Electronic Gaming Monthly... Is it DEAD?

[ctophil]

Phil, I dunno if we'd ever see a magazine as thick as 90's EGM ever again, simply because half of that magazine was advertising. Honestly though, I enjoyed the ads a good deal. Sometimes a game didn't get the coverage unless the developer paid for the advertising. Not that the magazine wouldn't cover a game UNLESS they took out ad space, but rather they didn't know about it otherwise... Plus some of those ads were darn clever. Think a magazine would be so content filled with the backing of a giant like Wal-Mart? I'd have trouble looking past any bias, myself, same issue with Game Informer, but I like that idea better than just letting it all disappear.

 

I've been reading through Retro lately. Initially I just liked the idea of supporting a magazine with a focus on older systems, so I subscribed. It was supposed to be bi-monthly, but in what seems to be a bit of a trend, that goal was, optimistic. I wasn't gonna resubscribe, but now they're doing a Patreon style funding, so you don't get charged until they're ready to ship an issue. I like that idea better, so nobody ends up with lots of issues left on a sub that will never be filled. Plus, the magazine itself is well written and on nice thick paper, so I'm content.

 

Oh yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed EGM's advertisements back in the day too.  I even had a habit of looking over those ads many times just to hype me up for certain games/systems.  Magazines like EGM, Nintendo Power, and GameFan were like "gaming bibles" to me.  I read them from cover-to-cover probably 5-6 times a piece.  They were filled with humor, creative articles, and there had a lot of "fun factor" in everything that they wrote back in the 1990s.  

 

Game Informer is not bad at all.  It does capture some of the excitement and gaming enthusiasm of yesteryear.  I have some additional respect for Game Informer over the past few years, since they are still around when almost everybody else are completely dead.  Though it has Gamestop bias present within the articles, I'm still okay with it.  Game Informer is a different entity to me, and I enjoy every bit of it.    

 

As for RETRO, they have been struggling greatly, even to the point of using their own money to keep the magazine afloat.  I'm happy that they are still around by using Patreon.  I am ready to re-subscribe as soon as I get my latest issue in the mail for my subscription to switch over without issues.  But overall, it is a good magazine and quite well written.  I really enjoy the retro games they randomly choose to be in each issue.  

[te72]

Yeah, the fun of the magazine scene back then, that's what I miss the most. You might be tempted to think that it was a matter of the time though, and I couldn't disagree more. Calvin & Hobbes is over 30 years old now, and yet it still holds up brilliantly. I still find it fun to go back to re-read the old issues I still have, now and then. Eventually I'd like to re-read through my PSM collection...

 

With Retro, I'm in the same boat you are. Once I get the last issue from year 2, I'm gonna sign up for their Patreon. I think it's admirable of them to put their own money into the magazine. Sure, it's obviously not the best business case (and why I don't run my own business), BUT it shows dedication, and that is something I appreciate behind anything I buy. Plus, reading it makes me want to go play some of the games featured, sometimes again, sometimes for the first time. Isn't that what a great gaming magazine is all about?

[hippo99]

Where are the covers of EGM's most recent issues posted?

(and which is the actual issue?)

[E-Day]

3 hours ago, hippo99 said:

Where are the covers of EGM's most recent issues posted?

(and which is the actual issue?)

The cover gallery for EGM is up to date. The last cover you see in there is the last issue they published.

[kitsunebi]

1 hour ago, E-Day said:

The cover Gallery for EGM is up to date. The last cover you see in there is the last issue they published.

Just make sure you set the gallery to sort by caption or they won't be in the correct order and finding the most recent issue will be impossible.  It's supposed to automatically sort that way, but when the site upgraded it's software, the sorting option broke and has to be done manually by the user every...single...time they access any gallery folder.  It's been over a month since any bugs on the site have been worked on, so it looks like what's still broken is gonna stay broken at this point.

[hippo99]

Thanks E-Day and kitsunebi77

1) That means that this is the final EGM issue ever published:

EGM 2016 Buyer's Guide (Special Issue #05) - Display until 01/15/2016

2) Apparently it came with two different covers:

( www.retromags.com/forums/topic/7085-electronic-gaming-monthly-is-it-dead/?page=16#comment-50706 )

( www.retromags.com/gallery/image/7122-electronic-gaming-monthly-special-issue-05-fall-2015/ )

Can you confirm 1) and 2) ?

[agc]

I asked for a refund for my subscription and they said this:

" Yes, if you wish to cancel your subscription, we will issue a refund for the unserved issues. Do you wish to cancel now? "

I said yes and they said this:

" We cancelled your subscription as you requested.  You may receive one or two more issues, please keep them with our compliments.  Please let us know if you need further assistance. "

[kitsunebi]

10 hours ago, agc said:

I asked for a refund for my subscription and they said this:

" Yes, if you wish to cancel your subscription, we will issue a refund for the unserved issues. Do you wish to cancel now? "

I said yes and they said this:

" We cancelled your subscription as you requested.  You may receive one or two more issues, please keep them with our compliments.  Please let us know if you need further assistance. "

That's the script they're supposed to follow.  But that person is just a Ziff Davis customer service drone who has no idea what EGM even is, let alone that it folded over a year ago.  You obviously won't be getting any more issues, and I'd be shocked and amazed if they issue any refund.  Still, at least you made the effort - what else can you do?

[E-Day]

Ziff-Davis has nothing to do with the magazine anymore. 

[kitsunebi]

19 minutes ago, E-Day said:

Ziff-Davis has nothing to do with the magazine anymore. 

Nor does anyone else

[spoonman]

Yeah, It's definitely dead despite what they say.

I also had a rep tell me I missed a "Spring 2016" issue because my subscription expired.
She also said she was going to get that "right out to me". That was in 2016 and I still haven't received a thing.

So this appears to be the official stats as of now.
 

1st run ~ Issue #000 (February 1989) -to- Issue #236 (January 2009) <-#237 was digital only
2nd run ~ Issue #238 (March 2010) -to- Issue #267 (Special Issue #5 September 2015) Officially dead
Collection 100% complete (269 issues)

 

1st issue #000 (Feb 1989)                    Issue #001 (May 1989)                        FINAL ISSUE #236 (Jan 2009)
 

2nd Launch/1st issue #238 Spring 2010 / Final Issue (2nd Launch) #267 (09/2015)

[te72]

Well that's a shame, if unsurprising. I feel for you EGM fans (I was one, long ago), this is just like what us PSM fans went through a few years ago. At least they had the courtesy to say goodbye though...

 

Might I suggest supporting an indie magazine instead? I've been a subscriber of Retro for the last couple years. They're not exactly monthly (or even bi-monthly), but you know what? Reading each issue makes me wanna play the games they're featuring. Isn't that the whole point?

[E-Day]

I currently support Nintendo Force and Retro. I was excited about the last issue of Retro when I found out it was full of interviews. That is, until I got the issue and saw that is was just the same almost all the questions emailed to everyone featured in the issue. I was hoping for more actual interviews where there is back and forth discussion based on the answers given.

I was also ready to support Little Gamer (or whatever it was called), but at the time they were not able to ship to Canada.

[te72]

International, I can somewhat understand, but surely shipping a magazine to Canada is an easy task to accomplish? Not like it's a big package and has to go through customs and the like? Perhaps I'm missing something. Only ever shipped packages up there, which can be more difficult than necessary, in my experience.

 

As for Retro, I'm on the Zelda issue at the moment. Really getting the urge to play through Link to the Past (again, kinda forgot my time playing it, was in a bit of a forgetful place in life at the time), and Wind Waker for the first time. Wind Waker may have been the first game I bought that I never actually played... the start of an unfortunate trend in my case. Not really excited about the interview issue that you mention, but I'll certainly give it a read. Definitely looking forward to issue 13, the survival horror issue though!

[kitsunebi]

7 hours ago, te72 said:

 Wind Waker may have been the first game I bought that I never actually played... the start of an unfortunate trend in my case.

Oh man.  I can't pinpoint exactly where it started for me, though it would have been the previous generation of games.  I'm positive I own over a hundred games spanning the PS1-N64-Dreamcast-PS2-Gamecube-X-Box era which have never once been played.  Thankfully I came to my senses and stopped buying games entirely by the time the following gen rolled around.  I think I was always telling myself "these games won't be on sale forever, you've gotta buy them now or else be forced to deal with eBay later," so whenever I saw something I wanted to play, even though I knew I didn't have time to play it, I bought it anyway just so I would have it in case I ever found the time later.

Now the only games I play are on the PC, which isn't as restricted by generational hardware.  I can go to GOG and buy games I enjoyed as a kid alongside games released recently.  And almost all of those older console titles I owned (hell, still own) are playable via emulation now, which is super convenient since my systems and games are packed away in storage in America.  Of course, I still almost never have time to play anything, but I no longer waste money buying tons of games I'll never play because I know that with a PC, I'll always have a chance to pick them up later if I want to.

[te72]

Definitely a smart approach Kitsunebi. I think the last time I bought a new game was in 2013, when Gran Turismo 6 came out. I'm a pretty big car nut, have a whole seat / frame / wheel setup, it's been a fun investment. I even quit buying digital games, with the exception of the Suikoden releases as they've happened on PSN, if only to support Konami for making them available. All in hopes that, maybe, someday, they might make a sixth entry in the series.

 

Seeing as though Konami, like EGM here, have largely forgotten what it is that they do, I'm not exactly holding my breath.

[theatermike]

Weren't some of the editors hyping plans to bring EGM back to print again? I recall mention of it on forums and/or social media amongst talk of Geek Magazine and Walmart Gamecenter. 

[E-Day]

On 12/12/2018 at 2:37 PM, theatermike said:

Weren't some of the editors hyping plans to bring EGM back to print again? I recall mention of it on forums and/or social media amongst talk of Geek Magazine and Walmart Gamecenter. 

I hadn't heard anything about that, and at this point even if they brought it back I am not sure I would bother supporting it. I am pretty sure they still owe me issues from the last run.