Comments on Hardcore Gaming 101 - Blog: GameFAN #2 vs EGM #2

I read gamefan #2 with youtube in hand checking ou...

2010-09-15T16:30:10.295-04:00

I read gamefan #2 with youtube in hand checking out all the games I had nver heard about. I bought the june issue in september though. Best buy didn't have any of the later publications. I don't know the story but if they're cancelled I'm goin to be pissed. I'm trying to figure out how to subscribe because needless to say I feel very much the same as this article.

Hey Sketcz, could you email me at rduenas@gamefanm...

2010-09-06T06:03:54.709-04:00

Hey Sketcz, could you email me at rduenas@gamefanmag.com?

Excellent, glad to hear it. I've got $18 waiti...

2010-08-17T08:48:17.234-04:00

Excellent, glad to hear it. I've got $18 waiting in PayPal for one of my mules to smuggle it across the Atlantic as and when it hits.

Hey all, great coverage btw, the GF Site is back u...

2010-08-14T05:10:03.996-04:00

Hey all, great coverage btw, the GF Site is back up and issue 03 previews up too. Sorry for the trouble but uh, website management is like last on the priorities right now. Were not dead, just workin way too much...

www.gamefanmag.com

Hey guys, Gamefan's website is back up. http:/...

2010-08-12T16:43:36.141-04:00

Hey guys, Gamefan's website is back up.
http://gamefanmag.com/

Also, I talked to the graphic artist behind Gamefan about the mag's future and here's what he had to say:

Me: "Is Gamefan Issue 3 still coming out? I'm asking this because Gamefan's website is currently down."

Rob Duenas: "yes, the website has nuthing to do with our printing, the cats we were working with decided to pull out and took the site with them, cant get into it but have been busy working to deal with it, with E3 and comic con within a few weeks of eachother its been a shit storm of work hell. Issue will be out in a couple weeks or so, already done. Now i go find a new designer..."

if anybody has any news on issue of 3 of gamefan l...

2010-08-04T22:32:42.609-04:00

if anybody has any news on issue of 3 of gamefan lemme know? i really hope its not already dead otherwise i have no idea what if a video game is even worth my time anymore. ive been reading back issues of gamefan from 96 and the new issues remind me of those days a bit

or if someone has a copy of the 1st issue for sale im still trying to get a hold of it! i can paypal hit me up at watujim@gmail.com

I'm with you somewhat Zack, I think my point w...

2010-07-30T11:41:56.013-04:00

I'm with you somewhat Zack, I think my point was more the fantastical and somewhat irrational feel of the magazine and its sweeping generalizations having the ability to worm their way into your internal meditations...

But all the same, opinions are like assholes and such. Except Halo sucking balls happens to be a verifiable fact. Sometimes I think its the greatest trick the devil ever pulled.

All the same, I stick to my guns somewhat on the Treasure comment...considering they made my favorite game of all time - Guardian Heroes - I'll continue to spout my Treasure blowjob fountain.

@Ink Busy: Treasure isn't the greatest video g...

2010-07-29T16:14:34.293-04:00

@Ink Busy: Treasure isn't the greatest video game developer, maybe like third behind Konami and Nintendo, but greatest developers they are not.

And for the record, Halo sucks. It sucks more than a Dan Brown novel but a little less than beat poetry, if that makes any sense to you at all.

EDGE sucks, glad someone said it. I was bugged fo...

2010-07-29T08:57:07.985-04:00

EDGE sucks, glad someone said it. I was bugged for months to pick up a copy and the first thing I thought after reading ten pages was that I could write better articles on a Scribblenauts input while TAS.

It's heartening to know that someone felt the same way while reading the new GameFan. I pretty much agree with your entire well-crafted analysis. I picked it up at random while on my way to my recent soul-crushing employment as a call center employee for something to read in my downtime and was so swept up in its fractured world yet I couldn't quite put my finger on the WHY of it all but you effortlessly nailed it: it describes an appreciative video game world that I forgot existed.

And after reading it you think to yourself "of course Treasure is the greatest video game developer everybody knows that" and then the next day you're walking past some slackjaws at the madison square Gamestop punching each other in the arm and trading gay jokes while picking up a new copy of Halo 3 with their mom's credit card. And then you get sad.

But on the toilet later that day you pick up the GameFan and read the same exact article over again and think to yourself "of course Treasure is the greatest video game developer everyone knows that."

The only time Gamefan steered me wrong was when E....

2010-07-28T18:33:08.807-04:00

The only time Gamefan steered me wrong was when E. Storm was so hot on that goddamn Hermie Hopperhead game. Saying that it was the step beyond Super Mario World and all this horseshit. Then 10 years after the fact I played it on emulator and sure as shit wasn't blown away.

Is Chief Hambleton back on board for the new mag?

I feel there's still a strong need for an indu...

2010-07-27T16:54:10.316-04:00

I feel there's still a strong need for an industry-driven mag, like Next Generation was in the past. EGM seems to be aiming for that, although it's not quite there. Edge seems to have a lot of industry articles, although the last few times I picked it up it seems mostly focused on small UK devs.

I enjoyed this article. I was never a regular r...

2010-07-27T11:47:24.258-04:00

I enjoyed this article.

I was never a regular reader of Gamefan, but the scans you posted reminded me of a time when the gaming press was more interested talking about games than insidery business shit.

I mean look, I understand that gaming is big business, but does every gaming podcast/website need to keep us abreast of the activision/infinity ward corporate saga? Why do I even know the name Bobby Kotick? When the hell did Bobby Kotick ever make a game!?

There's a market for insidery business shit. But I suspect that market is substantially smaller than the gaming press appreciates. I have enough business drama in my work life. I mean, when did the press start treating gamers like shareholders? If I'm opening a gaming magazine or listening to a gaming podcast, I want to hear about games: how they look, how they sound, how they play, and whether the story was engrossing. If I cared about whether EA's new DLC model is going help it achieve its quarterly forecasts I'd read the Wall Street Journal.

Sketcz: Eh, I just posted without fully digesting...

2010-07-26T17:16:03.311-04:00

Sketcz:

Eh, I just posted without fully digesting the topic, and didn't want to come off as a total schmuck (just half of one).

I enjoyed reading this blog post a lot; I haven't had the chance to read EGM issue 2 yet, but it sounds kind of like I feared...that they're playing it safe (I mean, aside from the "Fuck You, Metacritic" article). I'm not a huge fan of the new GameFan format vs. the old (too much like Play), but like you say it at least focuses on the subject matter in a different way to where you have a more of a reason to buy it.

Part of what made GameFan a must-buy for me was that for most of its lifespan there was no internet to get pictures and information about exotic, weird games, and GameFan had that in spades. You had the thumbnail-sized blurbs (or occasional two-page spreads) in EGM and EGM2, and once in a blue moon an "Overseas Prospects" article in Gamepro, but for the most part it was GameFan all the way. Now you can just look stuff up for the most part, but it's not quite the same as the hyperbolic, caffeinated ramblings of an old-school GameFan. I can't think of anything recent (either print or digital) that would make me want to run out and buy something like say, the Gunstar Heroes article did. I'm just getting old though.

BTW, they've got the magazine for sale at a lot of stores down/around here, so if anyone needs to track down a copy give me a holler and I can grab one for you.

Secondly, anyone else get the impression that Tim Rogers read a lot of GameFan in middle school?

Joseph Joestar deleted his message? I wonder what ...

2010-07-23T14:21:05.487-04:00

Joseph Joestar deleted his message? I wonder what it said...

Yeah. I haven't even bothered to read the movie section, other than to flick through and think: "Oh, cool, they have a page on Japanese films?"

As for subscribing, GameFAN's website is dead.
http://www.gamefanmag.com/

Which has led to some speculating that it won't make issue 3. But I'm still hopeful.

As for Halverson, the only other prominent writer on there is Valerie Dahmersdottir, and her writing leaves a lot to be desired.

I do miss the Nick des Barres / Casey Loe dynamic of PLAY. My concern is that GameFAN doesn't have as strong a writing team...

The magazine is very much a throwback to another p...

2010-07-23T14:04:03.341-04:00

The magazine is very much a throwback to another period. I will never forget seeing Halverson's preview to Symphony of the Night, it was a work of art. The layout in the new GameFan is right on the money. The Deathsmiles review looks fantastic, like a surge of import nostalgia when all things Japanese were new and amazing to me.
I will be subscribing, but I want to see them make it to issue 3 first. I am nervous to subscribe to another one of Halverson's publications, I keep thinking they will take my money and run like Play magazine did when business ran dry.
I also have to agree with Discoalucard, MovieFan is garbage. I want a gaming magazine that reads one way through with minimal movie coverage. I don't need a massive article on Satoshi Kon. Even with this complaint, the new GameFan returned me to the days of youth when I read wild claims by Nick Rox that Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo was the best game ever and the Dreamcast would win the console war.
Good stuff overall, I hope they keep the magazine afloat.

Halverson sounds like he is on the verge of ditchi...

2010-07-23T13:10:10.039-04:00

Halverson sounds like he is on the verge of ditching the MovieFan section.

I thought the first issue of GameFan as kinda bad,...

2010-07-23T11:43:19.710-04:00

I thought the first issue of GameFan as kinda bad, but the second one is much better. And I ended up picking a copy of it and haven't grabbed the 2nd EGM, even though I'm flipped through it, which I think speaks for itself. I'm still iffy on subscribing to GameFan, and I still think the whole thing would be better if Halverson kept his feet out of it and let the other writers at it, because I think he is insane. But there is a lot more passion to it, more interesting coverage, and it's more attractive looking. They can still get rid of the useless MovieFan section, though.

2010-07-23T10:24:13.972-04:00

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Nice observations: I was just thinkin to myself ho...

2010-07-23T02:20:22.410-04:00

Nice observations: I was just thinkin to myself how boring as hell EGM and Gamepro are. I mean, it's admirable that they are doing something other than GameFAN's look at all these pretty colors (and they are pretty), but neither the drab industry-insider outlook nor the super shallow "here's a bunch of shiny pictures accompanied by words that don't make sense" capture the awesomeness that is video games.

I think it comes down to there just aren't enough good writers who can expound on games in cool ways, and the ones who can are stifled by what the publication expects of them.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I have be...

2010-07-22T23:59:07.109-04:00

Couldn't have said it better myself. I have been with EGM since issue #2 and have always been loyal to them. But now it seems this isn't the same EGM I would get caught reading in 8th grade math class. Looks like GameFan has found another subscriber, and I am going to give EGM a year to figure out what they are doing wrong, then I am jumping ship. Sorry EGM, I miss who you used to be. :(

I felt these EXACT same things... pretty much word...

2010-07-22T14:04:26.715-04:00

I felt these EXACT same things... pretty much word for word as Sketcz, and in fact, you posting here makes the blog entry I had planned on this redundant.

I would make the additional comment that I do want to read 'state of the industry' sorts of articles like the Metacritic or unionisation articles... sometimes you gotta take the blinders off for a moment... but I don't HAVE to have that stuff in GameFan.

As I posted myself, with the first issues I kinda saw GF and EGM running neck and neck in my affections with EGM being actually higher quality technically (though the Street Fighter article was a horror). NOW, I much prefer GameFan. I play video games to have fun, and to me GF far and away displays that spirit and EGM seems too much about 'the business'... almost cynically so. Which sucks because there are lots of outlets that already take that tone.

It's nice to see GameFan and EGM finally kick ...

2010-07-22T10:38:23.382-04:00

It's nice to see GameFan and EGM finally kick back up. It's also nice to see that GameFan still follows the kick-ass design and coverage like they brought in the 90's. Not nice is EGM's 'still' bland design and layout. Just look at that Castlevania coverage, two pages of mostly empty space of a useless screenshot that serves no real purpose.

I know I gave up EGM for GameFan back in the late 90's, I was always dissappointed in EGM at the turn of the century, they suddenly never failed to dissappoint to the point where I couldn't even stomach picking up a copy on the rack just to look at the content inside of it.

At least in GameFan, they show that there is a love for games all over the place.

Nice to see GF covering Deathsmiles. I saw that game on the shelves the other day but had no idea about it. At least 'someone' is covering it.

I'm also a copy editor, so it pleases me to se...

2010-07-22T06:08:37.334-04:00

I'm also a copy editor, so it pleases me to see someone else say that solid writing (and editing) matters. It's not very often that gets brought up vis-a-vis games magazines.