Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

The legend, Randy Solem, is dead...
That piece of news just struck me hard, and I'm not the only one feeling like that. The guy was awesome, not just because of his animations, but also because of the overall experience he shared with us... I still remember his Rise of the Mushroom Kingdom series, which I watched before I even knew about NewGrounds. And his "No Gaming for You" story just made me see how much we had in common... There is yet to be born a gamer who never sneaked out of bed to play video games, or was limited to 2 hours of gameplay by parents... He will be deeply missed by all of us.

But you know what? We should make it up to him. Although he has passed away, the things he liked will live on... We must not stop playing video games, we must not stop watching animations, and we must keep the things he liked alive, so go out there and play some Mario games. Preferably Mario Party 9, which as of now has been released everywhere except Japan (April 26). Sorry that I have to sneak in this release here, but it's only fitting that we play Mario in Randy's memory... for he enjoyed this series more than any other. Let his work and his preferences live on in his stead.

Mr. Solem, here's to you.

R.I.P. Randy Solem (1975 - 2012)

UPDATE (March 30): Sigh... We lost Randy, Edd Gould and LuccasBode, AND Alvin is putting SMBZ to rest. This month was a big ball of tragedies for NG, wasn't it?