Kikizo, the media brand that punched above its weight, broke the rules and scooped its biggest rivals.

Its roots dating back to 1996 with sites like SegaWeb and GamerWeb, Kikizo was one of the first sites to fight for serious access to Japan's most elusive creators and execs; its groundwork in the 1990s went on to produce some of the most exclusive online coverage of the 2000s -- notably, it was the only consumer games site in the world to gain 1-1 access to all three platforms' global bosses of the era -- Satoru Iwata, Kaz Hirai & Robbie Bach. Kikizo was also an early leader in HD video content with over 3000 videos published, including epic, documentary- length features before YouTube even existed. Kikizo was about the freedom to take risks that other publishers wouldn't or couldn't -- resulting in the great, and the not-so great (but even Shenmue 3 worked out in the end!).

Today, the spirit of Kikizo lives on via our YouTube account where we release and preserve unique, rare, extended, remastered and/or previously unpublished games industry material deep from our archives.

This page archives 20 years of Kikizo (also briefly known as Video Games Daily), its predecessor sites and its business history -- and celebrates some of the best ever years in gaming.


Teamwork: Just a few of us through the years... from L to R, Team Gamerweb HQ in 2000, Team Kikizo at E3 2005, and in London in 2009


Attention Whore: Various press cuttings from 1999 to 2011. In hindsight, we probably liked the attention a little too much.


1996-2002Origins
1996-1999 - Adam Doree started a print fan title SSCM in 1996, before launching it online in 1998 as SegaWeb. Within a year it had become the #1 Sega site and became part of IGN.

2000-2001 - The site was spun into a major venture capital-backed start-up GamerWeb, and became a popular US-focused games network, reaching millions of users with staff in London, San Francisco and Tokyo.

2002-2003 - GamerWeb was acquired and developed into a live TV format on Sky in the UK.

2003Kikizo begins
Adam decided to start again from scratch; Kikizo launched on Feb 17 2003 with day-one gold such as chats with every creator at Sega Japan and the only interview anywhere online with the legendary co-founders of Rare.

How did we look?

Tokyo Game Show 2003


Rareware: The Video Interview


E3 2003: Complete Coverage Index


Interview: Sega of Japan R&D


Yuji Naka Video Interview


The Xbox Interview: J Allard


Kaz Yamauchi Video Interview


Xbox Interview: Michel Cassius


Jason Rubin Video Interview


Shigeru Miyamoto Video Interview


2004A force to be reckoned with
Hitting its stride in 2004, Kikizo took the absolute monkey out of the competition when it secured and published a world-exclusive video interview with Satoru Iwata, notoriously hard-as-nails to pin down for consumer media. We also started doing ludicrous 30-min+ video features, before YouTube existed, began a 6-year content deal with AOL, and got profiled on UK TV's Sky One. [Year Review]

How did we look?

Video Interview: Satoru Iwata


PSP: The Definitive Verdict


Can't Touch DS: Final DS Verdict


The Babes of TGS 2004


TGS 2004: The Kikizo Report


E3 2004: Ultimate Video Coverage


The Babes of E3 2004


E3 2004: Complete Coverage Index


Ico 2: Kikizo Video Interview


Peter Molyneux: Video Interview


Fable: Video Interview Feature


Sonic Team: Interview 2004


Sega-AM2: Interview 2004


Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki


Vid Interview: Tetsuya Mizuguchi


2005A new generation beckons
Excitement of new consoles abound, we stepped our game up and demanded 1-1s with J Allard and Robbie Bach and upped the ante with E3 videos. This 10-min E3 video was a nice high point for the site; a story about Shenmue 3 wasn't. But we don't talk about that. [Year Review]

How did we look?

Xbox 360 - It's Here & It's On


X05: Complete Coverage


TGS 2005: Hottest in Years


E3 2005: Ultimate Video Coverage


E3 2005: Complete Coverage Index


DS: Paris Event Report


Sonic Team Interview Nov 2005


Gotham 3: Video Interview Feature


Tetsuya Mizuguchi Interview 2005


Hironobu Sakaguchi Interview


Ed Fries Video Interview


Robbie Bach Video Interview


Nintendo Video Interview 2005


J Allard: Video Interview 2005


Itagaki: The Kikizo Interview 2005


2006Breaking the rules
We started 2006 in a similar way to how we ended it, with a huge PS3 hands-on. Difference being that the first was a staggering world-exclusive months before the anticipated E3 2006 playable debut [video], and the second when Sony shipped us a final test unit, instead of, let's say, getting the police to kick our door down. We also ruled in 2006 by making happen the only interview with then-elusive Yu Suzuki in five years. 2006 was probably our heaviest year for video interviews like this one with Kaz Hirai in Tokyo. [Year Review]

How did we look?

PlayStation 3: Hands-On Feature


Tokyo Game Show 2006: Kikizo Report


E3 2006 Ultimate Video Coverage


E3 2006 Coverage Index


Yu Suzuki: The Kikizo Interview


Hands-On with PlayStation 3


Koji Igarashi Video Interview


Toshihiro Nagoshi Video Interview


Gears of War: Epic Video Interview


Final Fantasy XII Video Interview


Atsushi Inaba Capcom Interview


Peter Moore Video Interview


PS3 Video Interview: Kaz Hirai


Tomonobu Itagaki: Interview 2006


SEGA-AM2 Video Interview: VF5


Video Interview: Katsuya Eguchi


Wii Event Video Coverage Blowout


Nintendo R&D1 Interview


Video Interview: Scott Henson


John Carmack Interview


2007Abundance
Our 2007 traffic was pretty much dominated by, if we say so ourselves, the best GTA IV coverage to be found anywhere on the web. As well as giving our final verdict on Wii and finally infiltrating Valve to speak with both Gabe Newell and Doug Lombardi, we published the amazing story of Tetris straight from the source. With Kaz Hirai now promoted to global boss of SCEI we also caught up with him in LA during the first of two crappy years for E3. Kikizo relocated to Leicester Square, London's entertainment capital, and became a regular guest on UK TV's "Games Night". [Year Review]

How did we look?

GTA IV Coverage Center


Wii: Kikizo's Definitive Review


Interview: The Making of an Icon


Interview: Making Drake's Fortune


Unreal Tournament 3 Interview


Call of Duty 4 Launch Interview


Ninja Gaiden: The Essential Interview


GT5: Kaz Yamauchi Interview


Gabe Newell Valve Interview


Virtua Fighter 5 Xbox 360 Interview


Killzone 2: Guerrilla Interview


Project Gotham Racing 4 Interview


Halo 3 Bungie Interview


Fable 2 Hands-On & Interview


PlayStation Interview: Kaz Hirai


Forza 2: Huge Launch Feature


Nintendo Interview: Koji Kondo


Half-Life 2 Episode Two Interview


Sonic Wii Interview: Yojiro Ogawa


Keiji Inafune Video Interview


Commercial: As a media business we sold thousands of campaigns to endemic advertisers and consumer brands in the US and the UK, including 100s of highly customized takeover/reskin ad creatives long before the concept became commoditized across the rest of the web (click to see more).


2008Ten years?
In 2008 we started banging on about "10 years", a bit confusing as it was SegaWeb that launched in 1998; truth was, we just wanted to claim ten years a month before Eurogamer did it. Meanwhile, Kikizo was nominated for a Games Media Award for 'Best Games Website'. We didn't win. But did nail down first-timers including Ubisoft's CEO and Hideo Kojima. Other sites got their first little interviews with Kaz, as we picked up our third. And we continued our irrational level of AM2 fan service. [Year Preview]

How did we look?

Kaz Hirai Interview


Dave Perry: The Kikizo Interview


Hideo Kojima: The Kikizo Interview 08


Interview: Ubi CEO Yves Guillemot


Virtua Fighter 5 R: The ONLY Interview


Making Guitar Hero: Kai Huang Interview


id Software's Todd Hollenshead


Itagaki Interview June 2008


Interview: Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion


Final Fantasy XIII: Square Enix Interview


Interview: Konami's Koji Igarashi


Interview: Valve's Doug Lombardi


LittleBigPlanet: The Very Big Interview


Blizzard Co-founder Frank Pearce


Peter Molyneux: Fable II & Beyond


Street Fighter IV Capcom Interview


Interview: Gearbox's Randy Pitchford


Interview: Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack


Shane Kim Interview May 2008


Resident Evil 5: Capcom Interview


2009Kikizo becomes Video Games Daily
Kikizo became "Video Games Daily", announced a new movies site, Blu-ray Daily (attracting some media interest), launched casual site Flytrap Games in partnership with AOL, reflected on our best interviewees to date, caught up with old faves Peter Moore and Yuji Naka, met Nolan Bushnell, and became the first to experience Project Natal (Kinect). [Games of the Decade]

How did we look?

Gaming Idols: Top 50 We Ever Interviewed


World's First-Hand with Natal (Kinect)


Interview: Peter Moore, EA Sports


Hideo Kojima: The Kikizo Interview 2009


Nolan Bushnell Interview


He's Back: Yuji Naka Prope Interview


Xbox Reborn: Shane Kim Interview 2009


Interview: Tecmo Koei CEO, Kenji Matsubara


Games That Won't Be Worth The Hype


50 Hottest Things in Gaming in 2009


Feature: FPS Cult Classics


Feature: The History of First-Person Shooters


Why Tim Schafer Chose EA for Brutal Legend


Interview: Apple VP on iPhone Gaming


Heavy Rain: David Cage Interview


2010Times a-changin'
Business as usual on the site, although behind the scenes, we were shifting focus increasingly towards B2B stuff; in 2010 Kikizo's AOL contract is again upgraded, seeing Kikizo take over management of AOL Games in the UK entirely, and relaunch the Games.com portal. We also signed a new content deal with Green Man Gaming, a unique online games retailer (which is still going strong today), as well as a further entertainment content deal with Bee.com, a retail start-up from the people behind Play.com (which isn't).
[Year Preview]

How did we look?

The "secret" formula for great Kinect games


Call of Duty: Black Ops - The Ultimate Interview


The next-best thing about 3DS? Turning the 3D off


The great GT5 debate: how many cars is too many?


Street Fighter X Tekken: Who asked for it?


No more hero-worship? Suda51 Interview


Interview: Marvel Vs Capcom 3's Ryota Niitsuma


Interview: Ed Fries reveals Halo 2600


Sonic 4 - the best game franchise reboot in years?


Super Street Fighter IV: Community Service


2011Kiking back
Returning to the site's roots of entertainment beyond just gaming - and to the site's original name - Kikizo was reborn as a new entertainment blog about "Everything That Matters - And Plenty That Doesn't", with (we think) its coolest ever redesign - that would also be its final look.

How did we look?

And the Kikizo relaunch:

Review: Is Portal 2 the best sequel of 2011?


DOA Dimensions - is this 3DS' new fighting champ?


Wii 2: Five ways Nintendo can win back the hardcore


Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition review


Wii 2, realistically speaking: reasons to be pessimistic


What can console makers learn from Apple?


Modern Warfare 3: Suppressing Fire


Who are the best companions in FPS games?


Brink review: Parkour paradise or paradise lost?


Dead Space 2 review - real terror? Not really


It survived! The BlurayDaily.com Archives


An simple eBay sale led me to this hilarious indie band


A perfect cinematic game experience?


Feel the buzz of NYC media scene in this docu film


Please make more of this awesome Portal movie


Nintendo screwed? PlayStation past it? Apple unstoppable?


Essential viewing: Penn & Teller: Bullshit!


No soap, no hope: A list of things toilet men say


This little-known 'Milo' video reminds us why Molyneux dumped Microsoft


Did Sonic fame help Yuji Naka get laid in the 90s? We are the site that asks him


2012-2023The Global Stage... and Preserving Games History
It turned out that the natural evolution for Kikizo as a business would not be as a small media owner, but in alliance with the biggest -- and on the global stage. From 2012, Kikizo grew its B2B efforts from syndication with the likes of AOL to expansion solutions for brands like IGN, the market leader we first worked with in 1998, to launch its business globally outside the US. In 2016, the business reorganized into a new company, Superglobal, and in 2019 Adam closed it for a full time VP role at IGN owner Ziff Davis. To this day, the spirit of Kikizo lives on in that role, and on Adam's YouTube account where we release and preserve unique, rare, extended, remastered and/or previously unpublished games industry material deep from our archives; feel free to subscribe, but don't expect regular updates -- these days it's just for fun... just how it started in 1996.


Credits/Contact     With thanks to everyone who's supported us over the years!


Kikizo is proud to have featured the work of many great editors and contributors, including many whose careers started out on Kikizo:
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell (Official Xbox Magazine), Alex Wollenschlaeger (Meta), Joseph Jackson, Andy Robinson (CVG, VGC), Stuart McAndrew, Carl Johnson, Hasan Ali Almaci, Heidi Kemps and Steve Boxer, Will Federman, Rupert Higham, Ian Dransfield (PLAY Magazine), Kristan Reed (Pocket Gamer), Dominick Hardy (GameLoft), Mike Jackson (CVG), Andrew Alfonso (IGN), Keza MacDonald (Eurogamer / IGN), Daniel Boutros (Adept Games), Stephen Rowley (Jagex), Will Freeman (Develop), Nate Ahearn (IGN), Gavin Frankle (IGN), Neil McPhillips (Midway), Alan Boiston (VVV Gamer), Toby Pestridge, Dylann Bobei, Haig Chapman, Thomas Dar, Richard Smeeton, James Hamblin, Joel Goodbody, Manny Brown, Richie Walker, Chris Schilling (Eurogamer), Brent Selvog, Jonti Davies, Joe Grace, Daniel Markiewicz, Daniella Lucas, Ben Dutka, Kurokawa Misaki, Rick Larson, Nathan Einhorn, Justin Speer, Tony Scinta, Mike Knowlan, Jamie Thomson, Roy Martin, Ryan Berg, Matt Thomas, Joe Ten Brook, Rico Rodriguez, John Gold, Piaras Kelly, Colin Wilson, Gareth Stack and Adam Maguire. Special thanks: Imran Ramzan, Sharan Jain, and Bob and Pam Handshy who ran the best ever mom'n'pop hosting company out of Spokane, WA back in the day.

Managing Director/Publisher: Adam Doree [Contact via LinkedIn] General Email: forklift@kikizo.com