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Do you subscribe to any current gaming magazines?


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  • Retromags Curator

We all love the old game magazines from years gone by - that is why we are here, after all. But does anyone subscribe to any current magazines? If you do, then which ones?

Out of the dozen or so magazine subscriptions I have, four of them are gaming magazines: Nintendo Power, GamePro, EGM, and Game Informer. And being in Canada, I didn't get an insanely cheap price on the Game Informer subscription. I paid the full subscription price. GI is good until 2012, and the other three end next year.

Out of those three, GamePro is the only one I do not plan on renewing. As much as I love the old magazine, the new one just does not do anything for me. All the changes they implemented earlier this year seem to have made the magazine less appealing to me. A letters section (now called Inbox), that doesn't have editor replies anymore, and prints maybe only one letter. the rest are comments from their forums or comments on articles they ran on their site. So if you happen to never go to the site, you won't know what anyone is talking about. A review section where they don't actually review any games apart from giving you their score along with scores from other magazines and sites, but only tells you what everyone else said about the game; from other reviewers to nobodies commenting on their site.

Their op-ed pieces are generally interesting for the most part, and they will usually have a good main article about something. A couple months ago the articles was about EB Games, and it was great. In the October issue, it was the psychology of shooters, which was also kind of neat. Sadly, that issue had 45 pages on the topic of shooting games, so half the magazine was skipped when I read it.

Hence, me not renewing. I know kbf_private_joker has been a constant subscriber since almost forever, and am curious on his take.

The other three magazines are very enjoyable to read, and as long as they continue to be so, I will continue to subscribe.

What I would like is to subscribe to some UK magazines like Retro Gamer or gamesTM. But at $84 each per year to Canada, that is not likely going to happen. They are some fantastic magazines though. I will probably pick up the odd issue here and there off the magazine rack. The UK seems to have no shortage of thick game magazines; i guess that is one benefit from having a small country as far as land area goes.

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I subbed to that Xbox 360 mag since it was 5 bucks. Took forever to get here. Doesn't seem so bad, as I've seen a few negative reviews of games, so it doesn't seem like a glorified sales brochure.

I would love a RetroGamer subscription(since I buy em all the time), but yeah, it's way too much cost.

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I subscribe to Gamepro and Game Informer, and I like them both.

The new Game Informer desing rocks, every time I see it, it looks like a Architectural magazine, and the size of the magazine with the front and back cover being the same picture was a great. The content is always a pretty good read.

The new Gamepro is good, but the old Gamepro is better, just yesterday I was reading "The Adventures of Gamepro" which was a pretty good comic strip about a Gamer (1990s) that was sucked into the videogame world and has to battle a Race called the Darkling from taking over the videogame world and ultimately taking over the real world....he basiclly had to go through different videogames and free them from the Darklings control, which was always interenting because of the change of scene...Imagine if they brought Gamepro back but in 2010....would be pretty interesting...

What I like about the new gamepro is that they write about great games that nobody notices, for example, the september issue had and Alice madness in the cover and I when I read it, I got so exited about the game that I bought the original one (was for PC, year 2000) on ebay and I played it....its an awesome game!! and I can't wait for the 360 one to arrive.

Gamepro has seen better days but It's still a great read and I have faith in that they will learn from their mistakes, so I'll keep subscribing to them and as for Game Informer, keep up the good work!

The new Game Informer desing rocks, every time I see it, it looks like a Architectural magazine, and the size of the magazine with the front and back cover being the same picture was a great idea.*....sorry, don't know how to edit the post

I subscribe to Gamepro and Game Informer, and I like them both.

The new Game Informer desing rocks, every time I see it, it looks like a Architectural magazine, and the size of the magazine with the front and back cover being the same picture was a great idea. The content is always a pretty good read.

The new Gamepro is good, but the old Gamepro is better, just yesterday I was reading "The Adventures of Gamepro" which was a pretty good comic strip about a Gamer (1990s) that was sucked into the videogame world and has to battle a Race called the Darkling from taking over the videogame world and ultimately taking over the real world....he basiclly had to go through different videogames and free them from the Darklings control, which was always interesting because of the change of scene...Imagine if they brought Gamepro back but in 2010....would be pretty interesting...

What I like about the new gamepro is that they write about great games that nobody notices, for example, the september issue had and Alice madness in the cover and I when I read it, I got so exited about the game that I bought the original one (was for PC, year 2000) on ebay and I played it....its an awesome game!! and I can't wait for the 360 one to arrive.

Gamepro has seen better days but It's still a great read and I have faith in that they will learn from their mistakes, so I'll keep subscribing to them and as for Game Informer, keep up the good work!

SORRY FOR THE DOUBLE POST!!!...DON'T KNOW HOW TO DELETE IT!!!

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I agree with Junaz on GP!

I had a sub to Nintendo Power for a while because I got it for a good price. It's a pretty good magazine still. There for a while I didn't care for it(N64 & GC eras) but it's pretty fun to read now.

I really don't follow newer games much unless a friend tells me about a good one. I don't really have a use for a mag subscription, aside from supporting the magazines. Also, these days I'm more excited when a good game comes out and I see it or hear about it and didn't hear anything prior. The media these days is so deep-rooted it's hard for anything to be a surprise.

I also miss when mags were a bit more underground and not so corporate ruled..

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How much does RetroGamer cost in the US? Here they are about $16 an issue, and they are always the previous issue. I guess the unsold issues in the UK get shipped over here for sale a month or two later.

I found it to be 10 bucks for me at Barnes & Noble. Only a few B&Ns carry it around here. And MicroCenter.

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I now get Game Informer as well, due to it coming with my Edge Card for GameStop. I only got the card since I've been collecting PS2 games before they get rid of them. I already missed a complete copy of Mega Man X7, since it has been regulated to the disc-only bargain bin (formerly only the home of yearly sports titles).

Haven't had a video game magazine subscription since the early 90s otherwise, when I got the third through sixth years of Nintendo Power and got the first two years as back issues also.

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  • Retromags Curator

I subscribed to GamePro in 1994-1995 for a year. Back then it was a hassle subscribing because you had add extra for shipping, and then go to the post office of bank for a money order in US funds, and then mail it in. And back then the Canadian dollar was worth about 72 US cents, so things got pricey. Once my subscription ran out, I believe I stopped reading game magazines altogether except for the January 1997 issue I bought.

My parents had a subscription to Nintendo Power for a year around 1995 as well. But because Nintendo also had an office around Vancouver, the subscription was a normal price in Canadian dollars. I was never a big fan of the magazine back then.

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  • 1 month later...
  • Retromags Curator

As GamePro magazine continues to disappoint me in its current form, it looks like I am not the only one. I just read the Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation, which most magazines publish near the end of the year, in the December issue, are not looking too good. According to the Statement, under F. Total Distribution under Extent and Nature of Circulation during the Preceding 12 months, on average they printed 199,781 copies of each issue. 108,150 of those did not get distributed while 91,631 were distributed through subscriptions, request, newsstands, and non-requested copies. It looks like their readership dropped like a stone recently. Hopefully things don't get worse for them. Though I don't like the current magazine, I would be really really sad if it went under.

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  • 2 months later...
  • Retromags Curator

I currently have Game Informer(awesome), GamePro (sucks now), and would love to get the Retro Gamer but just to expensive.

My GamePro subscription ended with the February issue, and I did not renew. There is a new head honcho at the magazine, whom I guess is looking to make improvements to the magazine. Hopefully he does, because John Davison completely destroyed that magazine. Oddly enough, the new guy is VP of Content, and does the Letter from the Editor in the magazine. It's one of the only magazines that doesn't have someone with an editor-in-chief title.

Retro Gamer would be nice, but it is really expensive. It would be nice if there was a North American version of it.

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  • Retromags Curator

Being in Canada, I don't get the opportunity to get a cheap subscription to GI through EB Games. I actually called them and paid the full subscription price because it's a magazine I enjoy. They certainly have the most content compared to some of the paper thin magazines out there.

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  • Retromags Curator

I get Game Informer just from being a member of their Edge program (now known as PowerUp Rewards). It's an enjoyable read, but I miss Lisa Mason. She always wrote very intelligent content. I'm adjusting to the new staff, but it's taking a while.

*huggles*

Areala

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  • 1 month later...

I haven't subscribed to any game magazines in quite a while, though I like EGM and Gamepro well enough.

I'm gotten in the habit of paging through magazines at the bookstore and buying them only if there's some article or feature that really interests me. It's the same way I decided on which magazines to buy when I was a kid, so it's a bit nostalgic.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here in Croatia I was buying GamePlay from 2002 to 2011. Last month was last issue of GamePlay (issue 99).

And next month same journalist that have making GamePlay will publish new magazine called Next Level.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I subscribe to all current UK magazines B) So that's 17 in total! I purely do it because eventually i'll indexing them all on my wiki. (after all, today's magazines are tomorrow's retro magazines.)

I find that it's just as difficult to find magazines that are two/three years old here in the UK as it is to find fifteen year old ones, so why not just get them all as they come out and save the hassle of trying to track them down in years to come.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 months later...

Well I haven't let my Nintendo Power sub expire and it's been active since issue #1. It's also set to run until 2016. According to Nintendo (before they sold off the Future, I was listed as their longest subscriber. I'm not sure if that's true or even if I should have made that public. ;)

Official Xbox Magazine

I was subbed to OXBM Until the 100th issue. Since my 360 RROD I thought it was time to let that die as well. So Oct 2011 was my last

EGM

Again I started with the Buyer's Guide and subbed at issue #1 so I stuck with them al along and am still subbed, though I don't know if they are still sending printed issues.

Retro Gamer Magazine

I'm a sucker for their interviews and stories of classic games.

A tip for people in the USA. Subscribe withe the code YOUTUBE and you will get 13 issues for about $85. Just beware not to auto renew since they will jack that up to $120! Instead subscribed 2 months before your sub is up, contact Imagine customer service (they rock!!) and tell them to tag the new pId subscription on to your existing account. Of course now that I made that public they will probably "fix" that and I screwed myself out of a cheap renewal. ;)

Hmm...thinking of what else.

Video Game Collector

They promised more issues eventually, who knows??

Hardcore Gamer

I think they went PDF only

I tried to sub to the new GameFan, but I honestly couldn't no matter how much I bugged them!! Not very good marketing if you ask me.

And I think that does it for now.

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I recently subscribed to Games Master via the Zinio digital subscription service. I will also be signing up to Edge mag.

At 1/5th of the price of the print copy in New Zealand I am happy with the quality on my iPad so don't feel the need to spend more on physical copies. In fact it allows me to look at subscribing to more magazines for the same spend so I may take up others like Atomic/Ngamer as well.

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