Bill Kunkel

[rolenta]

Jay from J2 Games just reported that Bill Kunkel died:

http://www.j2games.com/scripts/

Please don't let this be true!!!

[rolenta]

Apparently Bill fell and banged his head and died from his injuries. Memorials to follow in Michigan, Las Vegas, and New York.

[TonyTheTiger]

Christ. He was quite a guy and entertaining as hell to listen to. My sympathies to his friends and family.

[8bitgamer]

I'm utterly stunned to learn of Bill's passing. As a teenager, I eagerly devoured every issue of Electronic Games, reading them again and again until they literally fell apart. When I got to meet Bill at the Classic Gaming Expo in 2007, it was awesome--he and his wife were so gracious and kind. When he bought my first book, I was humbled and honored. When he agreed to write the foreword to my second book, I was left almost speechless. Luckily, Bill had plenty to say--he always did, and that's a good (make that great) thing.

Without Bill, there likely would be no Classic Home Video Games series of books. He will be greatly missed.

[WesternNYCollector]

Electronic Games was long before my time (born in 84) but it's always sad to see important figures in the industry pass into the realm of memory.

My condolences to those who knew him and his work.

[Lasermouse]

How very shocking and sad. I grew up reading him in EG, and now the Game Doctor is gone. it is such a strange day. It hasn't sunk in yet...

- Michael

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'm so sorry to hear about this.

Bill was an awesome, passionate guy and I really enjoyed the discussions I had with him about games and pro wrestling.

My sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends.

[NYLatenite]

R.I.P. - my condolences to his family. I still remember the glory days of EGM.

[RCM]

I love Bill and was planning on seeing him soon. He was a friend and colleague and I'll certainly miss speaking with/seeing him every now and then.

However, while I'm really sad, this isn't totally a shock. It's not like he was a really healthy guy or anything. It's no secret that at certain points of his life he lived pretty hard.

While this isn't a total shock, I'm pretty fucking numb right now. I'll see some of you in NYC for his memorial.

[Lady Jaye]

Sad, sad news. His confessions of the Game Doctor was a passionate read, and I'm sad I never got to meet him.

[Duke.Togo]

Quite a loss. I loved his writing, and grew up with it. Condolences to his friends and family.

[Michael Thomasson]

A kind thank you to the man that inspired me as a child and teen, scribed for my personal business as an adult, shared valuable knowledge to help me teach my undergraduate students for a lifetime and honored me by asking me to do the cover artwork for his biography - Bill, you will be missed.

[digitalpress]

This one really hits home. We exchanged e-mails just over a week ago.

Bill has been "Uncle" Bill to me for many years. An inspiration and colleague for many years, a good friend for many more. Bill was a staple at Classic Gaming Expo and I spent a good deal of time at his home when he was living in Las Vegas. His visit to the store to talk at a NAVA is local legend. The man has left an indelible mark on gaming as "The Game Doctor" but an equally indelible impression on my life as well.

There are few people I've met that I'd call an inspiration. I'm really going to miss him.

[Kid Ice]

As soon as I saw that subject line I got a sick feeling. I met Bill at the first VGXPO and he was awesome. I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to tell him not only what a positive influence he was on me as someone who writes about video games, but he was also a huge inspiration for me to READ in the first place!

[Cav]

I'm completely stunned by this news. I don't even know what to say. When I first created Classic Gamer Magazine it was always meant as an homage to Arnie, Joyce, and Bill. When I met them at Classic Gaming Expo, it sounds cliche', but I was very honored to meet them. As a result of this meeting I was fortunate enough to spend time with Bill. He freely gave his time and advice in helping me get the magazine going. He even contributed an article to one of the issues, which is something that is still unbelievable to me to this day.

When he moved about 45 minutes north of me here in Michigan I thought it was going to be so great to get to hang with him more. We exchanged emails about, made plans, but sadly they never materialized. Just two weeks ago we decided to give it another shot before the snow hit. I'm sad I never got to say goodbye to him and I'm still in denial thinking I'll be seeing him soon. If I'm rambling...I apologize. As I said, I'm just absolutely stunned.

Rest in peace, Bill. I'm proud to have been able to call you "friend."

-Chris Cavanaugh

[sidnotcrazy]

Terrible...He was a really nice guy, and was kind to everyone. I am so sorry to hear about his passing.

[agent57]

Wow, I am very sad indeed to hear this. I was 11 when the first issue of EG appeared and was there for the entire ride - that mag was almost a mystical thing in my hands when it arrived every month and was a pivotal part of the early years.

I will forever have fond memories of that mag (still read them) and also for the passion this man had for our hobby. Yeah, a substantial loss...

RIP.

[Aussie2B]

Damn. My jaw literally dropped when I heard about this.

I never got to meet Bill in person nor have a great deal of contact with him as some of you have, but one of the things that I am most proud of in my involvement in games journalism is receiving praise for my writing from Bill Kunkel. I'll always treasure being able to work with him while he was guest editor-in-chief for issue #10 of Video Game Collector.

[udisi]

Wow, just wow....May not mean a lot to many of the younger people here, but we've lost one of the great old crew with this one.

[Kaboomer]

RIP Game Doctor. You will be missed but your words live on!