Even though the staff already said goodbye during their final days at Joystiq, it feels like there needs to be some sort of closure now that the site itself is gone. We here at Twinstiq wanted to take a moment to say our goodbyes to Joystiq. Twinstiq wouldn't exist without Joystiq. It really meant a lot to all of us. In addition, we have also been fortunate enough to receive some additional thoughts from a few of the former Joystiq staff members. So, without further ado, we proudly present our Joystiq obituary.

• Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): "I don't have the words..."
  
• Jimmy Vegas (@JimmyPhantom17): "I read it for 7 years, and it's sad to see it go. I had a bit of an obsession reading it every day."
  
• Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): "Joystiq brought me much of my gaming news. Though I lurked more than I posted it is a piece of gaming history that I will miss, and a community that I hope to see migrate. To all those who lost an internet home in Joystiq: I feel your pain."
  
• John Rausch (@visitzebes): "When Joystiq closed I lost my most trusted insight into the video game industry but the Super Joystiq Podcast was a weekly highlight for me. I listened to that podcast nearly every week for more than 3 years. I got a deep sense that these were individuals that really loved what they did and were fairly humble about it."
  
• Jye Cauffle: "Joystiq was my #1 destination for news, but mostly the comments for the community engaged me. It's hard to find something like that and it's not something you can try and create on purpose, but we were all lucky to be caught up in it, and I'm sure the Joystiq staff felt lucky to steward such a vehicle for thoughtful and insightful community involvement. Hopefully the right ingredients and fate help Twinstiq bring that magic back."
  
• Trisha Baumgartner: "I was a quiet fan, not big into commenting, but waking up and seeing joystiq on my phone bringing me news from everywhere. It didn't seem like a day off unless I was able to read a few articles on my tablet or phone while sipping coffee. Commenting was never a big area for me, I was one of the quiet readers that read articles and dreamed about visiting the same shows they did and possibly one day being able to do the same PR work they did. I'm not much for talking about the bad things, joystiq was a big part of my life for a long time."
  
• Greywolfe (@lostwolfe): "I want to thank the writers for all the amazing articles.  The thoughtful way in which they tackled stories was often a breath of fresh air and gave games writing something to aspire to:  a sort of pure voice in amongst all the pr speak and the noise of release schedules and the loudness of by-the-numbers reviews.
  
  I also want to thank the readers and commentors for making Joystiq the most awesome place to hang out.  WRUP and some of the "non-game" articles were always fun to hang out in just to see who'd show up and see what they'd add to the conversation.  Did we disagree?  Sure.  But /most/ of our comment threads were "reasonably civil" [to a degree] and we all ended up having a good time."

• Andrew J Amideo (@Andoru36): "For me, Joystiq was a way of accessing the pulse of the gaming world. It was how I stayed invested and connected to gaming culture. It was a vibrant community. Somewhere I belonged. Somewhere I could go to vent about the latest outrage in the industry or geek out about the awesome new game or content that was coming.
  
  I'll admit I had my ups and downs in those comment sections. Most days I was level-headed and friendly. Occasionally I behaved a bit trollish. I didn't always agree with some of the staff members or other commenters, but they always felt like family. There seldom was a day that I would let pass by without pulling up the site to check out the latest news and conversations.
  
  The closure of Joystiq left a gaping video-game-shaped hole in the internet, and in my heart. My sincere hope is what we are doing here at Twinstiq will help to serve as a sort of makeshift bandage that we can use to repair some of the damage. I know it will never be as good as before, but maybe it could be just enough."

• Thomas Ortsik (@Dr Strangethumb): "No idea where to begin with this. Joystiq…
  
  J for the joy you brought me. O for the o in joy, which is very important, because otherwise it would be just jy (and that gets a red scribble in MS Word, so it can’t be right). Y for y were shut down by AOL. S for Stiq, which is the second part in Joystiq. T for this is going really nowhere. I for I’m way too stupid for writing something tasteful about this. Q for questioning my sanity, which you probably do right now.
  
  Seriously: I have no idea what I should write about this. I’ve lurked on the site until it went offline. Not just to advertise Twinstiq, but because I wasn’t really able to let it go. When I stopped working as an editor for nextgen.at, Joystiq became my most viewed site. Funny that about 5 years later and thanks to the Stiq, I’m back at it again. 
  
  As much as I would like to distance myself from the “gamer” stereotype, I am one through and through. Joystiq was my go-to place for anything related to it, so it should be fairly clear what a hole their shutdown left in my life. I especially miss the community that brought us some of the best in intended comedy (like X-Cop) and unintended (not going to name anyone, but we all know someone). A community that, at least for the most part, managed to stay calm in the face of gaming’s civil war. A community that at times felt like family and just like family, you loved them even though you sometimes disagreed. By the way: Yes. This includes the Joystiq staff, which didn’t shy away from getting their hands dirty in the comments.
  
  It was not just a bunch of consumers, hell no; it was a vocal community about sharing opinions with such fervor, that its reaction to the shutdown was creating a new site. Sure, we managed to provide a new battleground for some of its most active members, but it’s going to be a long way until we can emulate that experience here at Twinstiq and it will never be the same for me. So yeah, that’s probably the part I miss most. Wow, didn’t think I could get anything besides gibberish out of me today.
  
  One more thing: Thanks to everyone who ever worked at Joystiq. Whenever I talked with one of you about Twinstiq, you were freaking awesome and supportive. Sam, who wrote our first Weekly Webcomic Wrapup (love you, man!); Thomas, who actually showed up in our comments; Mike, who is already a fixture in the WRUP; Richard, who hopefully becomes one; Anthony, who graciously looks away whenever I spam his streams; Susan, who is always a pleasure to talk with, even when she’s probably pissed at me :D Justin McElroy, who not only was the first to provide some lines for this, but who also was the reason I got stuck at Joystiq; Mike Schramm, who probably never even heard of us, yet wrote up this piece (somewhere below me), no questions asked; Chris Grant, who didn’t actually get back to me about this, but still deserves some recognition for being the leading man during what I feel was the golden age of Joystiq; Ludwig, Xav, Alexander, Sinan, Danny, Jess, and yes, even you Earnest.
  
  I think I speak for everyone here when I say: We love you!"