Is there anyone else in the world who loves the Nintendo 64 more? Probably not. Scott H. McCall, originally from Pittsburgh, PA, grew from N64 "fanboy" to world-renowned N64 journalist and authority.
For years, Scott McCall only was known as "Cap
Scott" in the online world. After venturing on to the Internet as
an "early adopter" in January 1995, he started what became known
as the Unofficial
Nintendo 64 Headquarters (N64 HQ) in early 1995, which eventually
moved to its own n64hq.com domain
name. In fact, Scott is best known as the former Editor-in-Chief and Webmaster
of the legendary N64
HQ. The
respected and trusted site remained online for
2 1/2 years (April 1995 to November 1997). At its height, N64
HQ made money by attracting advertisements from video game companies
and online game stores. Impressively, especially for 1997, the site received
over 375,000 hits per
day, amassed almost 70,000 unique visitors per
day, and consumed bandwidth of more than 1.4 gigabytes
per day—with very
few large movie or music files. You might also find it interesting that
Scott was 18- and 19-years-old during N64
HQ's heyday.
After "retiring" from N64 HQ in November 1997 to concentrate on his undergraduate studies, Scott created a niche Web site called Guide 64 that was partnered with and hosted on America Online (AOL). Guide 64 enabled Scott to continue his Web site development hobby while sharing his comprehensive N64 reviews and his accurate video game release lists. The site remained online from December 1997 until December 1998. He decided to close the site before going away to school in January 1999.
It did not take long until Scott debuted another Web site online: Scott McCall's Game Room made its initial debut in March 1999. He created the site to serve as an archive for his N64 reviews and to share his past with the new people he met. After graduating college, in the fall of 2001, Scott completely redesigned Scott McCall's Game Room and purchased the gameroom64.com domain name. The site remained online and was updated infrequently until January 2004. This is when Scott made the decision to repackage his wealth of N64 information in the new Archive 64 package that you are reading.
Others have recognized Scott's N64 expertise as well. From 1996 until 2000, Scott also worked as a freelance writer in between his Web site updates and his studies. Magazines and Web sites around the world have published his work, including Prima Publishing (now owned by Random House), which is the number one publisher of strategy guides for video games; Electronic Gaming Monthly, which is the number one video game magazine; and All Game Guide, which is the Internet's most complete source of video game information.
After it is all said and done, Scott spent over
five years of his life covering the Nintendo 64 on the Internet.
Now imagine, during those years, how much time was spent writing about
N64, talking about N64, and playing N64. Hours used to be spent each day
searching for information about it. Weeks used to be spent 
playing games before writing about them. Months used to be
spent playing each of his favorite multi-player games with friends and
family. Years used to be spent updating the sites instead of socializing.
And an incomprehensible amount of time that should have been spent on
schoolwork was spent on the system and its corresponding sites instead.
Does he regret it? Not at all. Everything he learned while covering the N64 and maintaining his sites gave him invaluable experience and lessons in life, business, education, and more.
The video game journalism chapter in Scott's life has been closed since summer 2000—although he has continued to maintain a Web presence as a hobby. In May 2001, Scott started a new direction in his life after he received his Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems (MIS) from Penn State.
As the adage goes, though, Scott has saved the best for last. The final chapter in "Scott McCall's book of N64 fame" started in August 2003, which is when he married his long-time college sweetheart, Catherine. After getting married, Scott and Catherine moved from Pennsylvania to the Washington/Baltimore metropolitan area and have since settled into their home and their careers. Additionally, since moving to Maryland, both have furthered their education, with Catherine getting her Masters in Biology degree from Georgetown University and Scott receiving his Masters degree from the University of Maryland.
With Scott's natural ability to explain information in appropriate formats and levels of detail for the audience and his detail-oriented, organized approach, his career trajectory is probably not a surprise. He spent three (3) years as a Technical Writer, six (6) years as a Business Systems Analyst and Senior Business Analyst, and now serves as an IT Program Manager for the federal government where he analyzes, organizes, and plans large IT initiatives and monitors and oversees the corresponding IT investments.
Do not hesitate to contact Scott if you want to comment about one of his N64 reviews, if you have a question about any N64 game, if you would like to reminisce about the past, if you find a broken link, if you notice a typo, or anything else. Although Scott cannot promise that he will respond to everyone, he certainly appreciates and reads all of your questions and comments.
to send an e-mail message to Scott.