Can Print Gaming Journalism Ever Come Back?

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KaosAngel

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#1  Edited By KaosAngel

Gentlemen (and Ladies),
 
I've noticed something about East/West gaming journalism.  Print magazines are still big in Japan and still used as the main way to get a story out.  However, here in the States it's all done online...and impossible to have surprises in magazines.  
 
My main issue with this is that in Japan the gaming magazines are done weekly (minus the DVD editions which are monthly), while all the magazines here are always one month behind...somtimes two.
 
If Famitsu or Denki ever came to America and dealt with American games, do you think the print medium can come back to America?  For people who don't know, Famis can run to a couple hundred pages every week..so it's packed with guides, reviews, interviews, previews, etc...the quality is just mind blowing.
 
Sure I like having it all on my finger-tips, but reading these on the train or at the convince store is fun too!
 
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention...Japanese game magazines tend to cost fairly cheap as well.  About 4 bucks a week...while they are much more expensive here.  This might also be a factor...
 
...anyways, if NA/EU adopt the JP way of gaming press...think the print medium can come back?

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ThePhantomnaut

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#2  Edited By ThePhantomnaut

There is still Game Informer providing some new stuff that the internet doesn't. If the magazines were on a weekly basis, I guess there will be a lot of money gone for that plan. It's not a bad idea, it's just that things like Kotaku and Joystiq to supply readers with up to the minute information removing the cost situation (besides the connection to access) as opposed to before were I for example was always waiting for the mailman everyday to give me the new issue of GamePro.

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TheKidNixon

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#3  Edited By TheKidNixon

I think that the idea you're talking about isn't exactly the way to solve the problem in the west. The issue is that Game News is all digital now; you can't break anything other than possible a game announcement, or having the earliest preview. And even then, once your magazine ships, Kotaku has scan of the screens and the bullet points from the article within 24 hours.
 
I think what needs to be done instead is the sort of approach that magazines like Wired and the new EGM are toying with: exclusive, multi-media content that can only be accessed with a physical copy of the print magazine, as well as expansive, thoughtful written content that doesn't really work in a online format. EDGE does a good example of this too.

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FLStyle

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#4  Edited By FLStyle

? Did Print Gaming Journalism go somewhere? The regular UK mags are still around no differently from 10 years a go, I guess they must've died out in the US.

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MAN_FLANNEL

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#5  Edited By MAN_FLANNEL

No. 

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Luke

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#6  Edited By Luke
@KaosAngel: That's the biggest problem with Japan.  They have yet to embrace online in general.  Just look at their games and systems.  PS3 and Wii are not exactly front-running online gaming this generation.  
 
With that said, I personally prefer online, but still do like to think about my childhood days filled with gaming magazines... but those days are long gone and to be honest, I wouldn't actually go back to magazines if they somehow made a huge come back.  
 
Lastly, even when gaming magazines were "big" in North America you would never see them at your Doctor's Office, the street corner vender, or at the front of the grocery store.  It was always woman's, food, and sports magazines, which always kinda irked me.  Back-in-the-day, I would always ask, "who reads all this crap, why can't there just be loads of gaming/tech/computer mags everywhere instead?!" :p 
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TheKidNixon

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#7  Edited By TheKidNixon
@FLStyle Future has a handful of well-made magazines, but most of them are bankrolled as "official" magazines (Nintendo Power, OPM, I think I've seen they have an X-Box mag...) The put out EDGE and Retro Gamer here as well, but they are considered boutique. After that, there's Game Informer (again, bankrolled by the huge GameSpot corporation) and GamePro (which has been fairly awful recently, though shows promise with the onboarding of Jon Davison.) I can't think of any other print game magazines, though EGM is supposed to come back in the middle of next year. So yeah, more or less only one big-name console gaming magazine that doesn't get funded by another even bigger gaming interest.
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Hunkulese

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#8  Edited By Hunkulese

Even if they release something weekly it would still be old news by the time you read it.

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ki11tank

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#9  Edited By ki11tank
@MAN_FLANNEL said:
" No.  "
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AndrewB

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#10  Edited By AndrewB

Print media, as a whole, is going to eventually evolve into an online format. I could also see them all opting in on e-reader type devices, once the technology makes more sense to use (full color e-ink, for example), but I honestly don't see a point in that format, myself. It just seems like the newspaper/magazine format could be done just as well on the internet with a decent web designer, and be viewable by a whole lot more people than the limited numbers purchasing such devices.
 
Which is sad, because I then foresee the newly revived EGM tanking once more, although I think they've got smarter people backing them this time. They'll probably be more willing to evolve with the times.

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iam3green

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#11  Edited By iam3green

no, probably not seeing how internet is here. it also saves on trees if they don't use recycled paper. i kind stopped reading magazines because of the information they were giving i didn't want to read. 
 
@eckster: the radio is having trouble because they always play the same songs over and over. i only listen to really 3 radio stations and one i only listen to in the morning and saturday nights. the other hip hop rap radio stations seem to always play the same songs out there. a couple of times listening to the crap stations (hip hop, rap) they play the same songs like 5 times from 3 hours of listening. also cars now have ipod/ MP3 connectors so people listen to to those more.

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ryanwho

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#12  Edited By ryanwho

EGM is going to attempt to make a comeback without being a pandering loverag like Famitsu and GameInformer. Sort of an American Edge, maybe? Edge certainly worked, but then, the UK is a bit smaller than the US. But I've said this before. People will always poop, and they'll want something to read while they're doing it.

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Warfare

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#13  Edited By Warfare
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LiquidSwords

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#14  Edited By LiquidSwords
  
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Godwind

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#15  Edited By Godwind

It simply comes down to expenses.  That is the only reason why Print isn't as big in the united states.

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natetodamax

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#16  Edited By natetodamax

Game Informer still seems to be going strong after 200 issues, and I enjoy reading it.

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Hawk456

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#17  Edited By Hawk456

aside from something to read while dropping a #2, is there really a need  for magazines or newspapers in the first place?  Of Course!  Paper mache projects, packing box stuffing, wrapping dishes for moving, the working-man's gift wrapping paper, tinder for the fireplace, emergency toilet paper (just in case), giant paper airplanes that are too weak to actually fly... maybe this doesn't amount to a comeback but it provides a core customer base.
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jmrwacko

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#18  Edited By jmrwacko

Huh? Game Informer, Game Pro, PC Gamer, and many other publications are still going strong. Go to your neighborhood stationary store and you'll see video game magazines right on the racks with every other magazine. Print journalism is far from dead.
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freezerr

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#19  Edited By freezerr

I'm not sure how strong they actually are.
 
To be honest, I'm not sure what the point of print magazines are for video games. The internet provides demos, videos, pictures, forums, and even reviews much faster and more conveniently.
 
And hey, OP, if you think the Japanese way of gaming magazines might work over here, why not try it yourself?

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demontium

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#21  Edited By demontium

Why? The internet is way faster.

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jmrwacko

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#22  Edited By jmrwacko

Well it's like porn. You find lots of free porn on the Internet. But you still see Playboy and Maxim on the shelves. There's just always the need for glossy print and pinups. Same with gaming magazines.
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maxszy

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#23  Edited By maxszy

I don't think so. The only way gaming mags and such I believe will survive in NA anyway will be to adopt a policy of unique features. They can't try to go weekly and supply news. As others have stated, with Joystiq and Kotaku etc up to the minute news will always be available. And gamers, those that are informed, I believe are already going to be online. So for the magazines and print journalism in the gaming sphere they really need to do something unique, that lots of pretty colorful photos would benefit.

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FLStyle

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#24  Edited By FLStyle
@TheKidNixon: How dare you forget PSM3! It's the only one I buy every month! :P
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#25  Edited By Jimbo

The print media has been reduced to whoring itself out for exclusives and press releases.  The coverage is either 3 months out of date or essentially bought and paid for - how often do you see bad exclusive reviews?  Unfortunately for print, the internet is a far more efficient vehicle for whoring and press releases, so print will never get that back.  
 
However, I do think there's room for a print based journal that includes actual journalism, funded by subscription.  There is plenty going on in the industry that isn't time sensitive, which I would happily pay to read about.  Think Gamasutra but less pretentious.

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super_machine

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#26  Edited By super_machine

It is possible. Despite the obvious limitations when compared to digital format, there is a tangible value that a physical copy has that a digital version will never replicate. It also depends on the quality of the stories and previews.

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penguindust

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#27  Edited By penguindust
@eckster said:

" Magazines in print in general are going out of business and so is newspapers and a lot of radio stations are having trouble because of the rise of the internet even though that sounds funny. Although a lbunch of sites online are now trying to find out how to make profit. "

 
 "in the year 2000..."
This.  Gaming magazines aren't the only one having trouble.  Circulation for newspapers and traditional magazines are also down everywhere across the country.  If there is still some success in print media in Japan I wonder if it has anything to do with the mass-transit commuter culture in the metropolitan areas of the nation.  In the States, traveling by personal automobile is still the preferred way of commuting except in New York City where the streets are too crowded and parking indecently expensive.  Eventually, I think we will see portable media tablets introduced that are cheaply priced.  With those, people will get their newspapers and magazines directly from the internet.  Those will likely put the final nail in the coffin of periodicals.
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Jensonb

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#28  Edited By Jensonb

America is too big for weekly gaming magazines to be viable.