Video game magazines vs. the internet

While I think about my own magazine archiving project, which is still on hold until I have much more time to spend in PA, I find myself wondering how it is that we can still have so many print video game-centered magazines on the market.

How is this even sustainable? I know ads are probably their main source of revenue over subscription rates, but it still means somebody must be reading them for it to be worth publishing. Other than free magazines from bandit's threads, I don't really bother with any of them these days.

Without solid features, I don't think they can really make a good argument in favor of reading them. The news is always old, minus the exclusive every few months, which always hits the internet the same day the magazine hits, or earlier. Unless you're after a packaged demo disc (which XBL and PS3's online services are quickly making pointless), what's the use of buying a magazine? Need something to read on the can?

I'd like to see if anyone who writes for gaming media (or any media at all), be it print or internet, has anything to weigh in on the issue. Or, to readers who continue and those who have given up on the magazines, why?

Part of me just thinks I'm getting old and will never like any magazine as much as EGMs from the early 90s, GameFan and Ultra Game Players as a result of this. At the same time, though, I can't help but feel like there's less of a need for these magazines, especially ones lacking in both personality and general editorial quality as those out there today seem to have.

i get all my news from internet, and the mags i subscribe too are just like you said - bathroom material, nothing more. Usually the writing is so bad anyway i should just wipe my ass with it.

The rag's days are numbered, Ziff Davis can't get a bite for its magazine line but they're forcing them on anyone who wants to buy 1up.com.

Magazines are so 2002.

This thread made me remember Hardcore Gamer. Is that magazine still around?

If people continue to subscribe through those free offers, they will continue to exist. Hell, even when your subscription is done you will still receive them in the mail so they can use you in their figures every time they are showing off the readership to future ad-space buyers. They can only charge so much depending on the subscribers.

In reality, giving you a free year subscription of a magazine gets them more money than you buying the magazine from the newsstand or paying for your own sub. It's the reason why I continued to recieve Gamepro for seven years even after my subscription had expired in grammar school. EGM is following suit.

I read them rarely, but I mostly toss them once I pick up my mail.

TNL should endeavor in a print mag, imo. TNL F-CHAN SUPERREVIEW

I'll buy a mag if I've got a long plane ride or something. They can be entertaining and all. But they rarely have anything exciting and new that would compel me to subscribe.

I used to have subs to EGM and PC Gamer back in the 90's. Later on in the decade I had subs to PCXL and Next Gen. Now all I've got is that free GFW sub.

I buy Games, and occasionally Retro Gamer. I do subscribe to EGM for toilet fodder but that's about it.

There is something fun and relaxing about reading a magazine. If there was a videogame magazine that had quality writing I'd subscribe.

I remember getting upset when my EGM came late. Now I don't even care. Last issue I got in the mail I flipped through in like 3 minutes and tossed it in the trash. To think that I ever wanted to write about video games for a living--LOL.

Game rags need to focus more on features that don't read like the rest of the ads in the magazine. They also shouldn't come off as Maxim clones or half-assed men's lifestyle mags.

I also pray they don't turn into that Tim Rogers bullshit because then it's totally over.

Yah Tim Rogers is the worst feature in Games. He spits out non-sense like Ozzie on speed.

the only magazines i get are when i go online and get the 1 year free offers they do all the time.

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

They also shouldn't come off as Maxim clones or half-assed men's lifestyle mags.

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http://www.crusade-fan.com/magazines/obscure/flux.jpg

I regularly purchase Retro and occasionally Games. I like magazines. I like the way they feel, and I like having something I can refer to later rather than an article from the net I'll forget about a day later.

Still, most gaming magazines are trash. As someone said earlier, they need to focus on features that aren't:

- Top ten lists of whatever
- Huge, sprawling, previews of games that have no impact on the industry beyond being the 'it' game of the moment
- History of the industry articles that are either riddled with errors or simply regurgitations of well known facts

That won't happen because that's not what the market wants (look at Next Gen). So innerwebs it is. And even there, 'serious gaming journalism' is viewed as ceaseless analyst console war predictions.

As I said in another thread:

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For college I did a story on what's wrong with gaming journalism, a dreadful piece because I was over ambitious and could only get a couple of sources (nobody cares about college papers, regardless of the badgering reporters do). Anyway, the two guys I spoke to were journos with decent experience.

One guy said: There's no problem with gaming journalism. There may have been a problem before, but it got a lot better. Asking about the integrity of gaming journalism, and presuming that it is in anyway faulty, was a loaded question.

Another guy said: There are problems, but it's really not as bad as you think it is. While mainstream video game journalism can be crap, the internet is a refuge for the intellectual gamer.

My editor saw the story and said, 'well, that's bullshit.'

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I'm critical of the industry because that's the cool thing to do nowadays. I'm doing so because I care about it (well, informative or entertainment writing in general). It seems nobody else does.

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

I remember getting upset when my EGM came late. Now I don't even care. Last issue I got in the mail I flipped through in like 3 minutes and tossed it in the trash. To think that I ever wanted to write about video games for a living--LOL.

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My thoughts exactly.

I used to have that issue of Flux.

I wanted to find it so that I could source that Top 100 VG list - beyond some baffling entries (Crusin' USA?) it was better than any Famitsu reader survey I've seen.

Grave, I have a few stacks of mags rotting away. Fund the shipping and it's yours.

I get EGM and GFW for free due to one of those deals posted on here ages ago. GFW can be pretty neat, but EGM gets nothing more than a flipthrough.

The problem with videogame magazines, like EGM, is they based their writing style and format on hitting their target demographic in the 90's. Back in the early to mid 90's that was great because most of us weren't even in high school yet. But now that we're older and make up the bulk of who would subscribe to their magazines, they haven't changed the writing style to match that. It's still "kiddies", "goodness", "fanboys", etc. Personally I think Next Gen was just a a few years too early.

I pay for Edge. I get EGM, GFW, and GI free.

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Originally Posted by Schlep

The problem with videogame magazines, like EGM, is they based their writing style and format on hitting their target demographic in the 90's. Back in the early to mid 90's that was great because most of us weren't even in high school yet. But now that we're older and make up the bulk of who would subscribe to their magazines, they haven't changed the writing style to match that. It's still "kiddies", "goodness", "fanboys", etc. Personally I think Next Gen was just a a few years too early.

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This is a good point. The same way Gamepro seemed okay in 6th grade, but it sucked by the time I was in high school... there might not be a magazine that discusses games on an adult level. I find Edge to be pretty good, though. Maybe because the British don't use "college boy" as a derogatory term.

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Originally Posted by Cowdisease

This thread made me remember Hardcore Gamer. Is that magazine still around?

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Shockingly, yes.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

I pay for Edge. I get EGM, GFW, and GI free.

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Isn't that about $70?

Yep.

I don't understand why it seems to be ok for gaming "journalists" to have no grasp of the English language (read one Mark Bozon article on IGN and you'll bash your head into the nearest wall). I'm not expecting brilliant writing from a videogame article but at least use grammatically correct sentences for fuck's sake.

That's a serious chunk of change for a magazine. How about you give me the money instead and I'll give you an audio version of some game reviews?

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Originally Posted by dog$

I used to have that issue of Flux.

I wanted to find it so that I could source that Top 100 VG list - beyond some baffling entries (Crusin' USA?) it was better than any Famitsu reader survey I've seen.

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I haven't read read the three issues (of only six I think) I own in probably 10 years, but I remember enjoying them a lot.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

Isn't that about $70?

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And worth every penny.

WOW...I was reading this thread while I was listening to an album stream on punknews.org, and I thought you guys would get a kick out of this.

http://www.punknews.org/bands/shortattention

Click on song number 10, called "Toilet Paper" and listen to the lyrics. I garauntee you all that this is indeed ON TOPIC and RELEVANT to this thread. LOL.

To me, EGM reached it's height around the early to mid nineties. After that, the magazine went downhill, with certain eras being better than others. Kinda like SNL. I really enjoyed GameNow, after a while it seemed to be Ziff-Davis' answer to GameFan, a bit more obscure and enthusiastic.

Juvenile though they were, I liked Game Players and not-serious Ultra Game Players. To be honest, I read them almost solely for their slapstick comedic factor. Their actual game coverage was garbage, in my opinion. I really liked ODCM. Early PSM was fun to read, but now I can't stand it.

I really liked Next Gen back when they used the matte-plasticlike paper stock, not the glossy style paper stock; I remember for the price, you got a lot of interesting reading. However, the magazine came across as snobbish to me.

I liked GameFan.

Halverson's post-GameFan stuff is enjoyable to me, despite it's quirks. He's a geek, yeah. I've been disappointed with Nick Rox's input in Play, though. He's always been an f-chan, but whereas I found him entertaining and informative in GF, now he's just, I don't know. Annoying, I guess?

I like something to read when I take a shit.

I bring my laptop to the shitter all the time.

I miss Ultra GP.

EGM had wild 8+ page interviews with Jack Tretton and Peter Moore in the last two issues, and someone from Nintendo is in the next one.

Still, those interviews could be printed just as well on the Internet. (And they are because people transcribe them.) There's no reason for the magazine to exist anymore beyond being a convenient, glossy-paper replication of content from the Internet, or a marketing plan to get people to buy membership cards at game stores.

I buy Retrogamer and Play every month. Everything else I stopped giving a damn about a long time ago. I enjoy Retrogamer because alot of the stuff they cover I had no idea existed back; Play because they cover alot of lesser known games that are damn good in depth, Halverson nutfest aside.

Magazines still have their place. There can be too much waffle on the Internet. I usually stick to old magazines though. Here is a short but enthusiastic C&VG October 1998 scan I took when testing a scanner recently.

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

I bring my laptop to the shitter all the time.

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Now we know what inspires your posts.

Free subscriptions....I get EGM, Xbox Mag, and PSM in the mail. They are disposed of as soon as I've read them a few times.

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Originally Posted by Stibbons

EGM had wild 8+ page interviews with Jack Tretton and Peter Moore in the last two issues, and someone from Nintendo is in the next one.

Still, those interviews could be printed just as well on the Internet. (And they are because people transcribe them.)

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IBTN. I did my Tom Kalinske and Ken Balthaser interviews by phone and transcribed them, simple as that. The Internet can do almost everything a magazine can do.

That being said, I use the term almost because, in retro gaming at least, magazines are more useful over the long term. If you look for articles and interviews published on websites from the '90s, a lot of them have been taken down or the website hosting them has gone under. If no one archived them, they're gone for good. A magazine is much longer lasting and can be scanned as often as needed.

That's why I trash my GI and EGM after reading them but archive my Retro Gamer, Sega Visions, Mega Play, and GF. I consider them reference material.

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Originally Posted by Melf

I consider them reference material.

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You're such a nerd.

...and proud of it. :)

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Originally Posted by Lordmrw

I buy Retrogamer and Play every month. Everything else I stopped giving a damn about a long time ago. I enjoy Retrogamer because alot of the stuff they cover I had no idea existed back; Play because they cover alot of lesser known games that are damn good in depth, Halverson nutfest aside.

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In defense of Play and Halverson: I don't think the merit of a magazine rests in how reliable it is as a guide for making purchasing decisions. It just has to be entertaining or interesting to read. Play is.

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Originally Posted by Melf

IBTN. I did my Tom Kalinske and Ken Balthaser interviews by phone and transcribed them, simple as that. The Internet can do almost everything a magazine can do.

That being said, I use the term almost because, in retro gaming at least, magazines are more useful over the long term. If you look for articles and interviews published on websites from the '90s, a lot of them have been taken down or the website hosting them has gone under. If no one archived them, they're gone for good. A magazine is much longer lasting and can be scanned as often as needed.

That's why I trash my GI and EGM after reading them but archive my Retro Gamer, Sega Visions, Mega Play, and GF. I consider them reference material.

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That's one reason why I still have all my issues of Gamefan, NG, ODCM, EGM and GI.

Dave's Sega Saturn page http://www.sega-saturn.com/ was a cool site, but now it's just a tombstone. There were several DC sites that finally pulled the plug around 2005. Most of the older consoles aren't covered that well, unless you go to site like yours or KLOV.

I still keep my more current issues of EGM and GI, because there will be a day when GC, Xbox and PS2 information will dry up like the Saturn.

I still have a complete collection of Next Generation. It's pretty much in mint/new condition.

That article with Bernie Stolar in the Superman suit is still a classic.

Most of my other magazines have found new/better homes.

I subscribe to a number of car magazines, mostly because they were dirt-cheap subscriptions (something like $15 for three years). Though even if Car and Driver was a full-priced subscription, I'd keep that around. The quality of the writing in C/D is pretty damn awesome, and they've always got interesting articles that you don't find on typical news coverage sites. C/D's ability to maintain exemplary writing standards and knowledge, and still infuse loads of personality into its pieces makes it my favorite enthusiast magazine ever.

Likewise, I'd subscribe to EDGE if it were available in the US for a decent price (overseas subscription is something like $100+ a year). The writing's pretty good, though the opinions are a little weak and the zine is light on personality.

If Next-Generation were still around, I'd subscribe to that. Next-Gen.biz is cool, but the presentation and content of the old magazine made a much better read.

I still have my complete collection of Gamer's Republic. Man, what a good magazine. I liked the format and pictures.

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Originally Posted by MarkRyan

Likewise, I'd subscribe to EDGE if it were available in the US for a decent price (overseas subscription is something like $100+ a year).

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They have a US subscription service now. I think it's about 75$ a year.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

You're such a nerd.

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Hey I keep them as research material too.

Okay, so that's not saying much, but still.

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Originally Posted by prosciutto

I like something to read when I take a shit.

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

I bring my laptop to the shitter all the time.

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IBTN. I do it all the time.

I've been getting EGM for free for a couple of years now thanks to bandit's thread. The last mag I think I subscribed to was the Official Dreamcast Magazine (which I thought was awesome).

If I wrote about games for a living I probably wouldn't tell any of you guys.

There's more important shit out there to report about than toys.

Give me a break. There's more important shit to do with your life than play games, or post on message boards, too. Who cares.

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Originally Posted by Cowutopia

If I wrote about games for a living I probably wouldn't tell any of you guys.

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:lol: Yes, this is probably the one place where people like MarkRyan or Shidoshi don't get "Hey, that's a really cool job to have" when they say what they do.

Don't insult Shidoshi by lumping him in with an IGN hack.

Like Play doesn't get bashed just as much as IGN around here.

I was just pointing out what negative shitheads we are around here :lol:

And if MarkRyan is a hack then I guess I'm a freelance junior hack

Do you suck dicks?

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Originally Posted by Josh

Do you suck dicks?

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Or in German, if you prefer...