Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Two Ziff-Davis Magazines Cancelled

Posted by Zonk on from the dead-tree-media-taking-some-hits dept.

Starsmore writes "IGN is reporting that Ziff-Davis Media has pulled the plug on two of its magazines: Xbox Nation (XBN) and GMR (the collaborative effort with EB Games), for undisclosed reasons. Andrew Pfister (GMR Editor) confirms the report as well via 1up.com " From his post: "The news has broken over the Intraweb, and unfortunately, the documents are real. As of the February issue, GMR is being discontinued. Subscribers will be the only ones to receive the February issue, and all subscribers will have the option to switch over to another Ziff mag."

55 comments

  1. In other news by Golias · · Score: 2, Funny

    In other news, the circulation of clay tablets telling the saga of Gilgamesh continues to decline, and the practice of attaching messages to the legs of birds is showing no signs of revival.

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  2. Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by scumbucket · · Score: 1

    Does anybody really read gaming magazines anymore? The internet is the best place to get up to date gaming news, not some rag that is 4-6 weeks out of date when it hits the newstands or is mailed to your home.

    --
    CMDRTACO CHECK YOUR EMAIL!
    1. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      People do. The major problem though isn't with the media, it's with the XBox. Current retail figures show that there's a massive mismatch between XBox sales and XBox support sales (games, magazines, etc.) And XBox sales themselves are beginning to plummet.

      My understanding is that, essentially, the XBox as a platform is dying. People who've bought XBoxes have generally found the usually mediocre games choices (there are, what, seven decent XBox titles?) together with the clumsiness of the system itself (who wants to either drag that thing over from a cupboard every day and set it up just to play a game when you can leave smaller, more elegant, boxes like the PS2, and to some extent the Gamecube, in plain sight without either uglifying your room) which is just turning it into something people buy and then leave to gather dust in a drawer somewhere.

      The XBox does have a sizable web presense, but in general that's because it's the platform the modders are concentrating most upon. If you remove "mod" from searches on the web or on Usenet for XBox, PS2/Playstation2, and Gamecube, really, XBox ends up being a distant third.

      For all practical purposes, the XBox is dead.

    2. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Ayaress · · Score: 1

      Once in a while, I'll pick up a console magazine for the demo disk if I see something interesting. Usually on weekends, when I cash in a good ten or fifteen dollars worth of pop cans, since Kessel's puts the magazine rack right next to the recycling machines so I stand there looking at them for fifteen minutes while I stick cans in the machine. When this happens, I usually take the disk out, lose the magazine, and shortly thereafter lose the disk too, since I get bored with them in about ten minutes. I used to actually read the magazine, in at attempt to, "get my money's worth," but I quit doing that since everything in them I either knew about a week ago or don't care about but could have known a week ago if I did.

    3. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Jane_the_Great · · Score: 3, Insightful
      I read gaming magazines. I have subscriptions to both GMR and PC Gaming. While the information may be out of date, it is not like we are talking about stock prices here. A review of a game in a magazine versus a review of a game on the Internet is going to convey the same information - who cares if I have to wait a few weeks to read it? There is a case to be made for being able to drop a deuce and read some game reviews.

      Also, I've found that GMR - due to their partnership with EB - had coupons that were occassionally useful at EB. So I got the subscription to GMR, plus the 10% off pre-owned games at EB, plus coupons that I've used to save over $20 this year, for a grand total of something like 10 bucks. So that makes a pretty good case for GMR.

      Another point is that the Internet is the best place to get up to date false gaming news. Furthermore, when one reads a gaming magazine, you know that the magazine is paying those reviewers. When I look at some gaming website, I don't know which reviews are astroturf by the company [if they allow user-submitted reviews] and which reviews are heavily influenced by the fact that the owner of the site is trying to get in good with some companies so that they can score some free stuff - i.e. it's a hobby site that the author is not getting paid for and therefore, he'd like to see some type of return. Granted, reviewers in printed material can also be bribed but I feel a little bit safer knowing that they are getting a salary, regardless if they're also being sent Halo 2 action figures.

      --
      THIS ACCOUNT IS OFFICIALLY RETIRED/RETARDED.
    4. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Golias · · Score: 1

      My understanding is that, essentially, the XBox as a platform is dying.

      But does Necraft confirm it???

      People who've bought XBoxes have generally found the usually mediocre games choices (there are, what, seven decent XBox titles?)

      Of all the Sony-only and Nintendo-only games out there, there is only one which I wish my X-Box could play, GTA-SA. Beyond that, all the best (IMHO) games are available on the X-Box... and the last two titles of the DOA series can not be played on any other cosole.

      together with the clumsiness of the system itself (who wants to either drag that thing over from a cupboard every day and set it up just to play a game when you can leave smaller, more elegant, boxes like the PS2, and to some extent the Gamecube, in plain sight without either uglifying your room)

      I consider the PS2 Controller to be a tiny, cheap piece of crap. I had a calculator watch back in the 80s which had better buttons on it.

      I may have bigger-than-average hands, but it's not like I'm an NBA star or something, and I find the original mega-massive X-Box controller to be perfect. I don't even like the "s" controller they switched to as a cost-cutting measure. I think the criticism of the X-Box controller is mostly coming from PS-2 fanbois who are simply not used to holding a controller that was designed for grown-up hands.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    5. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Gen.+Rasputin+X · · Score: 1

      The xbox mounts nicely under a coffee table, while the gamecube mounts nicely under a bed. The PS2 tends to mount better on top of things, specifically on top of the coffee table the xbox is under. At least that's my experience.

    6. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by bigman2003 · · Score: 1

      Of course you are just a troll (or just totally un-informed), but I gotta respond anyway.

      Xbox is actually the console that has shown the most GROWTH over the past year.

      For the 13th consecutive month, Xbox grew its share of year-over-year monthly console sales -- climbing an additional 19 percent compared to last year -- and hitting a 41 percent share in November.

      Market share on a year-to-date basis for Xbox increased from 24 percent in 2003 to 37 percent in 2004. During the same time, PS2 share dropped from 51 percent to 45 percent.

      Xbox year-over-year console sales for November increased a staggering 61 percent, while PS2 decreased 17 percent.

      Xbox console sales year-to-date for 2004 jumped 48 percent from 2003, while sales for PS2 were down 18 percent.

      Overall Xbox year-over-year software unit sales increased 77 percent. During the same time period, PS2 software sales increased only 1 percent.

      Year-to-date software sales for Xbox have improved by 66 percent compared to 2003, tripling the industry's overall software growth of 22 percent. Meanwhile, PS2 year-to-date software sales saw just an 8 percent increase over last year."

      You can see this information from a different source here: http://xbox.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=3835

      --
      No reason to lie.
    7. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Xbox is actually the console that has shown the most GROWTH over the past year.
      Not contradicting what I said, though sales of consoles are dropping off.
      For the 13th consecutive month, Xbox grew its share of year-over-year monthly console sales -- climbing an additional 19 percent compared to last year -- and hitting a 41 percent share in November.
      Yet growth before was 22% over the same time the previous year, 25% the month before that, and 33% the month before that. Yes, sales are good, but they're levelling off.
      Xbox year-over-year console sales for November increased a staggering 61 percent, while PS2 decreased 17 percent.
      PS2 console sales are only dropping because they already have a very high market penetration. Sony has barely been advertising the units and they're still flying off the shelves. XBoxes, by comparison, are pretty much blanketing the media at the moment.
      Year-to-date software sales for Xbox have improved by 66 percent compared to 2003, tripling the industry's overall software growth of 22 percent. Meanwhile, PS2 year-to-date software sales saw just an 8 percent increase over last year."
      That's because the situation last year was virtually nothing was being sold. This year the situation has improved, but compare like to like: as a percentage of market, PS2 game sales still far outstrip - by threefold - XBox game sales.

      There's a reason for that. The XBox just isn't cutting it. People buy XBoxes, and then leave them in cupboards and drawers. They're a chore to set up, a chore to put away, and the games just aren't any good.

    8. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Of all the Sony-only and Nintendo-only games out there, there is only one which I wish my X-Box could play, GTA-SA. Beyond that, all the best (IMHO) games are available on the X-Box... and the last two titles of the DOA series can not be played on any other cosole.
      Entirely subjective and I believe the sales figures do not agree with you. As a percentage of console marketshare, currently PS2 game sales outsell XBox 3-1. Even the Gamecube has better sales.
      I think the criticism of the X-Box controller is mostly coming from PS-2 fanbois who are simply not used to holding a controller that was designed for grown-up hands.
      I think the fact that you can't justify the unwieldy nature of the X-Box itself and have had to change the subject to the controller (who uses the orignal controller anyway when there are far better options) speaks volumes.

      It's notable that the majority of people I know with an XBox already have a PS2 or even a GameCube. They want it to be complete, for the one or two good XBox titles that aren't available for other platforms.

    9. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by bigman2003 · · Score: 1

      There's a reason for that. The XBox just isn't cutting it. People buy XBoxes, and then leave them in cupboards and drawers. They're a chore to set up, a chore to put away, and the games just aren't any good.

      Obviously you associate with idiots.

      How many people actually put their game console in 'cupboards and drawers'. It's not a fricking piece of silverware, it is a piece of electronic equipment, similar to a DVD player, or even a cable TV converter. I don't put any of those things in a drawer when they are not in use.

      --
      No reason to lie.
    10. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Obviously you associate with idiots.
      No, I associate with ordinary people. People who wash. People with skin that isn't bright white and likely to be bruised if someone breaths on it. People whose houses have no tortilla chips on the carpets.

      The XBox is a games console, not a DVD player, and was designed by people who saw it that way. Oh sure, Microsoft could have designed a small, elegant, system that can sit on top of the DVD player. But they chose not to. It belongs permanently under the TV in any respectable household only in the same way as the Atari 2600 did - ie, not at all. The XBox is not the PS2, *designed* to be on top of the DVD player, or even to replace it. It's not the GameCube, light, portable, and pleasant to look at. It's the 2600, or the Famicom, or the Sega Master System, except it's far too big and cumbersome.

      Like I said, the XBox is a machine that, for most people, is a chore to set up and put away. It's too ugly and in-the-way to leave out all the time, and with no compelling software, people who buy X-Boxes have no reason to take them out of drawers at all.

      That's why X-Box is dying. That's why X-Box owners are not out in droves buying X-Box software. It's a dead platform.

    11. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Golias · · Score: 1

      currently PS2 game sales outsell XBox 3-1.

      Really? I had no idea X-Box sales were doing so well. I thought Sony was outselling them by a much larger ratio than that!

      The X-Box really only ever had a shot at filling the gap in the market left by the Sega, and that's exactly what it did. Most of the people who owned Dreamcasts back in the day ended up going with the X-Box rather than the PS2.

      But the Playstation is still the market leader, and most people expect that this will remain the case. That doesn't mean the X-Box is going away, any more than the popularity of Windows meaning that the Macintosh is going away.

      I think the fact that you can't justify the unwieldy nature of the X-Box itself and have had to change the subject to the controller...

      It seemed like a reasonable assumption that you were talking about the controller. How can something which just sits in your entertainment console be "unwieldy"? When would you ever "wield" the console itself? Are you complaining that it's big and heavy? That's kind of silly. It's a little bigger and heavier than a PS2, but it's still smaller and lighter than my stereo receiver, and gets moved about as frequently.

      It's notable that the majority of people I know with an XBox already have a PS2 or even a GameCube

      That only proves that you know different people than me. Of the half-dozen or so X-Box owners I know, only one of them also has a PS2 (and a GameCube, to be "complete"), and the X-Box was the first of the three they bought.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    12. Re:Gaming Magazines = dinosaur by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The XBox is not the PS2, *designed* to be on top of the DVD player, or even to replace it.

      Actually, it is designed to replace the DVD player.

      Every X-Box owner I've ever meet has purchased the DVD remote for it. With the right connectors, the X-Box offers S-Video and digital audio outputs. It actually works really well as your primary DVD player.

      That's why X-Box is dying. That's why X-Box owners are not out in droves buying X-Box software. It's a dead platform.

      Spoken like somebody who has not seen the sales figures for Halo 2. (Or the massive end-caps on the impulse-rack section of Best Buy dedicated to stacks and stacks of copies of it, which fly off the shelf like hotcakes.)

  3. I read gaming magazines by TychoCelchuuu · · Score: 2

    I got a subscription to PC Gamer as a gift. It's not timely or anything, but they have reviews that I trust and I'm patient enough to not buy a game until they have had their say. They get exclusive previews and screenshots, and the articles are always well written. It's never anything you can't get on the internet, but it's pretty much just a very well done, comprehensive website that I can read on the couch while someone else uses the computer. If I had time to read all my gaming news on the computer, I'd be playing the dang games instead.

    --
    Against stupidity the Gods themselves contend in vain.
  4. Bah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everyone knows that real honest gaming reviews come from amateurs' blogs, not from so-called "professional" "writers."

    I don't know why anyone would trust a "magazine" over, say, Amazon.com.

    1. Re:Bah. by Ayaress · · Score: 1

      Everyone knows that real honest gaming reviews come from amateurs' blogs

      I know you meant it as a joke, but that's probably pretty much true. Even amateur reviews are usually biased one way or the other, but if you read enough of them, you'll find at least some that aren't "OMG TEH GAEM R SUX CUZ IT R NOT [insert fanboy's favorite game title] OMG!111!1" but actually give reasons as to why they did or didn't like the game. Even so, they still may be biased, but they're honest, for what it's worth. Read a few good ones on each side and you can generally come up with enough bits to decide wether its worth a try yourself or not.

      Magazine reviews I consider the same as any other "professional" review. I remember reading a review for Final Fantasy VII when it first came out. The review harped on everything that was wrong with the game (they tore into it on things that I personally didn't mind, and I hated the game), and then gave it a 97/100. Another review from the same magazine (different issue, though) for Fallout 2 had nothing but high praise and genuine admiration and gave it a 46.

      A few rotten apples doesn't ruin the whole barrel, as they say, but it does raise the question as to wether the ones you haven't bitten into yet aren't also rotten. It's just safer to eat out of a different barrel.

    2. Re:Bah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My friend's a music reviewer for a british music magazine and he says that often an editor, upon reading your review, will often change the score wothout telling you (due to outside pressure - their own opinions etc). I wouldn't be suprised if that explains what your talking about.

      But of course the editors to lazy to change you review itself, so you can still go by that.

  5. Two magazines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that I've never heard of.

  6. XBN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I always loved the articles and photos in XBN, however the last few months they've had too many filler articles on Halo 2

    sample timeline:

    When will Halo 2 be out?
    Halo 2 release date announced!
    what will you do while waiting for Halo 2?
    Halo 2 sneek peek of multiplayer
    Halo 2 multiplayer
    (this is about the time you can buy the game)
    Halo 2 sneek peek of single player game
    Halo 2 single player

    Seriously they started as small article blurbs and started going into multipage articles about nothing at all except that which everyone already knew.

    1. Re:XBN by einTier · · Score: 1
      You forgot this month, which is "identify your Halo 2 enemies and their weaknesses" and "how to be a better killer in Halo 2".

      I also liked XBN (free subscription), but I wouldn't have paid for it, and the past few months haven't been very good.

      --
      -------------------------------------------------- $665.95 -- retail price of the beast.
  7. GMR gone is a shame by phunhippy · · Score: 1

    GMR going away is a shame.. it was actually a good/decent console gaming magazine compared to the rest of the crud out there.. and there reviews were fairly reasonable(not all 10's) like some others... oh well...

  8. Rats by discoalucardx · · Score: 1

    GMR was kinda redundant in the face of EGM, but I really liked their reviews. They were the only ones to actually give GTA: San Andreas a somewhat sensible one. The loss of XBN makes me very sad, they had some excellent writers, but I guess there's only so much Xbox stuff one can cover per month. The official XBox mag is well known to be a total rag except for the demo disc. Why can't crappy mags like GamePro and PSM be killed?

  9. GMR will be missed. by Gunsmithy · · Score: 1

    GMR was a great magazine, while it lasted. Can't accout for XBM, but I hear it was pretty damn fine itself...

    The biggest problem I have with the whole situation is that the realization came after an Electronics Boutique email was posted on an internet forum.

    I feel for the guys that lost their labors of love yesterday--and to find it out that way? Jeez.

    --
    Kids these days. They don't know the difference between classic, and just plain old.
  10. Excellent! It worked! by MBraynard · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I take full credit for the cancellation of XBN.

    After the election, the 1up newsletter that is affiliated with XBN sent out the following:

    Thanks Ohio! by Kristen Salvatore

    http://gaming.ziffdavis.com/flat/Images/b.gif So I'm assuming that all of you who voted for George Bush will soon be lining up your sons, daughters, and cousins at the local armed services recruitment stations and signing them up for duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and most likely Africa --because you voted for war.

    To which I sent the following email to Ziff Davis's CFO, vp for comm, and the editor of the 1UP publication:

    Hi,


    Do you really think that anyone subscribes to your video game publications to hear your unoriginal, tired and ignorant commentary on a political matter?

    I currently subscribe to four of your publications. Two of them are business-related (PC Magazine and eWeek). But two of them are for relaxation/amusement (XBN and EGM). I have enjoyed reading them because they are a brief refuge from the contentious world of partisan politics in which I live and work.

    Unfortunately, your decision to breach that refuge with your stupid comment by Kristen Salvatore ("Hey, Thanks Ohio!") has led me to decide to cancel my subscriptions to all four. You guys want to get political and throw insults at me - fine, I simply won't subsidize you doing it anymore.

    This is being sent to the 1UP editor, the director of communications for ZD, and the CFO of ZD since your decision is affecting the bottom line of the corporation.

    Exxxceellleeennntt. Now watch this post get modded down to -5 a$$hole.

    1. Re:Excellent! It worked! by jayhawk88 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      It must be terrible to be picked on so. How do you survive?

    2. Re:Excellent! It worked! by hambonewilkins · · Score: 1
      Did their review of Full Spectrum Warrior, Ghost Recon 2, or Splinter Cell:Pandora Tomorrow bring you back in?

      Or is implicit promotion of war not enough?

      --

      God Bless America. Why? Did it sneeze?
    3. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How is voting for Bush anything but voting for war?

      I think you'd have to be really very ignorant to not see the connection, but I'd love to hear an explanation anyways.

    4. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      "Now watch this post get modded down to -5 a$$hole."

      More like "-5 Republican." Gotta love party politics.

    5. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Xentax · · Score: 1

      We're missing some context here...

      Who exactly is Kristen Salvatore and where in the magazine (section-wise) did this appear? Is this a reader comment that they published in reaction to some article? Is Kristen an employee/writer for the magazine?

      Obviously those kinds of issues make a big difference as to whether a comment like that belongs in this magazine or not. Quoting out of context is a classic and underhanded way of attacking someone.

      If (as I suspect) this is a user feedback comment to some earlier article, I would hardly fault the publisher/editor/whoever of the magazine for posting it, assuming it has SOME bearing on the article to which they're responding.

      Xentax

      --
      You shouldn't verb words.
    6. Re:Excellent! It worked! by MBraynard · · Score: 1

      She is a writer for the mag and the online version/affiliate of the magazine. There is no XBN website - they put their stuff up on 1up.com.

    7. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're pro-Hitler. Shut the fuck up.

    8. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She is the managing editor for CGW. And perhaps that was on her blog for 1Up, which is a Ziff Davis property. That comment did not appear anywhere in or is affiliated with Xbox Nation. Get your facts right.

    9. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      heh, just proves that some of the ignorant want to stay ignorant. show them education and they still want to dig ditches. here's a shovel, go forth and dig your ditch.

    10. Re:Excellent! It worked! by MBraynard · · Score: 1
      Facts are not of interest to you as you didn't read my letter.

      Ziff Davis allowed her comments to be published. Ziff Davis publishes XBN. I canceled my XBN subscription and told them why. Due to flagging subscriptions, ZD canceled XBN. Case closed, score one for the people you hate.

    11. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They still have EGM, OPM, and CGW, not to mention a bunch of other division of magazines and conferences, so I guess you still have work to do. And you should really get off your high horse, because the fall can be really painful. Show some class, too, while you're at it.

    12. Re:Excellent! It worked! by penguin_asylum · · Score: 1

      Do you really believe that they shut down two entire publications because one person decided to unsubscribe?

      It's their magazine, with their opinions...

    13. Re:Excellent! It worked! by MBraynard · · Score: 1
      Yes, soon all of Ziff Davis publications will be canceled and my plan for world domina...

      er, never mind. And it's a pony, not a horse.

    14. Re:Excellent! It worked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Ziff Davis allowed her comments to be published. Ziff Davis publishes XBN. I canceled my XBN subscription and told them why. Due to flagging subscriptions, ZD canceled XBN. Case closed, score one for the people you hate.
      Ah yes. You "hate" her because she has an opinion that differs from you, and she expressed it, and the opinion wasn't even that controvertial (people who vote for war should put their money where their mouths are.)

      Actually, on that note, why isn't there a call for more funding via war bonds for this conflict, and not from taxation? It worked in WW-II, why wouldn't it work now?

    15. Re:Excellent! It worked! by MBraynard · · Score: 1
      HIya Coward,

      No, I don't hate anyone. And you didn't even read what I said - I just didn't care to hear disagreeable political positions in a GAMING MAGAZINE I read to get away form disagreeable political positions. Typical left wing nutcase - making up what you think my argument is and then disagreeing with that and ignoring the facts.

      There is no need for special War Bonds because the relative cost of this conflict compared to WW2 is very small - besides, any gov't bond you buy is a partial war bond. Kind of ironic that as a nation, the second largest US gov't bond holder is France.

  11. I'm surprised, but I shouldn't be. by LordNimon · · Score: 1

    Since of the Xbox have been increasing steadily, so it's surprising that's based on market share would be cancelled. But then, it was always hard to compete with the Official Xbox Magazine. OXM had a demo disc that came with each issue, and that made a big difference IMHO. Not only that, but it's not too hard to get a free sub to XBN if you're patient. My subscription was free, and I wasn't planning on paying for a renewal. Oh well. Hopefully, the OXM guys will use the larger subscription base to improve the magazine, rather than let this whole thing get to their heads.

    --
    And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
    To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
  12. Ignorant? by PhysicsGenius · · Score: 1

    Could you please educate us on exactly where Bush is going to get more troops without a draft?

  13. WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Subscribers will be the only ones to receive the February issue, and all subscribers will have the option to switch over to another Ziff mag.

    Err... what? They paid for a subscription to that magazine, not a different one. They should get a refund. It's like buying a ticket to see a film, sitting down, and being told that actually, you can't see the film you paid for, but you can watch another one instead.

    1. Re:WTF? by Spleener12 · · Score: 1

      Actually, most theaters compensate for such a thing with free tickets, which this is the equivalent of.

  14. Easy by Safety+Cap · · Score: 1

    Stop-loss & recall: the military is like a giant roach motel. Once you sign up, you can't get out. If you got out before, you'll get roped back in.

    --
    Yeah, right.
  15. Don't let me subscribe to your magazine by Reapman · · Score: 2, Funny

    seriously... i'm bad luck. I almost never subscribe, only done it twice. First it was Compute (I think, anyways), what i considered a wonderful mag back when I subscribed to it (early 90s?), had programming snippits, what i considered half decent reviews and such... and then got forced over to some unremarkable mag about 4 months after i subscribed to them, as Compute got pulled. 5 days ago I signed up for GMR (after getting it with the EB Edge card previously) and now they are cancelling them, too. From now on I only subscribe to magazines I hate...

    1. Re:Don't let me subscribe to your magazine by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

      subscribe to playboy, and UR FRICKEN DED.

  16. Good riddance to crap. by RyoShin · · Score: 1

    Good. I had GMR after getting the 10% card thing at EB Games (which I use rarely, and haven't renewed in a while.) I hate GMR. It gives nothing original, it's smaller than other gaming magazines I receive, and the layout has been confusing (though that may have changed since I stopped getting it.)

    Compared to other magazines I've been receiving, such as GameInformer and EGM, it would not be worth any subscription price.

    Also, Gamestop > EBGames.

  17. Now, if we can only get Ziff-Davis... by Spoing · · Score: 1

    ...to cancel the rest of the magazines, I'd be happy. (OK...happier!)

    --
    A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
  18. GMR Subs were Inflated by superultra · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I worked at EB when we "invented" GMR. We signed up hundreds and hundreds of people per store because we were being given a spiff on each membership sale. It wasn't much, but if you sold well - and most of us at the store I worked at did - you could could away with an extra game or two every month (that's how you can tell I worked at a game store, everything is in number of games bought, not meals or gas gallons). Within a year, EB had taken that spiff away. So why resubscribe if you don't have an EB guy breathing down your neck?

    My guess is that the numbers dropped significantly after EB removed the spiff. GMR was a good magazine, so it's a shame this happened but even the $5.50 an hour retail worker knew that this would happen. Anyone working for GMR knew the deal going in, I would hope.

    As for XBN, which EB had nothing to do with save selling it, it seemed kind of specifically redundant. Good, but the only reason OXM does so well is the demo disc. Without the disc, why buy XBN?

    Nix two magazines. Whatevs. I'm still lamenting the fall of Next Gen.

    1. Re:GMR Subs were Inflated by TheLoneDanger · · Score: 1

      I'm still lamenting the fall of Next Generation magazine. They changed their name to Next Gen late into their major changes in style, and a pretty much complete overhaul of the original editorial staff. The changed some of the staff, the sales fell, so they kept changing the staff, and the sales kept falling...

      Sigh... I still have the entire original run of the magazine(s). I wish I could at least find a place where I could buy Edge magazine.

      --

      "But I trust in the people's capacity for reflection, rage and rebellion." -Oscar Olivera
  19. This is their own fault by blincoln · · Score: 1

    ZD has a large number of total jerks doing editorial and writing work for their magazines and websites (particularly Official US Playstation Magazine and Gamespot).

    The only reason I continued to subscribe to OPM was the cover disc, and after I was personally insulted by their editorial staff I decided even that wasn't worth it. Similarly, I cancelled my Gamespot subscription after their editor in chief slagged a friend of mine in their forums in a totally unprofessional manner.

    Take away their demo discs (like Microsoft was smart enough to do by handing their official magazine to another publisher), and you're left with magazines that no one really wants to buy. GMR, in particular, had the absolute worst layout and writing I've seen in a modern magazine, apart from Nintendo Power (which doesn't really count, given that it's a first-party propaganda magazine aimed at a very young age bracket).

    --
    "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    1. Re:This is their own fault by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh, ZD doesn't do GameSpot.

  20. Excellent. The trees will be pleased. by tm2b · · Score: 1

    Thank goodness.

    I mean, really - video games are pretty good at using digital media to put dozens of hours of entertainment on a relatively small use of resources. Do we really need to put out piles of wood pulp printed with what you'd kind of see if you blinked during a video game?

    Video games are inherently motion-oriented, and need an animated medium in order to convey anything like what the experience of a short period of time in the game is like - I can't imagine that the magazines were even close as good a promotional vehicle as the (again, super efficient) downloading of video motion captures of the games.

    --
    "It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
  21. Re:Excellent. The trees will be pleased. by TarrVetus · · Score: 1
    I can't imagine that the magazines were even close as good a promotional vehicle as the (again, super efficient) downloading of video motion captures of the games.
    Yes--because those grainy movie files the company websites give me look so much better than the printed higher-definition screenshots in magazines. And the best part is that I can't show anyone any content from the game unless I have quick access to an internet connection and the patience to sift through convoluted website designs!

    End Sarcasm Mode