This interview was thankfully saved before GoG broke down, so I thought I would post it again here for those who may not have seen it. Thanks again to Yug for this interview, it’s appreciated!
1. Whose idea was it to start Australian Gamer?
Yug: Pretty sure it was mine actually, although there’s no way anything would have happened if Matt wasn’t keen. I remember we were pissed off that Dance Dance Revolution kept getting delayed in Australia, and I found the domain name AustralianGamer.com was available … which was better than the other name we were interested in registering – mattandyug.com
2. How important, as reviewers, do you feel it is to play, complete and review a game on the day of release?
Yug: Personally? Not at all. In fact, after having experienced the pressure of playing a game to a review deadline, I can’t imagine a worse way to genuinely critique a game.
3. If you have to spend 10 years locked in a room with one game only, what game would it be and why?
Yug: 10 years is a long time – can it be an online game? If not, I’d probably say Starcraft (one of my most favourite games of all time, plus you can spend ages creating your own levels and scenarios).
4. With such stringent censorship laws in Australia placed on violent or ‘offensive’ video games, do you sometimes find it difficult to review such a game to its full potential?
Yug: The crazy thing is usually the deciding factor isn’t even a big issue. Like in Fallout 3 – renaming the drug. If the merits of a game are based purely on its shock value, then the game was in trouble regardless of the censorship. That said, the difference in atmosphere between the Left 4 Dead 2 the Australian and US version is huge because of the censorship – but at the end of the day, we are AUSTRALIAN Gamer, and will review the Australian version of the game with the censorship issue firmly in mind.
5. For those who aren’t aware – tell us a bit about your games bar The Mana Bar – what should people expect when it opens?
Yug: The Mana Bar is the first dedicated next gen console video game bar in the world. Go there, have some drinks, play guitar hero or the latest games that have just been released. It’s run by myself, Yahtzee of Zero Puncutation fame, Pras from Sega Creative Assembly, and Shay who actually has the experience in running bars. We’ll be opening in February 2010 in Brisbane, Australia.
6. Where do you see Australian Gamer being in five years time?
Yug: Personally I’m pretty happy with it these days, I think we provide something unique and different enough that people enjoy it. I think we’ll always strive for more content and news, and I’d like to see some of the rest of the team start to get the exposure, opportunities and recognition that Matt and I have.
7. AG fans will be highly aware that Yahtzee Croshaw is a good friend and part-time Podcaster on AG – how did you come to meet Yahtzee?
Yug: We actually interviewed him for AustralianGamer.com way back when, but I didn’t actually meet him until I went to a THQ Studio Australia ‘industry party’. His housemate worked there, and my girlfriend worked there, and they both brought each of us along respectively. I don’t think we really became good mates though until I took him out to the nightclubs a few weeks later and we got horribly drunk – the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
8. Have you ever done a Podcast stone cold sober? ;o)
Yug: Yes … I think … I mean yes. I prefer at least one or two drinks first though – especially if it’s a live podcast 
10. And finally, if you had the option of destroying every copy of a game, which one would it be?
Yug: World of Warcraft. Just so Matt would shut the fuck up about it.
