Game Informer Closes Down

[Mikestergame]

Game Informer has closed down.  The last issue was their final one.  They had the next issue about 70% complete but it's highly likely it won't be released.

[MigJmz]

maybe we can start adding these now to RM

[dablais]

Yeah sad news!

https://www.gameinformer.com/

 

Edited August 2 by dablais

[kitsunebi]

I think it's important to keep in mind that Game Informer could have ceased publication 50 years ago (THROUGH WHAT SORCERY WERE THEY REPORTING ON VIDEO GAMES?) and providing scans of their mags would still be just as illegal.  What's at question isn't whether or not they're still in publication, but whether going out of publication changes their stance on being against having scans of their mags appear.  Short of getting word from whoever was against it in the first place, I see no reason why their wishes would change the instant the publication goes under.

I suppose you could always test the waters and hope for the best.  Of course, this flurry of excitement over the possibility of sharing scans of their mag the instant its demise was announced could look a bit like a pack of gleeful vultures salivating over the still-fresh corpses of their staff's careers and livelihoods.  Days after their unemployment is announced to the world might not be the most prudent time to ask "hey, so NOW can we give away all your stuff??" 

[jdjenkins83]

Get this! Game Informer has been around since fall 1991. 33 years? What a lifespan. So long it outlasted others including Nintendo Power and GamePro and even EGM before it. Sad to hear about what's happening to it though.

Edited August 3 by jdjenkins83

[MkMoveList]

Are there any other American Gaming magazines still in publication or was Game Informer the last one?

[seehorsee]

12 minutes ago, MkMoveList said:

Are there any other American Gaming magazines still in publication or was Game Informer the last one?

The Video Game History Foundation wrote something about this in 2019. It's mostly indie magazines dedicated to niche topics in the U.S.

https://gamehistory.org/every-english-language-video-game-magazine/

[kitsunebi]

Looking at everything on that list, it would seem that Game Informer was indeed the last USA mag (of original content) to be sold in stores, though there are still one or two indie mags that can be bought directly from the publisher.  And there's always PC Gamer USA, I guess, but that's just a half-assed truncated reprint of the UK mag, so why would anyone want it?

[Skyquake]

Sad news. And removing all of the contents on the website too? Brutal.

[dablais]

7 hours ago, MkMoveList said:

Are there any other American Gaming magazines still in publication or was Game Informer the last one?

Personaly, I’m subcribed to Pure Nintendo, Old School Gamer and Nintendo Force.  They offer a print version but I only get the digital.  All 3 US based.

And like kitsunebi mentioned, the main one still standing is PC Gamer, but for how long…

dablais

Edited August 3 by dablais

[JimJam78]

Surprising they went as long as they did, what with all news and reviews online now, for better or for worse.  I grabbed a couple recent issues of PC Gamer, they we're fine, but I was struck but how much of a skeleton crew it is.  I guess that makes sense, if it's just the UK edition retreaded.

 

[StrykerOfEnyo]

I'm surprised at ANY mags that lasted as long as they did. I loved my gaming magazines back in the 1990's, but I haven't bought one at newsstands for over a decade. There were a couple UK mags I liked (Retro Gamer, Xbox 360 World?) but I stopped getting them when I moved out of the big city around 2013. The last subscription I had was to Game Informer but it was because it was cheap ($15 for the year, I believe, at the time) -- and I got a discount at GameStop. Once GameStop started getting worse, I didn't bother going there much. I've said it in another post, but I've checked at Walmart newsstands for a few months, and I haven't seen ANY videogame magazines there (in Texas, anyway). Magazines are still being made, but I get my videogame fix from other sources now, like most people. It was sad to see EGM and GamePro go, but I didn't feel the need to keep up my subscriptions to them either for many years (plus everything else keeps going up in price).

[kitsunebi]

6 hours ago, JimJam78 said:

I grabbed a couple recent issues of PC Gamer, they we're fine, but I was struck but how much of a skeleton crew it is.  I guess that makes sense, if it's just the UK edition retreaded.

 

I think the PC Gamer USA staff's only real job is replacing the ads with American ones and deciding which pages of editorial content to remove (the USA edition is usually around 16 pages shorter).  It's a joke, and has been for years.

But PC Gamer USA in the 90s was...

[tcaud]

Sad to see 'em go. When they were still offering them they were most of the reason for having a GameStop membership. They tended be a little on the thin side so not spectacularly engrossing and when GameStopped giving them away (sic) the use of having a pro-membership kinda died with them for me. But good news I guess for this site and related projects... more content always a good thing (they are apparently trying to find a place to archive their stuff).

[AUCTIONJEFF1]

So much for getting the next 17 issues of the 20 issue subscription I paid for. On the plus side, I do have a 

complete set.  Since issue 1 when Funcoland was my first stop after cashing my weekly paycheck as a teen.  

Very sad to see it cease production.  Another part of my youth has died.  

[SynthMilk]

27 minutes ago, AUCTIONJEFF1 said:

So much for getting the next 17 issues of the 20 issue subscription I paid for. On the plus side, I do have a 

complete set.  Since issue 1 when Funcoland was my first stop after cashing my weekly paycheck as a teen.  

Very sad to see it cease production.  Another part of my youth has died.  

A complete set? Wow.

For someone who never encountered one at the newsstand and wasn't anywhere near a GameStop or Funcoland, what's the case for GameInformer?  Why take it over the field of all other gaming mags in what was (at one time) a pretty saturated and competitive market?  The cover designs and interior layouts of the last few years are very attractive, but they were already the last man standing at the point. Scanning through listings of older/90s issues, it doesn't seem like graphic design was its forte (that flipped MK logo cracks me up every time); so was it the writing? Exclusives? What was the identity of the magazine?

Not hating at all, it's just that the couple eulogies I've come across seem to speak more to the death of gaming magazines as a whole and don't go into any detail about what set gameinformer apart.

[mccorkled]

The torrent doesn't appear to be working.

[Phillyman]

15 minutes ago, mccorkled said:

The torrent doesn't appear to be working.

Are you sure?

[RetroDefense]

18 minutes ago, mccorkled said:

The torrent doesn't appear to be working.

Working fine on my end.

[mccorkled]

I'm showing no trackers.

[Phillyman]

45 minutes ago, mccorkled said:

I'm showing no trackers.

I am going to be honest, I am not a guru with torrents. You may want to go onto Reddit and see if someone can assist you. You might have a misconfiguration of some setting, but I can tell you that I am seeing tons of people connecting and pulling from my side.

[AUCTIONJEFF1]

2 hours ago, SynthMilk said:

A complete set? Wow.

For someone who never encountered one at the newsstand and wasn't anywhere near a GameStop or Funcoland, what's the case for GameInformer?  Why take it over the field of all other gaming mags in what was (at one time) a pretty saturated and competitive market?  The cover designs and interior layouts of the last few years are very attractive, but they were already the last man standing at the point. Scanning through listings of older/90s issues, it doesn't seem like graphic design was its forte (that flipped MK logo cracks me up every time); so was it the writing? Exclusives? What was the identity of the magazine?

Not hating at all, it's just that the couple eulogies I've come across seem to speak more to the death of gaming magazines as a whole and don't go into any detail about what set gameinformer apart.

I've subscribed to almost all the popular gaming mags all the way to the end.  Game Informer was not my favorite, ( Next Generation) but was my last. What made Game Informer special to me was that it was still something to look forward to in the mail.   I've also got compete sets of EGM, EGM2, GamePro, and Nintendo Power.  This obsession with physical magazines started in 1982. I Joined all the video game manufacturers official clubs to get their newsletters. I still all those plus the  club cards.  PDF's are great for achieving, but nothing beats holding paper for me.  That may explain my 30 year career in the printing industry.  Thanks to Retromags for a great community that shares the love of printed media.  

[mccorkled]

50 minutes ago, Phillyman said:

I am going to be honest, I am not a guru with torrents. You may want to go onto Reddit and see if someone can assist you. You might have a misconfiguration of some setting, but I can tell you that I am seeing tons of people connecting and pulling from my side.

I haven't had any issues with my client in the past. I did download a stand alone client and got it working. Thank you!

[SynthMilk]

10 hours ago, AUCTIONJEFF1 said:

I've subscribed to almost all the popular gaming mags all the way to the end.  Game Informer was not my favorite, ( Next Generation) but was my last. What made Game Informer special to me was that it was still something to look forward to in the mail.   I've also got compete sets of EGM, EGM2, GamePro, and Nintendo Power.  This obsession with physical magazines started in 1982. I Joined all the video game manufacturers official clubs to get their newsletters. I still all those plus the  club cards.  PDF's are great for achieving, but nothing beats holding paper for me.  That may explain my 30 year career in the printing industry.  Thanks to Retromags for a great community that shares the love of printed media.  

I'll drink to that!  I'm a print addict myself.  Just finishing up year one of three in a graphic design program and hoping to specialize in print. Thirty year career in the industry sounds amazing — congrats!

[Silvercube]

It's been a few months since Game Informer shut down... a deep void in the video game magazine world. Was this the last main US-based video game magazine that covered all systems?

They have a significant social media following (for example, 2.3 Million followers on Twitter/X). Shame it's not being utilized. Getting a magazine in the mail was a great present I always looked forward too. This generation is missing out of that upbringing!