What caused the gaming magazines to die out?

[jolozano77]

I believe the internet was the main culprit. Any information you wish to have, is available 24/7, with just a few clicks away... why wait a month or more for the magazine, when all the information you need is available now. By the time you receive the magazine all the "news" will be "old news". Unfortunately we live in a society hungry for information...

When I was younger I used to love to visit the bookstore and anxiously search for the new issue of EGM. I had tons of the early EGM issues, and I remember an editor going by the name of "Quarterman" if I'm not mistaken... I loved his articles. Those mags got lost or thrown away... I should have known better and kept them for posterity .. :(

[Areala]

I've changed my mind. I'm going to blame your mom for the death of video game magazines.

*huggles*
Areala

[te72]

I've changed my mind. I'm going to blame your mom for the death of video game magazines.

*huggles*

Areala

Well it wasn't MY mom, but if you go by the amount of angry letters sent in BY moms for one reason or another...

[shadefaster]

Yeah, the internet is now the go to place for info especially for games because now you get the info and videos to watch

[te72]

You know, I had a realization the other day. I haven't been particularly excited for any game I can think of in recent memory, at least in the last few years. It eventually hit me, that the magazines were what generated the hype for me.

I find that looking at gaming news on the internet is a very slippery slope, and can lead to me never actually playing games. At least with a magazine, I only had so much content to enjoy for the month, and I think that was a good balance. Too much info is every bit as bad as not enough, in my book.

[RobertDuncan]

Robert, I have to wonder though... are modern "mobile" games ever really worth playing? I mean honestly... I can't tell you how many hours I spent staring at a Gameboy as a kid. Some of those games didn't have much to them, but others? Others were gold in a little gray cartridge. There are still some solid handheld games from generations past that hold up well today.

Frankly, I think I might be more suited to handheld gaming than console gaming, if only because of the types of games. The DS and 3DS have a rather killer library.

My point being though, are we ever gonna see a Link's Awakening exclusively on a mobile platform? I sincerely doubt it, since most mobile games I've seen or played are dumbed down cash grabs marketed as "games."

You make a good point and that is indeed a very hard question to answer. Really gaming trends are regulated by the free market and the free market is controlled by the people who in turn are unpredictable. I mean I love handhelds myself but while I can't answer your question completely I think people play mobile gaming for various reason one being the commodity that comes with mobile gaming you can play,watch movies,research stuff,listen to music, and to an extent customise your gaming experience. Secondly developers pay top money in the field of psychology,I mean one look at modern gaming clearly shows they've done their research. Gaming in its latest from including mobile gaming is basically one giant casino palace with their slots,jacks and such aimed at suckling your wallet dry. And like a gambling addiction/gaming developers know what makes ppl tick=spend money on digital goods with gaming that's overtly cheap at times and such, but hey it was de$igned that way. You can pretty much say this era is the era of gambling which ironically they government is against,if not regulated, and where people who say gambling addiction is bad yet are allured to the fast pace,high rewards for high risk that mobile gaming brings. I wouldn't be surprised if a brain scan showed a correlation between a casino gambler and a modern mobile game player. Funny arcade gaming they said died because people didn't want to pony up money when they could almost get the same experience at home for free yet that logic is totally twisted with mobile gaming that I believe are more rigged at suckling your money than some of those old arcade cabinets could ever dream of.

[RobertDuncan]

Regarding Japan and their continued thriving market for print media, you should keep in mind that personal computer and internet usage isn't as prevalent here as most of the rest of the world. PCs and laptops are more likely to be used at work than at home, and most people only access the internet for personal use on their smartphones. This is part of the problem with Japanese web design, which is generally terrible (aesthetically), because it is usually necessary to make concessions for all of the mobile users accessing the sites. This gives print magazines a big advantage, as most of them are beautifully designed. Famitsu is a very well-designed magazine, for example. But take a look at their website, and it's extremely ugly webdesign which is clearly geared towards mobile users. Given the choice between their print and digital product, I certainly know which one I'D choose.

You make some great points but your forgetting two things one magazines where for the most part published monthly,by that time anything that magazine had which was mostly filled with ads by the time it came out was irrelevant people all ready knew that and then some. By the time it hit your mailbox the internet with its fast information practically gave you the equivalent of two to three mags not to mention metascores and such multiple reviews and varied opinions compared to a handful of staff editors.

Second when it comes to design ppl don't care what something looks like if they can get it for free. You see it all the time ppl would rather get free low quality audio cd rips,game console clones and pirated anything to save a few bucks. And with the Internet that's exactly what they got he'll arcade gaming even with its social aspect died of because ppl would rather play subpar or below as long as it's cheaper than the alternative(yet they pony up for dlc,amiibos and such lol humans right). That's not even mentioning the fact that like game mags fan mail the Internet provides places like here,forumns,game chat rooms and fan pages where you can get a multitude of ppl exchanging ideas and thoughts on the fly.

[kitsunebi]

You make some great points but your forgetting two things one magazines where for the most part published monthly,by that time anything that magazine had which was mostly filled with ads by the time it came out was irrelevant people all ready knew that and then some.

Second when it comes to design ppl don't care what something looks like if they can get it for free

Um...OK. I agree with your first point and can agree that your second applies to at least some people.

But I'm not sure they have anything to do with my points that you quoted, which were specifically concerning only the Japanese market and why the magazine system IS still going strong there, despite their dwindling sales everywhere else.

You do bring up something I forgot to mention though when you rightly claim that magazines have fallen behind in the West because their monthly publication schedule means that the info they contain is old news by the time it hits the stands. Meanwhile, pretty much all the Japanese gaming magazines are either weekly or biweekly, so the info is fresher.

[te72]

Interesting point Robert, about the similarities between casino gamers and mobile gamers. I could see that correlation. I just find it kinda sad, that there is the potential, but not the market, for some actually good stuff on mobile.

Take Angry Birds, for example. Sold how many millions of copies? Yet, it was merely a simplified and stripped down version of Worms, without any of the humor, or skill required to enjoy it. I just don't see anyone putting in the effort into the mobile market, and yet it hurts the industry by flooding the market with, for lack of a better term, crap. This happened in the early 80's too...

[CastleVanity]

The internet obviously. But i think magazines are still going strong in the non-internet world.

[theatermike]

Magazines have not died out, but I foresee them becoming more of a collectible coffee table item with evergreen content. The Australian gaming magazine Hyper went this route when they switched from monthly issues to quarterly specials. I'm all for the change in format.

That is not to say the existing magazine format is not viable, just that mass store distribution in the US might not be. RETRO and Nintendo Force have loyal followings despite the lack of customer service and persistent missing issues.

Anyway, I'm glad to be here and keep up the excellent work preserving the history of games journalism!

-Mike Mielke

[te72]

You know, if PTOM had continued, I would still be subscribing to this day.

Is there even a single monthly gaming magazine in the US anymore, aside form PC Gamer? Gamepro, Nintendo Power, PTOM, and countless others, are all gone. EGM is the only one that I'm not entirely sure of anymore. It seemed to be unfortunately circling the drain last I knew...

Personally, I miss the independent magazines. Gamefan and PSM were great, if something was crap, they'd let you know. If it was fantastic and somehow poorly marketed, they would also let you know. I always appreciated the "no strings attached" style of gaming journalism.

[xisterm]

Yeah - I always loved receiving a demo disc along with a magazine. Official Dreamcast Magazine was a particular favorite.

I think niche video game magazines - retro included - are doing well. I hope we see more pop up over time.

I'm sure a lot of indie mags will spring up because of all the interest in retrogaming.

[xisterm]

On 10/28/2015 at 12:56 AM, marktrade said:

I hate to be the one to break this news to you, Kiwi, but… there are no more nudes in Playboy.

ugh

Edited October 7, 2020 by xisterm

[Areala]

I'm sure a lot of indie mags will spring up because of all the interest in retrogaming.

I may have an announcement to make in regards to that at some point...

*huggles*

Areala

[te72]

Areala, you tease... looking forward to whatever you're cooking up.

[HowardBware]

Not enough advertising dollars to be made. Their advertising dollars are better spent popping up on your social media feed than trying to reach the niche audience that would prefer a hard copy.

Thank god I can still get all of my horror magazines delivered to my front door!

I like the cost and convenience of being able to find stuff on the internet, but there's something about holding a magazine. The smell, the excitement when you look in the mail box and the latest issue has arrived. I find that I get exposed to more things with a magazine subscription as well. I paid for it so damn it I'm going to read it. As a result I often stumble across awesome stuff I never would have known existed had I just googled stuff I already knew existed. If I have a magazine I am going to turn every page. On a web site The odds of me clicking every link are slim to none. Plus nobody wants to take their greasy runny morning dump with their laptop, they need a magazine dammit!

[Areala]

Areala, you tease... looking forward to whatever you're cooking up.

I'm not cooking it up, but it's possible I may be involved with it at some point. We'll see.

*huggles*

Areala

[te72]

On a web site The odds of me clicking every link are slim to none. Plus nobody wants to take their greasy runny morning dump with their laptop, they need a magazine dammit!

Good point on the first bit. However, that's an image I could live without haha...

Note to self: NEVER buy a used laptop.

I'm not cooking it up, but it's possible I may be involved with it at some point. We'll see.

*huggles*

Areala

Fair enough. Always fun to be involved in something you're passionate about.

[DoctorFink]

You know what also died out with gaming magazines? Traditional 'codes' and 'tricks'. I feel like so much of my history with EGM but even more so with Tips and Tricks as well as EGM2 was all about the codes and secrets. Games don't put in "Invincibility Mode" or "DK Head". I hope Yooka Laylee does stuff like this. Still though, I feel like as that kind of 'fun' died, in tandem with the internet and a how easy it was for 'current news' compared to the delayed timing of magazine distribution… I just think it was inevitable.

[Areala]

You know what also died out with gaming magazines? Traditional 'codes' and 'tricks'. I feel like so much of my history with EGM but even more so with Tips and Tricks as well as EGM2 was all about the codes and secrets. Games don't put in "Invincibility Mode" or "DK Head".

This is quite true, but a good part of the reason for that was Sony and Microsoft dictating how the games needed to perform on their respective platforms, and the rise of online gaming made leaving cheat codes in the game a little dicey. Some games still had them in, but using them would penalize the player.

Case in point: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. The original Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction featured a ton of cheat codes for things like extra money, unlimited ammo, infinite health, and various character skins. Mercenaries 2 has similar ones, but turning on even an innocuous one, like unlocking the bonus costumes, disables Trophy/Achievement support. I'm not saying that's a bad thing (it's a good thing, because you shouldn't be able to cheat your way through the game and claim you 'beat' it). But it was incentive enough that many developers eventually stopped putting codes like that into their games all together. And once the devs stop including them, there's no reason to have a magazine to print them up.

*huggles*

Areala

[DoctorFink]

Interesting take on the situation that I never considered. As a Nintendo-heavy gamer, we didn't have Achievements like the other consoles but codes even left those games too, perhaps due to the trend.

[eddiej1984]

I look it as similar to another type of magazine I would get as a kid, Wrestling, I think the main problem is how up to date a magazine can be, once the internet happened, and wrestling dirtsheet sites and the like became the norm, wrestling magazines which could be up to 3 months behind from when you would get it, were doomed. Luckily Pro Wrestling Illustrated still exists, I got an issue the other month, also feeling nostalgic I got a mad magazine which got a few laughs out of me.

A shame really, especially cheat codes for games. I've been reading alot of the old egm's and gamepros and its so interesting, games used to be able to get more hype then, somehow with just still screenshots and the magazine writer hyping it. Also it is nice to take a break from looking at the cell phone imo.

[te72]

I miss cheats. I would give you ever last trophy or achievement I've ever unlocked to be able to play games how I want to play them. I played SF2 CE on 8 stars of difficulty, just because I could learn something. I've very nearly beaten the black Lambo in Ridge Racer. I've beaten Dr Mario's level 20 from the beginning at level 1. I have precious little that I need to prove in a video game, and I don't consider myself even a very skilled player either...

Let me play MY way dammit, quit holding my hand and giving me pointless affirmations of some largely useless skill, and give me my codes back!

[gwmac223]

I would say that the internet has caused Video Game magazines to die off, for modern gaming at least. However, the retro scene in my opinion is at an all-time high. If you want proof, check out Retro Gamer.