What is the point of Gaming Magazines these days?

I used to buy them when i was younger and there would be things you had not seen, new screenshots, or just the announcements of a new game or feature. It was great. Now because of the internet i wonder how many copies they sell now compared to 15 years ago. I miss going and getting a new gaming magazine because of all the info and reveals you had no way of hearing about but today they are out of date before they get on the shelf (for most people at least). Even the demo discs are not useful as most demos and videos can be found on the consoles or computer anyway. I guess they must still sell enough to people without internet - i think i prefered the old way of finding out about games, i just think their can't be that many still buying these if they have a computer linked to the internet.

Do you still subscribe or buy the odd gaming magazine (I do not mean a retro gaming mag but one with all the 'latest news and reviews') even though you have access to the internet making most of the information 'old news' before you get your hand's on it? If you do, why?

Gameinformer sends me magazines even though I'm pretty sure my subscription ran out years ago. I rarely read anything in there but usually skim it. Gaming print magazines are dead basically. The only meaningful coverage they have is what they pay to be exclusive, and usually everything they've written about I got bored talking about weeks ago.

well gameinformer breaks most of the new games but besides that.....

Game exclusives and some interesting articles which don't have to be up-to-date.

@connerthekewlkid said:

well gameinformer breaks most of the new games but besides that.....

Which is absolutely ridiculous at this point seeing as within minutes of the issue going on sale all that information is online. Not to mention how many more people the internet reaches that gameinformer ever will.

Yeah I'm completely lost on them. I used to buy and read them heaps when I was a kid because with the old games you couldn't just press start and see a 'moves/combo list', you had to get that info from the mags.

Oh the old chestnuts, Megazone, Mean Machines, Sega XS, I don't think any of those are still around.

No, I don't buy any. =[ I flick through them sometimes but I don't see much point in buying them since I can wait for news and so I'm happy to find out about stuff on the internet. My boyfriend buys them sometimes though, but he doesn't visit any sites like this so I guess maybe he gets more use out of them than I would.

Yeah game informer magazines are irrelevant to me.

Money

I  can't take my PC to the shitter with me.

I still read mine when im pooping....but i also like the covers they have been knocking those out of the park the AC3 was super badass

I know at least a half-dozen people for whom magazines -- GI, in particular -- are their primary source of gaming news. They aren't big enough gamers to really be interested in looking things up online, they'd rather just get a magazine sent to their house that they can flip through in bed or on the john, or on their lunch break at work. It's likely to be a while yet before magazines die out entirely.

i don't know, i stopped getting magazines like 5 years ago. the internet is here and people can find news on the internet now.

@Hunter5024: it's probably because you have gamestop card. maybe you should check out maybe they're still charging your credit card.

@iam3green said:

@Hunter5024: it's probably because you have gamestop card. maybe you should check out maybe they're still charging your credit card.

I don't have a credit card so I'm not worried about that. If they want to keep sending me free shit they can go ahead haha.

Game Informer exists because of those exclusive game reveals and coverage. If it didn't have that (and the power of Gamestop behind it), no one would care anymore. Even still, all that stuff ends up online within hours of the magazine going out to subscribers.

@Mountain_flames: Well some of these magazines like EGM are doing online magazines with flash, this is a good idea that I think can work. Its also nice that it gives that old school magazine feel when used with a Ipad. But yes paper is the wrong medium for video game magazines, I eventually think more game mags will do what EGM does or just disappear.

I do remember having fond memories of buying these mags and reading the reviews, getting the cheat codes or just getting excited for new games like at the time Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Street Fighter craze and other key moments of my early game interests, not to mention getting that one EGM issue that had a guide for doing all the Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 fatalities.... Yep lots of fond memories of 90's gaming in those mags.

To read while i am taking a shit ?

that the only thing i use them for anyway

@Mountain_flames:

Reading on the shitter.

I bought a subscription to PC Gamer a year back as at the time I was working late nights at a call centre where you did next to nothing for hours on end and something to read was the only thing available most nights to keep the boredom away as the internet on the computers were heavily restricted. It has since closed down and I am now working at another one. The one that I'm working at now is super uptight about that stuff though, so there is no way I can read it on the floor. Now I just keep the newest copy in my room and read an article on or two while on the shitter. My sub will run out in a few months and I had already cancelled it as there was really nothing in them that I couldn't get elsewhere.

The only good thing that came of it was one of the issue came with a code to get in the PlanetSide 2 beta super early. Other than that though there is not much to it. They get the odd info about a game a little early, but nothing worth a subscription for or waiting a few extra days before reading about it on every news site known to man. That said, there is still something nice about holding a book in hand and flipping through the pages that can't be matched by tablets, phones or the internet. Sadly it's just not good enough for the price and the fact that what you are reading on the pages is outdated news that you have probably read on news sites long before you even get it in your mail box.

Jeff mentioned before in jar time videos and the bombcast. The owners of game developers and publishers are attached to old media. They want to see their game on the cover of a magazine so they can proudly hang it on their walls. Information would reach a larger audience in a shorter amount of time on the internet. Developer/publishers rather give Game Informer the exclusive instead.

I was a huge of Official Playstation Magazine until it got shut down in 2006. I didn't care much for the demos only the editorial content. I liked magazines because of the tactile nature of holding a physical object. I admired the writing, the page layouts and design work that was put into magazine. Times has changed, technology has changed. Print has been on the decline for the last few years due to production and shipping costs. Maybe smart tablets will keep gaming publications alive a little longer.

@Mountain_flames: Bathroom literature :).

@NickyDubz said:

I still read mine when im pooping....but i also like the covers they have been knocking those out of the park the AC3 was super badass

@Spoonman671 said:

I can't take my PC to the shitter with me.

crap (literally!).... I got beaten to the punch :D.

@Irvandus said:

Money

I wasn't aware these still existed.

The exclusives are literally the only reason they exist.

I genuinely like to read the different stories they have. I realize the internet can get a story a lot quicker, but it's still nice to see different opinions on topics. I've had a subscription to Game Informer for about 2 years and I can honestly say I've been happy with it.

Plus when I'm in school and I am done with homework/tests, that is my entertainment.

Call me old fashioned, but i still get excited when i get a new gaming magazine in the mail. It's been a 15 year ritual for me that's hard to let go.

Benefits of magazines:

Organized content layout covering the relevant (to the magazine topic) news over a large span of time

Getting news when you don't have a reliable/constant internet connection

Reading in areas where an internet connection or using a digital device can be inconvenient (aside from the already mentioned example, car/train/air trips is another good one)

(Usually) Significant coverage of the topic with a write-up of some type rather than paraphrased from other sources, which can sometimes be hard to find online or buried under dozens of crappy articles

Something to look at while on the toilet.

I don't think they know why they exist still either.

The world has changed and they are "slow" now compared to modern communication and thus largely irrelevant. Things like Giant Bomb are replacing them.

They are pretty effective at hyping games your probably wouldn't see otherwise though. I find myself wanting to buy a bunch after reading one, not the AAA games I already knew about but the AA titles if you will, that I didn't.

@Zleunamme said:

Information would reach a larger audience in a shorter amount of time on the internet. Developer/publishers rather give Game Informer the exclusive instead.

The type of people who find out about things online are going to get that information regardless of where it is originally presented. By putting your game on a GI cover, you also get it in front of the millions of casual Gamestop customers who otherwise probably wouldn't see it.

Last minute purchase before a flight. That and an something like Empire mag.

Waste of paper.

Apparently Game Informer is the third (3rd) largest magazine in the United States.

"The monthly magazine’s circulation jumped 37 percent from a year earlier to 8.2 million copies as of June 30, pushing it past Better Homes & Gardens magazine to make it the third- largest magazine in the U.S., the Audit Bureau of Circulations said yesterday in a statement."

ref: Bloomberg, GamesIndustry (International)

However, this topic has made me wonder how much time do people need/want to spend on the toilet??

I have bought every issue of EDGE since 2005 and I really love that magazine. And I live in Sweden so it's neither cheap or easy to get a hold of.

I read that magazine because of the articles, features and columns. They are among the best written stuff in the industry and directed at an adult audience. It's kind of hard to find something of that quality on a website. They have some interesting reviews sometimes but the absolute best thing is when they deeply analyse some kind of subject. The only real bad part id that they stopped doing Time Extend retrospectives, those were awesome and will be missed.

But that's why magazines still have some value. They can deliver some really high quality indepth stuff. They don't need to put in news and stuff like that anymore. That's for the better. And if they have some news it's usually combined with a longer piece of interview or article about that subject.

@Mountain_flames said:

I used to buy them when i was younger and there would be things you had not seen, new screenshots, or just the announcements of a new game or feature. It was great. Now because of the internet i wonder how many copies they sell now compared to 15 years ago. I miss going and getting a new gaming magazine because of all the info and reveals you had no way of hearing about but today they are out of date before they get on the shelf (for most people at least). Even the demo discs are not useful as most demos and videos can be found on the consoles or computer anyway. I guess they must still sell enough to people without internet - i think i prefered the old way of finding out about games, i just think their can't be that many still buying these if they have a computer linked to the internet.

Do you still subscribe or buy the odd gaming magazine (I do not mean a retro gaming mag but one with all the 'latest news and reviews') even though you have access to the internet making most of the information 'old news' before you get your hand's on it? If you do, why?

Gah, I remember demo discs. Alot of the Original Xbox's OXM/demo discs also had some DLC on them too. Good times.

They're fun to read and look at

Don't know about gameinformer, but some magazines may have merchandise like key chains or plush. That's what entices me sometimes when I see them.

In the UK we still have two decent magazines in edge and gamesTM. The former regularly runs lots of insightful editorial articles and columns that often surpasses the quality of its online counterparts. The latter has a large section devoted to retro gaming and usually offers up views from developers who worked on noteworthy games of old. As online games journalism forges toward the future emphasis is clearly moving away from writing and I feel the good print magazine, through virtue of the medium, still occupies a relevant space. Hopefully publishers will be prepared for the ultimate switch to majority digital distribution and be able to maintain high levels of quality written output. Video games cannot continue on the path of widespread cultural acceptance without intelligent prose being written about them and, as such, I feel the few credible print publications that remain still have an important role to play.

+1 to above GamesTM an Edge are amazing magazines that get it, in the same way GB seems to "get it" online.

Not really sure.

I was subscribed to PCGamer for probably 6 years or so back in the day. It used to be the best way to hear about a new game, especially with most people still using 56k and shit.

Also demo disks were fucking awesome. Especially some of the old PCGamer ones.

Advertisement. The premier and by far and away most popular games magazine is owned and published by Gamestop.  Most of the only other surviving publications are the Official manufacturer magazines. 
 
That should tell you. 

I still have like 4 years worth of Nintendo Power in my closet. That junk is basically the equivalent of state controlled media, for whatever genuine attempts at editorial voice and usefulness that are made. Why did I subscribe? Because I was like 11 and I really liked Nintendo, ok? I assume that's why that magazine still exists, though I bet they would be a hell of a lot more entertaining to read now, since they basically have to try to spin stuff like Nintendo Land into something that sounds exciting and probably have had to do so since the Wii started only having a few worthwhile titles released per year.

As for general stuff, I assume Game Informer must get a lot of its readership simply by value of the fact that they're constantly pushing it on you as part of your Gamestop experience, but I also think it's because there are a lot of people who don't care about games enough to want to browse an internet website every day like we do but still want to know stuff about them.

I actually really like GI's previews. And the art featured in the mag is usually great. Their reviews tend to be pretty meh.

Oh, simple. There isn't one.

Before my iPad, they made great reading material while on the can.