Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the original Smacktalks forum which opened on May 8th 2001!
When I opened the forum I had no idea it would be around for as long as it has been, or the path that my life would take as a result of it, yet 20 years later here we are!
The original goal of the forum was to create an environment for people to create and share cheat codes for the original PS1 Smackdown games, with the forum personally providing me with a means of escaping school life and bullying.
Compilation of Smackdown 2: Know You Role Codes by MasterOfTheSwanton
Over the last 20 years many members have come and gone, code hackers, creators, modders, etc. some of which I've recently reconnected with to find they've gone on to work in the games industry, taken on graphic design roles or even started wrestling careers after finding a passion that all started with WWE Games.
Other members have shared how they've gone on to form long time friendships with friends they met on the forum.
Hearing things like this and how the forum has played a small role in peoples lives really makes me happy, as I could never have imagined the impact it would have.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the forum I'll be making various changes to the board in the lead up to WWE 2K22 as I want to try and bring more focus to the forum and bring in new members.
In closing, I want to take a moment to thank all members past and present for being a part of Smacktalks, and the incredible staff, moderators and admins for all of the hard work they've put in over the years, it truly means a lot.
Here's to the next 20 years! 🥂