Destructoid is a website that was started as a blog about video games in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. In 2017, the website was bought by Enthusiast Gaming. Later, in 2022, Enthusiast Gaming sold the website to Gamurs Group.
History
Destructoid was created by Yanier "Niero" Gonzalez in 2006 so he could attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). After being unable to go, Gonzalez began writing articles and drawing cartoons. These works were shared by well-known gaming websites like Joystiq and Kotaku. In 2007, the website was restarted with user blogs, discussion forums, and a group of writers. Gonzalez's blog was moved from the main page to make space for content written by multiple authors, similar to how IGN operates. Readers can register for free and submit blogs that appear on pages other than the homepage.
After E3, Gonzalez wore a costume of Mr. Destructoid, the website's robot mascot (seen on logos and promotional materials), to hand out flyers at a press event. The website's original articles were shared on a web show called Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin?. In 2012, the Mr. Destructoid costume was redesigned by Volpin Props to include light-up circuits and is still used as the mascot at events.
In 2017, the website was bought by Enthusiast Gaming, a company in Toronto. In September 2022, Enthusiast sold the website to Gamurs Group.
Features
Destructoid has six main sections. The Homepage is where editors share daily news and reviews. The Community Blogs let users post their own articles. The Videos section includes original skits and game trailers. The Chat Forums allow users to discuss games. The Buy/Sell area helps members trade games with each other. The Fight area lets members play games against one another.
Between 2010 and 2013, Destructoid created a twice-a-week video game news show called The Destructoid Show on Revision 3. It also hosted daily live streams, such as Kingdom of Foom and MASH TacticS, on Twitch. Additionally, it produced occasional video skits, including Hey Ash Whatcha Playin’, The Jimquisition, and Storm’s Adventures, on YouTube.
James Stephanie Sterling, a reviews editor at Destructoid, hosted a weekly podcast with associate editor Jonathan Holmes and Conrad Zimmerman. After Sterling left Destructoid, the podcast was led by a new host who updated it less often.
Charitable work
In 2008, James Stephanie Sterling, a Destructoid editor, participated in a sponsored gaming marathon to raise money for young cancer patients. Sterling and her friend John Kershaw played games from the SingStar franchise, singing almost non-stop for twelve hours to raise $3,000 for the charity. The event was broadcast live online throughout the entire marathon.
In 2009, Niero and other Destructoid editors continued the gaming marathon tradition on October 17–18 to raise awareness for cancer. They raised $4,835.60 for Extra Life children’s hospital in Texas.
In 2010, the Destructoid office hosted a 24-hour gaming marathon for the charity Extra Life. Community members raised over $6,000 for Children’s Miracle hospitals in Texas. Destructoid also partnered with Revision 3 to build a clean water well in Africa through the Charity Water organization.
In 2011, Destructoid hosted another marathon for Extra Life, raising $6,909.16 for Children’s Miracle Hospitals. Destructoid also created a Mario Kart 7 community called "Destructoid." This community has a Bob-omb icon and uses the slogan "Dtoid FNF yo."
In 2012, Destructoid hosted a 56-hour livestream on its Dtoid.tv channel, raising over $7,000 for Habitat for Humanity. The Gonzalez flew to Costa Rica and helped build a 32-house government project for families living in extreme poverty in Liberia.
Awards
Destructoid has been nominated for several awards related to video game coverage. In 2007, the site was nominated for the first Games Media Awards under the "Non-Commercial Website or Blog" category. In the same year, Destructoid was chosen as a Webby Honoree in the Games-Related category of the 11th year Webby Awards. In 2009, the site was nominated again by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for the same category.
Presence in video games
Mr. Destructoid, the site's mascot, has appeared in many console, mobile, and PC video games. He has also been used as an emote on Twitch.
In 2007, Hudson Entertainment, the American branch of Hudson Soft, partnered with Destructoid to create a playable character based on Mr. Destructoid for the Xbox Live Arcade game Bomberman Live. Mr. Destructoid later appeared in Bomberman Ultra, the PlayStation 3 version of Bomberman Live. His head is available as an unlockable helmet in PixelJAM's game Dino Run by entering the password "totinos" in the cheats menu. This was an inside joke because that pizza brand was a favorite of one of the editors, who was friends with the game's developers. The code was shared in one chapter of the Podtoid podcast.
In 2008, Mr. Destructoid was included in the platform game Eternity's Child, but was later removed after a negative review on the website. He also appeared in Agent MOO: Maximum Overdeath on Xbox Live Indie Games alongside Ron Workman, Destructoid's former community manager.
In 2010, it was announced that Mr. Destructoid would appear in the upcoming XBLA release of Raskulls. Later that year, it was discovered that Chapter 2–18 in Super Meat Boy is called "Destructoid." The game was praised by many editors, who awarded it Game Of The Show at the Penny Arcade Expo in July. Mr. Destructoid also appears in the flash game Pirates vs. Ninjas by Bardo Entertainment.
In 2011, Mr. Destructoid appeared as a non-playable character in BiteJacker, a game created by the Bytejacker show on the iPhone as a VIP Character. Your score increases the longer he remains on screen. In July, Destructoid's reviews editor, James Stephanie Sterling, became a playable character in The Blocks Cometh. Later that month, Mr. Destructoid appeared in Ms. Splosion Man by Twisted Pixel as a destroyable villain during challenge mode and again as a ball-swallowing fixture in Pinball FX by Zen Studio as part of the Ms. Splosion Man pinball table. On August 1, Mr. Destructoid became a playable character in Arcade Jumper on iOS. The remake of the classic arcade game Burgertime also features Mr. Destructoid as a playable character.
In 2012, Mr. Destructoid was revealed as a playable character in Big Head Bash by Spicy Horse, where his rooster gun shoots similar but smaller "cocks." He is also a non-playable monster enemy in MonsterMind (Facebook Game) and a machinegun accessory in Blacklight Retribution by PerfectWorld. In Retro City Rampage, several Destructoid staff members appear as unlockable player skins by visiting MJ's Face-R-Us and entering the coupon code DTOID.
In 2014, Microsoft added an official Mr. Destructoid outfit to the Xbox Live Avatar Marketplace.
In 2016, a Mr. Destructoid flag was added as a cosmetic item in Rocket League.