As much as I loved Nintendo Powerback in the 1990s, its recent closure certainly isn’t unsurprising. We gamers spend practically every waking moment on the internet. It’s where we get our news, find our romantic partners, and take out our frustration. These days, the Internet is even accessible on these tiny little computers that some people call cellular telephones, but they’re so much more than that.
Speaking as a journalist, there’s something particularly romantic about print-based media. Stories always seem to have an extra morsel of authority when they’re physically printed on a sheet of paper, even though we all know that this isn’t necessarily true. So, given the fact that gamers rarely, if ever, read printed media, why do companies like EGM and Game Informer still insist upon publishing a printed version of their magazines rather than just concentrating on Internet-based delivery? Well, the answer to that is a little complicated.
Even though consumers have largely made the transition to digital media, publishers and advertisers haven’t been able to find a revenue-generating framework within the digital realm. So, until publishers and advertises uncover a new way to make money, printed media is here to stay.
But I can’t say that I’m entirely depressed about all of this. Even though we don’t necessarily need magazines, they often do a better job at romanticizing video games than their digital counterparts. Perhaps it’s because the medium is dying, which means that every issue already feels nostalgic. Or perhaps it’s because I’ve become so accustomed to the Internet that magazines are simply a welcome change of pace.
Either way, they’re here for the time being, and I don’t mind.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that printed media, and possibly television, are slowly going extinct. And, if this is true, it means that we need to think about how we support our favorite websites. The type of quality that we’ve become accustomed to in printed media and television is currently impossible for even the most successful websites. And I certainly don’t want to see a collection of gaming websites shutter their windows in the near future.
I don’t care if you click through the links here at Cheat Code Central; I’m just hoping that gamers will begin to understand the type of role that they play in the success and/or failure of their favorite gaming sites. And a part of me hopes that they’ll take a little ownership in the process of keeping those websites alive.
 | By Josh Engen News Director Date: January 2, 2013 |