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View Full Version : EGM Writer, Andrew Baran, Has Passed Away


parallaxscroll
07-28-2009, 04:30 PM
http://kotaku.com/5324249/egm-writer-passes-away



Andrew Baran, former writer at Electronic Gaming Monthly and EGM2/Expert Gamer, passed away on July 26 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

On Baran's own 1Up page, he wrote this about himself:


I was an editor for EGM and the host of Sendai/Ziff-Davis magazines, enjoying a tenure that lasted from the days of the NES and continued all the way through to the Xbox. (1991-2001) I started out counseling players on a variety of videogame tip lines and ended my extensive career as Senior Editor...

On the magazines, I was once known as Cyber Boy. Historically speaking, I had one of the longest runs on the Review Crew-where I even held the top slot for a time. Sadly, this was mostly incognito as I wrote under Ed Semrad's name over the years. If you have your old issues, you can find plenty of hidden references in "his" reviews that would hint at the truth. Eventually I got to use my real name and had enjoyed the top slot of the Crew with my own identity.

A ZD buyout spun me into the fringes of EGM2 where I produced over 125 strategy guides. When the company was sold to an investment firm, I found myself cast out of the gaming media's light, but into the warm embrace of gaming retail instead.

Rest In Peace -__-
gamevet
07-28-2009, 05:48 PM
I don't recall Cyberboy, but it's sad that someone would die at such a young age. Game Informer lost one of its own, Paul Anderson (http://www.kotaku.com.au/2007/08/rip_paul_anderson/#more-263524), a couple of years ago as well.
Joe Redifer
07-28-2009, 09:17 PM
Why would Ed Semrad let someone else write reviews under his name? What if the opinions were waaaay off from Semrad's? Maybe Baran didn't have the Sega bias that Semrad did and he felt Baran could fix that reputation.
Aarzak
07-28-2009, 10:17 PM
Supposedly, Ed Semrad was barely a gamer himself, and it was actually this guy who wrote the majority of the reviews under his name.
Baloo
07-28-2009, 10:32 PM
How old was he?
sega fan
07-28-2009, 11:11 PM
I heard about this from Sam Kennedy over at 1up around 2 to 3 days ago

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8999534&publicUserId=4561231
sega fan
07-28-2009, 11:13 PM
How old was he?

He was almost 31. (atleast that's what I read in a comment on sam's blog)
MitsuruX
07-29-2009, 04:00 PM
He was almost 31. (atleast that's what I read in a comment on sam's blog)

Wow... young.. I'm going to have to pull out some old EGMs to rememebr.. :(
QuickSciFi
07-29-2009, 04:08 PM
May he rest in peace.
Joe Redifer
07-29-2009, 06:22 PM
I imagine he was much older than 31, or he would have been writing for EGM as a 13-year old or younger.
Aarzak
07-29-2009, 07:04 PM
He was in his mid-to-late '30's.
kool kitty89
07-29-2009, 07:38 PM
Well if he was working at EGM in '91 (18 years ago), do the math. If he was 36 that'd mean he was 18 when he started at EGM, etc.
sega fan
07-30-2009, 12:22 AM
I imagine he was much older than 31, or he would have been writing for EGM as a 13-year old or younger.

I was thinking the same but I figured since I didn't know him too well, I might as well take info from someone who did.
Joe Redifer
07-30-2009, 01:51 AM
Apparently he didn't know him so well, either.
sega fan
07-30-2009, 01:57 AM
Apparently he didn't know him so well, either.

:D Looking back, my thoughts exactly.
Aarzak
07-30-2009, 03:35 AM
Andrew Baran's wife is a long-time member of the GameFAQs forum (which I'm registred at). I managed to ask her if he ghostwrote for Ed Semrad, and she confirmed it that he indeed wrote almost every review under Ed Semrad's name. At most, Ed just did the opening editorials, but almost never reviews. Think about that when you read through old issues of EGM.
Joe Redifer
07-30-2009, 04:16 AM
I guess that means Andrew was a Sega whore. Ed's reviews were often Sega biased, especially in the beginning. So I guess he was an OK guy! But then again he did shower some unfair hate on the TurboGrafx-16.
Martin
08-06-2009, 02:31 AM
As the gaming industry becomes older, we've started to reach the point where it's "celebrities" start dying off. 31 is awfully young, though. Perhaps a warning to those who spend all hours of the day indoors playing video games and eating junk food?
Joe Redifer
08-06-2009, 02:38 AM
Hmmmmm.... how do YOU know he ate junk food? Unless.... unless YOU ARE MARTIN ALESSI OF EGM!!!!!!
gamevet
08-06-2009, 04:30 AM
It's all the booze and whores at E3 that did him in. :p