I love it when I’m right.

On Area5′s first CO-OP episode, I saw the parade of ex-EGM/1UP employees marching up the stairs and thought, “Hey, James Mielke isn’t there. They must really hate the bastard.” After all, he was the last EIC at EGM, the one that was supposed to lead the magazine back to the promised land.

And you know what? Well, let’s just say I told ya so.

Being an outsider, and by that I mean someone outside of the games journalism circles, I can very specifically define the type of person James Mielke is. He craves attention, most likely stemming from personal issues regarding him being adopted as a young child. He was abandoned once, by the people who should have loved him most, and even though he was found by a seemingly wonderful family, he’ll always seek acceptance by anyone and everyone or risk being abandoned once more. Everything he did at 1UP wasn’t about how much he loved videogames, it was about how cool James Mielke was. Every interview was to show the world not that he was a fantastic journalist, it was to show off who he knew on a personal level. He didn’t DJ because he loved the music, it was so people would accept him for the music to which he listened.

His personal blog posts are an ego trip spewing details of his synergistic relationship with New York City, brushing aside the tens of millions of people who have called The Big Apple home. Coming from someone who did, I can certainly say no New Yorker would profess their love for the city by saying they love it more than the next guy. True New Yorkers brandish their time in the city like a tattoo – beneath layers of clothing, to show only when asked, and to keep the true story to themselves – yet it permeates their soul, defines their character. They don’t have to tell people, “Hey! I’m from New York!” because they are from New York. James does the complete opposite, and every self-respecting New Yorker wouldn’t give him the time of day because of it.

And I think that’s exactly what happened during the 1UP aftermath. 1UP folks banded together to create new business ventures, or to reflect on the past. But James was not found in any of it. He was cast out of the fraternity by its own brethren. Whether he was invited to that Area5 video or not, he wasn’t there. He previously worked for Gamespot, but when the Giant Bomb guys wanted to bring in someone to talk about the sale, it wasn’t him. And I’m sure if you ask anyone close to him, of the people whom he calls his friends, the feeling isn’t nearly as mutual.

Now he’s back at 1UP/UGO, but it wasn’t purely because he needed, or wanted, the job; nor was it because his relationship with Sam Kennedy. It was so that he could once again be in the spotlight, to stand on the world’s stage that is the Internet and speak to all who will listen.