Club Nintendo Mexico founder and editor Gus Rodríguez passed away at 59

[Hayama Akito]

Yes, I know this could be too obscure for most people here on ERA, but I also know there's a big latin america group here and I think this is shocking news:




Gus Rodríguez has died, age 59. He was the founder and main editor of Club Nintendo magazine in Mexico, by far the most popular videogame magazine not only in Mexico but also all latin america in the nineties.

He with José Sierra were the only "faces" of the magazine, excluding all the secret agents. He is also pretty well known in Mexico thanks to Nintendomanía, his TV show.

I know the magazine had a notorious quality drop after the 2000's and he left the magazine at that time too, but the legacy of his work for me is so, so big. He and everybody who worked in Club Nintendo México was a big influence for me, because thanks to that influence I'm an editor of a videogame news site and podcast for almost 15 years.

Rest in peace and a big hug to my mexican friends.

 

[The_Strokes]

He was a legend. At one point every kid in Mexico bought a Club Nintendo magazine in the late 90s early 00s. Sad loss, did so much for videogames in Mexico and Latin America in general.

He's one of the reasons I got into journalism, only last year landing a job in the gaming space. He'll be missed and remembered forever.

 

[Flaurehn]

Is no joke to say that gaming in Mexico and LatAm wouldn't be the same without him, dude fought tooth and nail for his show, the magazine and all around to give gaming and gamers exposure, die-hard Nintendo fan, you will always be remembered

 

[ReyVGM]

Damn, I was just watching the history of Nintendomania a few days ago!

 

[Flaurehn]

Damn, I was just watching the history of Nintendomania a few days ago!

Click to shrink...

I know! I am not usually a nostalgia driven guy, but watching that video I felt like a 11yo kid again, and watching Gus on that special felt like I was watching a friend and couldn't help but feel proud for the guy.

 

[Deleted member 10629]

It is hard to overstate the influence this man had in spreading videogames in Mexico during the late 80s and 90s. Pretty much here in Mexico everyone has enjoyed his creations, whether it was via Club Nintendo which every kid/enthusiast bought regularly, Nintendomanía, or the writing he did for Eugenio Derbez, who is one, if not the most known 'modern' comedian here.
Now his son carries his legacy via his Bitme project.

Descansa en paz, Gus. Estamos en contact.

 

[Rockstar]

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Holy shit this is depressing.

Nintendomania and Club Nintendo forever and ever.

 

[Deleted member 42484]

Okay I just did a google search to get more info and found this, so now I'm confused.

On Friday (April 10) the actor's reps officially confirmed that Eugenio Derbez is not dead. "He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He's still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet," they said.

Some fans have expressed anger at the fake report saying it was reckless, distressing and hurtful to fans of the much loved actor. Others say this shows his extreme popularity across the globe.

Click to shrink...

EDIT
This is apparently a mix-up and he has passed away. RIP Eugenio.

 

[Deleted member 10629]

Okay I just did a google search to get more info and found this, so now I'm confused.

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His son posted on Twitter that he had passed away.

 

[ATOMICJORGE]

Rest in peace dear Gus Rodríguez, a pioneer of the video game industry in our country Mexico without a doubt, all of us who work in this medium and love video games owe a lot to him, my condolences to the family 😔 at least I was able to meet him in person I'm the one with the tie RIP

 

[Flaurehn]

Okay I just did a google search to get more info and found this, so now I'm confused.

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Gus was a writer, producer and director of several (all?) of Derbez shows so maybe someone got them mixed up. Derbez is alive, and Gus has passed away

 

[ChrisEnri]

This hit me, I met him several times, he did a lot for video games, specially Nintendo in Mexico.

 

[Zg9]

A Legend...

 

[Mr Swine]

RIP :(

 

[SalvaPot]

I still have a few of my magazines, R.I.P.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

RIP

I watched Nintendomanía religiously back then.

Thanks, Gus.

 

[Menx64]

A huge RIP to a legend. Dude was the face of Nintendo in Latam (even if he didnt work for them.) Watching the E3 reports, Space world...
A huge loss for all of us who grew up watching Nintendomania...


His pinned tweet will show you just how much he loved videogames

 

[rottenpie]

Holy shit

R.I.P. :(

 

[Hayama Akito]

Just in case: I'm not from Mexico, I'm from Chile. Yeah, he was really that big.

I think he at least deserves a tweet by NoA, they really don't know how big Club Nintendo was here.

 

[mnemonicj]

So sad, may he rest in peace. I used to watch his show all the time growing up.

 

[DarKaoZ]

Oh man, that sucks! I used to buy the magazine when I was little, I loved the artwork and the quality it had! I was lucky to live in the border, so I had the best from Mexico and USA in terms of Video Game Magazines. But Club Nintendo was always something else. We lost a great creative mind! May he Rest in Peace.

 

[Deleted member 4869]

"Siempre hay una recompensa más allá del Game Over..."

Estamos en Contact, Gus. Siempre serás recordado como la leyenda que eres.

 

[Deleted member 11008]

A huge RIP to a legend. Dude was the face of Nintendo in Latam (even if he didnt work for them.) Watching the E3 reports, Space world...
A huge loss for all of us who grew up watching Nintendomania...


His pinned tweet will show you just how much he loved videogames

Click to shrink...

Lol

Gus is a genius comedian and a big supporter of videogames. Honestly I don't see his TV shows, but I really enjoyed read Club Nintendo and I'm sure without him the journalist work regarding videogames wouldn't be the same here in México and Latam. He will be missed.

Hasta la vista, Gus, el buen Simón Paz.

 

[VICTORsaurio]

I'm from Venezuela, I'm not that familiar with him as an individual but I'm very thankful for what he did for the industry in Latin America. I remember being so impatient as a child for the new Club Nintendo magazine to arrive every month at newstands.

He will be missed. Rest in peace.

 

[AllMight1]

what the fuck? I was watching videos of his literally 2 days ago.
Surreal af
RIP a legend, before the internet his magazine was THE BEST source for cheat codes or tricks, rumors, very knowledgeable always.

Goddammit this didnt sit well with me.

 

[TorianElecdra]

He was definitely a defining figure in my childhood. I usually don't get affected by celebrities passing away but yeah, this one really stung hard. Gus :(

 

[modoversus]

I loved his work, great influence in stuff I had done either covering videogames or just video/communications stuff. Only got to meet him once.

 

[DM_Uselink]

Oh man RIP. I was lucky enough to meet him at my first E3 (2014 I think) and he was super nice. I still have his business card.
The first time I had heard of E3 was through Nintendomania, and will always remember meeting him at my first E3.

 

[Zhadgon]

RIP, when I was a child I always bought Club Nintendo, I still have my magazines in my mother's home, will be missed very much.

.n_n.

 

[andresmoros]

Damn, this is so sad! I used to get the Club Nintendo magazines all the time, all always reading his articles. Rest In Peace, brother. He was such a wholesome dude.

This shit hit me right in my youth. I spreaded the MissingNo Pokemon Red/Blue glitch in my school thanks to him. Everyone would come to me to do the little trick for them.

 

[Deleted member 35631]

Man, I'm fucking crying! Just yesterday I was watching the last episode of Nintendomania on YouTube and felt a saddening rush of nostalgia. I then googled him to know what he was up to these days.

Without him, I would have never played video games. I learned about videos games from a club Nintendo magazine, and I collected every single one since then. I remember watching and reading about Ocarina of Time since the first concept was shown. In fact, it was the magazine from January 1998 that had all the coverage from Ocarina of Time and I read it like 1,000 times a day.

I'm pretty sure he was very well known by Nintendo executives and even Miyamoto. He is a legend, and gaming would never be like it is in Mexico without him.

 

[Adult Contemporary]

I think i still have some boxes with club nintendo magazines. I also used to watch him on TV. Good memories from my childhood. RIP Gus

 

[ED Cantu]

Don't know why but this week I started to watch old Nintendomanía episodes and now this news has left me in shock.

A true legend, RIP/QEPD el gran Gus Rodríguez

 

[Deleted member 10737]

RIP

 

[modoversus]

Spoiler: From Charles Martinet twitter account.

Charles Martinet

@CharlesMartinet

Estoy lleno de lágrimas y tristeza. Duele. El mundo ha perdido a un gran hombre, y todos los jugadores y fanáticos de Gus hemos perdido a nuestro querido amigo. Te extrañaré, Gus, y recordaré tu gracia. A dios amigo. #GusRodríguez

 

[Ryu]

RIP

 

[LukasManak22]

RIP :(((

 

[Deleted member 202]

I bought the Club Nintendo magazine for years when I was a kid. Each time a new month started, I would go to a newsstand near my school and ask If the new issue had arrived. I used to take the magazine to a friend's house and we would sit outside and read it and comment it. The issues that had the E3 summaries each year felt like Christmas. Thank you Gus for all those good times. RIP.

 

[King Dodongo]

Noooo! That's a big loss. My friend told me about this two hours ago and I wanted to believe it was a joke! :( I didn't miss any Nintendomania show, and bought many CN magazines back in the day. May he forever be remembered as a true Nintendo fan. Thanks for everything, Gus. RIP

 

[Machine Law]

I still have a huge rack filled with Club Nintendo magazines that I collected when I was a kid. I was always looking forward for a new one every month. RIP Gus.

 

[Deleted member 18161]

Click to shrink...

Great picture. Hope you don't mind me using it to offer my condolences.

Didn't know him but he sounds like he was incredibly influential for the industry.

RIP :'(

 

[Xavi]

WHAT THE FUCK- NO!!

I don't live in Mexico but the Club Nintendo magazine did used to get here in my country and I would buy them religiously. RIP Gus :(

Here's a picture of some of the magazines that I still have.

Thank you for all the memories.

 

[JDSN]

R.I.P loved his show as a kid.

 

[celigio]

I still can't believe it....

R.I.P. Gus

 

[Altazor]

RIP Gus :(

Club Nintendo magazine was a big part of my childhood.

 

[srtrestre]

Just in case: I'm not from Mexico, I'm from Chile. Yeah, he was really that big.

I think he at least deserves a tweet by NoA, they really don't know how big Club Nintendo was here.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm not from Mexico either and I remember him very well. Nintendomania was the shit. His show gave me my first glimpse of E3.

RIP Gus.

 

[LordBaztion]

Peruvian here.

I used to collect those magazines from 98 to 04, club Nintendo was part of why I became passionate about gaming.

Eventhough, right now I'm very far away from Nintendo, I respect Gus and lament deeply his loss.

 

[Anacaona]

Que en paz descanse.

 

[Sub Boss]

RIP i had a lot of fun reading Club Nintendo before the Internet brought us the news.

Their special Zelda edition was awesome