Heyhey, fellow gamers! ^_^

As I announced on Friday's video stream of Nintendo Voice Chat (if you missed it, check it out here) --the Hat of Fate has chosen a winner for my Super Awesome Giveaway. Congrats to Shrash!!!!!!!

Shrash's favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and he earned himself two extra entries (which clearly came in handy) with his lovely drawing of myself, the King of Red Lions, and the big, blue ocean.

LOVE IT!!!!

So again, congratulations to Shrash, and thanks so much to everyone who participated. Reading all of your amazing responses and seeing all of your awesome art was the best way EVER to celebrate my one-year blogging anniversary!!

Also, for anyone who missed out on the podcast (and is too lazy to click the link I provided... or read this post's headline, lol), I wanted to go ahead and make a big announcement... IGN Team Nintendo is back in business!!! ^___^

You heard correct, Rich and I are now OFFICIALLY the IGN Nintendo Team. Big shock, right? :P Anyway, keep an eye on the IGN Nintendo pages as Papa Koopa and I continue to work relentlessly to bring you all the big news from the Big N. Check out Rich's latest blog here for a sample of what we've done this morning alone. ^_^

Anyhoo, that's all I have for the moment. I'll talk to you all very soon. As always, if you need me, you know where to find me.

From Aminka, with ♥love♥

‹(=^ . ^=)›

Twitter: @GameOnAminka

Facebook: www.facebook.com/superaudreydrake

Heyhey, fellow gamers!

How’s your day been so far? All of you hopefully have a week full of fun and excitement planned, so let’s get straight to business. I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for helping me reach a very special milestone -- 10,000 followers! WOW!! O_O All of your support has meant the world to me, and I hope you’ve found my little corner of MyIGN to be a fun and friendly place to talk games and make friends. ^_^

A MyIGN family portrait.

It’s funny… I remember when I first started blogging, almost a year ago, and I thought I’d NEVER reach 100 followers! How could anyone get that many?! Magic? Torture? Coercion?! I’m still not sure how all of this happened -- it’s all gone by so very, very fast -- but I hope I’ve offered you folks some laughs, some good times, and maybe even some food for thought. Life’s been pretty busy for me -- between my very demanding (but very rewarding) job here at IGN, spending my free time writing a book with my male counterpart, and (of course) massive amounts of game-playing. Even so, I’ve tried my best to make sure you all know how much I appreciate you, and I sincerely hope you all know that you’re always welcome here in Aminka’s World. So start a chat on my blog posts or on my wall, and let’s keep having fun like we have been for the past year!!!

And yes, as several of you have no doubt noticed, I’m now a little bit past that big ten grand milestone, but it’s still a pretty big deal so I thought it was worth mentioning…. and also worth holding a SUPER HUGE SPECTACULAR MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME MULIT-PRIZE GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay!!!

But I’ll get to that later. :P

As it happens, next month (August 26th, to be precise) marks the one year anniversary of when I first Forfeited My Blogging Virginity. I find it impossible to wrap my brain around all that’s happened since then. It feels like a million lifetimes ago, but also like it was just yesterday that I sat down and Photoshopped  Alucard attacking My Little Pony. And yet here we are, and I thought it would be a cool way to celebrate to start sharing some of the pictures and stories I’ve gathered along the way.

I rarely have time to write long blogs these days—and honestly, many ideas that would have been blogs now become articles instead – but this should be a fun way to blog more often and share some of my experiences over this past year. That is… if that’s something you folks would be interested in…. (I don’t want to bore you, after all!) So if you guys think that might be interesting, let me know and I’ll start doing it!! I’ll still try to make time for lengthier blog entries every now and then, of course, but maybe this way it won’t be quite so long between posts. ^_^

As for that other thing… in celebration of my milestone and forthcoming anniversary, I decided to hold a MASSIVE giveaway of SEVEN PRIZES to share the wealth!

Here's what one lucky reader is going to get:

-Super Mario 64 DS

-DC Universe Online (the PS3 version)

-An original copy of Mega Man X for the SNES

-GoldenEye “Cheater” shirt in Large

-Resident Evil 5 Wesker shirt in Medium

-Dharma notebook from the television show, Lost

-Hamtaro Plushie

Not too shabby, right? To enter, you just need to register a comment on this blog post (the one you’re reading RIGHT NAO!) by Friday, August 19 telling me what your favorite game is and why. And don’t say because “it’s cool.” Tell me what that game means to you, and why you love it so much! On August 10 I’ll write down the names of all valid entries on separate slips of paper. Then I'll randomly select the seven winners from the Hat of Fate, and announce who the lucky devil is in a subsequent blog post.

That’s for ONE entry mind you. If you want TWO entries in the Hat of Fate, then draw a picture of your favorite game. (Keep it clean, plz!) Make sure to sign the picture with your MyIGN handle so I know you drew it just for this contest! Then, on this here blog, either post a link to your picture or tell me that you’ve e-mailed it (AminkaDrake@gmail.com – include your profile name in the e-mail!). And hey, throw an Aminka in the picture and you may just get an extra entry... just sayin'. :P

And do make sure to try your best, okay? You don’t have to make a masterpiece, but drawing two squiggles on a dirty napkin is not going to get you an entry. I want to see that you tried! But remember, I’m not choosing a winner based on which response or piece of art is “the best.” Anyone who I can tell really tried gets an entry, after that it’s all up to the Hat of Fate.

So there you have it. Epic enough for ya? I really hope so, I’ve been so excited about doing this for weeks now! ^__^ I can’t wait to see all the wonderfully creative things you folks make, and all the cool, fun conversations I hope we’ll have in the future. In the meantime, thanks again, MyIGNers. Really. Thank you so much for choosing to read IGN, and especially for choosing to be a part of my world. And, as always…

GAME ON!!!

From Aminka, with ♥love♥

‹(=^ . ^=)›

Twitter: @GameOnAminka

Facebook: www.facebook.com/superaudreydrake

Hello, fellow gamers! Aminka here. ‹(=^ . ^=)› How was your weekend? Mine was sweet, but toooo short.

Don't know about you folks, but I've been SO OBSCENELY BUSY the last few weeks! Of course, I've been planning awesome video game coverage for you in the weeks and months to come, so I guess I can't complain. :P But I also wanted to take a moment to check in, see how you guys were doing. Have any awesome gaming moments recently? Got a new title you're just sooooo excited to play? (Catherine, anyone?) Got a funny joke or a fairly off-topic observation? Throw it at me!

I, for one, have been busy having my mind blown by this track from the Ocarina soundtrack.

Kaepora Gaebora was always one of my very favorite Zelda characters. ^_^

Oh! And don't think I've forgotten about that milestone blog. Coming your way soon! It takes to time to plan super awesome giveaways and the like. Besides, you know me -- my next blog post will take its damn time getting written, but I'll put everthing I have into it. That's the ***AMINKA GUARANTEE*** (patent pending)

Anyhoo, I'll see you around the IGN webosphere. Keep reading, have fun, and most definitely Game On!!

From Aminka, with ♥love♥

‹(=^ . ^=)›

Twitter: @GameOnAminka

Facebook: www.facebook.com/superaudreydrake

Hello fellow gamers!

How's your weekend been so far? The only correct answer is SPECTACULAR. ^_^

As you've probably noticed, I've been super DUPER busy since E3, and it's not looking like it's going to slow down any time soon. Still, I have a few blog posts in mind I'm going to try to get up whenever I have a free moment, starting with my E3 wrap-up/10,000 follower milestone entry, which I'll try to get on asap.

Speaking of, thanks SOOO much to all of you wonderful people for your awesome input and discussions here in Aminka's World. No matter how busy I get, you all make MyIGN such an awesome place I can't help but want to make time for it. So thanks! Means the world to me to have so many wonderful friends and supporters. ^____^

Now onto business.

Hopefully most of you are knee deep into The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D by now. Those of you who aren't... you have my pity. :P

du nu Nu NU!!!

Srsly though, for those of you who are playing Ocarina 3D, I need your help. You see, IGN and the amazing people who make up our guides team just launched the new wiki system, and they desperately need your contributions to help get it started.

Got any awesome tips, tricks, Easter eggs, game version differences or anything else cool you've noticed? Go to the link below, click "edit page," and let the world know!

Click here to contribute to the Ocarina 3D wiki!!!

Now's your chance to be an IGN Guides superstar!! Make me proud, my friends (awww, heck, you know I already am).

If we work together, beautiful things can happen.

Oh, and speaking of Ocarina, what moment from this legendary game is your favorite? If you're playing through Ocarina 3D, which changes have floored you the most? Or are you still fuming over the fact that the paintings in the windows inside Castle Courtyard are different? Let me know! I'm in the mood to talk Zelda!! ^_~

From Aminka, with ♥love♥

‹(=^ . ^=)›

Facebook: www.facebook.com/superaudreydrake

Twitter: @GameOnAminka

Hey everyone!

How have you all been? Your friendly neighborhood Aminka has been one busy girl between E3 madness (it has begun!!!) and reviewing Dead or Alive Dimensions (the written and video review should go up Friday -- even if it kills me).

First off, I'd like to thank all of you for your super fun, funny, and insightful questions! There are still a few latecomers whose questions haven't gotten answered yet, but worry not! I'll get to EVERYONE eventually, E3 is just going to delay the process a bit.

But on to business. A crime is taking place here on the humble shores of IGN. Kevin Conroy -- the Batman of my heart and childhood -- is somehow losing to Christian Bale in a poll being held by our very own IGN Movie team.

This is not okay.

I'm losing to WHO?!?!

However much you enjoy those movies, please, I implore you, set things right by clicking on this link:

Click Here to Vote for Conroy!!

And voting for Mister Conroy as the definitive Batman. Sure, you're free to vote for whoever you want (I guess... T_T), but anyone who throws a vote to Conroy will forever have earned my respect and gratitude. Seriously -- I'll be sooo sad if he loses. So if you love Batman as much as I do... do the right thing. Vote Conroy. You'll live longer.

Don't give in to evil. Vote Conroy!!

Oh, and if Kevin Conroy DOES end up winning this poll (in other words, if he's ahead in the race by the end of the day Monday, May 23), I shall celebrate by holding a GIVEAWAY. What will I be giving away? There's only one way to find out...

There's only one correct answer.

So get out there and Vote Conroy!! Tell your friends. Tweet it. Make a Facebook post. Do what you need to do... together, we can win this fight. <3

From Aminka, with ♥love♥   

‹(=^ . ^=)› 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/superaudreydrake 

Twitter: @GameOnAminka