A new magazine is about to enter the scene, just as many are hollering about the death of print – but Grab It Magazine will reach no such tangible papery tomes. It’s intended as a iPad mag, and we spoke to the founder, and former editor of Game Informer AU, Chris Stead, to find out more.
It’s a funny thing, actually: Print is far from dead. Not only does Game Informer AU, with its EB Games distribution deal, continually post record readerships, but local mainstay PC PowerPlay was up 22% last year – largely due to the editorial wizardry of Editor Daniel Hindes, and an increased focus on the indie scene.
Stead has similar ideas, and believes the time is right for media-rich tablet mags. He’s done his research before making the leap, and we picked his brain about what the new mag will have to offer.
“We created it specificaly to exist within the ecosystem of the games,” says Stead. “You can read in on your iPad, and it’s about iPad games. In doing that, we’ve managed to maximise the digital format, and use its strengths to make something you wouldn’t have seen before.”
Grab It is an “indie for the indies”, a “downloadable for the downloadable gaming scene.” Its focus is on downloadable iOS games, with a view to possibly covering other devices in the future. It’s the newest entrant in the small but growing field of outlets dedicated to giving attention to indie developers — mainstream coverage dips its toe in the indie scene, but it’s not where the money is.
“Traditional outlets are going to struggle to give indies lots of space, the best staff in terms of writing and design, and the coverage it can give to the games,” says Stead. “I’ve got no hate for that model – I still love my console and PC blockbuster magazines – you just can’t find the space for a small 4 man team working out of their garage, making something quirky. It’s not going to get a 5 page feature in a mag. We’re starting to see that a bit — for the first time those outlets are being confronted with the indie scene in a new way, thanks to the indie channels on Xbox One and PS4. But it’s a dead end — they’re never going to have 5 grand to spend on an ad.”
Grab It will be sustained through sales, as well as a portion of the money from app sales going to the mag, if the purchaser clicked through from a story or review in the magazine. But those clicks through are just a “small piece of the pie”, according to Stead.
“We don’t need as big an investment to get out the door, and that takes the pressure off in some capacity, but we still need to drive a hell of a lot of people through the magazine to make it sustainable. There’s a lot of experimentation in this magazine. We can’t just drop a Call of Duty on the cover and let that be the business for us. So a lot of what we’re doing is getting it out there and getting traction.”
While the global launch of Issue 1 is expected later on, a free Issue 0 teaser has been released with a fair bit of content to show off the the mag will be like. Highlights are an interview with David Helgason, CEO of Unity, which powers many indie games these days, and another talk with former Halo developer Ryan Payton, creator of the issue’s cover game, Republique.
The mag promises to showcase video covers, as well as visual and aural media in the backgrounds of reviews, with content that readers can enjoy how they wish – be that skipping to the verdict, expanding a full review, or clicking through for extra content, such as an interview with the game’s developer or the game store itself. Issue 0 showcases a review of Republique, a game about security cameras, with screenshots that can be touched and dragged, in the style of a security camera, for the reader to see more of the scene. Stead hopes these ideas will keep people talking about the mag.
“Every mention is so valuable. One of the biggest things it does is throw a lot of support to these indie developers. You can see how one person saying on a tweet, ‘I loved Grab It’ – how much difference that can make, just one person. So I’d encourage all the readers to check it out, and if you like what you see, help spread the word.”
Our thanks to Chris Stead for his time – You can check out the Grab It website here, or follow the Facebook page for updates. Issue 0 can be downloaded on your iPad for free, here.
Comments
15 responses to “A New Gaming Magazine Enters The Fray”
” the time is right for media-rich tablet mags”
If you don’t read Edge on the iPad, you’re missing out. I can’t go back to regular paper mags after seeing what happens when a publisher puts a little effort into crafting a unique iPad magazine.
Hi Luke! Edge (and Wired, too) is certainly doing some great stuff and we have a lot of respect for those titles, but we’re trying to do something quite different and unique to make the most of the digital medium and to provide a platform specific to indies. Would love to hear your thoughts if you get to check it out, as it’s quite a different type of iPad magazine experience.
And thank you Kotaku for the support. Much appreciated!
Sure, be keen to check it out! Sorry, meant that as a “hey ipad mags are rad” statement, not a “go read Edge instead” statement 🙂
I know mate – I’m just really excited to hear what you think give you’re a fan of Edge.
Hyper is still going strong, too.
I always regretted that I kind of fell out of habit of reading Hyper a few years back. Glad they’re still around though.
I was thinking a while back, when Nintendo Power got shut down. Surely Hyper must be one of the longest-running gaming mags left in the world by now?
I was the same. I used to pick up Hyper every month and give it a good read. Nowdays the only time I get it is if I’m going on a long trip and use it as “last resort” reading material.
I really only buy it out of habit rather than reading’s sake. After 12 years, why stop now?
I miss N64 Gamer 🙁
Wow ted, that is rolling back the clock. The first magazine I worked on was N64 Gamer – those were some pretty amazing times. Everyone in the industry, and in the audience, was 19, so you could pretty much get away with anything.
I remember you! A few years back I was on some other forum and found a post or two by Narayan (sp?) also, and Kelly I think her name was? Last name was definitely Starr. I was only 12 when I started buying, so for me it was edgy and hilarious! The Operation Winback review taught me all about Germans and their love for poo. Badass was always a highlight too.
Awesome mag, glad you found my post!
It makes sense. Game Informer AU is great on tablets, and magazines on tablets make a lot of sense. As does motion comics. Getting rid of the paper is a good thing – magazines can be more dynamic, more current, cheaper to produce, and faster to release.
I love PCPowerplay but did not renew my subscription this year. My local library has a free gateway to Zinio who publish the digital version. So I still read it, but free through my library’s website.
I read CPU
http://www.computerpoweruser.com/DigitalEditions/Default.aspx
Ive enjoyed your time as editor of gameinformer Chris (didn’t know you had left thought you was just on break) so i wish you the best with this new direction.
Android?
Yay, I really love Chris Steads work!
He worked some great wonders on Gameinformer when it first came to our market and turned it into a magazine that I held on the same level as Games tm and Edge. Will be downloading a copy asap as English video gaming magazines are hard to find here in Japan so it’s digital all the way for me now!