The original Left 4 Dead sold like gangbusters, thanks largely to word-of-mouth, positive reviews, and the $US10 million that valve sunk into making sure everybody knew what the game was. The company now reaches even further, adding another $US15 million worth of advertising for a game that is already one of its bestselling titles.

“We’ll be supporting Left 4 Dead 2’s launch with a $US25 million campaign,” said Doug Lombardi, Valve’s vice-president of Marketing. “Left 4 Dead 2 has already set the record for greatest number of pre-orders in our company’s history, and we’re still over a month out from shipping.”

In the US, that money translates into billboards, banner ads on gaming sites, and televised advertisements to run during UFC events and Monday Night Football. Europe will also see a ramp up in outdoor advertisements, along with print, television and website ads.

It sounds like Left 4 Dead 2 will be everywhere you want to be over the coming month. Those of us already aware of the game will just have to wait patiently for release, practicing our “Yes, yes – we know” expressions.

Publisher Future has teamed up with WoW developer Blizzard Entertainment for quarterly title World of Warcraft: The Magazine.

Available in English, French, German and Spanish, the publication is sold via subscription only through World of Warcraft Account Management or from the mag’s official site.

The magazine is available as a one or two-year subscription, pricing for one year is $US39.95, 34.95 EUR or 29.95 GBP depending on your region — two year subscription packages cost $US69.95 in the US, 61.25 EUR or 52.50 GBP.

“Future produces some of the most respected gaming magazines in the industry, and we’re pleased to be working closely with them to make World of Warcraft: The Magazine a true standout product,” says Blizzard COO Paul Sams. “Together, we look forward to offering World of Warcraft players a great mix of entertaining and insightful content in every issue.”

The 148-page first issue will cover the fifth anniversary of World of Warcraft.

Other Future publications include T3, Total Film, Digital Camera, Fast Car, Classic Rock, Guitar World, Official Xbox Magazine, Official Playstation Magazine, Nintendo Power, Maximum PC and MacLife.

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.

With the demise of Ziff Davis’ print empire in the US, Future are now top dog in the world of video game magazine publishing, so a look at Future’s fortunes is as good a look as any if you’re looking at determining the overall health of the business.

And going by the company’s latest circulation figures, business isn’t looking too great. Despite an increase in readership for some of the stable’s PlayStation magazines, and a maintenance of Nintendo mag figures, all other mags – most notable among them Edge – are down.

* Edge – 31,304 to 28,898
* GamesMaster – 51,389 to 40,940
* OPM – 46,018 to 53,644
* PSW – 21,826 to 24,118
* ONM – 58,754 to 58,795
* OXM – 66,894 to 63,908
* Xbox World 360 – 31,698 to 31,030
* PSM3 – 26,885 to 26,202
* PC Gamer – 38,654 to 32,619
* PC Zone – 22,297 to 19,023

Most Future mags saw circulation drops last year [VG247]

That’s according to publisher Imagine’s managing director Damian Butt. He tells MCV “The decision to suspend N•Revolution has been taken because it has become increasingly obvious that Nintendo’s strategy for Wii and DS is no longer in line with Imagine Publishing’s target readership.”

We know some people are taking Wii Music pretty hard, but killing off your print publication? That’s sending a message.

Imagine confirms N•Revolution closure [MCV]

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 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]

Those on the decline include the PC mags, Sony mags and, sadly, Edge:Edge: 30,021 (down 10.6%)
Games Master: 47,719 (down 10.6%)
Official PlayStation 2: 44,182 (down 55.9%)
PC Gamer: 41,599 (down 8.2%)
PC Zone: 24,385 (down 18.8%)
PC Format: 28,314 (down 7.1%)
PlayStation World: 17,132 (down 50.3%)
PSM3: 24,121 (down 33%)
360: 12,017 (down 8.3%)

Those on the up? Nintendo and 360 mags. All but one of the 360 ones, in fact.

Official Nintendo Magazine: 47,925 (up 34.7%)
Official Xbox 360 Magazine: 65,673 (up 53.9%)
Xbox World 360: 30,296 (up 30.7%)
X360: 30,179 (up 38%)
360 Gamer: 12,586 (up 37.8%)

ABCs: 360 and Nintendo mags up, PlayStation decline continues [MCV]