Are gaming magazines obsolete?

[PoshAlligator]

I think so for a certain type of content. Rather than relying on clicks, magazines can have space to curate content that you might not know about otherwise, or justify deeper dives into specific things. But I work in magazines, so I'm definitely biased. I think it's a space that can definitely give room to a different type of content. Also no magazine these days is delivering straight news at all beyond the odd exclusive, it's more about deeper dives and additional additional perspective via analysis or talking with devs etc.

 

[j_z]

I miss Nintendo Power.

I know it's a lot simpler and easier to get by-the-minute information from social media, but I miss the sense of community I got with Nintendo Power. Reading the mailbag session and reading the questions/opinions/stories other Nintendo fans shared made me feel like I was apart of something.

Nintendo Power also had cool posters that came with each issue.

Click to shrink...

How about you try Nintendo Force. You get a poster and magazine every two months.

Nintendo Force Magazine | Home | NF Publishing

An homage to Nintendo Power, Nintendo Force is a subscription-based magazine covering all things Nintendo. Join the NF magazine community by subscribing today!

www.nintendoforcemagazine.com

 

[Suburban Thug]

They've been obsolete since like, 2008. No point waiting 30 days to get a magazine in the mail when the information is available instantly via the internet.

I remember the glory days of EGM, GameNOW, PSM, OPM, GamePro, Official Xbox Mag, PLAY, Nintendo Power, Game Informer, etc. Good times.

 

[Mexen]

There is this magazine that is very recent but I have forgotten the name. It even offers free digital versions of older publications. It could have been kickstarted but I am not sure. Let look. BRB.

Edit: I failed to find it but I came across A Profound Waste of Time.

 

[whatsarobot]

They just need to pivot. Shift from reporting on upcoming games to looking at gaming history, interviews, game design, etc.

EDGE is the closest to doing this, but a few others would be great. And more affordable would be great.

 

[GobHoblin]

Retro Gamer mag for me...

 

[Cactuar]

The real question is - Are Gamers Obsolete?

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*mind blown*

 

[Thera]

For news, yes. For other things, no. News site have a lot of basic not well written article. Not really their fault as ads don't pay well anymore.
Some magazine can be really well written with a funny but serious tone, interviews and, the best, thematic article.

I think the people who still enjoying them are the ones who buy book about video games. It is for people who likes to know other things other than the end product.
The same apply about others industrial art

 

[Black Chamber]

I would have to say basically they are.

They just can't keep up with the internet.

When news breaks, we know about it the day of - or sometimes before - due to leaks and inside sources. Why would I buy a magazine to read about something I read/heard a month ago?

 

[TheMan]

are you seriously asking this question in 2019?

After all the good mags are long since dead and gone because the internet made them absolutely useless?

 

[It’s Time To Go]

Not as long as Edge exists.

 

[zoltek]

Yes:

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This is the coolest video I have seen (about any subject) in a long long time. Wow. Thank you very much!

 

[Deleted member 46493]

I feel the question needs to be examined more broadly. Are there any interest areas/hobbies/etc in general where magazines still play a significant role? Is the car magazine industry, for e.g. doing better than game magazine industry?

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I read magazines, albeit those focused on less timely topics and more about good writing and reporting - Monocle, for example. That said, the magazine racks are still full of magazines like "Trucking Monthly"... so I guess.

The video game industry just moves too fast and it has a large amount of people willing to "work" for free/cheap (YouTube channels, forums). Work meaning give us news and impressions.

 

[stephbm6]

The only new magazine I read and sub too is Retro Gamer magazine from the UK.

 

[dm101]

Yes. I come here for info.

 

[ApeEscaper]

They're lame

 

[powerNglory]

The last magazine I had a subscription for was OPM and that was only because I had a subscription to the PlayStation Underground and when that stopped they transferred the rest of my subscription to that. I was a big fan of PSM though before that.

 

[Gun Dog]

Never heard of this "game magazine" before, OP.

 

[Rndom Grenadez]

Honestly with ERA around gaming websites are obsolete too.

 

[Biske]

For stuff like "news" and reviews? Completely

If you want to make a magazine with in depth looks into the gaming industry and thoughtful and intelligent articles and interviews? Not at all.

But who is going to pay for that these days when print media is already dying?

 

[bangai-o]

I subscribe to Retro Gamer Magazine. I like it.

 

[xir]

i buy edge every month in the USA and I consider it like a patreon. 12$!

 

[Alienhated]

They were obsolete like 15 years ago. Now they're just dead.

 

[Dave.]

Despite the potentially unlimited word counts of online gaming journalism, it's still much easier to find good longform journalism in magazines such as Edge. So as long as the internet is all about articles that you can scan in a couple of minutes, games magazines are always going to have a place.

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Yes this. The "news" is old by the time it's printed, but I might not have seen everything. The longer articles and the editorials are great and rarely found in such quality on the internet - I guess there would be blogs rivaling it sometimes.

I still get physical magazines of Edge, Wireframe and PC Pro (not really gaming focused but does mention it) every month.

 

[eraFROMAN]

Literally no reason to print anything when it's objectively better to blast news to the internet, instantly. Most consoles in the last 10 years even throw you news in their home menus (Switch is pretty forward about it.) Absolutely no reason to pay for magazines.

 

[Tyaren]

Pains me to say this, but, yes, and for a long time already. 10-15 years ago I would buy (or let my mom buy) several of my preferred game magazines each month to be updated, read the articles and marvel at the printed screens of my most anticipated games. I've still got several magazine towers in storage from my childhood and teenage years. I never threw them away. Nowadays you can read or watch better articles and videos online right when they are fresh and relevant, and they are for free.
What's still a nice tradition though, when I am in town with my mom, and when we are near a shop that sells magazines, she still always automatically ask me if I want to check out the latest game magazines, even though I haven't bought one for at least the last 10 years. And I always tell her, yes, and then I check out what these magazines are up to currently. Many vanished already of course, and that is indeed a bit sad.

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

I'd buy a magazine for gaming that didn't even focus on new news but instead was really deep stories about games. Like developing them, how players reacted and felt playing them, etc

Imagine Boss Fight books series but shorter columns, still 3-5 pages long per article, and a 30-60 page magazine that doesn't rely on the latest games. Can have review of really old games too.

I'd buy that at premium tho I imagine it would need to be quarterly

 

[Monkey D.]

I stopped buying them the moment i had internet in 2005. Before that my room was full of them.

 

[Dymaxion]

Social media killed the magazine. Now we mostly turn our gaze to self-employed influencers on YouTube and Twitch for reviews, previews, and impressions. And some of their opinions, or rather the numbers their opinions equate to, are very important because we also turn our gaze to the almighty review aggregator. Did we make the right choice?

 

[Herne]

I used to love them, from Zzap! 64 to Arcade to Edge to PC Gamer (UK, forget that advert-sodden mess that is the American magazine). But I haven't bought one in about a decade or so now, probably. If not more. I get all my gaming news on Era or Reddit.

 

[Cokomon]

They were obsolete in the early Aughts, with the rise of online sites, blogs and forums. Now we have social media and streamers, they're even more obsolete.

 

[Castia]

Have been for years sadly.

 

[Siresly]

This thread made me nostalgically order a bunch; PC Gamer, Edge and Retro Gamer.
Think PC Gamer might be the only Swedish gaming magazine still going, and it's been struggling, went bi-monthly a while ago.
I like how it's quite affordable to import magazines these days.

 

[Imitation Of Life]

They are for me.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

They've been for years.
I started to notice it something like ten-fifteen years ago already, when I attempted to buy my last ones and I realized they were all talking about shit I read on internet two or three months before.

 

[Toxi]

What's a magazine?

 

[Theef]

All magazines have been since the iPad 1 dropped

 

[Fat4all]

i miss kinda miss demo discs

 

[phant0m]

Used to read PC Gamer, OXM, EDGE. All about those demo discs. Sadly it's probably been 10 years since I looked at one. Blogs cover basically anything newsworthy and YT provides the reviews.

RIP.

 

[Deleted member 12790]

I feel the question needs to be examined more broadly. Are there any interest areas/hobbies/etc in general where magazines still play a significant role? Is the car magazine industry, for e.g. doing better than game magazine industry?

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college football

phil steel and dave campbell are still gold standards for the state of texas

 

[Herne]

i miss kinda miss demo discs

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Demo discs? Zzap! 64/Commodore Force and Commodore Format used to give entire games away on their covertapes.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

They are great for things like reviews, retrospectives, developer interviews, and other similar content which doesn't age quickly. Not really the place to get breaking news anymore, but that was always the weakest content in gaming mags anyway.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I'd buy a magazine for gaming that didn't even focus on new news but instead was really deep stories about games. Like developing them, how players reacted and felt playing them, etc

Imagine Boss Fight books series but shorter columns, still 3-5 pages long per article, and a 30-60 page magazine that doesn't rely on the latest games. Can have review of really old games too.

I'd buy that at premium tho I imagine it would need to be quarterly

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Like a gaming version of a literary journal? Sounds fantastic.

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

Like a gaming version of a literary journal? Sounds fantastic.

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Yeah I'd pay a lot for it. There's probably little proof that there would be a market for it but I think it could do well so long as it understands it has a small but dedicated audience. I'd accept huge ad spreads for like 30 pages if it meant the other 30 pages were articles with literary depth.

 

[TAoVG]

Like a gaming version of a literary journal? Sounds fantastic.

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Then check out this mag from Ray Barnholt who, unfortunately, stopped making issues in 2015

http://www.scroll.vg/shop

Also, VG magazines are more than reviews and tips. They are artifacts, locked in time, that bring together elements of the era in which they were created. Historians and preservationists look to magazines, periodicals, etc. because of this. Also, the physicality of a magazine, book, album, etc. just can't be replicated through a digital form. This is not an "old man yells at clouds" statement, just factual.

 

[spman2099]

The format is antiquated, but not obsolete. It just isn't viable as a mainstream source for gaming news; that being said, there will always be people who prefer physical mediums. Gaming magazines aren't going to be able to break news often, so they have to focus on quality editorial writing, and having a trusted roster of critics. A strong visual style is also a huge boon. They still serve a specific segment of the fanbase and will continue to do so.

 

[nikos]

Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine was the last good one.

 

[Laserbeam]

Nintendo Force is still fun to get in the mail.

I read it while I poop.

 

[Diablos]

Like basically all magazines, yes.
The Internet killed print, for the most part (or at least made it much less relevant)

 

[Lucas M. Thomas]

Nintendo Force is still fun to get in the mail.

I read it while I poop.

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I'm honored. :p