But while Game Informer shifts around 4.3 million copies over there, thanks to its close relationship with number one US retailer Gamestop, the Aussie edition of Game Informer sells just over 24,000 copies a month.
That’s still enough to make it the best-selling games magazine in the country.
Game Informer launched its Aussie edition late last year and it’s only taken seven issues for it to surpass the likes of HYPER and the Official Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo magazines.
“The feedback we’re getting from our readers is extremely positive: they love our coverage of the Australian industry and respect our unbiased, mature approach to games journalism,” says editor Chris Stead.
But I suspect the low cover price of $4.95, which makes Game Informer easily the cheapest games mag on the market, and the fact you score yourself a – ahem – “free” EB Edge+ Card with your subscription might just be the title’s strongest selling points.
Chuloopa
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 4:07 PMyep – the price is what makes it move.
I am still yet to buy this mag at all… but people seem fond enough of it.. personally i like the looks of Retro Gamer much more.. so chunky…but so expensive…
ripper_hugme
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:15 PMPlus its sold at EB.
Aaron Clement
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 7:50 PMRetro Gamer is the only print magazine I buy these days. For me it’s well worth the $13.90 given it’s a subject close to my heart, along with the depth most of the articles tend to go in and the other features (retro shamer is always amusing!). Just trying to justify subscribing to it, but can’t quite get the right argument together to convince the minister for finances :(
Gabe McGrath
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 9:38 PM+1 for Retro Gamer.
Well worth subscribing.
Currently 80 pounds/13 issues… which works out as less than AUS$11 per issue – *airmailed* to my letter box 2 months before the newsagent gets it.
(Hooray for the pound/AU$ being in our favour these days!)
Disclaimer: I’ve written a few small articles for RG, but I was a subscriber 2 years prior to that.
Brink
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 4:15 PMWell I’m a subscriber, because it was so cheap – $3.30 to have a glossy mag deposited in your PO Box is not too bad… EXCEPT IT ALWAYS COMES LATE!!
Michael Barnes
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 4:23 PMYeah its a bit of a tease seeing it in the store 4-5 days before you get it. Still its a GREAT mag and worth it for $30 or whatever for the whole year!
Aaron
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 4:18 PMIt’s not just the price, the content cover to cover is always superb.
I stopped reading the official mags years ago. It drove me nuts when you’d read a review that would make some ‘hilarious’ joke about Eastenders or the British parliament. How bloody hard is it to at least copy edit the reviews so they’re not region specific. It’s like they just used a white out pen to rub out the UK on the cover and put Australia over the top.
Paul Taylor
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:05 PMThere is a mag that doesn’t do that. Official PlayStation Magazine – Australia (OPS for short). I should know because I’m the Deputy Editor.
GI, published by the same company that publishes OPS, is an excellent magazine. Chris Stead is an industry veteran who is greatly respected by the people he works with and also other journos within the gaming scene. Adam Mathew, Associate Editor, is a natural wit and has a lot of talent for crafting hilarious but also informative, balanced reviews. I have the honour and pleasure of working with them both.
Luke Reilly, Editor, leads our full-time crew and we also have a bunch of talented freelancers, some of whom have been working for OPS for many years. All of the editorial – news, previews, reviews, features and everything else – is written locally. Nothing within OPS has been imported, unlike the other official mags and we take pride in crafting a magazine for an Australian audience.
Blackwater
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 12:40 AMStead has been popping up all over the place for years and personally I can’t get enough of Adam Mathew’s reviews, his work is fantastic.
Don’t suppose you know what Mark Serrels is doing these days, I used to get Aus360 but isn’t it dead these days?
Mark Serrels
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 4:33 PM‘Sup.
Dean Henderson
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 4:27 PMOfficial mags have always been untrustworthy propaganda machines. I like this added competition it hopefully will keep Hyper on its toes.
Paul Taylor
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:12 PMI’ve got to disagree with you. If OPS thinks something’s shit, no matter whether it’s Sony or a third-party publisher sending a game in for review, we’ll call them on it.
Although it appeared a while ago, did you read our Lair review? Or our Haze review? Check us out on Metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/publication/playstation-official-magazine-australia?filter=games
Dean Henderson
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:54 PMYou know you may be right. You would have to agree though that many people are skeptical when it comes to official magazines and for good reasons. Newspapers often report differently or focus on things that relate directly back to their owners and the recent Kane and Lynch 2 review did not help the xbox mags credibility. That being said many independant reviews are just as sucepptable. Also there is a difference between calling something rubbish and lightly stepping around the issue which I find many official mags do.
Adam Potts
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 8:37 PM“That being said many independant reviews are just as sucepptable.” Naughty Bear 8 from Hyper. Also funny, metacritics highest is from US-OXM 7.
Sarah Lamotte
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 5:23 PMFrom what I recall, Patrick Lum did a great job of addressing all of Naughty Bear’s flaws in that review… just seems he had a bit of a brainfart when it came to the score. Keep in mind that Patrick, while a naturally talented writer, is still very new to reviewing professionally. I definitely think he scored Naughty Bear too high, but to suggest that was because of some sort of shady pay-off deal is pretty ridiculous.
On a slight tangent, this is why I prefer scoreless reviews. The tl;dr crowd just love to rage over numbers instead of actually considering what’s said in the review and whether the game will personally appeal to them.
Mark Duval
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 4:38 PMI subscribed a few months ago. The price was the selling point for me.
Braaains
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 4:43 PMEdge is still the one I read, even though their reviews have become somewhat baffling in recent years (there seem to be a lot more 10s handed out these days), and the pretentious monthly columnists near the back of the magazine seem to disappear further and further up their own arseholes each month.
But most of the time their reviews are still OK, and their previews and articles about the broader games industry as well as the “making of…” and time extend sections all make for a good read.
An idiot
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:11 PMHyper surely won’t see out the rest of this year. Shame.
Adam Potts
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 8:21 PMHyper used to be king of Aussie Gaming mags until 18 or so months ago and it made a few staff change. I was a long time buyer (from issue 1 when I dropped sega megazone) and on and off subscriber. But now reviews are behind the competition and release dates and I always seem to be disagreeing with their opinions and articles. This is sad as I used to love this mag so much but things always change. I’ve brought 2 issues in the last 18 months but now go with game informer and OXM. Times are changing.
Aliasalpha
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:23 PMPrinted Media: All the latest and greatest news, a scant 2 months after it happens!
Michael Barnes
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 10:32 PMbut great for gaming news catch up when your on the dunny.
Andrew Leong
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:26 PMMight have to take a look at this; I only get the PSM3 AUS mag atm.
welbot
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:35 PMI used to read Hyper and the likes, but with the prevalence of the internet, the mags just seem to lag behind now. I got tired of getting a new mag only to read stuff I’d found out about weeks before.
Palstran
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:38 PMWho needs game mags when you have Kotaku?!
I stopped spending money on mags once I finished high school. I could always look up the latest stuff on line.
I did like hyper thou. Was usually a fun read.
Baa
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:44 PMAtomic Magazine – enough said…
Corey Lee
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:46 PMI’m a subscriber to PSM3. Although the cheapness of Game Informer and this Edge card add-on has enticed me to pick up a copy next time I’m in EB.
If I’m ever in EB.
Cerberus
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:49 PMI always was a PC Powerplay fan myself.
APK
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:07 PMAmen to that.
Awesome mag with good opinion pieces.
Grim
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 9:45 PMSame, for nearly 16 years now. Still annoyed that I missed out on issue #1 =P
iGooseGamer
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 1:55 AMHail PC Powerplay !!!
Jim Neale
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:51 PMSubscribed since issue 1.
Awesome magazine with epic content and an awesome cover. It really deserves it
NotoriousR
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 8:05 PMIndeed! My brother gave me some past copies and I was quite surprised at it. At $5, I thought it would be crap, but turns out I was terribly wrong. I love the cover art and the accompanying feature pieces, and in general, it’s got great content.
Also, free batman poster and $30 for 12 issues? How could I refuse?
Steven Bogos
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5:58 PMI’m a PC Powerplay guy myself (being a big PC gamer), but whenever I want cross-platform news, I usually head for Hyper over GameInformer. However, I have been buying mags less and less lately. I used to have a PCPP subscription, but now I only buy it every once in a while when I’m bored. Sad to say it but all of these mags will be dust in the wind before long :(
Cpt. Pajama Shark
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:01 PMI’m a PC Powerplay and Atomic kinda guy personally.
Renee Oflynn
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:01 PMI always get NGamer. I find the Australian magazines boring, especially the Official Nintendo one.
Also, will someone please make a cheap magazine to educate the parents? I mean, they’re the only reason we’re still getting shovelware. Anyone with small amount of information will make a better choice.
William Hamilton
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:30 PMThe price was a major selling point for me- 30 bucks for a year! hell yeah!
plus the magazine is exellent- their specials are always interesting and ahead of the pack.
i mean the latest issue looks sick- the cover has freaking white batman!
plus the special on arkum city was awesome!
Steven Blake
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:37 PMI don’t often buy games magazines but I have to say, from what I’ve seen $4.95 seems redonkulously cheap. Would have to agree then, probably one of the biggest factors. Then again I havn’t read it so it’s hard to judge!
john redfield
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:38 PMi stopped buying magazines are the end of N64 GAMER
Steve O’Leary was the man broke the heart the day i saw narayan Patterson in a Playstation magazine everything i ever believed in was a lie.
Denaz
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:55 PMYup, not only is it cheap, but its actually a decent read. The reviews are always straight forward, and usually pretty spot on. I got my subscription free at EB, but i’ll be continuing it even after it expires.
greg d
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 7:13 PMi subscribed to GI, i did it on price but also i find the articles pretty well written.
also there is reviews ect in the mag which i might not even look up on the net so it makes it worthwhile.
before this i had not bought a game mag since ps2 days.
thyco
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 7:15 PMeh Hyper and to an extremely leser extent PC Powerplay are the only game mags i get because ive always found Hyper the least Bias of all the game mags in this country. Plus its where the goose first started before he moved to PCP..then when he left PCP it went down hill
Lesley Howell
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 7:20 PMNOOOOOO the fact that it’s not HYPER fills me with rage! Magazine of the year all years for me, worth every penny, unlike these glorified eb advertisements.