As stated, EGM's Editor-in-Chief Dan Hsu (known fondly to many of us as "Shoe") will be leaving the magazine as of April 25, for personal reasons. Don't let that get you thinking there's all kinds of bad things happening over at the Ziff Davis offices though, reading his blog, they're definitely on good terms. An excerpt:

"I know this sounds horribly clichéd, but I will miss my buddies most of all. There are some awesome, awesome people here at the 1UP Network...guys and girls I'll consider my friends for the rest of my life (I don't want to list any names here, because there are way, way too many to list). These are the people that make the content so awesome -- not me. If I ever get remarried, I'm sure my wedding will look like an EGM/GFW/1UP/GameVideos reunion."

"As for me, I plan on taking some much-needed time off...maybe two to four weeks before I get too antsy about seeing my savings account go down instead of up. It's been literally 10 years since I've last taken a proper vacation that's lasted more than 3-4 days, so I'm gonna use this time to sleep, rest, sleep, play videogames, and sleep and play videogames."

It can be a hard job indeed, and Shoe has certainly put his time in. Contrary to rumours, he's not being "forced out or laid off or anything like that". To be sure, it's an entirely personal decision.

Not to turn this into some kind of weirdo love letter or something, but, I always admired Shoe for his openness, especially regarding the negative sides to the games industry, so it will be sad to see him go. Example:

It's nice to know 1UP.com Editor-in-Chief and current 1UP Network site director Sam Kennedy will be taking over, who Hsu seems to think couldn't be a better fit. And anyway, he says he won't exactly be retiring:

"I love the videogame business too much to stay away (plus, I'm too old to become a professional snowboarder). Besides, I will miss you guys too much. You all have been fantastic. I sincerely appreciate all the support you've thrown my way over the years -- and that, I'll never forget, either."

From the get-go, the readers over on Joystiq turn this into a dramafest. Silly boys and girls. Anyway, there are about a kazillion comments on Shoe's blog wishing him well, and I feel nothing but the same. Here's to a great editor who served his readers well. Drink up!