Independant Newspaper Analyse Videogame Magazines

[Loik V credern]

From their website, here's what they thought of each magazine...

Link...

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article298205.ece

Fingers on the buttons

The rise and rise of gaming has spawned a lucrative publishing industry. Rebecca Armstrong picks the top reads...

Edge

Future Publishing. Circulation 28,790. £4

Described by one disgruntled reader as having a readership akin to a "parish magazine", Edge may not have the highest circulation but it's far and away the classiest games magazine on sale today, with its high production values and developer support. Aimed at the hardcore gamer with an interest in all formats, Edge is Future's flagship games publication, that's arguably the most respected gaming mag out there. High-quality writing and stony-faced seriousness mark it out from its rivals, as does the fact it's one of the few games magazines that you can read without feeling slightly embarrassed.

Official Xbox Magazine

Future Publishing. Circulation 88,136. £5.99

Only Future publishes official magazines for PlayStation and Xbox. This may sound ominously hand-in-glove, but Sony and Microsoft have no influence - their involvement ends once they provide the magazine with materials. "Microsoft only read our reviews when you do" is how Official Xbox Magazine puts it. OXM is the leading Xbox magazine and has been out since the console launched three years ago. Editorial focuses on bigger games - Halo 2, Splinter Cell, et al - and the magazine benefits from high production values, from its glossy finish to the DVD of playable demos that is cover-mounted each month.

MCV

Intent Media. Circulation 11,209. £3.25

MCV - The Market for Home Computing and Video Games - is the games industry's magazine. It may have a small ABC compared with consumer titles, but its impact is impossible to ignore, especially since it's the only trade publication on the market since rival CTW was bought by Intent Media. As well as a dedicated retail section with extensive information on new releases, sales charts and recommended titles, MCV has an excellent news section featuring stories that often get picked up by the national press. Always an informative and informed read - and, for a trade publication, it's surprisingly high-end.

XBM

Highbury Entertainment. Circulation 30,003. £3.99

XBM is the best-selling unofficial Xbox magazine. Gamers like it because it goes all-out to get the first reviews of new games: this month, exclusive previews of Serious Sam 2 and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3 - and has a distinctive independent voice. XBM also has seven pages of tips and cheats in its Solutions section, perfect if you're tearing your hair out over Medal of Honour: European Assault. Big news this month is the launch of X360 Magazine, dedicated to the next generation Xbox console that launches this Christmas. The magazine is free with XBM this month.

Gamestm

Highbury Entertainment. Circulation 20,117. £4

The glossy Games TM is a relatively new title, launched by Highbury Entertainment in November 2002 as a rival to Edge magazine. Like its nemesis, Games TM is aimed at a hardcore readership, featuring multiformat news and reviews written from a hardcore gaming perspective. Its retro section at the back of the magazine is particularly good, and the magazine is well respected by gamers and the games industry. It has a lively and opinionated forum and letters page and has deservedly won MCV industry awards in the past. Games TM also has its own annual games awards ceremony.

Nintendo Official Magazine

Emap Active. Circulation 44,195. £3.99

EMAP used to have a number of games magazines, but now only publishes Nintendo Official Magazine. EMAP held on to a winner - this is the UK's best-selling Nintendo magazine, which covers the GameBoy Advance, GameCube & Dual Screen consoles. Expect to see circulation rise this year, with coverage on the new DS and features on the forthcoming Revolution console appealing to new readers. While there are no cheats or demos this month, readers can enjoy their very own inflatable Mario beach ball.

Games Master

Future Publishing. Circulation 62,159. £3.25

Named after the early 90s television show of the same name, Games Master is aimed at a younger audience, rather than beard-stroking pedants of more advanced years. It's been going since 1993 and has seen off rivals such as Computer and Video Games magazine - now online only - to become the best-selling multi-format games magazine on the market. Editorial tends to focus on big-licence games, both on the cover and inside. Despite its cluttered layout and somewhat superficial articles, it's extremely successful. Unfortunately there's no sign of Patrick Moore, the original Games Master himself.

Cube

Highbury Entertainment. Circulation 27,123. £3.99

'Cube' prides itself on being 100 per cent unofficial. Unlike the official Nintendo magazine, it has a free playable cheats CD and DVD video disc with every issue, although even this isn't enough to tempt more readers into the fold. Nintendo has a fiercely loyal following of fans, though, and 'Cube' rewards them with up-to-the-minute news and features that have a good dose of humour. Previews and reviews are extensive and the reviewing process is rigorous - no top marks for undeserving games here.

Official PlayStation2 Magazine

Future Publishing. Circulation 172,593. £5.99

Unsurprisingly, official magazines have the backing of games companies, so you won't find many crazy rumours or outright fibs on their pages. What you will find is unparalleled access to new products and licences plus cover-mount DVDs that feature playable demos. This is the UK's best-selling PlayStation magazine -and it shows: it's shiny, upmarket and has the inside track on forthcoming new releases directly from Sony. This month's edition comes with pre-release videos for PlayStation3, PlayStationPortable footage on DVD and a Grand Theft Auto exclusive.

PC Gamer

Future Publishing. Circulation 57,023. £5.99

Back in the day when each were produced by different publishers, PC Gamer and PC Zone were arch-rivals, fighting it out for exclusives, and using every trick in the book to outdo each other. Both titles are now owned by Future Publishing but PC Gamer was always a Future title and it still has the advantage, with a higher circulation than its stablemate. Its focus is squarely on PC games and its reviews are exhaustively in-depth, with some games being given features of four to six pages.

Play

Highbury Entertainment. Circulation 68,963. £3.99

There are only two real players in games publishing, Future Publishing and Highbury Entertainment. Both have a full compliment of single and multi-format titles, and independent console magazines. Play is Highbury's unofficial PlayStation magazine. It has been going since the launch of the first PlayStation in 1995 and it is the unofficial voice of PlayStation2, PSP and the PS3 that launches next year. It features lots of import reviews which make it a hit with serious gamers. This month's issue comes with a free cheats CD for Grand Theft Auto and over 200 new PS3, PS2 and PSP games are unveiled.

PC Zone

Future Publishing. Circulation 40,480. £5.99

The UK's first dedicated PC gaming magazine, PC Zone started its life as a Dennis title, although these days Dennis has pulled out of games market altogether. Like PC Gamer, it has cover-mounted playable demos, and always goes for big exclusives on the cover. PC Zone has an extensive online section and its own website. While both titles used to feel very different to each other, it is becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between them. Both are good guides for the discerning gamer.

Thoughts?

[Beertiger]

hardcore indeed.

[Ravern]

Seems a (generally) fair appraisal to me, the exceptions being the risque use of "hardcore" and their thoughts on Cube's reviews.

[Shoes]

It's a shit article.

[cloutbasher]

It's a shit article.

Why?

[Klatrymadon]

"They should be banned, they're all shite."

Hardcore my arse.

[MrSpoon]

Why?

←

Mainly because it doesn't actually come to any firm conclusions, rendering the article pointless.

[Shoes]

Why?

←

It reads less like an 'analysis', and more like press releases from the specific magazines. Read the XBM one.

'Gamers like it because it goes all-out to get the first reviews of new games: this month, exclusive previews of Serious Sam 2 and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3 - and has a distinctive independent voice.'

Excellent stuff, there. NOT.

[hub2]

What Shoes said.

[cloutbasher]

Mainly because it doesn't actually come to any firm conclusions, rendering the article pointless.

I think it's just meant to be a bluffer's guide type thing. It's from their media section and they regularly do pieces like this, not really intended as firm analysis but giving people basic information about areas they might not know much about.

[Loik V credern]

Yep, its a pretty bad analysis, but I never said it was anything but. Too descriptive on minor features and not enough criticism. Plus, where the hell is NGC?!

Saying that, I liked the bit about EDGE...

[El Stevo]

beard-stroking pedants

←

[Klatrymadon]

giving people basic information about areas they might not know much about.

And alienating them by saying 'hardcore' every other sentence.

[footle]

But all the information given is useless.

The only opinion there is "it's one of the few games magazines that you can read without feeling slightly embarrassed" and that could as easily be written by Mott as the rest could be written by Future/Paragon's sales team.

[cloutbasher]

But all the information given is useless.

The only opinion there is "it's one of the few games magazines that you can read without feeling slightly embarrassed" and that could as easily be written by Mott as the rest could be written by Future/Paragon's sales team.

←

Yes but that's all it needs to be. It's for people who might one day find themselves in a work situation where, say, Edge is mentioned and now they'll be able to know it's got a relatively small circulation, is owned by Future, is aimed at the more serious gamer and has Games TM as its main rival.

[SomeNaiveChump]

drivel.

[footle]

Yes but that's all it needs to be. It's for people who might one day find themselves in a work situation where, say, Edge is mentioned and now they'll be able to know it's got a relatively small circulation, is owned by Future, is aimed at the more serious gamer and has Games TM as its main rival.

←

Anyone who ends up in a work situation where the topic "Videogame Magazines" is mentioned, and doesn't know all there is to know about them already ( which I think can be summed up just by looking at the readership figures and taking an average - "drivel / rehashed press releases" - so it's not as though they need to know much ), should probably be looking for another job.

"Yeah! That OXM* magazine had Ghost Recon 3 in it, back in July 2005!"

It's filler, clout.

[edit]

* Yep - it made that much of an impression on me

[Guest]

They don't mention that PC Zone is now utter shit.

[cubeadvance]

It reads more like a sixth form media studies review of popular publications. It's hardly the most cutting, or insightful critique, and comes to no real conclusions. Infact, review would be pushing it a bit far. No-one could possibly be in the slightest excited or annoyed at any point made. The literary version of vanilla ice cream.

[cloutbasher]

Anyone who ends up in a work situation where the topic "Videogame Magazines" is mentioned, and doesn't know all there is to know about them already ( which I think can be summed up just by looking at the readership figures and taking an average - "drivel / rehashed press releases" - so it's not as though they need to know much  ), should probably be looking for another job.

"Yeah! That OXM* magazine had Ghost Recon 3 in it, back in July 2005!"

It's filler, clout.

I know it's bloody filler; they do it every week for a different section of the magazine industry, it takes about 30 minutes and fills up a nice page of their (pretty weak) media section with pictures. But the supposed purpose is as a bluffer's guide to various magazines. That's all, I don't think it's good, but equally it's not 'shit'.

EDIT: and most magazines and papers get plenty of calls every day from people who work in the industry (PRs and advertisers) asking what the circulation is and who they target.

[McCoy]

Yep, fairly shit article in my view. The magazine 'reviews' read like staight press releases from the desks of each publisher. Virtually no negatives are discussed, with the writer obviously not aware that whilst official magazines *may* not be perswaded by publishers, it's incredibly debateably - Driver 3 reviews for example.

I could have written the same review on music magazines (which i know nothing about), if I'd gone to WHsmiths for an hour and flipped though each music magazine and read what they said about themselves. Which could well be what this writer did, there'sm no indepth coverage of the magazines, only giving very vague impressions ('glossy finish') and not really mentionaing anything tangible about the magazines.

[cloutbasher]

The magazine 'reviews' read like staight press releases

That's because they aren't meant to be reviews, just summaries of what kind of territory the magazines pitch themselves in. There's no way, for example, you could fit in the whole Driver 3 debacle in that few words (although I always thought it was an issue that should have been picked up by one of the national media sections).

I'm sounding obsessed now - I promise I didn't write this article.

[Gambit]

readers can enjoy their very own inflatable Mario beach ball.

←

Glad to see NOM is still as classy as ever.

[McCoy]

That's because they aren't meant to be reviews, just summaries of what kind of territory the magazines pitch themselves in. There's no way, for example, you could fit in the whole Driver 3 debacle in that few words (although I always thought it was an issue that should have been picked up by one of the national media sections).

I'm sounding obsessed now - I promise I didn't write this article.

←

Yeah I guess, I didn't really get who they were pitching that article to, and reading the rest of the thread makes it clear that the article was meant as a infomation guide rather than an actual analysis of the market which it does fine, just gets on my nerves to hear them shout the praise of the official mags when we're all well aware of the offical mags 'limitations'....

[cyd charisse]

The article at least highlights the lack of a decent Nintendo magazine from Future. Then again, there's a lack of decent magazines today from Future, period. Yet it's extra noticable with Nintendo because that piece-of-shit NGC has the nerve to point out its Super Play and N64 (when it was good) ancestry.

I hope I can look forward to a better effort for Revolution. If nothing else, that console should lend itself to some decent magazine titles.

[Shoes]

Yet it's extra noticable with Nintendo because that piece-of-shit NGC has the nerve to point out its Super Play and N64 (when it was good) ancestry.

I hope I can look forward to a better effort for Revolution. If nothing else, that console should lend itself to some decent magazine titles.

←

NGC is good. It's nowhere near classic N64/Super Play, but it's still good. Better than Edge, anyway.

[cubeadvance]

NGC was a great magazine. I can't help but feel that they suffered from several editor changes. Some of the writing easily rivaled Edge, but had a passion sometimes missing from their office pals. Like N64 at the end of the console's era, it has also been noticable that they don't have much to write about. My N64 collection is still a much prized one.

[McCoy]

Yeah NGC is still a good magaine, not as good as it once was but when you look at whats happening for the GC right now, they don't have that much stuff to write about, although thier new retro section and this months feature on Mario does show they still know thier stuff, and always put lots of useful detail into thier articles, something that other mags lack.

[Jools]

The article does come across as a tad naïve, as if unfairly high review scores could be attributable to a lack of rigorousness . They don’t acknowledge or seem to understand the terribly corrupt relationship between publishers and magazines that undermines the quality magazines these days, or the incredibly low level of journalism that is offered from startlingly underpaid staffers.

-Jools

[Jaxon]

Real videogame magazine analysis here:

GamePro: http://www.bookofhook.com/Article/GameDeve...ngMagazine.html

Games: http://www.bookofhook.com/Article/GameDeve...Magazine-2.html

Computer Gaming World: http://www.bookofhook.com/Article/GameDeve...Magazine-4.html

...and more to come(maybe).