Game Stooge

Is Print Media Still Relevant?

• Scribbled on March 11th, 2007 by Devin Grimes
• Filed in Editorial Content, Off Topic

Let’s face it, magazines just don’t really have the appeal or necessity that they once had, in both the games industry, and in general. The world has grown into a constantly connected community and within seconds of a big event happening, thousands of people will have already heard about it through blogs, forums, and other websites.

One of the more recent, and notable examples of the internet’s impact on media was the Official Playstation Magazine, which met it’s demise in November 2006. The cancellation was reportedly due to the one thing that was struggling to keep sales up for the magazine: the demo disc.

Many of the “readers” of OPM didn’t appreciate the magazine for its well thought out reviews, excellent writing or production values. Rather, all they cared about was their monthly allotment of sub-par mediocre demos. With this perception of the average reader it is quite logical to see why the magazine was cancelled in the first place. As we have now officially moved into the new generation of consoles, we no longer have to rely on, and pay $10 for the newest demos, we now have access to a complete digital library of the latest games.

If OPM was cancelled just for this sole reason, what does this mean for magazines such as the Official Xbox Magazine (whose parent company Future Entertainment has already been rumored towards bankruptcy)? And more importantly, what does this mean for print juggernaut Electronic Gaming Monthly?

Read on for the opinions of two former EGM Editors….

When asked this very same question on the Player One Podcast, host and former EGM writer Chris Johnston had this to say:

I think it would be a really bad time if there were no videogame magazines….Websites go up and down and get sold off and you don’t really have a concrete record of that time. And with print magazines you do. You know exactly what was being said during that month, and what games were big.

Co-host Greg Sewart mentioned that:

In a month to month basis, print’s in trouble, and its not just gaming media. Print is in big trouble and things need to happen differently. I know some magazines have tried to do things differently, and some magazines are better than others.

Sewart also mentions how magazines have periodically gotten thinner over the years, which is largely due to advertising companies supporting print magazines less and less.

Sewart adds that what people don’t really notice is that the writing is a step above that of bloggers and many websites out there, and that “90% of your audience doesn’t care that you’ve spelled every word right. All they care about is that everything they’ve read in your magazine, they read on a website a month ago. It’s sad, and I see it getting much worse before it starts to get better.”

Another interesting point they add:

Now that broadband has really been integrated in a lot of places…before it was just pictures and print that you were offering faster than magazines. Now you’re offering video, podcasts that are up to date, which update for you. People don’t have to check anymore…Like when all the media got their Wiis and their Playstation 3’s like Gamespot, you were watching them get it live. A magazine can’t bring that to you.

It’s definitely interesting to get the perspective from two industry insiders, and is still a questionable topic. Will we see the demise of print gaming publications? It depends. If magazines can continue to hold onto exclusives we may see a more prolonged life than predicted. However, if they don’t do enough to differentiate themselves from websites and blogs, we may very well see the demise of many respected publications.