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Gaming Mag Circulation Numbers May Not Mean That Much
The regular Game Mag Weasling column at the blog GameSetWatch usually runs down the contents of publications that recently hit the newsstands. This week, blogger Kevin Gifford tackles the thorny subject of falling subscriptions as they apply to game magazines. He references a discussion of falling subscriptions in the magazine publishing industry at large, which notes that a metric just as important as real subscribers is the number of readers-per-copy. Re-reading among friends and the appearance of a magazine in a doctor's office is another important factor to consider in a magazine's success. "Game Informer's [readers-per-copy] audience is 'only' about 68% larger than EGM's, despite having over four times the paid circulation. If you put enough credence to the numbers, it means that GameStop is spending a lot of money printing, mailing, and distributing those two million-odd copies of GI each month, yet not being as efficient in attracting an audience with those printed copies as EGM and GamePro is."
The fact is, its almost pointless to subscribe if you have a broadband internet connection. Most of the info each month is outdated by the time it hits your mailbox or the store. It doesn't help that in an effort to decrease cost, most of the time theres no demo games or "free gifts" to gain by subscribing. The internet has replaced the gaming mag, because of its near instant news source, source for cheats and hints and reviews.
There is no "disagree" moderation, and troll, flamebait and overrated are not valid substitutes
Multiple readers per copy means little unless it turns into real subscribers at a later date. If people aren't buying then the publisher isn't making money.