Video game magazines vs. the internet

[SpoDaddy]

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

[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.

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.

[kingoffighters]

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

[B-Ri]

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

[Doc Holliday]

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

[Brisco Bold]

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:

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.'

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.

[Brisco Bold]

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.

My thoughts exactly.

[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.

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

[Tain]

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.

[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.