The Needles: Can Best Buy Save Gaming Mags?

Telperion

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Apr 17, 2008
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AC10 said:
How many times have you read a great article that presents it's points, go to the comments, and someone has written basically their own, equally well researched article with equally valid counter-points? Or just another view on the topic (like Vigil's post right in this comment section!). That's what I love most about online media like this.
Magazines tend to have their own websites, where readers can leave their comments. Of course, it might seem like leaving comments about an article in a forum dedicated to a magazine isn't quite as easy to do, but it's hardly difficult either.
 

Weaver

Overcaffeinated
Apr 28, 2008
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Telperion said:
AC10 said:
How many times have you read a great article that presents it's points, go to the comments, and someone has written basically their own, equally well researched article with equally valid counter-points? Or just another view on the topic (like Vigil's post right in this comment section!). That's what I love most about online media like this.
Magazines tend to have their own websites, where readers can leave their comments. Of course, it might seem like leaving comments about an article in a forum dedicated to a magazine isn't quite as easy to do, but it's hardly difficult either.
Well, if I read something in a magazine I'm going to have to be seriously motivated to find a PC to reply to it, that is even if I don't forget about it by time I get to a PC.

When the article I finish reading has a "comment [xx]" button right at the bottom it's just so inviting! Like this article, I really don't care what happens to printed medium (unless 1000 page novels don't get printed anymore) but here I am, talking about it :p
 

WhiteTigerShiro

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Sep 26, 2008
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Telperion said:
AC10 said:
How many times have you read a great article that presents it's points, go to the comments, and someone has written basically their own, equally well researched article with equally valid counter-points? Or just another view on the topic (like Vigil's post right in this comment section!). That's what I love most about online media like this.
Magazines tend to have their own websites, where readers can leave their comments. Of course, it might seem like leaving comments about an article in a forum dedicated to a magazine isn't quite as easy to do, but it's hardly difficult either.
Which only further supports the OP's point about online being the future of magazines if readers are being encouraged to go online in order to chat about the articles within the magazine.

Mind you, I'm not saying that gaming magazines should go away. Console-specific gaming magazines are undeniably a thing of the past, but I think that gaming magazines as a whole can still have their place. Firstly, there are many people who don't like sitting at computers for long periods of time. Whether it's sitting on the john or just lounging on an easy chair, there are many people who simply prefer a printed medium. Sure they could have gotten that info about a month ago if they kept-up online, but they're okay with that.

Another thing that magazines need to start doing is looking at what websites can't do (or don't do). After-all, since I'm content to just check the Escapist and maybe Kotaku for my gaming news, why should I bother with a gaming subscription if it's just gonna be more of what I read weeks ago? If a gaming magazine covers things that I'm not getting here though, then I suddenly have more of a reason to want to pay that $30 a year (are they still going for $30 a year?).

Andy Chalk said:
Just outta curiosity, what was your reaction when Microsoft bought-out CGW and made it into their own personal ad magazine? Frankly, that's when my subscription ended, with much remorse. Much as I loved those guys, I just couldn't support what Microsoft did to them. :/
 

Telperion

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Apr 17, 2008
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WhiteTigerShiro said:
Mind you, I'm not saying that gaming magazines should go away. Console-specific gaming magazines are undeniably a thing of the past, but I think that gaming magazines as a whole can still have their place. Firstly, there are many people who don't like sitting at computers for long periods of time. Whether it's sitting on the john or just lounging on an easy chair, there are many people who simply prefer a printed medium. Sure they could have gotten that info about a month ago if they kept-up online, but they're okay with that.
The magazine I have supported for the better part of 10 years started out pretty much all PC, but these days it's about just about every conceivable gaming media out there. And, although I only own a PC and an XBox, I really enjoy reading reviews about games on other platforms.

WhiteTigerShiro said:
Another thing that magazines need to start doing is looking at what websites can't do (or don't do). After-all, since I'm content to just check the Escapist and maybe Kotaku for my gaming news, why should I bother with a gaming subscription if it's just gonna be more of what I read weeks ago? If a gaming magazine covers things that I'm not getting here though, then I suddenly have more of a reason to want to pay that $30 a year (are they still going for $30 a year?).
The thing that strikes me about the Escapist is that the website doesn't cover nearly everything. I don't spend several hours every week looking for stuff that might interest me, which is what I would realistically need to do to get the kind of news coverage I'm used to. It's why I pay for a subscription.
 

Xanthious

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Dec 25, 2008
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Sartan0 said:
likalaruku said:
Why is this article black text on a black background?
Yeah I had the same issue. I had to highlight the words to read them.

On topic- as I am more likely now to get my old games from good old games and my new ones from steam and impulse what best buy is doing is not as relevant to me.

Something funny- I found my old copies of escapist stuff on CD's from back in the day last year. Sadly I did not keep them.
It's likely you guys have AdBlocker or some other such thing running. I had the same problem a day or so back and when I turned it off I was able to get back to seeing things properly. However, once I figured out what it was I just resigned myself to highlighting the text.
 

Tharticus

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Dec 10, 2008
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I doubt that Best Buy can save Game Magazines. Most likely to compete against GameStop and GameInformer "unbiased" reviews so that the users can buy games from their shop.

Most likely if every magazine is stuffed with coupons that give discount on games, people will be leaning towards the magazine.
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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WhiteTigerShiro said:
Just outta curiosity, what was your reaction when Microsoft bought-out CGW and made it into their own personal ad magazine? Frankly, that's when my subscription ended, with much remorse. Much as I loved those guys, I just couldn't support what Microsoft did to them. :/
I gave up on CGW probably less than a year after George Jones took over as Editor-in-Chief, long before the Microsoft thing. There was a very obvious change in direction that I just didn't care for and I ended up leaving. Subscribed to PCG for three or four years but near the end I was only really buying it for the demo discs anyway, so when broadband showed up in my little town, that was that.

I almost went back when Jeff Green took over. Maybe it's the age thing, but I always enjoyed his style and thought he'd make a great editor. But it was so irrelevant to me at that point, particularly one the Games for Windows thing happened, that I never followed through.

Virgil made an interesting point about double-dipping but it still strikes me as a dodgy compromise: Trading integrity (maybe) for revenue streams. I'm not naive, I know money must be made, but if I'm going to take any sort of publication seriously I have to be confident that it hasn't been "corrupted," to use an overly-dramatic term.

Everything changes. Even magazines these days are so different from the ones of 10 or 15 years ago. Old game reviews were ridiculously detailed things that literally went on for pages and pages, whereas now it's a couple of columns and on to the next thing. Guess which I prefer?
 

SlyderEST

GfWL hater
Apr 7, 2010
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I really enjoy reading PC Gamer. And this is why I keep reading it other than becouse it's not on the computer and it's something I haven't seen on the Escapist or their webpage, I think:
Starcraft 2
Every combat unit detailed!
Single-player secrets!
14 battle strategies!
I'm definetly not going to bother to check that online, even if I would want to. And, of course the demo disks and sometimes some other cool posters and stuff. Like the Supreme Commander 2 paper dinosaur which I never bothered to try to put together.
 

rmx687

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Mar 3, 2009
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great read, in any case it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Hell, it'll probably be worth it for the coupons alone and we'll probably get a couple good features otu of it.

Ironic this article comes up on a website that prides itself for having the advantages of a magazine!
 

wonkify

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Oct 2, 2009
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Still read PC Gamer as well...for now.

Is anyone thinking what the headlong rush to crush all gamers into one of two online gaming pipelines for the game company's comfort is going to cause in other areas?

Magazine options will be only that much more a dead end when all of gaming consists of nothing but XBOX or PS# to choose from. No matter how much a fanboy someone is for one of those, doesn't that lack of options cause a chill to everyone?

Two companies own all control and access to your gaming.

It's a nightmare.
 

WhiteTigerShiro

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Sep 26, 2008
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Andy Chalk said:
I almost went back when Jeff Green took over. Maybe it's the age thing, but I always enjoyed his style and thought he'd make a great editor. But it was so irrelevant to me at that point, particularly one the Games for Windows thing happened, that I never followed through.
Ah yes, I loved Tom. Back when they got rid of his section I was tempted to be done with them, he was always so hilariously insightful, truly a case of "saving the best for last". The guy who replaced him was just... no. I tried reading his articles, but he was trying too hard to be a bad-ass, only without the cynical sense of humor that makes things like Zero Punctuation so great. :/
 

Namewithheld

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Apr 30, 2008
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Hurr Durr Derp said:
It's funny how you're questioning the objectiveness of a retailer-sponsored magazine at a time the entire Escapist has turned into one big New Vegas ad...
They also had a ton of Alpha Protocol ads and gave AP a rather negative review.

 

Assclown_King

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Jan 29, 2010
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I liked everything in the article with one exception: The Jeff Gurtsman thing. I know I'm going to get flamed to hell for this, but I don't think him giving a negative review on Kane and Lynch was the only reason why he got shit-canned. If you watch the video review, he was being overly negative to the point that I couldn't personally take him seriously. It looked like he knew he was getting fired (my theory is that he was already told before the video that he was getting let go, and decided to vent indirectly at Gamespot by blasting Kane and Lynch). That being said, I never followed up on the situation (chances are both sides stated their opinions on it), and the internet is one of those kind of places where information gets skewed based on individual bias anyways. Most people agreed that Gurtsman was let go because of the review he did, thus most of the info was bias on his side.

Again, just my opinion, don't know all the facts, but if memory serves me, I don't think anybody got the final answer on this anyways.
 

Covarr

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May 29, 2009
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AC10 said:
One of the things magazines will never have...
COMMENT SECTIONS!

How many times have you read a great article that presents it's points, go to the comments, and someone has written basically their own, equally well researched article with equally valid counter-points? Or just another view on the topic (like Vigil's post right in this comment section!). That's what I love most about online media like this.
Maybe that's what happens here (competent moderators FTW), but comments have the disadvantage that in many parts of the internet, you get ridiculous amounts of stupid; just look at YouTube. In print, you don't have page after page of "stfu noob this articel suxx0rz" and "lolol +1". In print, the closest you get is letters, of which only a select few intelligent ones are actually published.

P.S. Thanks
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Assclown_King said:
I know I'm going to get flamed to hell for this, but I don't think him giving a negative review on Kane and Lynch was the only reason why he got shit-canned. If you watch the video review, he was being overly negative to the point that I couldn't personally take him seriously. It looked like he knew he was getting fired (my theory is that he was already told before the video that he was getting let go, and decided to vent indirectly at Gamespot by blasting Kane and Lynch).
That's part of the problem facing @Gamer. Objectivity can be incredibly hard to pin down. The Gerstmann case had all the appearances of a hatchet job because of the K&L review, but what was going on behind the scenes that we're not aware of? Now slap that situation on top of a magazine being put out by someone with obvious issues of self-interest and everything is magnified. It's quite possible that @Gamer will be a 100% straight-shooting mag from start to finish, but any little bump in the road will end up looking (possibly) worse than it is because the assumption will be that they've made pimping their shit the priority.