EGM is no more

[SirChadlyOC]

ON TOPIC: I'll miss EGM. I respected them as a good source of video game information. Nobody in print media is surviving these days, even in such a successful field as video games. It's why I can't find a job with my journalism degree.

OFF TOPIC: Game Informer's biggest problem is that they are strongly biased. They love shooting games and hate Nintendo (especially the Wii). The reviews section always infuriates me because it seems like they don't see the big picture.

Every shooting game gets an automatic 7.0 or above. To me, if you make a mediocre shooting game these days, it should get killed by critics because there are so many other, better choices available. Every game on the Wii, on the other hand, says that the controls don't work right and the graphics are bad. Every game. I'd go into more detail, but this thread is about EGM.

I'm worried that this is just the beginning of video game magazines going under.

[Cerrax]

Print is dead. It doesn't have to be said that most people (especially gamers, geeks, and the like) get their information on the Internet usually before they read it in print. The only advantage print has (and is slowly losing) is that it is considered much more credible and so companies/governments/etc. feel better giving their information to a credible source.

[FR]

I read Game Informer, but only to see the previews and articles.

sirgj;lsjg;lojssl;'kfgj

[Hale-Bopp]

Print is dead.

The magazine rack in my bathroom disagrees. That being said, I'm glad I still get Game Developer for free or I'd seriously be jonesing for some throne room material.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

How do you fire Shane "Cooter" Bettenhausen anyway? I thought that was something only the powers of Jeff Green could accomplish, and he's off with EA now.

If Garnett Lee loses his goddamn show, then Ima be mighty pissed.

[Neo Samus]

Wait... So what happens with my subscription?

There is a number you can call if you renewed it recently. The company is called Dial America, they handled EGM subscriptions. Since I just renew two months ago, I was given a choice of a full refund or different magazine. You might be able to do the same. Here's the number 800-984-8959.

This such a sad day. I grew up with EGM. I started readnig it when I was 9 (I'm now 25..yeah that long!) Why couldn't it be Gamepro.....oh well it's an end of a era.

I raise my glass for you EGM, you had an awesome run. You will be missed.

[Martin Penwald]

I just wonder what kind of business model the new owners have in mind for 1up. If they kill off the (video) podcasts, all you're left with are reviews, event coverage etc, i.e. stuff you can find on hundreds of other video-gaming related sites, too.

Also, no more Shane on podcasts? Damn shame, I really enjoyed his voice.

[Atomicfog]

I actually picked up an issue of Gamepro at a drug store yesterday and tried to flip through it. I loved their game coverage back in the late 90's early 2000's, but it was literally unreadable now. It actually took me a minute to figure out that a few pages I was looking at were actually an article and not ads.

Heh, wow. I had a feeling it was declining when I got my last issue, maybe in 2001 or so.

I had a whole duffel bag of GamePro Mags from the 90s and maybe earlier

I still do. It's great to go back and read them every once in awhile too. So much nostalgia.

Also, when it comes to canceled gaming magazines I miss Next-Gen. They had great articles, and they predicted so many gaming related events long before they happened.

[sgx]

I definitely had a feeling that EGM would be closing sometime soon. It was getting thinner and thinner (I remember around '98 it had like 4x as many pages as it does now), and after GFW closed, and the state of the print industry, you could see it coming. I was already resigned to the fact that it wouldn't be around long and recently I've just been absorbing all my gaming news from lots of podcasts listened to during my office work day, so the magazine wasn't that important to me.

Most of those podcasts were 1up podcasts though. And now they're all gone, and almost all the people who made them great are canned. 1up.com was the main site I went to for game news also.

Suxsuxsux!

[EdgeCrusher]

Luckily I haven't paid for an EGM subscription for about 4 years now, thanks to awesome internet deals, its sad to see some of my bathroom reading material go away.

But in terms of game informer as well, I like to read it. But if you seriously base buying a game on a review in a magazine, you are a retard and deserve to probably lose money on a crappy game. I don't go out and buy every movie or cd or game that my friends say they love. I do research myself, check out demos, and if the deal is not sealed, I'll rent it.

[Maco70]

I ended my subscription with them years ago.

The 1up website is the same thing, and seveal times while reading the article would point me toward the website.

It seems almost as if they wanted this to happen.

Why would anyone pay for something when they can get it free?

[Strike911]

Can't say I'm surprised. Print media hasn't fully transitioned with the internet age yet. Bound to happen.

I read EGM waaaaaaaaaaay back in the day (N64/Playstation generation) but not religiously. They were good back in the day, but their quality was in decline since.

AND FOR THE LIFE OF ME I don't understand why anyone would read Game Informer. It's just one giant advertising platform for GameStop. That and Nintendo Power for Nintendo. Especially with all the excellent online resources available for free, I just don't know what magazines can offer that the internet can't. Everything in the magazines are reported the day of the mag's release, and the internet is instantaneous. I have 24/7 coverage of video game news right in my room over the internet, from hundreds of different sources to help me form an opinion on a game, plus video and screencaps. Print media can't do that yet. But really, I hear people love Game Informer, even a few of my friends in real life and I've never understood it. Maybe it's my massive dislike towards GameStop...

I understand there's a aspect of turning the page that is interesting (old school interactivity, right?), and the only time I'll ever buy a magazine in this day and age is if it has a lot of imagery or headlines about games I absolutely love AND that will find interesting to go back and read years down the line when we've all forgotten them. Something more like memorabilia, than something to get news out of.

I went through some of my old mags just recently (I saved A LOT of old magazines from the early early 90s) and read a piece on the original StarFox in a very old April '94 GamePro issue and it was talking about the game's graphics being awe inspiring, and seeing reviews about classic games and how excited everyone was for them at the time is really interesting to go back and take a look at, now that a lot of them will never be received like that again. Good times. I love reading old articles. Love it. In fact, I think I'm more willing to buy old magazines on eBay than anything produced now, again, unless I want to have one as a keepsake for a game that I'm hyped for.

Rest in peace current-gen print media. When you have widespread solar powered video pages I will return.

[Atomicfog]

But in terms of game informer as well, I like to read it. But if you seriously base buying a game on a review in a magazine, you are a retard and deserve to probably lose money on a crappy game. I don't go out and buy every movie or cd or game that my friends say they love. I do research myself, check out demos, and if the deal is not sealed, I'll rent it.

You don't consider reading reviews research? Granted I read reviews from several sources before even considering buying a game, but I haven't been disappointed by a highly reviewed game in, well, I don't even know. Highly reviewed games are almost always enjoyable in my experience.

AND FOR THE LIFE OF ME I don't understand why anyone would read Game Informer. It's just one giant advertising platform for GameStop...

Examples? Last time I checked they don't even talk about Gamestop, so unless you're talking about the ads in the magazine, which are in most magazines, I don't see what you're talking about. I have to say though, it's nice to read without staring at a screen every once in awhile, and different magazines have writing styles and charm you don't always get online.

especially with all the excellent online resources available for free.

Heh. Like Gameinformer.com? But yeah, online resources are nice, they actually keep me from buying Game Informer as I don't have extra money to spend on things like magazines these days.

[Zombie]

EGM was decent i guess

why read a game mag anyways when you can hop on the internet and get the same stuff without a fee

[Strike911]

Examples?

I agree with you about writing styles and the tactile sensation of actually turning a page to see what's beyond (the internet lacks this)...

however...

Game Informer is largely associated with GameStop. Having the misfortune of working there in my teens, we gave them away + sold subscriptions away with each 10% off used games "screw you over" card we sold. We essentially were selling subscriptions in store. The magazine is published and owned by GameStop if I'm not mistaken.

Edit: sources -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Informer

http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=28788

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050418005419&newsLang=en

not trying to be a dick.

They never mention GameStop, but being owned by GameStop who's main goal is to sell games, and popular ones especially, there's no incentive to be really critical as it hurts the parent company's main way to get income. It's kind of lame really. For instance, with EGM they would rate a few very hyped games with low scores and publishers wouldn't work them. This type of stuff is lame, but it happens.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/09/publishers-allegedly-blackball-egm-for-negative-coverage/

And the fact that GameStop has to preserve its primary source of income, its game selling wing, in my opinion negates them as a legitimate form of critical media, much less as a real source for real unbiased reviews or coverage. Again, they never mention GameStop, but the magazine is something GameStop wants you to buy to pimp games coming out so that you'll buy it from their stores. Giving a product they're selling a critical unbiased review would hurt their bottom line... that's why I don't like them.

Again, not trying to be a dick.

[Hobocop]

Online resources typically lack what Benjamin or Adorno would call 'aura.' That is partially why the destruction of print media is rather depressing. There's something you get out of reading a physical copy that escapes and is subsequently lost when it is viewed through a monitor. I recently recieved a copy of Xbox Magazine and I read it for a few hours, which I know I wouldn't if I had tried to read the exact same thing online.

[The Coop]

But if you seriously base buying a game on a review in a magazine, you are a retard and deserve to probably lose money on a crappy game. I don't go out and buy every movie or cd or game that my friends say they love. I do research myself, check out demos, and if the deal is not sealed, I'll rent it.

I can't speak for everyone, but magazines were a part (key word being "part") of my decision making process. Perhaps it's the habitually oldschool side of me, but as a kid, I spent plenty of time flipping though magazines to find out what info I could throughout the 90s, EGM had become a regular staple for me. Later, when the Internet became reachable in my home in 2001, I still looked to magazines like EGM, GMR, and a couple others for more viewpoints on given games (not to mention for article reads). No game purchase was ever bought solely on a single review from anyone, but magazine reviews were one source of opinions on the games I was interested in. Even when most of the systems I owned were no longer covered due to their dying off, and the Internet was giving out news days and weeks before any magazine, I still liked to grab the new issues and read through them. There's something about holding and flipping through a magazine you've been reading for years that you just don't get surfing online.

Anyway, I know this is going to sound silly and sentimental, but I think one of the main reasons the news bummed me out, was because it was the only magazine left that I had been reading when I was young gamer. GameFan, Next Generation, Mega Play, Game Players... they all vanished years ago. And with EGM closing up shop after nearly 20 years (and it being bought for/by me every month for well over half of that time), my younger gaming self, which still resides in the back of my mind somewhere, can't help but go "What? Aw maaan... I liked EGM".

[joe_cam]

This whole situation pisses me off.

I've been reading EGM for most of the 19 years and 11 months it's been around.

What the hell is going ot happen wtih the 20th anniversary issue?? There's been word it might still release as an online only release, but it's still some bullshit.

At the very least, EGM DESERVES a farewell magazine, not just a fucking cliffhanger.

EDIT:

One more thing after re-reading this thread a little more.

Game Informer can suck a dick. The EB/GameStop merge is what forced GMR to die and now Game Informer is the big magazine still in game stores. it's incredibly biased against anything Nintendo, it heavily favors anything that involves shooting and I generally disagree with a good 90% of their review scores. That was one of the few magazines I used to get each month back when I still gave a shit about shopping at GameStop that I hated to get. I couldn't stomach it anymore and I hope the day comes soon that GameStop and it's horrible magazine both go away forever. I'll take GameStop over that joke of a magazine. (and please, don't ask me for examples of their bias because I really dont care enough to get into an arguement on whether or not I should hate them. I'm allowed my opinion.)

[EdgeCrusher]

Sure magazines were an awesome way to get info, back before 2000. After that it slowly became a cesspool of ads and bought reviews. In fact, print media died for me the day Game Players closed up shop. Game Informer, EGM, Game Player, Xbox, Nintendo Power, all of them are either as biased as FOX news, or so bought and paid for the reviews are "review by numbers" that is about as dull and sickening to read. Even the previews of games are horrible, cause anything they preview is automatically game of the year material, or at least that's how they butter you up to think. I mean, if you want to sit there and base your video game buying by what someone else that is paid to tell you, I hope you don't go to any car lots soon and buy a used car without test driving it first.

[halc]

i dont know how or why, but EGM has been sending me issues for like the past 4 years and i have never resubscribed save for maybe after the first year

no more free magazines

[EdgeCrusher]

EGM was about the easist magazine to get for free. If you did a google search for free egm subscriptions, you could easily sign up for multiple free year ones. If it had not been for that, I would have not read it for the last 4 years.

[Toadofsky]

If I recall, at one point, Gamepro got called out on being paid to score a game higher than it should have been, and lost it's credibility with a lot of fans.

But I think the same goes for Play. I LOVED play, they resonated with my opinion on games. First issue I bought was about The Wind Waker (I wish I had the Beyond Good and Evil issue). Some games like Viewtiful Joe, Wario World, and Gunstar Super Heroes, wouldn't be in my collection had I not read about them.

Fast forward a few years later...

They feature I don't know how many freakin' ads, hardly any letters (one if they're lucky to fit in next to or below/above an ad). I mean they have a section called ask Alienware, can I make that anymore obvious? It's just like Xplay's 30 second clips "presented by (insert brand/company here)".

Not to mention Dave Halverson is a complete flippant jerk. He's been nothing but a jerk on the dumbest little nitpicky things on games. "Oh, I can't see Gordon Freeman's arms or legs on his body, TOTALLY RUINS THE EXPERIENCE. This game is flawed and overhyped!" Or his newest irritation, calling out the movement and facial movement of characters in Fallout 3, and not understanding how said game could sell so well, and how this so called problem just "destroys" the experience. The guy back pedals on his opinions in almost every issue. My favorite, talking about the excessive violence and sex coming into games, or the excessive amount of heroines in games having at least a C to D cup, then reviewing an anime and just loving the gigantic boobs on one of the characters, or his promoting Girls of Gaming (that' just soft core gamer porn to me, not all of it, but most of it really is).

Don't get me started on his views of the Wii.

Yeah sure, Nintendo has more than likely ditched it's core audience, where most of said audience just had to have a plethora of M-rated games and went to Playstations and Xboxes to fill that needless void (and no, I'm not calling out anybody here on that, but I've known people to do that). But if that's what makes them money in the sad state our economy is, so be it. Maybe if things turn around, and the game market has to start all over again, they can win people and their fans back over with good games.

In regards to EGM, the first issue I bought, was the Pokemon issue, with nearly 300 pages if not more than that. And had Hsu and Chan's premiere comic. I even remember the backlash on DK64's review and article (They weren't happy with said game).

EGM, you will be missed.

And I apologize for going off topic.

[FuriousFure]

Yeah, This is extremely sad.

I listened to the wise opinions of the reviewer. and with Hsu in charge it was awesome but once he stepped down and they got those one people reviews it was so stupid.

back in the day, they had 4 people reviewing the game, saying exactly what they thought about it. letting the reader decide whether they agreed with it. and they had multiple viewpoints so that would get rid of any "fanboyism" of the reviewers. having a 8.0 and the other 3 reviews be 3.5's.

when it recently got to 1 person reviews is dumb.

anyways i'm sad its gone and now i have nothing to turn to when it comes to videogame magazines!

[The Coop]

http://www.1up.com/do/my1Up?publicUserId=4549175

Looks like there's to be a bittersweet finalé for the magazine. "Milkman" stated in his blog that the finished February issue is going to be released digitally in the near future. Seems the crew worked on it to completion, despite knowing the fate that awaited them and the magazine.

No specific date's been given, but it's coming soon(ish).

[Atomicfog]

They never mention GameStop, but being owned by GameStop who's main goal is to sell games, and popular ones especially, there's no incentive to be really critical as it hurts the parent company's main way to get income. It's kind of lame really. For instance, with EGM they would rate a few very hyped games with low scores and publishers wouldn't work them. This type of stuff is lame, but it happens.

Popular games are often popular because they're enjoyable. Game Informer has a perfectly good incentive to be critical of games -- so people will buy their magazine. Giving bad reviews to bad games doesn't hurt their parent company, it just makes it so that more people spend there money on good games rather than bad.

And the fact that GameStop has to preserve its primary source of income, its game selling wing, in my opinion negates them as a legitimate form of critical media, much less as a real source for real unbiased reviews or coverage. Again, they never mention GameStop, but the magazine is something GameStop wants you to buy to pimp games coming out so that you'll buy it from their stores. Giving a product they're selling a critical unbiased review would hurt their bottom line... that's why I don't like them.

Gamestop gets money regardless of what games you buy, as long as you buy from them. They have no incentive to "pimp" certain games and give them good reviews, and if even they did, there is no evidence that they do. Personally, I find that they generally give a good all around critique as shown in the example on the last page. More importantly they tell you what a game is, and what it isn't.

When you said "Maybe it's my massive dislike towards GameStop" you might have a point, but if you examine Game Informer without your bias against Game Stop, you might see why people like it.