Who's Online

  • 0 Members.
  • 10 Guests.

Past Updates:


 

A sad day for the community.

10 March; Author: TRiPPY

I always wondered how it would feel to write this journal one day and I always hoped it would never come, but I guess good things always have to come to an end. Today Kevin Eva (AAUK) has left the company to work on new things and other such life related stuff. Which I have to say i fullheartedly support as he deserves decades of nice things after all the -effort- he put into his time there. I feel really really sad though. Not a lot of you guys will ever get to understand just how much of a help this guy was to the Sonic and NiGHTS community. Specificaly the NiGHTS community. We were lucky enough to know him in person and he was (and still damnwell is!) a great great friend to us, and we love him to bits.

It feels like a part of our community has come to an end. Kevin did so much for you guys I don't even know where I could possibly start.

I remember back in Nov 28th 2007 we got a message from SEGA Europe ~

"We haven’t forgotten you… far, far from it."

That was all it takes to bring a little order to chaos and prove something massively important to both fan and company. That we can get along.

And it's the truth too. AAUK's involvement with the NiGHTS community kickstarted the return to fan passion for us and erased the high-and-mighty line between fan and company. At the end of the day most of us are fans. We love what we do. We care about the company, the games, the nostalgia, the employees, the history, the screw-ups and the lessons learnt. This guy though, he went 5 steps further. He really gave a solid hardworking damn about us all (even the annoying ones, lol). I imagine that 'promoting a brand to a target online audience' is part of the job description of being a community manager, but actually caring about the characters, fan reception and the fans themselves on a personal level is something that not everyone can stick on a C.V. I think only a real fan can understand that.

If it wasn't for AAUK this website would have died a long time ago. The fans will always be dotted around the internet but thanks to him our site became the main source of everything NiGHTS related. So much great P.R and fun we all had. I mean what other fanbase can say that a company traveled hundreds of miles to their HOUSE to showcase a game in person. That they ended up on national TV and all over gaming magazines because of one guy? That we were so totally FUELED with enthusiasm at being taken seriously in return we worked as hard as we could to get SEGA good P.R, even if it meant acting like idiots sometimes. It was all because we cared. The fans still care Kev, but we're going to be at a hell of a dissadvantage without you at the helm telling us to keep our noses clean and dry behind our ears, be polite and always say thankyou :) I'd like to think that the reason the NiGHTS fanbase developed so well into such a great bunch of people is because of his influence. Kev wasn't just some guy in a suit trying to make numbers. He had true SEGA spirit. Blue blood ;) That's the kind of magic that more companies need. Well, that and funny impressions of Owl.

DiGi and I were lucky enough to see a side to Kev that wasn't just him running about at Sonic fan conventions. This is about the NiGHTS community. He made sure that NiGHTS wasn't overlooked at every chance he got. He always made sure our opinons and thoughts were heard by the people that matter, even if it made a difference or not, the real difference to us was that the company was showing a human side and even giving us that inch of a chance in the first place. And that's why all us guys care in the end – thanks for the chance and thanks for taking us seriously. Thanks for always including the NiGHTS lot.

I can only say so much thesedays, but I just wanted to say that after being admin of this place for well over a decade now that I'm not going to just nod quietly and say a brief 'be on your way'. AAUK, you're the man and I'm sure NiGHTS would be thankful too :) Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and from all the thousands of NiGHTS fans reading this.

For the future I'm not entirely sure where this leaves us as a fanbase in terms of community/creator interaction. Those are some massive shoes to fill ( not saying you've got massive feet Kev XD ) but yeah… whichever way this all goes there are always people who care. I believe we all have a part to play and that Kev done his best till the end.

Dare to Dream and good luck for the future! You will be sorely missed.
PS) Cheesecake plz.

Share

2 Responses to “A sad day for the community.”

  1. iLLViLLAiN says:

    He's one of the people that makes SEGA so likeable. Whatever he's going to do next I wish him the best of luck.

  2. Level 99 says:

    Kev, I've only had a few, somewhat brief interactions with you in the short time I've been present in this community.  However, your rapport with both the NiGHTS community, the Sega community in-general, and particularly OC ReMix has been nothing short of phenomenal, and it is a sad day indeed that you are moving on.  However, you are moving on to bigger and better things, and wherever you end up, you'll do us proud and make a lasting difference.  That's just part of your character, and it will carry you above and beyond whatever job descriptions you are given.
     
    Take care, best of luck, and stay happy.
    ~Stevo

Leave a Reply



 

Recent Posts