Print is dying to the tune of a 5.6 per cent drop in magazine sales in the United States for the first half of 2010, but one video game mag is still going strong.
Valve is expecting Left 4 Dead 2 to be its fastest-selling in the company’s history, launching a $US25 million advertising campaign to make sure that happens.
No question that print media is dying. Only question is how long it’ll hold out. In the interests of keeping tabs on things, then, let’s take a look at Future Publishing’s latest British circulation numbers.
One entity that doesn’t seem too pleased with Nintendo’s “blue ocean” strategy is former UK publication N•Revolution. It’s closing up shop, in part because Nintendo has moved “away from the hardcore gaming community.”
Over at games.net there’s a list of the the “top” ten flops in game mag publishing.
I can’t say I’ve heard of any of the mags they mention (Ziff Davis wanted to charge $US 695 for games industry newsletter? In 2004? I’ll have what its smoking, thanks) but that doesn’t stop it from being an interesting read. Heck, some only lasted a single issue!
Australia’s had its fair share of game mag flops – the Oz version of Edge and Nintendo Gamer, just to name two. It’s crazy to think publishers are still trying to launch magazines when it’s quite obvious the Internet is the future of media.
Good on them for trying though – but I just can’t see how you could make money in such an endeavour.
Feature: Gaming Mag Graveyard! Ten Mags that Died Fast [games.net]
With online video game news coming from powerhouses like IGN, 1UP and Gamespot, can old fashioned glossy print media survive? How can once-monthly publications compete with up to the minute news sources, say, for instance Kotaku, and established gaming media updating throughout the day? That’s the focus of the New York Times look at print publishers Ziff Davis Media and Future US, both of whom publish not only on paper, but online as well.
With decreasing revenues and circulation rates—PC Gamer is down some 90,000 copies over the past four years—the only way to survive is to adapt. Conscious focus on more in-depth content in magazines and pushing the symbiotic relationship of online and offline media might just keep EGM and other Ziff Davis properties from death’s door.
As a longtime fan of print publications, I still subscribe to EGM. I’ve also recently signed on for the Official Xbox Magazine, Games For Windows and the Official PlayStation Magazine. Despite the flood of online content, there are still worthwhile publications worth reading on a monthly basis, even if the news content they provide is often outdated.
Anyone else out there with a healthy daily intake of print and electronic video game news?
Game News in a Duel of Print and Online [New York Times]
Print is dead. Lot of people say it, or maybe substitute “death” for “dying”, but I don’t necessarily agree. I enjoy reading on the can, for example, and I’m not taking my laptop in there with me. Not even if I was going to be a while. Seems the latest Audited Bureau of Circulation figures from the UK agree with my optimism. Yes, some mags are/are still on the decline, but others are up, and some really up.
Those on the decline include the PC mags, Sony mags and, sadly, Edge:
