrats on one year! I’m a new-ish dad (3 years-old and 8 months) and don’t have time to play video games any more — my only exposure is from all of the ex-GB newsletters, sites, and patreons. Your posts brighten my day every time they appear in my inbox. Keep it up!
(Also, despite your review, I had to buy the Bluey game. It’s bad. My toddler doesn’t care, because…Bluey.) 👊🏻
Hey Patrick, I've been following you for years and have truly loved your work. Crossplay especially resonates with me as a new parent (he's turning 9 months soon!). I've sent your work to family and friends who are parents and hopefully gotten you new audiences!
That said, I don't subscribe to your newsletter anymore, despite paying for a founding subscription. The reason is Substack. I would love to subscribe to you on a non-Substack platform for all the reasons that you've read about already and that I've commented myself at times. I've unsubscribed from all my paid Substack subscriptions, including this one, and have been asking creators to consider going to different platforms. It surprised me actually that you did go with Substack instead of Ghost or another option, especially when Remap uses Ghost!
I do totally understand the need for discoverability via Substack's algo. The very least I can say is that I've never shared anything, Crossplay or otherwise, via Substack's native sharing/discover feature or used its app. I've only ever forwarded the emails to other people, which could work with any email subscription. Still, I get that you're trying to find new audiences outside of the Remap circle. As you've said though, you've been in this business a while! I'd hope your audience would be great at sharing your work.
I understand this position, and as I've stated in the past, don't have a problem with it. Appreciate you weighing in, and know that I continue to research non-Substack options and, in the future, will have no problem taking the leap.
I just wanted to drop in and say congratulations! I love the unique perspective you bring to the games journalism space and the thriving parent gamer community you've built on Discord. I'm definitely sticking around as a subscriber. Here's to the next year (and all the ones after that)!
Hey Patrick! I've been keeping up with Crossplay, and as much as I'd love for the more personal pieces you've written -- I'm still thinking about the garage and Nintendo interview pieces I can't get to -- I genuinely can't justify $8 a month when I'm paying nearly the same price for several other places, including Remap, Nextlander, Jeff Gerstmann's nightmare thing, Secret Base(!), and honestly way too many for me to keep listing. If there were a lower tier, I might consider it, but I also understand that writing, reporting, interviewing, etc. is a lot of work and you might not be able to justify it considering what you're trying to juggle.
That said, keep it up! And I hope to one day read those pieces looming over me, mocking me.
Happy to re-up. Been following along since the Waypoint days and it's been weird not having a lot of other dads my age around me (most of my peers still enjoy their late Friday nights) - but it was always nice to hear your perspective on parenthood throughout the years. One point that you make occasionally stood out and stuck with me: when you mention not wanting to force video games on your kids, which I had never really given thought to until you voiced it. Of course I selfishly wanted a player two, but I shouldn't be forcing my kid into that role if she isn't feeling it. I made that my goal as well, if my daughter likes games with me, cool. If not, she's her own person and should explore whatever floats her boat. She's 7 now, and it's such a cool age. I love just getting in the car and going wherever and walking around with her and chatting. It really makes life worth living some days. I love being a dad and it's so nice to have these posts/podcasts/stories/tweets, etc. that make me want to be the best dad possible. You're doing awesome work, and I know I'm not the only one who appreciates it. We may never have a beer together, but I just want to say thanks a ton for the past year, and keep it up!
Yeah, it's weird. I started Crossplay because of how often games were overlapping with me and my kid, but we are 100% in a phase where she just does not care about video games all that much at the moment. She's not AGAINST video game in any capacity, it's just not really on her radar. I'm sure that will ebb and flow. Thank you for the support!
If it doesn’t already exist somewhere, is there an archive somewhere of your reviews of games for kids? Would be cool to be able to reference the top games per age group. Have gotten plenty of good recos from here already for my gaming 4yo
So the newsletter is called "Crossplay", but there's a marked lack of crossplay cosplay on the feed. I think remedying that should be a major goal for year two, Patrick.
I subscribe to your Substack and I'm not even a father yet. I'm most likely in the minority of your readership, but your perspective and writings are unique amongst most of the video game journalism & discourse I'm exposed to. As I get older and my priorities shift & perspective change, individuals like yourself provide me something that aligns more than others in the past (e.g. Giant Bomb from several years back).
Keep up the fantastic work Patrick! You got a subscriber in me!
Congrats on one year! I’m a new-ish dad (3 years-old and 8 months) and don’t have time to play video games any more — my only exposure is from all of the ex-GB newsletters, sites, and patreons. Your posts brighten my day every time they appear in my inbox. Keep it up!
(Also, despite your review, I had to buy the Bluey game. It’s bad. My toddler doesn’t care, because…Bluey.) 👊🏻
We've all been there, Adam. :)
Congrats on a year, Patrick!
Thank you, Craig!
Hey Patrick, I've been following you for years and have truly loved your work. Crossplay especially resonates with me as a new parent (he's turning 9 months soon!). I've sent your work to family and friends who are parents and hopefully gotten you new audiences!
That said, I don't subscribe to your newsletter anymore, despite paying for a founding subscription. The reason is Substack. I would love to subscribe to you on a non-Substack platform for all the reasons that you've read about already and that I've commented myself at times. I've unsubscribed from all my paid Substack subscriptions, including this one, and have been asking creators to consider going to different platforms. It surprised me actually that you did go with Substack instead of Ghost or another option, especially when Remap uses Ghost!
I do totally understand the need for discoverability via Substack's algo. The very least I can say is that I've never shared anything, Crossplay or otherwise, via Substack's native sharing/discover feature or used its app. I've only ever forwarded the emails to other people, which could work with any email subscription. Still, I get that you're trying to find new audiences outside of the Remap circle. As you've said though, you've been in this business a while! I'd hope your audience would be great at sharing your work.
I understand this position, and as I've stated in the past, don't have a problem with it. Appreciate you weighing in, and know that I continue to research non-Substack options and, in the future, will have no problem taking the leap.
I just wanted to drop in and say congratulations! I love the unique perspective you bring to the games journalism space and the thriving parent gamer community you've built on Discord. I'm definitely sticking around as a subscriber. Here's to the next year (and all the ones after that)!
Thank you, Brett. <3
Hey Patrick! I've been keeping up with Crossplay, and as much as I'd love for the more personal pieces you've written -- I'm still thinking about the garage and Nintendo interview pieces I can't get to -- I genuinely can't justify $8 a month when I'm paying nearly the same price for several other places, including Remap, Nextlander, Jeff Gerstmann's nightmare thing, Secret Base(!), and honestly way too many for me to keep listing. If there were a lower tier, I might consider it, but I also understand that writing, reporting, interviewing, etc. is a lot of work and you might not be able to justify it considering what you're trying to juggle.
That said, keep it up! And I hope to one day read those pieces looming over me, mocking me.
Thank you for the honest answer. I appreciate you being here, regardless!
Happy to re-up. Been following along since the Waypoint days and it's been weird not having a lot of other dads my age around me (most of my peers still enjoy their late Friday nights) - but it was always nice to hear your perspective on parenthood throughout the years. One point that you make occasionally stood out and stuck with me: when you mention not wanting to force video games on your kids, which I had never really given thought to until you voiced it. Of course I selfishly wanted a player two, but I shouldn't be forcing my kid into that role if she isn't feeling it. I made that my goal as well, if my daughter likes games with me, cool. If not, she's her own person and should explore whatever floats her boat. She's 7 now, and it's such a cool age. I love just getting in the car and going wherever and walking around with her and chatting. It really makes life worth living some days. I love being a dad and it's so nice to have these posts/podcasts/stories/tweets, etc. that make me want to be the best dad possible. You're doing awesome work, and I know I'm not the only one who appreciates it. We may never have a beer together, but I just want to say thanks a ton for the past year, and keep it up!
Yeah, it's weird. I started Crossplay because of how often games were overlapping with me and my kid, but we are 100% in a phase where she just does not care about video games all that much at the moment. She's not AGAINST video game in any capacity, it's just not really on her radar. I'm sure that will ebb and flow. Thank you for the support!