…would launch a magazine in conjunction with a retail chain?
Now you know why…
Game Informer Surpasses One Million Readers on ABC Publisher’s Statement
Thursday March 6, 11:22 am ET
Advertising Partners Receive Additional 30% in Bonus Circulation
ABC eCirc http://abcas1.accessabc.com/ecirc/
MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 6, 2003-- Game Informer’s 2nd half 2002 Publisher’s Statement reflects an average paid circulation of 981,542 during the June-December 2002 period, according to the Fas-Fax Report from Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). The report confirms that Game Informer continues to maintain the largest paid circulation of any multi-platform games publication in history, and in fact surpassed the million mark in its December 2002 issue.
Game Informer delivered significantly more than it guaranteed advertisers as well. With a 2nd half 2002 rate base guarantee of 750,000 readers, Game Informer’s advertising partners ended up receiving an additional 30% in bonus circulation as reported on ABC’s Fas-Fax eCirc http://www.accessabc.com.
“I am thrilled that we were able to exceed on our guarantees,” said Cathy Preston, Publisher. “I am equally excited about our current 1st half 2003 rate base guarantee of 850,000, which with this statement, we are already exceeding. We are hearing from our advertising partners that Game Informer has become the defining publication for the current generation of games systems. And it is now the number one source for reaching and influencing more gamers more efficiently than ever before.”
The handwriting was probably on the wall awhile ago. Get a retailer exclusive deal or become GI’s bitch. GI is the house mag for Gamestop/Babbages/Software Etc./Funcoland. As far as I’m aware, this is the largest games publication now, surpassing even the mighty EGM. How long will it take GMR to catch up?
It also begs the question…how long before these two chains (EB and the aforementioned Gamestop mess) drop magazines altogether except for their house mags?
Sad to think so many people are reading crap like GI just because of its affiliation with the mall stores. Just buy what the teenager behind the counter pushes on them. Arn’t the mindless masses great?
Game Informer is a pleasant enough read for me. It’s oversized and the screenshots are gorgeous. We subscribed to get the 10% off the used games deal and I’d flip through the mag and look at the pictures and hardly read a word because the pictures were enough. I would never base purchasing decisions on it.
They give you the sub for $10, but if you’re buying a couple of used games, you get the 10% immediately so you get back $4-5. It can be hard to resist when you’re already in the mental mode to fork over cash for the used games. They’re pretty slick about it.
It’s frustrating as hell because the temptation to advertorial is even higher when you’re making and selling the magazine this way. CGS+ took heat for it for years because of the affiliation with Chips and Bits. This is obviously the next step. But it seems like it’s just accepted as an ok thing now.
Console mags have always been less up front about their coverage policies IMO (reviewing late betas, etc.). This will only make it worse.
I pretty much gave up on console mags after Next Generation went under. The fact that they are aimed at horny 13 year olds is bad enough. We need one aimed at horny 33 year olds. Oh wait, PC Accelerator tried that and it sucked ass.
They really, really push the 10% off/mag deal on you. Of course, if you buy used games, it’s a really good deal. I actually asked them if I could just not get the magazine. They said no.
Interestingly, EB now has a similar deal going on. I just bought a game there last week, and they were pushing their own 10 month, 10% off used + magazine deal. I’m not sure what their magazine is, but the 10% only applies to console used games.
Yep, I get GI just for the 10% off games at Babbages…well, used games. I buy lots of used console games, and this is a good deal. You pay NOTHING for the mag, and to be fair, GI has good news stories. There reviews may be the worse of any magazine or even major net site. The reviews are just god awful…WAY off the mark in most cases. They gave Unreal 2 9.5 out of 10, from two different reviewers! I wouldn’t say U2 is an awful game, but a 9.5 is just not right. The writing itself is sophmoric, and they delight in printing pics of themselves doing inane things. (to be fair, PCG has that damned stupid coconut monkey, so such self-indulgence is not unprecedented)
However, I do enjoy the retro game stuff, where they review games from 8bit and 16 bit eras. The nostalgia is worth the price (again, free) in itself.
I actually have a few friends that work at my local EB and they actually got written up by their district manager for not pushing the 10% off used games/GMR magazine subscription thing hard enough. Personally, I thought they did a good job of politely presenting the opportunity to those used-game buyers without resorting to a full-press hard sell. Apparently, upper-management at EB pretty much requires a hard-sell approach for it, though.
I hope they don’t get canned over it, though, as they’re pretty good guys, it’s easy to just shoot the breeze with them over games both old and new, and I’d hate for mindless sales drones to replace them.
The Gamestop guys I see don’t push it too hard. They just explain what it is and ask me if I want it and yea or nay, that’s it. I don’t mind.
I ignore all reviews in console mags, which I consider to be any mag that covers consoles and PCs. If the mag does console, then PC’s an afterthought for them, I figure.
What’s the basis for that feeling? Couldn’t you argue that EGM focuses on PS2, and the other two are an afterthought, by the same reasoning? I play both console and PC games, and I don’t feel biased toward one or the other, at least not in a general way.
What’s the basis for that feeling? Couldn’t you argue that EGM focuses on PS2, and the other two are an afterthought, by the same reasoning? I play both console and PC games, and I don’t feel biased toward one or the other, at least not in a general way.[/quote]
Well I generally don’t read console reviews. What I meant was that I don’t read PC reviews in console mags.
My kids drive all the console purchases. If we’re going to get a console game, they decide.
