Electronic Gaming Monthly... Is it DEAD?

[ctophil]

So has anybody seen or heard of the March/April 2013 issue (number 259.0) yet? I got my new March 2013 @Gamer Magazine issue. So I'm excited for the new EGM! Since the death of Nintendo Power and various other game magazines, I am starving for some magazine love. Come on, people! hehe.

[spoonman]

So has anybody seen or heard of the March/April 2013 issue (number 259.0) yet? I got my new March 2013 @Gamer Magazine issue. So I'm excited for the new EGM! Since the death of Nintendo Power and various other game magazines, I am starving for some magazine love. Come on, people! hehe.

Nothing yet.. I'll let you know.

[AaronDude]

I haven't gottin anything yet either. I got my first and last issue about two and a half months ago after waiting for 5-6 months for my first issue. I got a reply from CS about the ipass code and they said they just sent my issue to egmnow. I've never heard anything back.

I hate how all the video game magzines are goin' out. I'm not hardcore or even really casual but I'll pick up and play games that these magzines review and preview and such. I still love to play games and read gaming magzines even if it sometimes takes me six months or longer to beat an RPG. That is the bulk of what I play but I'm interested in everything. We all should be getting an issue of EGM soon since egmnow.com appears to be very healthy.

I was gonna resubscribe to PSM only to find out that it was canceled a couple months ago. I might look into this @Gamer Magazine. I've never heard of it but I'm interested now since It's a best buy magzine. Seems like all the game magazines that are healthy are backed by a major store, well at least game informer and gamestop.

[ctophil]

I haven't gottin anything yet either. I got my first and last issue about two and a half months ago after waiting for 5-6 months for my first issue. I got a reply from CS about the ipass code and they said they just sent my issue to egmnow. I've never heard anything back.

I hate how all the video game magzines are goin' out. I'm not hardcore or even really casual but I'll pick up and play games that these magzines review and preview and such. I still love to play games and read gaming magzines even if it sometimes takes me six months or longer to beat an RPG. That is the bulk of what I play but I'm interested in everything. We all should be getting an issue of EGM soon since egmnow.com appears to be very healthy.

I was gonna resubscribe to PSM only to find out that it was canceled a couple months ago. I might look into this @Gamer Magazine. I've never heard of it but I'm interested now since It's a best buy magzine. Seems like all the game magazines that are healthy are backed by a major store, well at least game informer and gamestop.

Yeah, @Gamer Magazine is good. Frankly, I like it better than the modern EGM. It's got some fun writing in there like the old days. EGM has gotten too professional and serious for my taste. Video games are about having fun by playing and writing about it. The only reason why I still subscribe to EGM is to collect all the issues.

[E-Day]

Yeah, @Gamer Magazine is good. Frankly, I like it better than the modern EGM. It's got some fun writing in there like the old days. EGM has gotten too professional and serious for my taste. Video games are about having fun by playing and writing about it. The only reason why I still subscribe to EGM is to collect all the issues.

I agree. EGM has lost it's fun and whimsical side. I only subscribe because I want to support it as a gaming magazine. I'd subscribe to @Gamer if we got it in Canada. I quite enjoyed the issue I picked up last summer in Watertown, NY. Sadly I forgot to get another issue when I was in Rochester, NY for Black Friday.

[spoonman]

Still going...

[AaronDude]

Yep just got mine today. They will probably be around some time since videogame magazines are getting rare and there is not a whole lot to choose from. They probably get people that used to get psm and nintendo power. Id like to know the number of subscribers they have I bet its a healthy amount. They need to get rid of that ipass stuff off the subscription website though because it just looks bad.

[te72]

You know, I just might have to subscribe to EGM and this @Gamer that you guys are talking about. Now that PSM is done, Grassroots Motorsports is only 8 issues a year, and Motortrend is a short magazine... I'm finding myself running out of things to read on lunch breaks haha...

Plus, I honestly have very little idea what is coming out, gaming wise. Then again, the back catalog is growing faster than I can chip away at it, so perhaps not knowing might be for the best?

[E-Day]

It's the March/April issue, but it says "Display until 07/02/2013". Obviously someone didn't proof that. It's either July 2 or February 7. I'm guessing the 7 should be a 5.

I haven't seen it in stores yet, so I'll have to wait for it to arrive by mail.

[spoonman]

It's the March/April issue, but it says "Display until 07/02/2013". Obviously someone didn't proof that. It's either July 2 or February 7. I'm guessing the 7 should be a 5.

I haven't seen it in stores yet, so I'll have to wait for it to arrive by mail.

I've seen this before. It usually means the magazine is covering their butt for a possible delay.

They would rather have the retailer keep the issue on the shelf longer than to toss them out before a new issue has arrived.

At Babbage's (back when there was a plethora of gaming mags) we would always "throw out" (into my car the old mags when the new issues showed up.

So I'd thinking EGM's future is looking even more dim.

[ctophil]

I got my new EGM issue today through the mail. But I didn't notice the "Display Until 7/02/2013" thing until E-day pointed it out. Well, they keep extending my subscription. So I think I have another year left or something. It does look pretty grim for EGM. There is no doubt that they will go completely digital pretty soon to stay afloat. I keep wanting to subscribe to Retrogamer. But it's still way too expensive. I guess when EGM goes under, I'll move my money over to Retrogamer, since I enjoy classic games more anyways.

[E-Day]

I've seen this before. It usually means the magazine is covering their butt for a possible delay.

They would rather have the retailer keep the issue on the shelf longer than to toss them out before a new issue has arrived.

At Babbage's (back when there was a plethora of gaming mags) we would always "throw out" (into my car the old mags when the new issues showed up.

So I'd thinking EGM's future is looking even more dim.

I thought unsold issues were sent back to the magazine.

[spoonman]

I thought unsold issues were sent back to the magazine.

It may depend on the agreement of the retailers.

When I managed Babbage's in the 90's we were instructed to destroy them.

I hated destroying anything like that so I held on to them, or sometimes I used them as incentives for people to buy the newer issues.

[AaronDude]

Yeah I really wouldn't mind if EGM went all digital but I already paid for a two year subscription. If they gave us premium content at egmnow I would go along with that.

Also I was looking at an ezine on the kindle fire news stand called GameOn. They haven't come out with a March issue yet but I was thinking of trying it. Does anybody know anything about that magazine? It looks like it's the only real gaming magazine on the amazon newsstand.

[AaronDude]

Well, they appear to have gotten rid of egmmag.com. Also I noticed they have a new digital issue on egmnow.com. There doesn't seem to be a way to subscribe to the print magazine either so they either got rid of that or they are redoing their site. Refunds?

[ctophil]

Well, they appear to have gotten rid of egmmag.com. Also I noticed they have a new digital issue on egmnow.com. There doesn't seem to be a way to subscribe to the print magazine either so they either got rid of that or they are redoing their site. Refunds?

egmmag.com still works, they just don't have any new digital issues since last summer. You can still subscribe to the print edition too. egmnow.com is just your daily gaming news, not really a standard magazine. However, we are still waiting for that new May/June issue of EGM in the mail. Let's all hope we don't have to wait until the middle of summer to read it. :-)

[AaronDude]

egmmag.com still works, they just don't have any new digital issues since last summer. You can still subscribe to the print edition too. egmnow.com is just your daily gaming news, not really a standard magazine. However, we are still waiting for that new May/June issue of EGM in the mail. Let's all hope we don't have to wait until the middle of summer to read it. :-)

Yeah egmmag is working again. I thought it was gonna be permanently down down lol. I'm getting paranoid with this mag.. I don't think we are going to get a new issue for a while if ever. Come to think of it i still haven't got my gameinformer issue. it should be coming it usually comes between the ninth and twentieth.

[spoonman]

I spoke with EGM customer support today and they said to expect the May/June (#260) issue of EGM to show up around June 26th.

They also said this:

"It will probably be this way until... they go out of business or whatever"

Me "So they are planning on shutting down?"
Them: "Oh no.. I was just saying."

So who knows.

[E-Day]

Whoever they contract out the customer service duties to doesn't seem to have much faith in them. And you can't really blame them. Apart from this site, I haven't heard anyone mention EGM anywhere else after they came back. You can't find them on the magazine racks anymore, so I have to wonder how many people actually know they are still around.

[te72]

Have been following this thread for a while now. Kinda makes me wonder... with gaming magazines all but gone from the North American market (what, with our attention spa.. hey look a squirrel!), do you think gaming itself might follow suit someday? I mean honest, proper gaming, where you have to sit down in front of a tv, controller in hand gaming?

Before you say "NEVER!", look back at the arcade. If you had suggested in 1993 that arcades would become nigh non-existant before I hit 30, I would have laughed at you and thought you were crazy.

[Phillyman]

I find it kind of sad that video game magazines are disappearing :( I walk by a magazine stand at the store and I see tons of magazines for teenage girls, and the mens magazines are all fitness, guns and cars. Hell I see more magazines about knitting or cooking than gaming. Maybe it's just that gamers are more tech savvy and we know where to go online to get instant information?

[spoonman]

It's just the type of magazine, (video games/technology) and doesn't lend itself to the 3-4 month turnaround time.

It's virtually impossible for them to have any real news or major announcements by the time it reaches your hands.

Print magazines in general are taking huge hits, partially do to digital tablet editions, and also because of the terrible economy. These things are often what people cut out when trying to save a few bucks.

I still think EGM should have incorporated more retro gaming coverage. Retro Gamer seems to be thriving and I have no doubt EGM could do the same.

[ctophil]

Have been following this thread for a while now. Kinda makes me wonder... with gaming magazines all but gone from the North American market (what, with our attention spa.. hey look a squirrel!), do you think gaming itself might follow suit someday? I mean honest, proper gaming, where you have to sit down in front of a tv, controller in hand gaming?

Before you say "NEVER!", look back at the arcade. If you had suggested in 1993 that arcades would become nigh non-existant before I hit 30, I would have laughed at you and thought you were crazy.

You bring up a good point. Nothing in this world is absolute. So yes, video games, itself can also die one day as well. But on the other side, we could see arcades and print game mags making a huge comeback. It could just be a turnaround where history repeats itself, and we see ourselves back in the 1980s and 90s. Case in point, Vinyl Records died once. Eventually, it came back. And now, you even see modern electronic stores like Best Buy carrying Vinyl record players everywhere. You may not know it, but there are a very large following of Vinyl Records. And they still make them as we speak.

People say that no digital format these days can duplicate the way Vinyl Records sound. It just sounds good to some people. Another point is classic cars. You noticed as the years go by, older cars are being drooled over by more and more people. We walk in the streets and pretty much care less about new cars. But when a 1940s car that was redone drives by, we point at it and say how cool it looks. There is a huge industry on classic cars.

We have an inherit need for attaching our thoughts to history, as per evident with this retromags web site. So whatever industry dies, if it had a large enough following, you know it'll come back eventually.

[KiwiArcader]

Just saw an issue on a newsstand over here in Kiwi-Land. Couldn't quite believe my eyes but it's likely it wasn't a current issue as we always seem to be a month or two behind over here due to surface shipping. The price stopped my buying it. $20 for one magazine? Pfft .... no way ....

[te72]

It's just the type of magazine, (video games/technology) and doesn't lend itself to the 3-4 month turnaround time.

It's virtually impossible for them to have any real news or major announcements by the time it reaches your hands.

I still think EGM should have incorporated more retro gaming coverage. Retro Gamer seems to be thriving and I have no doubt EGM could do the same.

You know, even though it's not always "news", I still appreciate reading a well written piece about videogames. With a print format, your editor has to make sure the magazine is pretty top notch, because you only get a limited number of articles per issue. However, with a website or blog, any game journalist can post whatever they like to a point. Frankly, I don't care one bit about Call of Dynasty Warriors 11-4.3 Version 2, you know?

Gaming as is has a fairly small amount of my time anymore, I don't need to know EVERYTHING out there like I did when I was a kid. Therefore, 100 or so pages a month pretty much always satiated my appetite for gaming news, wheter it was cutting edge or not.

You bring up a good point. Nothing in this world is absolute. So yes, video games, itself can also die one day as well. But on the other side, we could see arcades and print game mags making a huge comeback. It could just be a turnaround where history repeats itself, and we see ourselves back in the 1980s and 90s. Case in point, Vinyl Records died once. Eventually, it came back. And now, you even see modern electronic stores like Best Buy carrying Vinyl record players everywhere. You may not know it, but there are a very large following of Vinyl Records. And they still make them as we speak.

People say that no digital format these days can duplicate the way Vinyl Records sound. It just sounds good to some people. Another point is classic cars. You noticed as the years go by, older cars are being drooled over by more and more people. We walk in the streets and pretty much care less about new cars. But when a 1940s car that was redone drives by, we point at it and say how cool it looks. There is a huge industry on classic cars.

We have an inherit need for attaching our thoughts to history, as per evident with this retromags web site. So whatever industry dies, if it had a large enough following, you know it'll come back eventually.

Did vinyl ever truly die off though? I know some of the bands I have listened to over the years released vinyl versions of their music, although I didn't really pay much attention to the music scene until 1995 or so, so I may have missed said death of vinyl. However, I will second that point, analog (regardless of format) is the way to go when you want music QUALITY. If it's convenience you're after, then digital is obviously the way to do things. Each have their advantage for sure.

Also, as the current owner of a 194x Chevy Fleetmaster, you make a good point about old cars having a special place: anywhere they go, haha! Lot of hard work in either getting them going, or keeping them going, but it's a labor of love, and I look at it as a way to bring joy to the daily commute, because while not everybody knows WHAT the old cars are (myself included), everybody likes them in some way or another.

You guys are really convincing me that I should get myself (or suggest as a birthday gift for the people who ask) a subscription to Retro Gamer...

Just saw an issue on a newsstand over here in Kiwi-Land. Couldn't quite believe my eyes but it's likely it wasn't a current issue as we always seem to be a month or two behind over here due to surface shipping. The price stopped my buying it. $20 for one magazine? Pfft .... no way ....

Sheesh, I know boats are expensive, but that's a bit much. I could see $10 (assuming we're talking USD here, I have no idea of the current exchange rates), but $20 is a bit much.