Egm Print Magazine Might Be Going Away

[mattrob24]

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/20/new-york...-future-for-eg/

NYT: Ziff-Davis considering online-only future for EGM

27 Comments by Randy Nelson Nov 20th 2008 8:00PM

Filed under: Culture

As we near the end of a year that saw outspoken EGM editor-in-chief Dan "Shoe" Hsu resign his post, The New York Times quotes publisher Ziff-Davis as "considering" a course of action that would take the prominent print mag online only. The news comes in an article about ZD's decision to make a similar move with 27-year-old flagship publication, PC Magazine.

Ziff-Davis chief executive, James Young, revealed to the paper that an online-only future for EGM is a possibility, but that the publisher "would not make a decision before the end of the year." Recent months have seen the departure of staffers from 1UP, EGM's online sister publication, and a frank admission of the decreasing viability of games-related print media by 1UP editorial director, Simon Cox.

[E-Day]

I had bought a subscription to PC Magazine which I will now have to cancel. I also got one for EGM, and it seems like I will have to cancel it as well. I subscribe to magazines so that I don't have to sit in front of a damn computer all the time to read about games. Not everyone who reads game/computer magazines is a social outcast who spends their life in front of a computer. Perhaps their magazine isn't doing so well because of the content or because they aren't doing enough to increase readership. Game Informer seems to be doing very well, thanks to being pushed by GameStop. They have the biggest December issue this year, which means they have the most ads, in spite of the internet and in spite of the fact that their magazine is a different size than all the others and thus requires a special file being submitted to the magazine.

If EGM and GamePro were more proactive in getting subscribers, maybe their magazines wouldn't suck. Nintendo Power seems to be doing very well also, being able to still put out 13 issues a year. On top of that, they don't have a website (apart from subscription buying/ modifying) like the other magazines do. I especially like that.

In closing, if Ziff-Davis indeed moves EGM to online only as the rumour suggests, and as the trend with PC Magazine and Official Xbox 360 Magazine (or Games for Windows - I can't remember what the magazine is called) suggests, then they can shove EGM and themselves up their pie hole.

[E-Day]

Actually, I shouldn't be so peeved (or surprised). I am not fond of the current EGM; I only renewed my free subscription because it was $4/year. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. The magazine nowadays is pretty crappy. Thin like a comic book and boring. It is no surprise that readership is probably down. If they do tank, I hope that they at least make it to the May 2009 issue so they can go out with a bang on their 20th anniversary.

[JoNJoN]

Actually, I shouldn't be so peeved (or surprised). I am not fond of the current EGM; I only renewed my free subscription because it was $4/year. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. The magazine nowadays is pretty crappy. Thin like a comic book and boring. It is no surprise that readership is probably down. If they do tank, I hope that they at least make it to the May 2009 issue so they can go out with a bang on their 20th anniversary.

I agree, they really have ruined a once great magazine. It seems like things were starting to get a little better lately but its still light years off what it was 5 years ago. That new format with the stupid little pixel guy showing up all over the mag is absolutely atrocious. And what the hell is with all the pink font? And why the hell is politics all over the place between the lines in my F***IN GAME MAGAZINE!!! I mean seriously, I don't read EGM to find out what is going on with the election or congress, show me some big sexy pictures of hot games and write about them damnit. And I really don't believe this whole print is dead garbage. Go pick up a mag from UK like Edge, Games TM, or Retro Gamer and then tell me print is dead.

[E-Day]

I don't think will ever be dead. there will always be people who like the feel of a magazine in their hands; people who like to relax outside, in bed, or on the couch with a magazine to read. Lugging around a laptop to do so is very inconvenient. And if your ISP goes down, then what?

A commentor at Joystiq mentioned their political slant appearing in the magazine. I prefer to keep my politics out of things I read and do for leisure. I listen to talk radio every day during the week and get my fill from that. If the politics is relevant to games, such as laws and whatnot, then that is one thing. But to have political slant in a magazine just for the sake of letting your readers know your beliefs one way or another I can do without. I also found the attitude of EGM arrogant, even back in the 90's.

[akator]

And I really don't believe this whole print is dead garbage. Go pick up a mag from UK like Edge, Games TM, or Retro Gamer and then tell me print is dead.

Agreed. Those are decent magazines, with some articles that could even be classified as *gasp*... journalism. The US mags went down the toilet when the previews, both as sections and individual articles, became longer than the reviews...

I have mixed feelings about EGM. If it was a better magazine, like it used to be, I would be upset -- instead, I don't really care because the magazine has already slipped to be a shadow of previous versions. The current EGM is more about promoting games than the actual games. Of course, they still had me as a print-format reader mainly because I read when on the toilet. Once the magazine is gone they will have lost me because I do not bring laptops, handhelds or smart phones to the can, nor do I ever want to.

[JoNJoN]

I just remember the days when the mag was a gagillion pages and weighed about 20 pounds and was chock full of those big super secret spy blurry photos.

[E-Day]

Of course, they still had me as a print-format reader mainly because I read when on the toilet.

I had lost track yesterday of how many people said that in the Joystiq comments. We should take a survey here about such things!

[akator]

I had lost track yesterday of how many people said that in the Joystiq comments. We should take a survey here about such things!

I should have clarified that I usually read *magazines* on the can. Books are good for everywhere...

It really doesn't surprise me about EGM. Like so many magazines, they can't seem to figure out that there is still room for printed periodicals. Print is great for editorials and in-depth reporting, whereas current events and news blurbs are now best dispersed on the web.

These publishers have it backwards. Instead of having notes in magazines such as "read more on our website," the website should state "read more about it in our magazine." This is a problem with almost every tech-computer-game-science magazine I read. For some reason they have confused their web site and magazine business models.

Psychologically, people like being able to touch something they paid for. Holding something that was purchased and keeping it for further use is more emotionally rewarding than downloads. It will take a long time, at least a generation, for that to completely change... if it ever does.