Game Informer Magazine's Massive Reader Base

The Video Game Ombudsman, Kyle Orland, discusses Game Informer Magazine's two million strong subscriber base and their coverage in the Washington Post. GI is the house organ for Gamestop, making its subscriber base not much of a surprise. What is surprising is that their two million readers puts them within half a million subscribers of "O", the magazine stamped with the Oprah brand, and just outside the top 25 magazines in the country. From the post: "The rest of the article is a semi-interesting look at the life of the editor of the country's most popular game magazine, and I have to say... it sounds pretty awesome! Here's to a gaming mag cracking the circulation top 10 sooner than later."

Comments

Hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

What happens when people start dying?

It won't take long with the merger

[Grave]

And with the EB/GameStop merger, the subscriber base is going to grow pretty quickly in the next two years.

Re:It won't take long with the merger

[Ra5pu7in]

Depends on whether the customer base was that divided or not. I've shopped at both - mostly depending on which mall or shopping area I'm heading toward otherwise. If a large portion of their customer base is overlap, magazine subscriptions won't grow much. OTOH, if most gamers only shop at one or the other, then it may well grow.

==========

As to the Game Informer, I've gotten the GameStop card twice. I buy enough games in general, and used games specifically, to save a decent amount. The magazine is just extra fluff that cost me nothing with occasional tidbits of useful information (such as the expected release date on games). I don't care for most of their reviewers (too much effort put into trying to be funny) or the reviews they write. I do enjoy the pictures (while ignoring their juvenile captions).

I can easily understand the two million subscriber mark if they are counting everyone who has ever gotten one of the GameStop cards. If they only counted people who chose to subscribe and sent in a check ... well, then I'd actually be impressed.

Re:It won't take long with the merger

[ShoTaker]

The EB and Gamestop merger? Aren't you referring to FuncoLand and Gamestop?

Re:It won't take long with the merger

[Anonymous Coward]

No, EB and Gamestop announced a merger within the past day or so.

Here:

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/18/ 1816244&from=rss

Heh Heh

[0kComputer]

'We're almost as big as Oprah'
Don't worry, just keep eatin' the chilly dogs and mountain dew and you'll get there.

Why didn't you link to the actual article?

[Adapt or Die]

Seems that it would make more sense to link directly here instead.

The Game what???

[MBraynard]

I am a frequent reader of gaming magazines - I normally pick them up at the airport pre-flight and am subscribed (not that I remember subscribing) to a few of them. But I have _never_ seen or heard of Game Informer.

I really miss the one or two extremely funny gaming mags from back in the day - I can't recall their names, but there were two of them. PC Accelerator or something maybe and Insight or something like that? Really hope someone could remind me of their names.

Anyway, I'm really surprised no gaming mag is in the top 25 - about as surprised as I am htat I had never heard of the top gaming mag.

Re:The Game what???

[Meagermanx]

Me either. I thought it would be PC Gamer, or CGM, or something.

Re:The Game what???

[UWC]

PC Accelerator lasted a couple years. It was pretty much a raunchier PC Gamer. Same publisher and everything. I've always been a PC Gamer purist. I bought a couple of PC Accelerator issues, too, I think. Decent quality, actually, but seemed to be trying too hard to be edgy. Only other gaming magazines I've bought have been for demo discs. I'm not subscribed to anything now, but PC Gamer is the only gaming magazine to which I've ever subscribed. I remember the first issue I bought (quite a while before I ever subscribed) had a 3.25" floppy disk with a demo of The Incredible Machine 2. There was apparently a CD version of the magazine introduced I think just that month, but I hadn't yet taken the optical plunge. Reviews that issue I think included Wing Commander 3 and Warcraft 2.

As for Game Informer, I've heard of it, but I think mostly just when I've been in Gamestop locations. I've definitely never read a copy.

Re:The Game what???

[nb caffeine]

I used to be a big fan of pc gamer back in the 90s. Right around the time i went to college (2000), the writing started going downhill, the coverage lacking, and the reviews started becoming predicable. lets see, game X had Y amount of hype, so PC gamer will give it Y*Z score. It wasnt that bad (read nintendo power in the past 10 years, see what i mean), but ive come to a point where news is an instant consumable, and i cant wait all month for the next bit of info. The ocational issue of OXM and PC gamer make their way to my bathroom, where they are good for a few moments distraction.

Re:The Game what???

[UWC]

With the exception of the occasional "world exclusive" story and/or irresistible demo disc, I pretty much rely on Internet news, too. And I stopped regularly reading PC Gamer somewhere around 2000 (college for me, too), so I guess I missed the succumbing to hype. I've gotten a couple issues of OXM recently (Chaos Theory and Unreal Championship 2 demos on one disc, Doom 3 and Psychonauts on this month's) and unless PC Gamer has slid significantly downhill in quality since my last issue a year or two ago, it's still one of the better gaming magazines out there, content-wise. Or it might just be that I'm more drawn to the PC-type content. They still have Vederman, at least. Any idea if Coconut Monkey still makes appearances? I'm still waiting on Gravy Trader.

Re:The Game what???

[AceCaseOR]

I stopped buying PC Gamer after reading their review of the PC port of "Silent Hill 2".

The first paragraph of the review stated the reviewer's unending dislike of Survival Horror games. Now, while I hadn't gotten around to playing Silent Hill 2 yet, I found that very first paragraph marred the review for me. I found the review to be less about the actual game, and more a rant against the genre of Survival Horror games in general.

A similar thing almost caused me to cancel my subscription to GameNOW. This was back when Sushi-X was back on the roster. Now, I remebered Sushi fondly back from the EGM of the early 90's. However, his reviews of Kung Fu Chaos and Soul Calibur II just irritated the hell out of me. The review of Kung Fu Chaos was less about the game and more attacking the game because it was a comedic martial arts game. Likewise, with the review of Soul Calibur II, it was spent attacking the game because Todd McFarlane had anything to do with it.

In both cases, I wanted to know about how the game played, how was the camera angle, how were the controls, etc. Instead, the rant overshadowed the content. Not cool, not cool at all. As it was, GameNOW went under, and Sushi did not make the jump to EGM. I will still remember fondly my memories of Sushi-X, but I think of him now as the magazine reviewer equivilent to Hulk Hogan, great back in the day, but don't put him back in the ring anymore, because he just doesn't have it.

Re:The Game what???

[nb caffeine]

you speak of the general dislike i have for the basics of reviews these days. if the review isnt gushing about the graphics (or bashing them), then it is impacted by some other factor that shouldnt have ended up in a review by a serious magazine. It seems to me that most of the game journalists are pretty much journalist lite, there always seems to be some angle/agenda they are working from. I just want to know if a game is fun, suffers from any serious flaws, if it does anything new (gameplay wise), and lastly, if it looks sweet or not. I spend most of my time a year or so behind the curve when playing most games (90% of the games arent worth full price to have them RIGHT NOW, imho).

That being said, I miss the vede, he was my favorite part of PC Gamer.

and where the hell is gravy trader. Im tempted to make a small demo of my own based on the old issues i have still laying around.

Re:The Game what???

[xenocide2]

You probably haven't heard of Game Informer because you don't shop at a gamestop. That rag is pushed and published by the video game retailer that will account for around half of all game sales after their merger with EB. But then, its not like game magazines were ever much more than corporate agitprop. Nintendo Power certainly started a trend, but they also came from the company who got its start in the business limiting developers to two games a year and stringent quality standards.

Re:The Game what???

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, it's too bad Vede had to go. He was in the office next to mine but he just got sloppy with his partying. Rolling into the office around 1 PM with bloodshot eyes, the coke residue on the toilet seat, walking around the office sans clothes on days other than Friday... He was great back in the day but just couldn't stay off the sauce.

Re:The Game what???

[MBraynard]

I disagree with your general assessment. OXM is pretty brutal on games even though it is the official publication.

And as a former reviewer for a now defunct mag, I can tell you that it is far easier to write a very very negative review than a good one, and we never pulled punches - and I actually get bothered by other reviewers that I read who seem to enjoy being negative too much, too.

Game Informer Never Stops!!

[FriedTurkey]

I got suckered into the GameStop card thing and it wasn't worth the discounts because you really need to trade a lot of games to get anything. The magazine kept coming a full year after my subscription lapsed. I guess if you give it away for free you can keep up the subscriber numbers.

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[Meagermanx]

That would be a good way to increase your "subscriber" base.
"Look! We spam almost as many people as Oprah has subscribers! Woo!"

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[ABaumann]

Not true. I've subscribed to the GameStop card thing twice. Try going in and buying $200 worth of used video games.

That's when the guys there say, "Did you know if you buy this $10 card you save $20 and get this magazine subscription?"

My reply, "So you give me $10 and a free 1-year subscription to this magazine? Why not?"

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[lubricated]

I did this one year, but I don't buy that many games. I found this to be the absolute best magazine for reading on the crapper that I subscribe to it still just so I can poop.

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[blighter]

I had the exact same experience.

I, too, thought it was a great deal, and it was.

It became an even better deal every time I bought another used game and used the card for my 10% discount.

Sadly for Gamestop's used game sales, I now have a job and a girlfriend and so have found my videogame time dwindling...

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[ABaumann]

I understand this as well, except to the greater level. (I have a fiancee)

Advice to all you unmarried men out there, get the big screen television before you get engaged. There's nothing worse then, "A washer and dryer are more important then a 38 inch flat screen." Like hell they are!

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[snuf23]

This is a common practice in magazine publishing. It's called a controlled subscription vs. a paid. Magazines generally do NOT make money off of paid subscriptions, they make money off of advertising. Overall paid subscription numbers have been dropping for years. The advertisers do not care whether a subscriber is paid or not, what they want is a large subscriber base that you can validate as being interested in your product. So when Gamespot takes your name down when you get their discount card, they can consider you to be a game playing and purchasing reader of Game Informer. Which is exactly who the advertisers want to reach.
One of the companies I work for is a regional magazine publishing company and most of the publications operate this way. For example the regionl business publication is given away free to chambers of commerce, lawyers, high profile businesses etc.

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[superpulpsicle]

I had a 1 year subscription. Then my subscription stopped, and I continued to receive issues after issues for another ridiculous FULL year. I was like WTF?!

Finally it gave me a $10 renewal card, I couldn't resist. They upped the price for next year if you become a new subscriber.

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[lion2]

Well I have the GameStop card thing and it really was worth it. I dont trade games at all (I dont believe in giving up any game no matter how bad you hate it), but I buy a lot of used games, and you get a 10% discount on every used game purchase.

Re:Game Informer Never Stops!!

[nicksthings]

Suckered? You save 10% when you buy used games AND you got ten months of a killer video game magazine for 10 months. What a raw deal you got, dude.

So What?

[M3wThr33]

At one point Nintendo Power was the top subscribed magazine in the country. Why should this ranking be celebrated as it barely climbs into the top 25?

Re:So What?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, I believe Nintendo Power was only the most popular mag among children. Not hard, given the main competition was "Highlights"

Re:So What?

[Datamonstar]

Don't diss my Highlights, man. Gufus and Gallant is good readin'.

Long live GMR!

[-kertrats-]

By far the best gaming magazine in the past few years was the short-lived GMR magazine, which was EB's version of Gameinformer. It was written by some great people who I've talked to a few times, and had the best articles, reviews, previews, and sense of humor of any magazine out there. It was the gamer's magazine. Unfortunately, the plug was pulled on it a few months ago (in hindsight, maybe because of internal knowledge of the GS buyout?) and it's gone forever now. For those interested, I'd definitely check out a back issue; even if the info is outdated, it's worth it.

Re:Long live GMR!

[Da Rabid Duckie]

A bit off topic, but GMR's downfall was due to it being handled by Ziff-Davis media and not EB itself (as Gamestop does with Game Informer). That, combined with EB separating the GMR subscription from it's AdvantEDGE card program led to it's demise.

Sad thing too, GMR really did rock.

I refuse to read Game Informer

[HAKdragon]

GI won't receive a cent from me since their whole fiasco with Paper Mario. For those who don't know, they gave Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door for the Gamecube a low score (something like a 6 out of 10) because the game would be precieved as a kiddy game. While it is true the game is very accessable to a younger audience, the game did have some more adult oriented jokes and dialog that the youngins wouldn't get. GI tried to give the excuse that the reason that they gave the low score is because they review games on how the gaming public would recieve it, not on the quality of the game itself.

Re:I refuse to read Game Informer

[UWC]

Woah, so they actually state that they review based on their expectation of public opinion rather than the game's actual merits? That's pretty amusing. "Well, frankly, we hated the game, but we figure you guys'll love it because we assume you couldn't tell a Rembrandt from a Warhol, and there are guns and a couple of cars and an explosion. Buy it at a Gamestop while you're at it, why don't you?"

Re:I refuse to read Game Informer

[May Kasahara]

Well, in my case, the ending of Final Fantasy X was ruined for me in some of their articles. One was a preview of FFX-2, so that was to be expected, but the other article was one of their "top (number)" lists where the original FFX was recommended (!). There were no spoiler warnings or anything-- it annoyed me how they recommend this game while giving away significant plot twists in the process. I let my subscription lapse after that -_-

Re:I refuse to read Game Informer

[Anonymous Coward]

Your paper mario review reason is the same reason I dislike GI....I thought I was alone....

Re:I refuse to read Game Informer

[nicksthings]

What are you, ten? Not reading a magazine because you didn't agree with one review is ridiculous. Without a doubt, GI packs more exclusive content, images, and information into one magazine than any other I can think of.

Wash Post's street cred

[iridium_ionizer]

From the Washington Post:
"In the middle of the room are two old-school arcade machines -- NBA Showdown and Primal Age."

I am pretty sure that that arcade game should be Primal Rage. Editing error? I don't know, but I wonder if this WP reporter knew much about games and, if not, why would he get the assignment. Are all of the gamer reporters covering Iraq?

Re:Wash Post's street cred

[Rob T Firefly]

No no no, that guy's hardcore. He beat me in "Super Vito Brothers," he owns at deathmatch in "Boom III" and he found all the hidden packages in "Grand Larceny Auto!"

Re:Wash Post's street cred

[Anonymous Coward]

What color is the sky in your alternate universe?

Somewhat inflated.

[BlueFashoo]

My former roommate worked for Gamestop for a while, and had to get a minimum of new subscriptions. I don't think it was too high, but every now and then, he would end up with a new subscription for himself. Every month I still receive three copies of the magazine.

Oh please

[MilenCent]

I subscribed to it 'cause it came free with one of those Gamestop cards. Even after it "ran out," they kept arriving. I wasn't very fond of the game thing even when I was receiving it, and I'd never pay money for the damn thing itself.

I don't think it's fair to compare a magazine that you get free and tends to keep arriving after you let your subscription lapse with a "real" magazine like Oprah's (no matter how unreal it may seem).

Re:Oh please

[Da Rabid Duckie]

Oh it's very fair to compare it, because any reader, whether it be from a purchased subscription, one that came free from a discount card, or one that came from a free subscription via freebizmag.com... is still a reader. In fact, publishers make their money using this logic.

See, magazines make very little money by just selling subscriptions. But take any magazine you own and turn it around, and you'll probably see an advertisment there. A company paid a lot of money for that advertisement, as did any of the other companies who purchased ads for that particular issue. When choosing the pricing for ads, the publishers use the circulation as a bargaining chip, because they can get away with higher marketing fees with a magazine that has a circulation of, say... 2 million readers. Now, never mind how they got their readers... a reader is a reader, and the more readers they have, the more marketing dollars they generate.

Re:Oh please

[MilenCent]

I know all about the advertising vs. subscription revenue thing. But the fact remains that if you get an unasked-for magazine for free that doesn't make you a reader. It makes you a receiver. If people don't see the ads, they don't matter.

While I admit I thumbed through the magazine a little, I wasn't exactly reading it as throughly as I would a magazine I actually *wanted*.

Lets keep things in perspective here:

[GrandCow]

1. GI sucks. It reeks of developer inventives/kickbacks for favorable reviews.
2. A typical game purchase at GameStop goes like this: "Hey, you know if you get the frequent buyer card with your purchase you get a free subscription to Game Informer. Also you take the first issue home with you right now. BTW, there is a $5 off the frequent buyer card coupon in the issue right now, and we can use that towards your card purchase. With the 10% off discount and the coupon, your frequent buyer card is absolutely free."

Honestly, how many people are going to say no? I got my subscription, saw how crappy the magazine is, and barely spent 5 minutes on each months issue before I threw it away.

Give something away for free, and obviously people are going to take it. That doesn't mean the magazine is any good.

Demographics

[pipingguy]

What percentage of that gaming site/magazine (I didn't RTFA) has the nagging ability, and therefore financial power of soccer moms? I bet they won't get sponsors like household cleaning powders, tampons, tooth-brighteners or Australian shampoo. That's where the real advertising money is.

Good gaming magazines

[lumpenprole]

Are pretty much a contradiction in terms. Makes me so sad that Foul (possibly NSFW) tanked so hard. Sure they were nowhere near excellent, but they had a take no prisoners review attitude, unlike every other game mag.

I kind of like the articles in Xbox Magazine, but you get these reviews that were obviously bought and sold. For instance when Halo 2 came out it was 9.9 across the board. Then, on the third page of the article the reviewer casually mentions "Oh yeah, but the levels are really repetitive and there's a lack of design originality to them, so it get a bit boring at times." Okay, so how 'bout deducting a couple points, eh?

I can just see some Msoft PR guy saying "Sure, sure, you can have your integrity. Just keep it after page two. Nobody reads that far anyway."

Oh man! Game Informer used to suck

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember Game Informer from the early 90's. They were a thin joke of a magazine. Very cheesy and overly generous in reviews.

I am amazed to see they survived this long! WOW!

I shouldn't be surprised

[nicksthings]

...by all of the negative, cynical responses to this article I'm seeing on slashdot. For real, between people whining that the numbers are inflated because Gamestop sells/gives away the magazine with their discount card thingie, to others simply saying the magazine sucks (which is ridiculous, if you ask me, since I can't think of any other magazine that has as many exclusive images and information), I'm surprised some of you find waking up in the morning worth your while.