HATE

So I spent alot of time on message boards yesterday, and I noticed alot of negative things said about some of my team members at THQ. This should stop guys. You have every right to complain about things that you buy, but when it comes to personal insults, that's just not necessary. Here's a newsflash -- WE ALL WANT THE SAME THINGS YOU GUYS DO!

Some think they know what goes on, but unless you've been there, you have no idea... It's just a fact guys. BUT, I think that we can help with that moving forward. Bring you guys in on what's going on, get you involved in these conversations.

Now, enjoy the weekend everyone! Come back fresh, insult free, and ready to rock on Monday!

Long Time, I Know!

I know it's been far too long since I've posted here, so let me take you through the last three weeks of my life...

THQ has been fantastic so far. My first day was about three weeks ago, and the team has accepted me with open arms. They're really passionate about what they do, and are complete wrestling fanatics (which should really make alot of you feel good)!

The first couple of days at the office were like run together for me. There was the getting to and from, which equals traffic, and to avoid it, I found myself leaving at around 7 AM every day, and leaving at 6:30 -- which made the driving pretty tolerable.

I've been thrown right into it at THQ -- and I'm also trying to impact other parts of the company as well, in particular, their community efforts. As most of you know, THQ has a co-developer, Yukes working on the SvR franchise. Working with them has been quite a learning experience, but a welcome one. I love the respect the Japanese developer shows, and their knowledge and passion for a 10+ year franchise is pretty clear.

My wife and I are LOVING the food here. We're vegetarians, and LA really offers us alot of options. Abbots pizza, Mao's Chinese Kitchen, Seed, and the traditional Chipotle have been recent stops for us.

We also found a place, and are now living in Venice, CA which is our type of neighborhood. We really dig the laid back vibe here.

The cable company came, and hooked up our TV -- FINALLY I get my TV again, which I've missed since we've been in temporary housing. I was disappointed that our new place didn't allow DirecTV, because I really wanted the NFL Sunday Ticket so I could watch my Dallas Cowboys. Instead, I have the MLB Extra Innings package, and have my first DVR -- what an experience.

I'm finding myself really getting in to the Dodgers here. I'm a huge baseball fan, and I don't feel like I'm cheating on my Indians since the Dodgers are a NL team.

What do you guys thing of wrestling on the tube so far? I loved the way HBK retired, and will remember it forever. I'm glad NXT is getting around to telling us, the viewers, how the competition plays out, and Smackdown continues to have excellent matches! TNA had a great ladder match last week between Angle and Anderson, and Orlando Jordan has been one of the most confusing characters I've ever seen in wrestling.

I can't comment too much on the game at this point, but we're taking a trip to Japan in May to spend some quality time with Yukes. This will be my first trip out off of the continent, but my wife is going with me, so it makes me feel good about it.

Are any of you going to E3? I keep forgetting it's in my backyard now, so I hope to see alot of you there -- we have some good stuff to show!

Anyway, I'll be posting more often, because we got a brand new laptop -- our first Mac!

Thanks for the patience, and you should see me on the different boards very soon!

FLASHING...LIGHTS, LIGHTS, LIGHTS....

Ladies and gentlemen, Marcus Stephenson is BACK in the United States! After a long, slightly hectic, day we're comfortably in our temporary housing in Marina Del Rey, California (a little outside of Santa Monica -- were we want to live). I start work at THQ on Monday, but I'm going through the traditional orientation that this industry loves to run us through.

If it's anything like EA's, I'll actually start on Tuesday :)

I'm looking forward to meeting the people who I've been in contact with via e-mail at THQ. They all seem like smart, passionate people that I'm excited to share ideas, and create a fantastic WWE product!

Short post today, I know -- but I'll be sure to update all of you on my first official day at THQ soon.

Until then, bye for now...

Last Few Days in Vancouver...

It's a pretty surreal feeling in our place right now. Having friends over one last time, sitting on the couch watching TV knowing that you can't ultimately be comfortable due to the fact that you'll be gone soon -- in temporary housing no less.

Still, there's a certain degree of excitement as well. I see you guys, the faithful wrestling games crowd, talking about my arrival to THQ. It gives me confidence going into a new world, where there are already pre-existing passionate fans in place.

I'm trying to figure out currently how I'm going to watch WrestleMania when I'm in LA... The moving company will have picked up our stuff, and we'll be in temporary housing. I hope the housing has PPV, but if it doesn't, any ideas from you guys on where to watch it in LA would be much appreciated.

Well, that's all for now...

Back to getting rid of things before the move...

And so it Begins....

Today, Pastapadre.com announced that I've left EA to go to THQ to work on the WWE Smackdown vs Raw series.

I must say, this is a change that I'm extremely excited for, but life in this industry, on a corporate level, has been all EA SPORTS for me since I started -- so that will be a different feeling for sure. When I first got to EA, people knew me from my MaddenMania.com days and thought I was "in bed" with EA. Egg on your faces now right? ;)

Anyway, my wife and I are still in Vancouver, BC until March 19th, but I've been talking with the team at THQ about designs for WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011, while coordinating the move to LA.

With all of this time off though (I put my two weeks in at EA two weeks ago), It's been a wrestlefest (no pun intended) of video games, dirt sheets, and DVDs that I own.

Two going away parties for us this weekend, but I must say that I'm ready to leave. Alot of it is because of the new job that awaits me, but the most important thing to me is moving to a new city with my wife -- it feels like an adventure!

I'm going to really sink my teeth into this role at THQ. If you're a fan of the series, let's take this thing to another level! If you're not a fan, get on board.

4 Tomorrow.....

I'm picking up the new wrestling videogame from THQ entitled "Legends of Wrestlemania" tomorrow. I've read various reviews. Some say it sucks, while others can't get enough. Honestly, I just want to kick ass with the Ultimate Warrior (Wrestlefest WHAT!). For those who can't quite form an opinion of their own, I'll hold your hand for you and post a detailed review.