Wednesday, January 7, 2009

R.I.P Electronic Gaming Monthly?

I was shocked today when the news of Electronic Gaming Monthly(EGM) will be discontinued emerged out from today nowhere. The slumping economy must have helped to quicken the process(rumours of EGM demise have been circulating around for some time). It seems like everything has been finalized and January issue of EGM shall be the last printed issue we could find at book stores...

I may not have been a subscriber of EGM nor I get to read every issue that has been released but somehow I still managed to kill some time by getting some issues occasionally. But when I do have this mag, I will enjoy myself reading every article in the mag as this mag tends to be more"mature" so it does contain some jokes and article that can appeal to adult gamers like me. I would reckon that this mag resonates more with me compared to Nintendo Power and it is so sad to see it leave in this way.

In this new era where we can almost get everything latest related to gaming almost immediately on internet, it is not hard to figure out that printed magazines must have some hard time trying to convince old readers to stay subscribing let alone attract new readers to embrace it. In my opinion a mag can still thrive if it tries to break out the old mold and try to go in a new and radical direction where something available in the mag itself could not be found at internet. Let's see, an exclusive interview with some big people in the industry? How about exclusive games unveiled in the latest issue? I really applaud Nintendo Power decision to dedicate almost one page every month teasing us what great games that are bound to appear in next issue. Next thing I really like about a printed magazine is usually the features presented. I gotta admit here, the time I spend alone in reading features related articles is far huge compared with the time I spend reading reviews and previews of certain games. Since I am only a Nintendo DS player, features can always provide some insights for me in other gaming platforms which is a great welcome as I don't always have the time to keep tabs on all the news related to current gaming platforms.

I guess for those who have ever read EGM before are gonna miss the days without it anymore and everyone will miss its notorious EGM Aprilfool joke(Lego Halo anyone?)

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