Spring Break
Rest in print
Fernando Dutra
Issue date: 2/4/09 Section: Focus
The New York Times Co. wants to borrow up to $225 million to pay off debt. The Tribune Co., publisher of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and Hartford Courant, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. If newspapers are struggling to make ends meet, how are specialty video game magazines faring?
Electronic Gaming Monthly joins the Next Generation Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine and Games for Windows: The Official Magazine (formerly Computer Gaming World) in the growing amount of scrapped magazines. As the economy heads into recession, lay-offs are an inevitable consequence. Future Publishing isn't seeing the sales it expects from the U.S. Ziff Davis Media is struggling under a crushing debt. Does the closure of these magazines speak to the fading state of the video game industry, or is it further evidence of the decline of print media?
Special incentives like demo discs, which used to be packed in various magazines, have been eliminated with the advent of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network rendering them ineffective. These services are capable of reaching a broader audience for less money in a more efficient period of time. Exclusive announcements are no longer held to just print magazines, with constantly-updated online websites breaking stories earlier than monthly magazines. Announcements from large shows like the Game Developers' Conference (GDC), Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and Tokyo Game Show (TGS) can either be streamed or live-blogged online, making any riveting news seem stale by the time a magazine hits. For an audience as niche and dedicated as the video game populace is, it's not surprising that the Internet has become the main source of information for those interested.
The closure of EGM draws particular ire amongst the gaming populace because of how it occurred. UGO Entertainment, a division of the Hearst Corporation, purchased EGM from Ziff Davis Media, which came with 1Up.com (1UP). UGO was interested in 1UP, so EGM became the casualty in the transaction, with distribution being discontinued and the entire staff being let go.
Electronic Gaming Monthly joins the Next Generation Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine and Games for Windows: The Official Magazine (formerly Computer Gaming World) in the growing amount of scrapped magazines. As the economy heads into recession, lay-offs are an inevitable consequence. Future Publishing isn't seeing the sales it expects from the U.S. Ziff Davis Media is struggling under a crushing debt. Does the closure of these magazines speak to the fading state of the video game industry, or is it further evidence of the decline of print media?
Special incentives like demo discs, which used to be packed in various magazines, have been eliminated with the advent of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network rendering them ineffective. These services are capable of reaching a broader audience for less money in a more efficient period of time. Exclusive announcements are no longer held to just print magazines, with constantly-updated online websites breaking stories earlier than monthly magazines. Announcements from large shows like the Game Developers' Conference (GDC), Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and Tokyo Game Show (TGS) can either be streamed or live-blogged online, making any riveting news seem stale by the time a magazine hits. For an audience as niche and dedicated as the video game populace is, it's not surprising that the Internet has become the main source of information for those interested.
The closure of EGM draws particular ire amongst the gaming populace because of how it occurred. UGO Entertainment, a division of the Hearst Corporation, purchased EGM from Ziff Davis Media, which came with 1Up.com (1UP). UGO was interested in 1UP, so EGM became the casualty in the transaction, with distribution being discontinued and the entire staff being let go.
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