Hi folks, 

I’m Chris Morris and I’ll be your new guide to the world of video games here at “The Cut Scene,” doing my best to fill the big shoes left behind by Ben Fritz. (Seriously, the guy has enormous feet!)

I’ve been a fan of the blog for some time – especially its tendency to break news, give insightful analysis into the industry and dig beyond the headlines. That’s what made Variety’s coverage of this industry special – and it’s a tradition I fully intend to continue.

Since I’m the new guy here, I thought I should tell you a few things about myself. I’ve been covering the video game industry for 15 years, starting with an obscure, long dead Website that no one remembers. Things really started to get serious when I began writing the “Game Over” column for six years at CNN and CNNMoney. From there, I’ve covered the industry for Forbes and CNBC.com and wrote the “Business of Xbox” column for Official Xbox Magazine.

I promise, though, I won’t be turning The Cut Scene into a deep dive of earnings forecasts and EBITDA. Throughout my career, I’ve always been more interested in talking with the people who make these games and looking behind the curtains at the industry, to see how things operate. It has always astounded me that most media outlets skimp on their coverage of gaming, when there are so many rich, fascinating stories to tell. I’ve been lucky to convince editors to look beyond the stereotypes previously and I’m thrilled that Variety has the insight to encourage me to dig even deeper.

Beyond my reporting philosophy, though, there are a few more fun facts you should know:

• I’ve attended 12 E3s to date – and, remarkably, still look forward to the show every year.
  
• I believe “Gyruss” is the greatest game of the arcade era.
  
• I didn’t own an Atari, but I did have one of the Sears pong machines in the mid-70s.
  
• I once made Sony so mad by scooping them on their own news that I was banned from a teleconference. (They later apologized – and we get along great now.)
  
• I prefer single-player games to multi-player ones. (Give me a good story arc any day.)
  
• I was the guy who first likened the N-Gage to a taco.
  
• Once, while doing a stint as a radio reporter, I inadvertently blasted an obscenity over the airwaves – right as the city of Atlanta was leaving church. Safety tip from your Uncle Chris, kids, any microphone is a live microphone.
  

I think a blog (or any form of reporting, really) works best when there’s good conversation, so I encourage you to drop me a line at chris.r.morris-at-gmail-dot-com or in the comments below. I’m curious to know what you, as readers, are interested in learning more about – especially as we close in on E3. 

Let's have some fun together.

Dear Cut Scene readers,

With more than a tinge of sadness, I must report that this is my last post on the Cut Scene and my last writing for Variety. On Monday I start a new job at the Los Angeles Times.

I'm saying my farewell here because the Cut Scene has been particularly important to me. Though it was only for 15 months, writing this blog has been far and away the best experience of my journalistic career. It has connected me to readers directly and built a little community of sorts around my reporting. It has introduced me to a world of video game bloggers and journalists whom I have come to respect and appreciate, and some of whom I now consider friends. Most importantly, it has given me an opportunity to do work that I enjoy and could never have published anywhere else.

If this blog had any impact on video game journalism, I'd like to think it was bringing a bit more rigorous reporting to the space. I try not to be didactic (and occasionally fail), but if there's one thing I'd like to see more of, it's original, investigative reporting on the video game industry. We already have plenty of folks who very ably report on breaking announcements as they happen (I mean that with no irony; it's an important job). And there are a growing cadre of smart and talented writers and critics, some working for professional outlets and some running their own blogs (I could list my favorites, but just check out my short blog roll on the right and you'll see who I read and love), who write about what video games mean. But, in my opinion, there aren't enough folks breaking news and reporting information that the publishers would prefer the public not know. Video games are a mature industry and a mainstream part of American cultural. We need business reporting to match it.

There are lots of people I need to thank for making this blog, and my coverage of video games at Variety in general, such a wonderful experience. Leigh Alexander, Tom Chick and Chris Dahlen are all excellent critics who I've been honored to edit, and they have also been very generous occasional contributors to the Cut Scene. If you're not reading their blogs Sexy Videogameland, Fidgit and Save the Robot, get on it. They're all friends and I know I'll work with them more in the future.

Dana Harris and the Variety.com editorial team, as well as Jennifer Collins and the business team, have been great supporters of me and this blog, particularly after an unfortunate incident in January.

Two editors at Variety have been important not just to this blog, my my work and my career. Tim Gray, the editor of Variety, is one of the smartest, funniest, and most decent people I have ever worked with and has provided crucial support to me when I needed it.

Peter Bart, the longtime editor-in-chief and now editorial director of Variety, has without a doubt been the person most responsible for whatever success I have had. Peter gave me my first internship at a professional newspaper and hired me as a reporter back in 2004. He is an extremely smart, passionate, and talented editor and has steered Variety through good times and bad over the last two decades. I consider Peter a mentor and a friend and will be eternally grateful for the opportunities he gave me.

Finally, and most importantly, I'm grateful to all the readers of this blog, particularly the loyal ones who have followed me regularly and commented. In this, shall we say, dynamic time for the journalism industry in which it's hard to rely on an institution, a reporter is nothing without his or her fans. You guys have let me know what you think (positive and negative), provided hundreds of awesome tips that turned into stories, and proved that the kind of journalism I enjoy, though it doesn't get the rush of clicks enjoyed by exclusive assets spoon-fed by publicists, really does have an audience.

I'm pleased to say that the Cut Scene will continue here on Variety.com. I'll leave it to the editors and/or our new blogger to share their new plans with you. If there's a short period with no posts during the transition, I hope you'll all be patient.

As for me, I'll be covering all facets of the entertainment industry for the L.A. Times (including, yes, some video game stories; you're not rid of me yet!). Though I won't have my own personal blog, I will be writing articles for the business and calendar (entertainment) sections and contribute to the Company Town blog.

In addition, for anybody into that sort of thing, you can follow me on twitter @benfritz. And of course my personal email address remains benfritz-at-gmail-dot-com.

Thank you for reading.

PS I'm having one last schwag giveaway for loyal readers

I've been a fan of Michael Abbot's Brainy Gamer site since I discovered it in the fall, so it was really neat to be invited onto his podcast this weekend, along with a dozen or so much smarter video game writers and bloggers, to talk about what we learned at GDC.

Michael wisely divided us into groups of two or three and then put two pair or trios on each of two podcasts. I'm on the second half of the second podcast speaking with Wes Erdelack of Versus Clu Clu Land and Duncan Fyfe of HitSelfDestruct. (I'll try not to connect that to my semi-ironic suggestion to Michael that he order the interviews based on who was most interesting).

For my loyal readers, this is another exciting opportunity to hear annoying voice. It's been way too long, hasn't it?

You can download the podcast here (and download episode 1 featuring Variety critics Leigh Alexander and Chris Dahlen, amongst others, here). Or, better yet, you can subscribe and get every episode via iTunes here, which I recommend. It's easily the best video game-related podcast out there (which is kind of like being the most attrtactive video game journalist; but I genuinely do mean it as a compliment).

I think it's generally a bit tacky for writers to link to stuff about how great they are, but when someone specifically praises you for doing exactly what you're aiming to do with your career -- and when your employer recently indicated they don't value that work as much as you wish they did -- sometimes you just can't help it.

Which is why I'm shamelessly linking to what the excellent and intelligent (honestly!) blog VersusCluClu land wrote yesterday about my work.

I'm already uncomfortable writing about myself this much, so let's end on a more worthwhile note: Best wishes and a fond farewell from videogames journalism (if not the industry) to Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, who forged a path in many ways for those of us writing for mainstream publications about video games as a business and an art form.

Update: In his last "Vs. Mode" with N'Gai, Stephen Totilo at MTV's Multiplayer blog has a suggestion for the job I should take if this journalism thing doesn't work. Let's just say my first order of business would be "Tom Clancy presents Rayman Raving Rabbids."

However Stephen doesn't answer the really key question: Who will be his new "vs. mode" partner? Or will it be retired with N'Gai's departure, kind of like a jersey number for a legendary player?

Sorry for the lack of posts today, folks, but after some technical snafus over the weekend that necessitated a very long night last night finishing "Grand Theft Auto IV: the Lost and Damned," I'm a little too loopy today to post anything I trust.

In the meantime, here's my review of "The Lost and Damned." I'll have more to say about the game, and what it represents for DLC, in the next couple of days on the blog I hope.

Since people have started asking, I wanted to acknowledge that yes, I was laid off from Variety. However my hope is work out an arrangement to keep up this blog on a freelance basis. I'm talking to the powers that be about doing that right now and will share details as soon as I have them.

For now, I'm taking a day or two or three to clear my head and will post a few interesting items I already have in the works soon. And then very soon this blog will be continuing as it always has. Hopefully right here at Variety.com, or else possibly at a new location.

Meanwhile, thanks for the tons of support I've already been getting via email, phone, comments, twitter, XBL, etc. etc.

Posting will be light today and tomorrow as I'm in Park City, Utah,  at the Sundance Film Festival to moderate a panel on storytelling in videogames (basic info here). It looks like a great panel and I'm told that it is being filmed and that it should be digitized so hopeuflly I'll be able to post it here for you all to cringe at watch next week.

Here's the panelists. FYI, it's sponsored by Activision Blizzard, which is why you'll find three out of the four of them do or have worked for the company. Still a very good group, though, I think:

Meanwhile, there is news today and unfortunately I don't have time to lend much analysis. So I recommend checking out Gamasutra for solid write ups of disappointing earnings and layoffs at Microsoft and Sony, as well at slightly better news at Ubisoft, including a solid launch for "Far Cry 2," a more disappointing debut for "Prince of Persia" (perhaps because it came later in the year and deeper in the recession) and the official if unsurprising announcement that "Assassin's Creed 2" is coming by next March (and probably this holiday season).

I've got a piece this week on NPR's syndicated program "The Business" (that business being entertainment) this week about independent videogames. The example we focus on is "World of Goo," the best selling and award winning puzzler from 2D Boy for the Wii and PC, though I also mention "Braid,"  "PixelJunk Eden" and "Crayon Physics Deluxe" and speak to some very interesting folks from Sony and Georgia Tech, along with "Goo" co-creator Ron Carmel.

Those of you who already know a lot about indie games won't learn many new facts, but will hopefully enjoy the interviews and get some new perspectives and insights (the sound f/x from the Wii sex game are worth the price of admission alone). For those of you who didn't know there was a thriving independent games market that's mirroring the growth of indie film, well, listen up. It's a fascinating space. My piece starts at about 19:30.

Those of you who'd prefer to hear me while on the go can get the podcast via iTunes here.

And before you leave a pointed comment about the reporter, keep in mind that I prefer to think of my voice as "This American Life"-esque, rather than ridiculously unsuited for the radio.

Most of my videogame playing time is spent on titles I"m reviewing or writing about and online multi-player with my friends in Nerd Poker (mostly "Gears of War 1/2," "Call of Duty 4," and, more recently, "Left 4 Dead").

So it's a wonderful and exciting thing to have finished my review of "Prince of Persia," my last of the year, and have absolutely nothing I need to play. Which means I actually have time to just enjoy some games I want to play that I haven't gotten around to. And since I'm not reviewing them, I don't need to pause every few minutes to write down thoughts in my notebook.What a crazy way to play a videogame!

I do have added incentive to get through some games quickly, though. With with the end of the year rapidly approach, we'll be doing a Cut Scene count down of the best games of 2008, which we'll be presenting in a way that I hope you'll all find cool and interesting (not just one post with a list of 10 games). I say "we" because I'm being helped in this endeavor by some very smart videogame writers.

But I'll provide more details on that in a few days. For now, here's the list of videogames that I didn't play, or didn't play enough to form a fair opinion of, in 2008 that I'm now enjoying. Obviously there are dozens, if not hundreds, of games I never played that aren't on this list, but I'm only including the ones I'm most interested in based on reviews from the writers I trust (which mostly means Variety's three regular freelance reviewers):

-de Blob
-Fallout 3
-Patapon
-Far Cry 2
-Midnight Club: Los Angeles
-The World Ends With You
-Metal Gear Solid 4
-Burnout Paradise
-Saints Row 2

If you're curious what games I have already played, there's an easy way to find out. Visit my Variety.com bio here and scroll down to "recent reviews." You'll see a list of every game I've reviewed in 2008. With only a few exceptions (mostly downloadable games like "World of Goo" and "Braid"), those are the games I've played in 2008.

What about you Cut Scene readers? Any suggestions for cool games that I didn't review and aren't on my list that I should be playing? And/or that you want to suggest your fellow readers check out? I'd love some suggestions.

PS Several of those titles are ones I never received from the publishers. Which means I'm out buying them. Which means, just like a typical videogame player, I am of course buying them used. Much as it pains some in the industry, I just can't imagine why I would do otherwise. I feel like my charitable giving will be better utilized at Doctors without Borders or Habitat for Humanity than helping videogame publishers maintain their profit margins.

(photo above is the games currently sitting beneath my TV)

But at least i am getting some time to finally play Patapon!

Last week the members of Nerd Poker (and various hangers on) had a videogame-themed Halloween party here in L.A. For those who don't know what Nerd Poker is, and who care, you can find out here.

Nerd Poker's resident photographer Charlie Chu took some great shots of the festivities, and various people in costumes, that I figured I'd share here. I'll save those pictured the glory/embarassment of posting their names:

An LOLcat, Solid Snake, Ico and Capt. MacMillan playing Rock Band, while Ryu and a companion cube watch.

(seven more photos after the jump)

Obsessive readers of this blog may have noticed that I have mentioned a few times on here that there's a group of friends I play Xbox Live games with on a regular basis.

Today the LA Times took notice and wrote an article about our little group, which we call Nerd Poker, and how it's kind of a new generation of Hollywood networking -- meeting people who you'll do business with while fragging them, rather than over drinks or golf or good old fashioned non-nerd poker. I think it's a fun piece even if you don't give a sh*t about what I do with my time, so I highly recommend taking a look.

That photo, stolen from the LAT story is (L to R) my friends and fellow Nerd Poker founders Derek Douglas (a videogame agent at William Morris), me, Misher Films executive Kevin Chang, and screenwriter Justin Marks (who has done several guest posts on this blog). That's my living room (hopefully with nothing in the background that gives away my address to those still bitter about my "Super Mario Galaxy" review of "Colonization" comments) and that pile of games on top of the TV is mine (I had to put up "Gears" since it's mentioned in the story that we play it a lot and for the other one, I figured I might as well take the the opportunity to promote a really good game like "The Orange Box." And I didn't even realize at the time but you can see my Rock Band/Guitar Hero instruments in the back corner).

A few of you may remember that I wrote a more personal story about Nerd Poker last year for Variety. But this LAT story is much more objective and also, since it's written for a mass market newspaper, accessible for non-gamers and non-Hollywood types.

You can read it here.