Magazines - which ones are you still subscribed to?

[Necron]

As a subscriber to Edge for quite a while now, I thought of other video gaming publications I could subscribe to.

So many video game magazines have vanished over the years and it feels as though it's on its last legs sometimes... in my own small way, I still want to support stuff like Edge to continue well beyond this generation at least. I just recently subscribed to PlayStation Official Magazine (UK) as I've always read an issue here and there; might be one of the last official-type magazines out there, I believe. I might subscribe to Retro Gamer soon as well.

I currently subscribed both in the form of 'Digital+Print'. But if 'Digital' is the only way in the near future, then I'll have to adapt... but due to full-time working at a PC now, I do prefer reading the paper version finally (and for longer durations, not just quickly browsing through it).
Some of my favourite covers from each for illustration purposes:

What are your thoughts on this?

• Do you still read a video game magazine or have stopped doing so?
• What publications (Edge, Gameinformer etc.) do you still read if that is the case?
• Is this a case of magazines being truly doomed in the long-run (no idea if numbers are published to confirm either way)?

 

[melloon]

I'm still subbed to Game Informer because I got GameStop's rewards thing, besides that I don't really subscribe to any. I miss gaming magazines a lot though. I'd remember begging my mom to let me get copies of Nintendo Power when I saw them at Walmart when I was a kid.

 

[entremet]

None. I do like Retro Gamer collected editions, though.

 

[hayabusi]

I just ordered 5 issues of Retro Gamer and was subscribed once.
Considering to do that again.

 

[Zaimokuza]

I used to read Gameinformer when Gamestop basically gave the subscription for free. I still remember the articles about gta V and watch dogs.

Last year I bought a number of Edge just because it's such an established magazine that I felt I had to read a number.

I don't think I'll subscribe to any though in the future

 

[Redcrayon]

I was subscribed to Games TM until they were closed down after Future bought them out. I still subscribe to Retro Gamer though.

 

[Irene]

There was this amazing swedish magazine called Level that got permanently folded down in 2018. It was a great magazine - lots of insightful articles and topics and great writers.

I still pull out old numbers and read them from time to time. Their chief editor is very passionate.

I believe one of their articles even got translated for kotaku, don't remember which one, but it was an analysis of Star Citizen.

Magazines - when they're done with passion, and insight - are something truly special in the industry.

 

[TheGhost]

This site delivers more news than any magazine and I don't need to get physical media delivered to read it.

 

[Bobbetybob]

Used to pick up Gamesmaster fairly regularly between the ages of about 12 and 20. I mostly stopped because it just seemed like a fairly redundant thing once you could get all of your news, trailers, reviews and more info immediately online.

 

[Deleted member 51789]

I just ended my Edge subscription, just finding myself reading them less (but that's alongside most news/features about games)

 

[PaulLFC]

I subscribe to Retro Gamer. Great articles that, since they're covering retro games, are all content I can't read on news sites or online.

I hope the print version continues - most "iPad" magazines I've seen are just scanned PDFs, and I doubt I'd read the magazine nearly as much if that was the only way to read them. Properly formatted magazines are far better. Game Informer is good at this aspect, and it's cheap, at just over £1 an issue. So I subscribe to that digitally on the iPad.

 

[supercommodore]

Have a print subscription to Edge, still enjoying having a physical magazine to read.

 

[Kyuuji]

Subbed to the print edition of EDGE. Is a nice thing to have popped through the post each month.

 

[PaulLFC]

This site delivers more news than any magazine and I don't need to get physical media delivered to read it.

Click to shrink...

A decent magazine will devote barely any pages to news, because they know this already. Magazines are there for the features and long form articles you can't read online.

 

[JimNastics]

Retro Gamer for me, must be coming up 10+ years now. The only other mag I ever had a subscription to was PC Zone - R.I.P :(

 

[Kyrios]

I used to be subscribed to OPM and Game Informer waaaay back when but now...

This site delivers more news than any magazine and I don't need to get physical media delivered to read it.

Click to shrink...

 

[Strike]

Just Game Informer.

 

[Necron]

I'm still subbed to Game Informer because I got GameStop's rewards thing, besides that I don't really subscribe to any. I miss gaming magazines a lot though. I'd remember begging my mom to let me get copies of Nintendo Power when I saw them at Walmart when I was a kid.

Click to shrink...

I wish Nintendo Power still existed in some form...

 

[hayabusi]

This thread made me order two issues of Edge now.
Let's see whether this is something I could consider subscribing too as well.
I am in Germany and haven't bought a German magazine in years, instead the German Retro Gamer here and there.

 

[overnightnocturne]

Game Informer but I'm trying to switch from digital back to physical.

 

[Necron]

This thread made me order two issues of Edge now.
Let's see whether this is something I could consider subscribing too as well.
I am in Germany and haven't bought a German magazine in years, instead the German Retro Gamer here and there.

Click to shrink...

I use to subscribe to GamePro (DE) for several years, starting at issue 1. I then switched to Edge.
I see that first issue came out nearly 20 years ago...

I can't believe they're still going to this day where so many have folded...

 

[BUNTING1243]

I have fond memories of Game Informer, OXM, and especially Nintendo Power. I also was subscribed to Gamepro when John Davidson took it over a few years ago. I pick up an issue of EDGE and respect what they are doing, but that's about it nowadays.

 

[shadowman16]

Only Retrogamer for me - which continues to be excellent despite sometimes rehashing certain topics (I don't think they ever need to have Jet Set Willy ever featured in the magazine ever again...)
The Capcom feature this month is fantastic, I've barely had a chance to dip into that and plenty of other good articles.

I miss the heyday of GamesTM, but that just got worse and worse as time went on. Edge... the articles are great when its about stuff I'm interested in but I didn't much care for their writing style so I fell off it years ago. Only recent issue I got was when they did a feature on Nagoshi, that was excellent.

 

[j_z]

I am subscribed to the Nintendo Force Magazine: Lucas M. Thomas is the editor in chief

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

There is also the Ninty Fresh magazine on Kickstarter. Their kickstarter ends in three days

Ninty Fresh Issue 3

The third issue of Ninty Fresh Magazine is on the way with a distinctive need to catch them all.

www.kickstarter.com

 

[ChoklitCow]

This thread makes me miss Nintendo Power. Such a core part of my childhood.

As with many others, I still get physical Game Informers. Don't even open them most of the time, I just like getting them at this point.

 

[The Main Event]

I wish Nintendo Power still existed in some form...

Click to shrink...

https://www.nintendoforcemagazine.com/

Been a subscriber from the beginning. I highly recommend it to any NP fans.

 

[Jedi2016]

Nah. I used to have a sub to EGM back in the day, but with the internet, gaming sites, forums, it quickly got to the point where the magazine didn't have anything remotely new or even current. Things moved so quickly that by the time you got the issue in the mail, everything in it was old news.

After I cancelled it, they probably spent more on letters and postcards begging me to come back than they were making on the subscription itself (at the time, you could get pretty much any magazine subscription for like 90% off the cover price).

 

[Karlinel]

Edge uk digital and Retrogamer Spain in print. Cuz I like to mix.

 

[LiftGammaGain]

Edge printed.

 

[hayabusi]

I use to subscribe to GamePro (DE) for several years, starting at issue 1. I then switched to Edge.
I see that first issue came out nearly 20 years ago...

I can't believe they're still going to this day where so many have folded...

Click to shrink...

Oh man, buying Video Games every month back in the day. Never subscribed, but bought all issues. Very fond memories and still a lot of issues at my parents.
Fun Generation, Maniac.
My brother had PC Games and/or Gamestar, both still around I think.
And PowerPlay and PC Player of course.
But I am drifting OT towards a nostalgia thread here. :)

 

[Magic Mushroom]

I'm subscribed to EDGE, digital.

 

[Lucas M. Thomas]

I am subscribed to the Nintendo Force Magazine: Lucas M. Thomas is the editor in chief

Click to shrink...

This thread makes me miss Nintendo Power. Such a core part of my childhood.

Click to shrink...

https://www.nintendoforcemagazine.com/

Been a subscriber from the beginning. I highly recommend it to any NP fans.

Click to shrink...

I have been summoned! If anyone here misses Nintendo Power, please give our Nintendo Force a look! NP ended its run in December 2012, and we picked up the torch with our first issue exactly one month later in January 2013. We've been publishing new issues every two months ever since, for over eight years straight now!

Our latest one just wrapped up recently: Issue #51, focused on the career of Suda51. It's got an exclusive interview with him, packed with 51 different questions!

Back Issues: NintendoForceMagazine.com or NFMagazine.com
Subscriptions: Patreon.com/NintendoForce

 

[sir_crocodile]

I sub to Retro Gamer, physical

Their features are great, they talk to a lot of original developers, including nintendo ones which is quite rare

 

[Majora's Mask]

None. All gaming magazines in Mexico ceased to exist a while ago, sadly. To this day I regret throwing out my collection of EGM magazines.

If I ever get an ipad or fire tablet I'll consider subbing to EDGE and retrogamer. Always wanted to read those.

 

[Deleted member 17210]

None (although EGM in the early '90s was the only one I had a subscription for instead of buying in store). Magazines in the '80s and '90s were there to give me information on upcoming releases. After the internet took off, I no longer needed them for that but they hung on for a while because of demo discs. Once demo discs were no longer needed, I stopped buying gaming magazines aside from the occasional Retro Gamer.

 

[FirewalkR]

EDGE UK Digital here. Sometimes (ignoring the last year for obvious reasons) I also purchase the print edition if it has some specific articles that I might want to keep in physical form. Usually it's related to either big game releases or new console announcements/releases.

I'd also get Retro Gamer physical very infrequently.

Outside of gaming I also subscribe to NewScientist print+digital and a few more digital ones in other domains (I can't even recall, need to check and probably unsubscribe lol).

 

[Harris Katz]

I still subscribe to and look forward to receiving the print version of Game Informer each month.

 

[JoeNut]

Cancelled my subscription to OPM after a £5 for 5 episodes trial. I like having a physical magazine but at the end of the day all the news is stuff I have already read on here, the majority of the reviews are for games i'm not interested in and the ones I am, it's way too late and I've already read the reviews online.

Gaming is something that moves pretty quickly (look at the leaks for elden ring for example) and I just don't think a physical magazine can offer much value there, not at £6 an episode or whatever it is full price.

 

[Quinton]

EDGE.

 

[xir]

Op are you in the uk? I'm state side and try to pick up edge when I see it. Less and less newsstands carry it since COVID. I kinda consider it my Patreon pledge but I don't subscribe. Pick up the also very pricey retrogamer from time to time as well

 

[Crayon]

I've just received my first issue of edge in like 20 years. It's so refreshing. No clickbait titles or rumors from era lol.

 

[Deleted member 7572]

I have been summoned! If anyone here misses Nintendo Power, please give our Nintendo Force a look! NP ended its run in December 2012, and we picked up the torch with our first issue exactly one month later in January 2013. We've been publishing new issues every two months ever since, for over eight years straight now!

Our latest one just wrapped up recently: Issue #51, focused on the career of Suda51. It's got an exclusive interview with him, packed with 51 different questions!

Back Issues: NintendoForceMagazine.com or NFMagazine.com
Subscriptions: Patreon.com/NintendoForce

Click to shrink...

Just to parrot this.

NintendoForce is great. The magazine has a nice layout, the interviews and articles are good and communication over Patreon is timely.

The posters are very high quality as well.

My brother is a lapsed gamer and due to a critical mass of stuff he's interested in (Bloodstained, Bravely, Dragon Quest, Hollowknight, Demons Ate My Neighbors and all the Shmups) he's decided to buy a Switch. He said the only thing missing was a magazine to subscribe to, and I had just the suggestion.

 

[Dancrane212]

Print subscription to EDGE, real nice to sit down and read something cover-to-cover at my own pace.

And what covers they are!

 

[Deleted member 91227]

Not subscribed, but get Edge and the UK PlayStation Magazine digital through my county library and the Press Reader app.

 

[nightstalker962]

35 people never subscribed to any gaming magazine :(

 

[metsallica]

Edge is the only one I maintain but I've subscribed to dozens over the years. I have a full run of Nintendo Power and maintained the same subscription and member number from the first (well, second; first was a freebie) issue to the last. Edge I've had going for decades and have a near-complete collection. I say near-complete because the pandemic has destroyed their ability to get physical issues to me; good luck if you ever have to deal with their customer service. Six months and dozens of emails so far, and each email is with a new person who plays dumb such that I have to explain everything that has come before. The worst CS I have ever dealt with. Literally at wit's end.

 

[Necron]

I have been summoned! If anyone here misses Nintendo Power, please give our Nintendo Force a look! NP ended its run in December 2012, and we picked up the torch with our first issue exactly one month later in January 2013. We've been publishing new issues every two months ever since, for over eight years straight now!

Our latest one just wrapped up recently: Issue #51, focused on the career of Suda51. It's got an exclusive interview with him, packed with 51 different questions!

Back Issues: NintendoForceMagazine.com or NFMagazine.com
Subscriptions: Patreon.com/NintendoForce

Click to shrink...

Oh wow... this looks amazing, Lucas M. Thomas!
I think I'll subscribe for a digital copy :)

 

[canderous]

The last print magazine I was subscribed to was OXM during the OG Xbox and early 360 days. Mostly for those sweet, sweet demo discs.

 

[JorSneezy]

Nintendo Force. Pay $5 per issue for actual physical editions through Patreon. $5 is a very small price to pay for my retro memories.

I was an original Nintendo Power subscriber. I feel Nintendo Force strikes a great balance between current Nintendo stuff and retro content. And it's not owned by Nintendo, so it mentions other consoles (for ports and so forth) and negative things about games as needed.

Only two negatives about the magazine: While Lucas does good writing, and most of the other contributors do too, some of the writing from others can feel a little . . . I don't know, not as good? And the magazine doesn't publish maps and so forth like the old Nintendo Power issues did (at least from the issues I've read).

Even with the negatives, I find it to be fantastic for my Nintendo fandom and nostalgia.

 

[Dave.]

I like physical magazines to read, I read a shitload of internet too but there's a pleasant difference in a physical publication to leaf through until an article catches your interest. There's never any "current gaming news" in them that I didn't know already, but that's not really the point. Although it is interesting if they sometime have a different take on it than the Era first post crew.

I'm subscribed to Edge print and digital, I only care for the print version really but digital too was a trivial bump in the annual fee so why not have the files for archive. Helps with throwing them away for recycling I guess, should I ever bring myself to do so.

Same for Wireframe, which I am kinda surprised to have not seen mentioned here yet. Very good magazine with a focus on how games are made / published behind the scenes stuff. It's PDF versions are available totally free and DRM free so you should check it out!

whynow Gaming

The latest in video games, powered by Wireframe magazine

wireframe.raspberrypi.org

I also sub to PC Pro for general PC tech news, columns and features, no digital there.

Before Covid I would buy these regularly from shops, Tesco WH Smith etc. as I kinda wanted to preserve the dwindling presence of these publications on the high street, but with lockdown etc. subscriptions became the only sensible method and I doubt I'll go back to paying more and traveling to shops once it's over.