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Is It Too Late to Save Gaming Magazines?

Is It Too Late to Save Gaming Magazines?

I feel like the Crawley family from Downton Abbey, watching powerlessly as the world ceaselessly changes around me. Customs falling out of fashion, economies swinging, systems crumbling, once-simple pleasures now out of reach… As a seasoned gamer, things can feel that way sometimes. One of the sweetest, simplest pleasures, now out of reach, were the video game magazines of old. Passing through the grocery aisle with all of the cards and magazines, you just don’t see as many as you used to. There are a few lone survivors (God bless ’em), but for how long?

I used to love gaming mags; some might even say I horded them (well, my wife might say that). There were so many great publications to choose from, and they all had something unique to offer. Of course, everyone had their core favorites. GamePro always seemed to me to have the biggest breaks, and they also had the goofiest reviews because the writers would assume the identities of these illustrated alter-egos for each assignment. Games were also scored on a five-point scale. Who does that? Er… right. I’d always pick up EGM as well, because they seemed to have more cutting-edge previews and all of the juicy speculation. And who didn’t love Nintendo Power? It was bright, organized, optimistic, and informative; truly a Nintendo-tier publication. Do y’all remember perusing the various order forms in the back of those magazines? I’d always see what FuncoLand had on sale, and I swear if I’d had a credit card as a kid I’d still be paying off those debts. Sometimes I’d call the order number just to get a rep on the phone and see if they wanted to chat about video games. They never did.

Later on I was subscribed for two happy years to the best video game magazine of all time: Official Dreamcast Magazine (ODCM). I’m not sure what it was about ODCM that made it so special. Maybe it was the fact that it only came every other month, and was larger than a typical magazine. Maybe it was the beautiful, matted covers. It could have been the exciting willingness to shine a spotlight on crazy, colorful, Japanese games that we’d never actually see in the States. Maybe it was Senior Editor Francesca Reyes and the fact that she never showed her face in the “Team ODCM” intro page photographs. I can tell you for sure that the demo discs made every other month feel like Christmas. After ODCM (and the Dreamcast itself) fell by the wayside, I wondered if I’d ever get to feel the satisfaction of flipping through a video game magazine again.

Recently I was made aware of a Kickstarter campaign for a new digital / multimedia magazine called Mega Visions. “A new kind of Sega magazine,” they call it. It was intrigued by what I saw: bright colors, promises of exclusive interviews, new as well as retro reviews, and a love for all things Sega and Atlus. It sounds fun; it sounds classic; it sounds modern. They even managed to round up some incredible talent for this project, including a designer from ODCM and some seriously talented writers and artists. Could this be the future of video game magazines?

Is It Too Late to Save Gaming Magazines?

What qualities made the print magazines of old so wonderful that we’d want to see in a digital mag? How about colorful, eye-popping covers; smart, clever writing; exclusive information and interviews; exciting features; integrity and accuracy? I believe Mega Visions will bring all of these to bear and more. As an old-school bonus, we’ll have the thrill and satisfaction of knowing that we belong to a subscriber base – a community of enthusiasts – who are all “opening up” and enjoying the same content at the same time on a bi-monthly basis. I want that feeling back, and I want Mega Visions to succeed. If you love Sega, Atlus, and game magazines as much as I do, you can support Mega Visions through their Kickstarter here .

Now that we’ve made that dream come true, let’s reminisce for a bit about our favorite video game magazines. Sound off in the comments section and let me know which publication you’d buy every time you passed it in the store, or which magazine you always renewed your subscription for. What did you love about it, and how might you like to see that recreated in a newer, digital magazine? Did you ever actually order anything from the adverts in the back? Let me know, and let’s catch some warm fuzzies together.

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