Some things are in short supply at E3. Affordable food, quiet areas and booth babes in respectable outfits are among them. Game magazines are not.
The determined magazine junkie (i.e. yours truly) can collect vast quantities of free pulp handed out at the show. I personally scrounged up 13 separate publications this year, not including three issues of Ziff's ShowDaily guide and the E3 2005 Show Directory. I could probably spend a good month on this blog reading these issues cover to cover and giving in-depth analysis of their respective contents, but I wouldn't be able to do much else that month. Instead, I'm going to do quick previews of each magazine, based on 15 minutes worth of reading and 15 minutes worth of writing (so please forgive any sloppy grammar or spelling). Sure, some of the details of each mag might get lost in the process, but if it's good enough for the games on the show floor, it should be good enough for the magazines too (how's that for meta-commentary?)
Game Developer (Volume 12, Number 5, May 2005)
I read the IGDA's Web site on occasion, but this is the first time I've ever stumbled upon a copy of their print magazine.
- On first glance, I love the cover design. Strong, colorful art from Alien Hominid and teaser text for other stories that doesn't distract
- On the Masthead, names like Simon Carless and Brandon Sheffield jump out. Not bad for what could easily have been just a newsletter. I also notice representatives from some big name developers on the mag's advisory board. Understandable, given their focus, but I wonder what this does to their perspective compared to other game magazines. The review of 3D Studio Max reminds me of a similar feature on the tools behind game design in the old Next Generation magazine. I never read it.
- An in-depth report on the I Love Bees alternate reality game is much more interesting than the few sentences most gizmo mags devoted to the phenomenon. I'll have to read that in full later.
- A five page feature on how gamers use controllers! Why didn't I think of that. Seriously, this picture- and graph-filled feature would be of interest even to a non-developer audience. Another one to read in full.
- The Alien Hominid feature is worth the price of admission just for the great pictures. Wonderful art direction.
- Articles on pathfinding algorithms and hiring practices are less suited to the general reader, but a nice selection of columns from designers themselves makes for a nice finish to the mag.
- Bonus: Most of the ads are stuffed in the back of the magazine where they don't disrupt the flow of content. Nice!
Grade: A
Wired (13.05, May 2005)
Not a game mag per se, this issue came "courtesy of Midway" according to a sticker on the front. For the life of me, I can't figure out why they are giving this out.
- Nine pages of ads before the table of contents... way to make me want to stop reading the magazine before I've even begun.
- Wired's design and layout is unmatched in my opinion. Big pictures accompany text that is arranged in interesting but still easily readable patterns. What's more, the text is actually incredibly concise for the most part, getting to the point without crowding out the pictures. Nice paper and cover stock round out the package.
- A neat little photo gallery of tile-based game art is NOT about the done-to-death I Am 8 Bit and Into the Pixel shows. Way to be ahead of the curve, Wired.
- Features like "Think Belligerent" -- about Apple suing a fan-made web site -- are obviously opinionated and not ashamed of it.
- Electronic Arts is the only game company to make the Hot 40 list of top tech companies (at No. 6). The write-up says that the average 30-year old gamer "can afford every new release." But does he or she have time to play them? This requires more research.
- Recurring light features like the Wired/Tired/Expired lists and futuristic/artistic Found are great to keep readers coming back.
Grade: B+
Tips and Tricks (No. 125, May 2005)
Wow... there's a name that takes me back. The Dragon Ball Z cover, however, does not.
- The cover is amazingly crowded, shoving every game name possible seemingly in the hope that you'll see one you know and pick it up off the newsstand.
- Publisher: Larry Flynt?! The same Larry Flynt that publishes Hustler? I guess it pays to diversify.
- Right off the bat we get extended strategies for DBZ Sagas, GT4, Psychonauts and San Andreas. Interesting if you have the games... not interesting if you don't. It's a safe bet most of the audience has at least one though.
- The GT4 section features some nice sidebars on the historic cars of the game and some tips for taking good photographs. Potentially interesting even if you hate the Gran Turismo games. Not what you'd expect from a strategy mag.
- The idea behind Select Game Previews is intriguing. They give quick takes on a few current and upcoming releases, and the readers mail in lists of which games they want to see strategies for. That's one way to command reader loyalty.
- What's with all these niche sections near the back? Cell phones, Gear, Online, Sports, Collectors, Final Fantasy, Japan. Reminds me of the old, hyper-compartmentalized GamePro... in a good way. If they don't serve the niche audiences, who will. I mean, besides the Internet.
- Speaking of cell phones, the three-page Cellular section is written by Andy Eddy. You may remember Andy from the less-than-stellar additional chapters in the paperback edition of David Sheff's Game Over. Nice to see he landed on his feet, so to speak
- At the very end of the magazine comes the section I'd been fearing -- 22 pages of tiny type, squint-inducing codes for a whole bunch of games. Well presented, for sure, but next to useless to anyone with an Internet connection.
Grade: C+
VideoGames Transmedia (Volume 1, Issue 8, May 18, 2005)
At eight pages short, with two of them filled with ads, this tiny little newsletter is a quick bite.
- No fancy cover graphics here... the cover is page one of the content.
- The editor's note claims the sheet is about convergence in digital entertainment, and stories on advergaming and PSP movies fill the niche quite well.
- The front page feature is a Q & A featuring Dean Takahashi asking questions of... Dean Takahashi about the new Xbox 360. I guess the author of Opening the Xbox is qualified to speak on this subject, but shouldn't somebody else be asking him the questions?
- An editorial from Gamesindustry.biz takes up all of page 4, and I say bravo. I look forward to Rob Fahey's thoughts every week and it's about time they were put into print somewhere. And no, Rob isn't paying me to say that.
- Some rumors, some hard news and... another George Lucas interview. Jeez... you can't escape the guy this month!
Grade: B
E3 2005 Directory (Official Exhibit Guide)
Published by Prima, this thick guide is full of info and full of ads. Worth holding on to just to remember what you missed.
Grade: Functional!
Nintendo Power (Volume 193, July 2005)
The magazine we all grew up with finally gets a total makeover... but doesn't rank a mention at Nintendo's press conference.
- I know ads have been in Nintendo Power for years now, but I don't think I'll ever get used to them. The whole thing is basically an ad for Nintendo... why do we need more ads?
- A history of Nintendo Power timeline shows how the Big N invented the video game comic (Howard and Nester, yay!) and the "celebrity gamer" section (Tori Spelling, boo). It even pokes gentle fun at the Play it Loud ad campaign.
- "Many of you grew up with Nintendo Power and it was time for NP to grow a bit too," says Managing Editor Scott Pelland in an editor's note. Dude... it was time for NP to grow up about ten years ago. What took so long?
- A subhead features the astounding proclamation that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is "leading the world out of the dark ages." Wow... way to lay on the hyperbole there.
- The major advantage of Nintendo Power has always been its ability to get information about Nintendo out there before anyone else. NP is the only magazine to go to for Revolution information for at least a few weeks. The Internet has lessened this advantage, but in the print world, Nintendo Power is still the first official word for all things Nintendo.
- The new layouts are, in a word, spectacular. Big, bright pictures and interesting text layouts fill every page. The new logo is a fine update to a classic. Well done.
- Nintendo is giving away 1,000 of the Zelda t-shirts that were being given at the conference away to lucky readers, but eager gamers can buy one now for prices hovering around $60 on eBay. Lucky them!
- @Second opinions in reviews. A community section. E3 trivia in the back. There's too much new stuff here for a quick preview. Expect more in-depth thoughts on the new NP soon.
Grade: B
Computer Games (Issue 175, June 2005)
I'll occasionally read an article on CGOnline, but this is my first time reading the print mag. Let's see what we've got.
- A nice simple cover featuring Serious Sam II attracts the eye but doesn't skimp on information about the contents. Very nicely done.
- Seven pages of ads before the table of contents. Why must you make me work to get to what I want?
- An editorial on lack of time to play games answers the implicit question from Wired above. More editorials from industry insiders later in the magazine provide some great perspectives on the industry. Note to gaming magazines: print more editorials!
- The letters section is full of in jokes and a writing style that is off-putting to this newcomer.
- Wow... four whole pages of coverage for the Game Developers conference. That's more coverage than a lot of magazines for this important event.
- Reviews feature some VERY LARGE star ratings, which distract a bit from the text, which generally seems to give the right amount of space to each game. No constricting formats here (I'm looking at you, EGM)
- interesting section on PC hardware, the Online scene, mods, Japan, the indie scene and... consoles?! Hey, if console mags have a PC section, I guess this is par for the course.
Grade: B+
Pocket Games (No. 17)
The only magazine I know of devoted to portable games. Why is this? There's so much interest in handhelds now, you'd think there would be some competition.
- Who needs anything else on the cover when the PSP is coming. Who needs anything else in the magazine, for that matter. Pocket Games goes understandably overboard with 20-some pages of coverage for the hot new portable.
- Despite all the PSP love, there's still a lot of space for lesser-known handhelds... and I don't mean just the DS. Gizmondo, Tapwave, NGage and cell phones get way more coverage than I've seen in any other print mag, and I say good for them. Press coverage can help determine the success or failure of a new platform, and the dearth of coverage for most of the recent portable systems has helped put nails in their coffin. It's nice to see someone looking at all the systems out there.
- For the PSP blowout, the Pocket Games crew interviewed staffers from Ziff's Official Playstation Magazine. Now that's synergy!
- I love the screen-above-text layout for the reviews. It's consistent without being constraining and familiar without being cumbersome. My only gripe is it's hard to distinguish between previews and reviews. Grouping both previews and reviews for one system together is an interesting concept, but it requires more distinction between the two.
Grade: A-
Sync
Ziff's replacement for GMR throws together girls, tech, cars and... more girls into a jumbled mess.
- That cover sure has a lot of text on it, but it's obviously window dressing for the scantily-clad waifish model staring out from the page. I hope GMR didn't have many female subscribers, because they just canceled their subscriptions.
- Even stuff that ostensibly has nothing to do with girls features pictures of scantily clad girls in Sync. Take the 100 word review of wireless headphones on page 87. The text is squeezed in the corner to make room for a bikini-clad girl in a swimming pool. Titillation at the expense of decent content.
- A three page spread on movies that should become games is actually kind of funny. The Napoleon Dynamite Dance Dance Revolution picture actually made me laugh out loud.
- I had never heard of Sociolotron, but it's the kind of twisted, genre-bending MMORPG that I'd expect game magazines to be leaping all over. Sync's two page spread earns it some brownie points...
- ...but the mag loses them all with this actual quote. "Is it true video games can decrease a guy's libido? Sadly, most game aficionados haven't had the chance to find out." (emphasis in original). Thank you, I want my money back.
Grade: D+
That's all for now. Look for thoughts on more free mags including GamePro, Game Informer, and the ubiquitous ShowDaily coming soon.
In defense of Tips and Tricks, not everybody has access to an net connection, especially kids.
ReplyDeleteI remember Andy Eddy for a lot more than just "Game Over." How old are you, and how long have you been reading videogame magazines?
ReplyDeleteI'm 22 years old and started reading Nintendo Power when I was six... before I owned an NES. Of course I've read plenty of other mags since then. I haven't run in to Andy's name outside of Game Over, but I didn't really pay attention to the bylines until a few years ago. So no disrespect meant to Mr. Eddy and his large body of work, I just wasn't aware of it.
ReplyDeleteI also ended up with a substantial stack of mags. Unfortunately, I didn't see my favorite gaming publication (Edge, out of the UK) at the show.
ReplyDeleteIt warms my heart to hear that Nintendo Power has apparently improved so drastically.
ReplyDeleteThere was actually six pages of coverage of the GDC in the issue of Computer Games. Or 5 1/2.
ReplyDeleteI'm a programmer and am very interested in video game development, so I'm obviously influenced already. But even before I learned to program I regularly read Game Developer magazine. It's easily my favorite mag out there right now.
ReplyDelete(Though PC Gamer was great too; I should pick it up again.)
One thing that I notice is that both of these magazines have dedicated columns. I'd like to see more mainstream magazines take that approach. In addition to their (p)reviews have a monthly page or two on FPS', or platformers. Talk about what the current trends are and who's doing it right.
I haven't run in to Andy's name outside of Game Over, but I didn't really pay attention to the bylines until a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteHow many gaming magazines even have real bylines? They either use code names, or initials or just a first name and to learn the authors real name you have to search tiny type on the copyright page if it's in the mag at all.
You critique gaming journalism and use statements like "Until very recently, most writing about videogames was, to be blunt, thinly veiled public relations junk" and "put a check on the often sloppy, lazy, biased, and unethical world of video game reporting" in your introduction.
ReplyDeleteYet you seem woefully unaware about the history of game writing. Andy Eddy has been doing this longer than you've been breathing. You say you didn't mean any disrespect but you site some of his "less-than-stellar" work (which is still more than anything you've accomplished). That comment alone makes you seem disrespectful AND ignorant.
Learn some history boy. While you're up there sniping on your tower, take some time to learn what Andy Eddy, Johnny Wilson, Chip Carter, Ed Semrad, etc. have done for you and this business.
Whoops. Upon checking, it seems those words were actually from my revised introduction. Still, they seem a bit strong, upon reflection. Maybe it's time for anotehr annual introduction update.
ReplyDeleteI'm constantly learning more and more about this industry and revising my opinions based on new information. I hope you'll all join me for the ride.
Hi, Kyle (and visitors). A friend of mine pointed me to this page, and it certainly is flattering...well, not the "less-than-stellar" and "landed on his feet" parts, but some of the comments made after that. (That said, I'd like to hear why the two added Game Over chapters didn't resonate with you. In all honesty, the part I wrote wasn't supposed to be an earth-shattering addition, and my hands were tied to cover some highlights of the five years after the book originally came out in a few pages, but I'm always curious why someone doesn't like what I've written.)
ReplyDeleteAs for my body of work, I'd certainly like to be remembered for other things than two chapters in someone else's book. Heck, I'd even point to the stuff I wrote for GamePro (on staff from 93-96 and various freelance since) as being more representative, despite doing it under a comic-bookish name--though as far as I know I'm the only staffer to ever have his actual name on a story byline, but that's a story for another time.
However, writing about video games wasn't a vehicle for me to become famous--though I acknowledge that any job you do so publicly subjects you to a certain level of celebrity, and the longer you do it, the more likely you'll have "fans," whom I've definitely heard from throughout my 17-/22-year career (I started writing for money in 1983 for some computer magazines, but did it mostly full time from 1988 when I was executive editor of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment).
That said, I'll offer that I'm not too offended that you didn't know more about me or even that you judged me by a microscope slide of my writing. (Maybe a Google search will help fill in some details.) I will suggest that, if you're going to post a blog called "Video Game Ombudsman" that's has a "Video Game Journalism Review" subhead, you should probably familiarize yourself more with the people who do this and who've been doing this while you've been breathing. I think Al Michaels would sound pretty goofy on Monday Night Football if he didn't know the players on the field.
Cheers...
A "Still on my feet, but finding it easier to type sitting down" E
If you think Computer Games Magazine has a lot of ads, check out the other two computer game print publications. Many, many more. And no more content. And fewer editorials.
ReplyDeleteKyle, please. Change your name.
ReplyDeleteIt's a noble cause to watch, fact-check, and raise issues among videogame writers and journalists. No argument there. But you have neither the experience nor the authority to call yourself an ombudsman. You haven't worked in print, you haven't worked in online...you don't know enough about how the industry works to be a proper watchdog. That isn't your fault, necessarily, it just takes time and experience.
By your own admission, "most of this blog is just my opinion." That's fine. But I'd prefer my ombudsmen to deal with facts. (And also to not be self-appointed, by the way.) Bylines or not, you should have known Andy Eddy's history. You should have known that LFP publishes Tips 'n Tricks. This stuff has been common knowledge for years.
Having your own opinion site is A-OK, and you do make some good commentary from time to time. But calling yourself "the video game ombudsman" implies an authority and reputation you simply have not earned yet.
Respectfully.
"That's just my opinion. If you have a different one, start your own blog."
ReplyDeleteAh, professional--"I'm right and if you don't think so, go away."
Funny how the critic who points out the flaws under the auspices of helping to improve the industry cannot himself take criticism. It's even tougher when you put yourself out there as a know-it-all, then find you have more to learn.
You are standing on the shoulders of giants. A little respect for how this industry began--with people like Eddy, Bieniek, Semrad, Nihei, Katz, Kunkel, and Worley--might even prove enlightening.
Kyle, I know you're raging against he machine, but you're also what's wrong with the industry--too much opinion, not enough information.
Jesus, what's with you being such an ass? He makes a single mistake and all of a sudden you're calling for him to resign from what he's doing? You might not like him, but a lot of people (Myself included) enjoy this site and some of the points Kyle's trying to bring to the forefront.
ReplyDeleteOh man, you open your mouth and you get blasted to kingdom come. Sorry such a good guy has to appologize for his views.
ReplyDeleteWith the current state of the internet culture if you say you know any thing you better damn well have a doctorate in it or not speak at all. that some how stiflies the free speach the internet brings us now doesnt it?
Really let it go every one, how many of you are card holding industry people to be able to speak this way? Does every one who writes in any facet of journalism have to read and know every thing front to back that any ones done before they go out and write about any thing? Do they teach a gaming writers works in college? and if so do the professers give out the writers real name thats behind the comic bookish pen names most writers hide?
Kyle doesnt have to answer to any one about his opinions here, cause they are just that in this space, opinions. Take them or leave them. He's not trying to break down walls, he's just trying to comment, to however big the audiance,about the state of gaming and gaming journalism.. he gives us a unsolicited view of something many of us never get to see, from some one in his starting years.. and yes if you do have something to say about it or know so much, lets please see your blogs, i read any thing once.
If he was writing these things in a publication that was being payed for and distributed then yes go nuts and write the editor and the publishers and so on, but here your answering to only one person, and he writers what is here. No one is making you turn on your computer and come her for any reason, just like no ones holding you down and making you read a magazine.
Kyle, if you see this, dont listen to them.. honestly you owe them nothing.
PS any one who may think this is some friend of his trying to make it look good for him,I'm not i've never met him. I'm just some one who believes in what he's doing and takes it at face value.
Since when has Sync been a replacement for GMR? It's not. GMR was a gaming magazine, Sync is a men's/gadget magazine. Not the same thing. And Sync was around long before GMR was cancelled. Me thinks you've never seen Sync before, and of course not - it's *not* a gaming magazine.
ReplyDelete~Kris
Guess I wasn't clear about this. I got a notecard about a month ago from Ziff Davis saying that the remainder of my GMR subscription would be replaced with issues of Sync. Sure ennough, I got my first issue in the mail last week (not the free issue I got at E3... a newer one). I am a little bitter about this because, as you say, Sync is not a gaming magazine as GMR was. Couldn't they just extend my EGM subscription or something instead of giving me a men's lifestyle magazine that i may or may not be interested in (I'm not)?
ReplyDeleteI do realize that Sync was around long before GMR, but people who subscribed to the magazine before it was canceled are now getting Sync, which is why I referred to it as a replacement. This should have been clearer in the post.
Re: Nintendo Power, my understanding is you'll get a bill for a full year of subscription if you don't cancel before the three months is up.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have to say, this is an unfortunately case of a poor choice of tone.
I like to imagine a world where anonymous wasn't a dick right off the bat. Where he understood that one man won't necessarily know everything, and maybe instead of cursing the whippersnapper, he could take time to educate him. Then they would have waxed poetic (and politely) about the wonderful career of Mr. Eddy. Can you imagine how fun it would have been when he showed up? Instead, it was all so mean spirited, that I was just embarrassed when I saw that he had been reading.
You know, you may know the name of every game journalist there ever was, but if you don't know how to connect with people, if you don't treat others with respect, then what the point?
And Kyle, you know I love you, but I think you proabably learned to to a tad bit more research before turning your "Ombusman-Ray" to "snarky."
Everyone...play nice.
Eh, I'm 40, I've been reading Gaming and PC magazines for the 22 years Andy Eddy noted he has been writing, and I don't know who he is either. (I did Google him after reading this thread, but didn't spend time reading the Rotten Tomato reviews, and I've not read the book I saw him listed as co-author of). That's because I pay about zero attention to the bylines in magazines or on reviews, even when they are 'real' names, so is it really that much of a surprise that Kyle didn't know much about him either? don't take it so personal folks.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply on this, but I popped back in out of curiosity.
ReplyDeleteEh, I'm 40, I've been reading Gaming and PC magazines for the 22 years Andy Eddy noted he has been writing, and I don't know who he is either. (I did Google him after reading this thread, but didn't spend time reading the Rotten Tomato reviews, and I've not read the book I saw him listed as co-author of).
I've never written any reviews for Rotten Tomatoes, and I'm not really sure why I'm listed there, because I don't do movie reviews...well, except for the review of the Street Fighter movie I posted to Usenet. But...
That's because I pay about zero attention to the bylines in magazines or on reviews, even when they are 'real' names, so is it really that much of a surprise that Kyle didn't know much about him either? don't take it so personal folks.
I really don't mind that you don't know who I am. I'm not in this for the celebrity--you can ask anyone who knows me well enough about that. As I said, I'm not that offended that I've done this for so long and I'm not a public figure with my own table in a swanky restaurant.
I think the issue is someone calling himself an ombudsman and obviously not knowing much about the magazines in the industry he's selected to "ombud" about. If "ombudsman" is akin to being a "commissioner," which is how the dictionary describes its roots, how can you be an overseer to an industry you don't know intimately well? Really, it's no offense to Kyle. It's just that, when you choose a lofty position for yourself, you'd better be able to back it up.
There's been enough about that in this comments section, though. The real reason I wanted to add another comment is to tell "loredena" that, spending some time looking at the bylines when you read a magazine (yes, even GamePro) is a good idea, because it'll help you filter the material to your benefit. On a basic level, if you find a writer consistently entertaining or unbearably dry, you'll know what to expect when you see a new story with that same byline.
More importantly, when you're researching games to buy, knowing the tastes of particular reviewers over time will educate you as to whether you're likely to agree with them or not. (Despite most game reviewers wanting you to believe that they have absolute vision into whether a game is good or bad, there are definitely personal tastes and viewpoints that enter into the text. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar *and/or* pompous.)
Paying "zero attention" to who writes for game magazines makes it harder to *use* the publication. Yes, you can go into a book store, take any random book off the shelf and end up enjoying it, but if you're looking for a new book to read and you like a certain novelist, you'd certainly gravitate to wanting to pick up other works by that same person. While we may not be in the same league as Steven King or Elmore Leonard, game journos do have individual styles and voices. Realizing that will help you get the most out of a game magazine, trust me.
A E
Hey guys -- Chip Carter here (yes, I'm still around!) Quite an interesting thread here, and an interesting website, sort of what I've always tried to be about as a video game journalist. For anyone interested in more on the topic, here's a great article that was in Editor & Publisher: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000750124
ReplyDeleteAnd to whoever included my name in the esteemed company listed in an earlier post -- including my friend Andy Eddy (how ya doin' bud?) muchas gracias, and thanks for noticing.
If anyone wants to say hello, I'm at vidchip@tampabay.rr.com
You people keep talking about "game journalists" as if they are real.
ReplyDeleteGet. Over. Yourselves.