Favorite Gaming Magazines - Now and Then [Archive]

jeffbax

10-05-2008, 01:37 PM

Sega Visions -> GamePro -> Game Informer -> Computer Gaming World -> Next Gen -> Xbox Nation -> EGM

I only get a mag now if its a free sub however. Podcasts and internet news are more than enough. Love the 1Up Show, Escapist, and Totally Rad Show.

pomeroy

10-05-2008, 01:51 PM

EGM, because it's free.

Although I think that free sub is running out.

Camel

10-05-2008, 01:53 PM

Computer Gaming World! I used to love looking at them when I was a kid.

Ghost Rider

10-05-2008, 01:56 PM

I was a masive fan of PSM2 and Play when I was growing up, must of spent hundreds on them altogether. The internet kind of meant I could get a lot of the news for free, but you can't beat the physical aspect of a magazine sometimes so I still pick up one every now and then.

pomeroy

10-05-2008, 01:57 PM

I was a masive fan of PSM2 and Play when I was groing up, must of spent hundreds on them altogether. The internet kind of meant I could get a lot of the news for free, but you can't beat the physical aspect of a magazine sometimes so I still pick up one every now and then.

Exactly! Nothing beats a good magazine when you're in the crapper for an extended period of time.

fitbabits

10-05-2008, 01:57 PM

EGM, because it's free.

Although I think that free sub is running out.

Ah, Ziff Davis and subs... Never in my life have I come across such a bunch of fucking idiots when it comes to subscriptions. From service interruptions to downright failure to deliver, it never ceases to amaze me how incompetent they are.

I paid for a two year subscription to EGM in May 2007 (I think) and it has apparently run out already. And yes, I called customer service, but that was a non-starter - they suggested I resubscribe while they investigate "if I want to remain current". Not. Fucking. Likely.

Shadowstorm

10-05-2008, 01:59 PM

I used to read GFW.

Obviously, I can't anymore :(.

Jackel

10-05-2008, 02:06 PM

I used to love reading Computer Gaming World & PC Gamer...now I just get my news online.

KingGorilla

10-05-2008, 02:12 PM

Ah, Ziff Davis and subs... Never in my life have I come across such a bunch of fucking idiots when it comes to subscriptions. From service interruptions to downright failure to deliver, it never ceases to amaze me how incompetent they are.

I paid for a two year subscription to EGM in May 2007 (I think) and it has apparently run out already. And yes, I called customer service, but that was a non-starter - they suggested I resubscribe while they investigate "if I want to remain current". Not. Fucking. Likely.
The juxtaposition between writing quality, very high, and puiblisher reliability, low, has always pained me. Where as Future, OXM; PC Gamer, is the opposite.

And I will ask again, why the hell can I not buy E-book versions of game magazines? I can get the New Yorker or USA Today.

Wedge

10-05-2008, 02:18 PM

(Norwegian) Nintendo Magazine->Computer & Video Games->PSM2/PC Gamer (UK)->Edge

I read Edge for the articles. Fuck the reviews & previews.

Gorvi

10-05-2008, 02:25 PM

I used to love EGM. Sadly, it's now a shadow of it's former self. I never really got into any other magazines, though the old OPM was pretty damn good in it's prime.

Fubl

10-05-2008, 03:18 PM

Pc accelerator it was an actually decently written magazine even though it was an attempt at combineing a mens magazine with a pc mag. only lasted a year i believe.

VerseD

10-05-2008, 03:25 PM

I read EGM from 2000 to 2005, with a dash of Game Informer and PC Gamer. I really liked their staff and commentary, the three-pronged reviews, and their humor. It kind of went down hill so I switched over to 1Up and Evil Avatar for all my gaming news.

Today the only magazine I read regularly is the Escapist, if that counts.

That Darn Kat

10-05-2008, 05:07 PM

I loved Nintendo Power when I was younger, and I kind of still like it now just because of the free stickers and such. I still have a mario for president sticker, as well as mario and luigi moustache stickers. I loved GMR while it was being published but it didn't last long.

Now, I just flip though EGM. I think I've got a couple free years left to go. Oddly enough, they sent me three months worth of magazines at once the other day.

Bad Buddha

10-05-2008, 05:54 PM

Some ancient computer magazine that had programs and games that you could type into your TI99/4a or VIC 20. I think it was printed with a mimeograph machine on newsprint paper.

PC Gamer before "The Vede" brought the magazine to amazing levels of immaturity.

Computer Gaming World; followed by Games For Windows.

Now, PC Gamer now that my GFW subscription has reverted to PCG; No "Vede" in sight!

Everyone vs Dinosaurs

10-05-2008, 08:39 PM

Back when I had a subscription, I loved reading PC gamer.

Whunpo

10-05-2008, 08:49 PM

I've given up on gaming magazines. I used to love reading them (I have SOOO many PSMs, PC gamers and Game Informers tucked away in my room), but it's not worth it anymore. I can get everything online and free. WIRED is the only magazine that I really enjoy anymore.

Dark Acre Jack

10-05-2008, 08:58 PM

Couldn't afford them then, refuse to pay for them now.

Like most others have said, blogs and sites like these keep me informed much faster and better than those glossies ever could.

Karak

10-05-2008, 10:41 PM

Next Generation bar none

Wraith

10-05-2008, 10:46 PM

Back around 2000, I remember picking up a few issues of Gamer's Republic and really liking it.

I've been getting EGM for quite a while. (I still like it, though they just dropped Hsu & Chan last month, and it seems like they're getting more ad space all the time.) I pick up the occasional issue of PLAY.

Other than that, I haven't really read many gaming magazines, aside from an issue here and there.

Gwinny

10-05-2008, 10:47 PM

Then: None
Now: Edge

HALO 32

10-05-2008, 10:50 PM

Gameinformer...till it runs out then after that I don't think I'm going to renew it.

While some of the world exclusives are kinda cool but I hate a lot of their reviews.

Most of the time I just read previews and follow my instincts...and so far that has turned out very good.

Kenzington4short

10-06-2008, 12:06 AM

I have fond memories of Next Generation. The first issue I saw on the stands was the Ultra 64 one with the ship on the cover. Was that the first issue? Anyway, that magazine had such quality paper. I was sad when they started using cheaper stuff.

Right now I get Game Informer (just got my final issue) and I have like a year more of EGM. I enjoy EGM enough, and while I get pretty much all of my gaming information online, it's hard to read a laptop while on the can.:p

Ghostbear

10-06-2008, 12:09 AM

I loved PC gamer until a few years ago. It was a very consistent magazine. I also loved CGW/GFW until the end :(

Wolvie

10-06-2008, 12:18 AM

1988-Nintendo Power

90's thru 2005- Gamepro then Gamefan then EGM

2006-Game Informer

GI is still my fav gaming rag. But my all time fav is Game Fan. That magazinr had it all. Games, Anime, comics, it was just bad ass... too bad the magazine died in 2000.

Also I stopped reading EGM because of Dan Hsu. The man was/is an arrogant prick who thought his opinion was the final word in gaming. he alone drove me away from that magazine.

Vyzov

10-06-2008, 12:37 AM

I used to read Tips & Tricks all the time, from the first issue to.. a few years back. Surprisingly enough, I didn't really ever read it for the cheats.

Jeffool

10-06-2008, 12:47 AM

Also I stopped reading EGM because of Dan Hsu. The man was/is an arrogant prick who thought his opinion was the final word in gaming. he alone drove me away from that magazine.Different strokes for different folks and all, but I <3 Dan Hsu. To me his approach came across as "gaming journalists should have more journalistic integrity (http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=6228583&publicUserId=5379799) than shit like Entertainment Tonight." He (seemed to) want the industry to be more like actual journalism than 'entertainment journalism', and for that aspiration I have mad respect for the guy. Sadly, it seems that many journalists want to be developers (or rub elbows with them,) than they do 'actually want to be journalists. At least that's the impression I've always gotten from reading a bunch of developer's (and some journo's) blogs.

Also, Hsu's gone from EGM. He left way earlier in the year, actually. He's now blogging with Crispin Boyer at Sore Thumbs (http://sorethumbsblog.com/).

Widgetcraft

10-06-2008, 12:53 AM

Then: Nintendo Power, GamePro, EGM/EGM2, Ultimate Gamer.

Now: Fuck magazines, I gots teh internetz.

it's hard to read a laptop while on the can.:p

Buy a TV tray.

BLeeP

10-06-2008, 01:28 AM

Then: GamePro

The magazine is horrible now, and it probably was then, too, but it was a thick mag and it had all of these cool "personalities" that did their articles and reviews.

Now: Retrogamer

Best magazine to deal with gaming ever. And I've only ever read one issue. (because it is a European mag and it cost a lot of money to get a subscription in the states)

Gaz

10-06-2008, 02:16 AM

Then: PC Zone UK. I miss the likes of Prezzer and Charlie Brooker.

Now: Ummm... CustomPC I guess. More of a hardware enthusiast mag, but it's got a heavy bias for gaming.

pseudopseudo

10-06-2008, 05:30 AM

My brother and I cut our teeth on EGM back in the mid-late '90s.

Now the only ones I read are Game Informer ('cause it came with my Edge Card) and Official Xbox Magazine ('cause I helped out a friend who was selling magazine subscriptions, and it was the only gaming magazine on the list).

Telefrog

10-06-2008, 08:04 AM

Then: PC Gamer and CVG.

Now: Online only.

Grifter

10-06-2008, 08:19 AM

I've read a lot of mags, I don't know the exact years but I'll list oldest to newest (roughly)

Video Games and Computer Entertainment (VGCE for short)
PC Gamer
Die Hard Gamefan
Ultra Game Players Magazine (I think that was the name)
Next Generation
PC Accelerator
Play, on occasion
PC Gaming World/Games for Windows
At some point in the last year some one signed me up for a free subscription of EGM so I just keep it in the Bathroom in case I run out of toilet paper.

There may be others but I can't remember at the moment.

KingGorilla

10-06-2008, 11:26 AM

My big gripe is that most game mags and sites are so feature poor. It is like seeing a stock ticker with a forum. Less stuff like GFW speaking on piracy or the three wishes article.
For all the jokes, magazines like Playboy survive on features. Naked ladies are fre everywhere else.

Edge is really the only place where I can get the stuff I want to read, and what I like to write.

Norse

10-06-2008, 11:32 AM

Edge is pretty awesome IMHO. It's a quality mag, at least compared to most gaming magazines.

Zero

10-06-2008, 11:43 AM

I'm cancelling my EGM today. With the departure of Shoe, and the cutting of most of the reviews from 3 people to just 1, there's nothing unique there anymore.

Telefrog

10-06-2008, 01:59 PM

For all the jokes, magazines like Playboy survive on features. Naked ladies are fre everywhere else.

Bad example. Playboy, the magazine, has been on the edge of going online only for quite some time.

fitbabits

10-06-2008, 02:19 PM

pheriannath

10-06-2008, 02:26 PM

Way Back Then: Nintendo Power

Then: PC Gamer, CGW

Now: EGM (though it's more to help support 1up's excellent podcasts), GI (free sub), le internetz

mightbe

10-06-2008, 02:29 PM

Favorites now: Escapist

Then: EGM (Back when sushi-x did reviews), PC Gamer (back in the 90's, before it went to shit)

Wilkz07

10-06-2008, 02:37 PM

Then: PC Gamer, EGM

Now: OXM

Commissar Rob

10-06-2008, 02:42 PM

I like Game Informer...the in-depth articles are pretty good. Though I agree you can get quite a bit of the content online, I still enjoy a little physical media now and again.

Norse

10-06-2008, 03:44 PM

I should add that one of my favorite gaming magazines ever was Crash. I fucking LOVED that magazine, from the Oliver Frey front cover, to the inevitable ad for an OCEAN movie tie-in on the back cover.

Those days are gone forever, sadly.

Ah, OCEAN, that name brings back some good memories. I played a ton of their games on my C64. Their loader music was epic....

Spacetronaut

10-06-2008, 04:13 PM

I don't read any now, but back in the day I loved Nintendo Power.

Variable Gear

10-06-2008, 07:27 PM

Then: Nintendo Power and EGM.
Now: Nintendo Power and EDGE.

That's what you call an appreciation of quality. :)

Kagger

10-07-2008, 05:47 PM

Currently have a free subscription to EGM, been reading it for about 5 years now. I won't be renewing. The reviews section just isn't entertaining anymore, and they removed my favorite part (the crossword), a year ago.

King3567

10-07-2008, 08:48 PM

Nintendo Power->GamePro->GameInformer

I still get both Gamepro and Game Informer, but the new EGM looks so sexy.

kropotkin

10-08-2008, 03:49 PM

I should add that one of my favorite gaming magazines ever was Crash. I fucking LOVED that magazine, from the Oliver Frey front cover, to the inevitable ad for an OCEAN movie tie-in on the back cover.

Those days are gone forever, sadly.

Ah yes. Crash. I also liked ZZap 64 and Amtix. Then again I always thought Your Sinclair was the best of the bunch towards the end of the 80's. Anyway going back to the original question:

Then:

Crash
Sinclair User
Computer and Video Games
Your Sinclair
Advanced Computer Entertainment (ACE)
Amiga Power
The One
ST Format
Amiga Format
PC Format

Now:

The Edge
Retro Gamer
PC Gamer (UK)
PC Zone
GamesTM

I still think The Edge is something to be proud of. There is no other gaming mag like it. Even if they are up their own rear-ends at times.