OK, that’s a little melodramatic. But the lack of recent updates on what was once one of my daily reads has led the site managers to put out a call for help.

Though we didn’t always agree, I’ve long been an avid reader of Kyle Orland’s blog(s). He has a steady gig at Joystiq now, and is a regular contributor to The Escapist among other places. His insight and opinions on the industry media are missed, and it will difficult to find someone who can immediately step in and keep the audience that Orland has developed over the past few years. He’s been very conscious of the potential conflicts that his growing freelance career and media punditry create, but the very public nature of this self-inspection shows how sensitive he is to this issue.

Orland is doing fine, and isn’t dying or anything. We IM back and forth every now and then, and he’s been very helpful to me. But the less that VGMWatch is his, the less important it becomes to me. The thing with blogging is that it is a very personal enterprise. People generally become identified with their sites, and, for me, VGMWatch was a person as much as it was content.

I wish E-Empire the best in finding someone (or many someones) with Orland’s skills and humility. Check the archives of the site; he asks questions as much as he makes statements. They’ve got some big shoes to fill.