7 bad mistakes that good mags make

biz.gamedaily.com:

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We uncover 7 needless errors that show up in videogame enthusiast magazines each month and look at who suffers most from each of the blunders.

It's known as "the grind". Month after month, the staffs of videogame enthusiast magazines crank out hundreds of pages of new content. They work countless hours and cover all of the bases -- reviews, previews, features, news and strategy. However, while focusing on "the grind", these magazines tend to let key mistakes slip through the cracks time and again. These shortcomings have become so common in the video magazine business, that they're either ignored or accepted, even though they're completely avoidable. It doesn't have to be that way.

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article continues here.
good points all over the place. i'm particularly interested in number 2.

Put me in charge of a magazine. Id make the best one out there, no question.

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Originally Posted by diffusionx

Put me in charge of a magazine. Id make the best one out there, no question.

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No reviews, previews, features, or any information relating to Japanese games, or companies in Japan.

Well written article. #2 has always been a pet peeve of mine. But I think #4 was perhaps the most interesting - Sports Illustrated basically creates the news with their feature articles. There don't seem to be too many people in gaming journalism with the ability to do the same.

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Originally Posted by dave is ok

No reviews, previews, features, or any information relating to Japanese games, or companies in Japan.

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I would just make a magazine like Next Generation 2. It would have an emphasis on features and high-quality interviews, would have regular columns from people like Steve Kent (who was writing columns in NG before TFQ came out), or NeoZeedeater, and have short, concise reviews with a simple scoring system and no room for Simpsons and fart jokes. Previews would be limited to games that actually might be different. No need to waste pages on a San Andreas preview when every other magazine has one (with the exact same information, screenshots, and shitty art). No softball interviews from developers like Hideo Kojima who never have anything good to say. Id probably want Itagaki in every issue, then, I guess (although isnt XBN doing that?).

And no cheat codes, strategy guides, fan envelope art, top 100/50/20 lists, stupid captions for every screenshot, little boxes in p/reviews with comparisons between game characters and movie stars or some shit, and ESPECIALLY no bad jokes/"did you know" lines on the bottom or side of every page. Id also avoid Next Generation's Nintendo/Sega-worship, but I guess it was understandable when the magazine was around.

Please let me know what the title will be, so I can pick it up for those glowing previews..."Yeah this part sounds hella boring but it's FUN!" Pass.

But anyways, there are no good gaming magaziines today. I wish EB would stop sending me GMRs.

Nah, I know what would happen - you would come into the official TNL thread about my magazine and feign interest (although Im not even sure about that, since you follow me around like a lovesick schoolgirl) and act like you would want to buy it. Then MarkRyan will come in and say that it sucks and youll give him the :tu: and thank him for saving you some money. Then you will go and coach Master for the next 2600 championships. Because, you know, those who can't do, teach.

Yeah, so thanks for teaching people how to make a good magazine.

Im not teaching anyone anything, Im saying how I would do it given the opportunity. Get it together, man.

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Originally Posted by diffusionx

Because, you know, those who can't do, teach.

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You can be a real vicious bastard when you want to.

Your magazine, however, sounds like it'd be 20 pages and not worth more than $4.00 plus tax.

EDIT: If you actually proofread your magazine, then you'd be ahead of the game. It annoys the hell out of me that all these mags have teams of editors yet there are still numerous spelling mistakes. You might say, "These mags are huge, you can't expect them to find every mistake!" Yes I can, that's their job. I don't think rewarding people for doing half-assed work is very productive.