Gather around children as I turn into an old man right before your eyes and tell you
how things used to be when I was young(er).

Back in the late 80's and through a lot of the 90's gamers would receive a bulk of news
and reviews from gaming magazines. Hell, there was even a "GameFaqs" feature there
outlining various tricks or moves for a particular games.

So what does it tell us about the fate of video game magazines? Some would point to
the fact that a lot of the gaming magazines are owned by big publishing companies
which look at the gaming portion of their magazine division and its gradually decreasing
subscription numbers. With Ziff-Davis filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and stating $76
million dollars in revenue last year (compared to $300 million in 2001), it would seem
the magazine industry in general is having a hard time turning a profit.

Gaming magazines were a big part of my life growing up. I remember coming home
from school and checking the mailbox everyday to see if any of my magazines had
come. I would hate to have that experience dissolve away not just for me but for other
gamers too; especially those younger gamers getting into gaming.

What then needs to be done to save gaming magazines? I wasn't born with a strategic
business mind or blessed with years of experience in business but I'm a gamer. A gamer
who is confident in his preferences and with a belief that my choices aren't that far from
other gamers' choices. With that warning out of the way, here's what I want in a
gaming magazine:

Have More Art Spreads

Recently, I've come to love gaming related books of art. It all started when I saw a
preview for UDON's Art of Capcom and decided to make my way up to PAX for the
Limited Edition hardcover. Since then I've been on the look out for these kind of things.
I know it would cost more to have it on quality paper but I'd definitely be willing to pay
more money for something like that.

More Gaming Industry Information

Even though my career path takes me elsewhere, I love to read about what it's really
like to work in a company that makes games. Everything from how artist create their
content to what meetings are like. A regular feature in a magazine would great.

Politics

We often talk about how politician are against video games but very few of us are active
in changing the situation. Maybe it's due to the fact that these politicians don't realized
that an overwhelming number of gamers are of voting age, alpha consumers, and well
educated. I would love to have a magazine like EGM conduct an interview with a
politician about video games asking them questions that we want them to answer.
There are so many outlet for politicians to bash video games on anti-video game turf, it
would be nice to have one where they have to face gamers.

Deep Guide on Competitive Games

I remember hearing about frame data for fighting games and realized that most sources
of gaming help never went into it this deep. Those few sites that did provide information
didn't have much explanation on what the content meant or how it could be helpful.
Also a lot of the advanced stuff was all in Japanese so that didn't help. I would like a
section that was dedicated to this kind of thing. With gaming tournaments being more
and more common, this kind of thing would be great for those who don't know much
about the intricacies of various competition games.

So what about you folks? What would you like to see in magazines?

Also: Happy Birthday Niero!