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March Climber
Member
Game Informer was one of the last ones left. Hell of a run.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
A shame, and unfortunately, they probably won't be the last.
BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
That sucks. I was an EGM kid but damn. Magazine business seems completely dead. They had a hell of a run. Didn’t Gamestop own them?
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
I dont think I ever bought GI mag back in the day, but I remember skimming them. Last mags I bought were I think some Gamefan mags when around PS/Saturn Tomb Raider came out. So were talking late 90s.
GI mags even back then scored gamed on a 6-10 scale where most games got 7-8 scores. I could tell if a game got a 6 it was a clunker. The mags if I remember correctly were kind of thin, but had lots of content and good colurful pics.
I have no idea what recent GI mags were like the past 20+ years.
GI mags even back then scored gamed on a 6-10 scale where most games got 7-8 scores. I could tell if a game got a 6 it was a clunker. The mags if I remember correctly were kind of thin, but had lots of content and good colurful pics.
I have no idea what recent GI mags were like the past 20+ years.
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Nydius
Member
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading people praising GI. It was little more than GameStop's advertising arm masquerading as a "gaming magazine" and a product they used to try to leverage people into buying their shitty "Pro" memberships. Most of the magazine's content was geared towards getting people into GameStop.
Magic Carpet
Member
I've got a shelf full of these things. I can retire in style when I take them to the Antique Roadshow. Drinks will be on me!
Chuck Berry
Gold Member
Damn this one actually kinda sucks
BossLackey
Gold Member
It's really unfortunate. Though recent years GI feels like a shell of it's former self and as Nydius said, more of a marketing tool for GameStop.
Pouring one out for the homies right now.
Pouring one out for the homies right now.
drganon
Member
That's pretty much how I remember them.
Catphish
Member
Yep. I used to work for Funcoland (precursor to Gamestop) in the mid-90s, and they had us pushing NES cleaning kits and Game Informer subscriptions like crazy.
The magazine used to be complete vapid trash. It was interesting to see them grow into a reputable magazine.
SEGAvangelist
Member
TheUsual
Gold Member
Another item of my childhood/teenage years gone. Nintendo Power, EGM, and GI were my things. But yeah, hard to compete with online and amazed they lasted as long as they did.
Boutique magazines probably will be all that remain where a core audience can keep it afloat with high prices. Or magazines with low print runs and sold at premiums.
Boutique magazines probably will be all that remain where a core audience can keep it afloat with high prices. Or magazines with low print runs and sold at premiums.
Hudo
Member
Also PC Games (German magazine. Established in 1992. Still going)
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Daniel Thomas MacInnes
GAF's Resident Saturn Omnibus
That’s a damned shame. I’m from Minnesota, so obviously I’m a fan of Game Informer. They did good work, even though they were owned by a retail chain. But the dirty secret is that most videogame magazines were cheerleaders for the industry.
It’s sad that gaming magazines are now all but extinct in the US. I wonder what this says about GameStop’s finances. Hopefully, they won’t die out anytime soon, but physical retail for videogames has become extremely small.
For an industry that is thriving, these closures are deeply concerning. No press? No retail? How is this even possible? The internet and digital media are the prime culprits, of course. Game Informer managed to hold out so much longer than their peers, and for that, they should be commended.
It’s sad that gaming magazines are now all but extinct in the US. I wonder what this says about GameStop’s finances. Hopefully, they won’t die out anytime soon, but physical retail for videogames has become extremely small.
For an industry that is thriving, these closures are deeply concerning. No press? No retail? How is this even possible? The internet and digital media are the prime culprits, of course. Game Informer managed to hold out so much longer than their peers, and for that, they should be commended.
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
Bridges
Member
I used to love GI. I haven't been subscribed for many years but I have the fondest memories. Their video content was really great too back when they had people like Dan Ryckert and Tim Turi there. All of those interesting people have been long gone though. None of this is a surprise but RIP all the same. Another irreplaceable part of my childhood bites the dust
SkylineRKR
Member
Recently I downloaded a lot of .pdf of 90's EGM, Gamepro, SSM and the such. You can find tons of them online. Was a good read on my tablet during holiday. Very nostalgic.
I think I miss it. Nothing beats reading a physical paper when you're taking a dump, or just chillin on the sofa. Or going to the book store to write over some cheats.
I think the golden age of magazines was around the 32-bit wars. I would buy SSM, PSM 100%, EGM, Gamepro, sometimes Edge and CVG during this era. I had a small few GI's too.
I was searching my old folks attic, but I couldn't find anything anymore. Pretty sure I never threw them in the trash. Luckily they are preserved in digital form, I guess.
I think I miss it. Nothing beats reading a physical paper when you're taking a dump, or just chillin on the sofa. Or going to the book store to write over some cheats.
I think the golden age of magazines was around the 32-bit wars. I would buy SSM, PSM 100%, EGM, Gamepro, sometimes Edge and CVG during this era. I had a small few GI's too.
I was searching my old folks attic, but I couldn't find anything anymore. Pretty sure I never threw them in the trash. Luckily they are preserved in digital form, I guess.
indigo-cyclops
Member
Makes me sad to see this. Probably just getting old, but remembering "those days" and seeing everything change, or go away, just sucks.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
It's more than just a gamestop thing, A lot of people grew up with these magazines. Holds sentimental value for a lot of us.
Syphon Filter
Member
that is nasty, why not just use the rest room? I never got why people do stuff while using the rest room.
SkylineRKR
Member
Or Arkham Asylum. They had the exclusive scoop on it I think. And they hyped it up, with me thinking impossible since its a fucking superhero license.
But then the game turned out to be one of the best games of that generation indeed.
Nitty_Grimes
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
PC Gamer.
TerribleAtThisGame
Member
Shit, remember how exciting it used to be to go to the store and see a new gaming mag on the rack? The coers would be so enticing. When Resident Evil previews were making their rounds, it was insane for my friends and I.
KeepThemEyesOpen
Member
Unless I missed something from the comments but is it just the magazine they're no longer publishing or is it the entire company itself?
Solarstrike
Member
End times, smh. What a crazy month in gaming
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DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Ahh Game Informer. Nowhere near as good as EGM or even Gamepro, but everyone read it because it came with your Funcoland + GameStop memberships
MiguelItUp
Member
Pour one out. End of an era.
notjeffgoldblum
Member
As a former Gamestop employee from late 2000s-mid2010s, it pleases me that a magazine that sales of were tied to how many hours I was given is finally going down.
That said I did enjoy reading their articles every so often.
That said I did enjoy reading their articles every so often.
Solarstrike
Member
200+ page EGM holiday issue what a time it was to be alive. When the mail lady was struggling to put that beast in the mailbox, you know it was going to be a good day.
West Texas CEO
GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
GI goes down, but Kotaku is still going?
We live in a mad, mad world.
We live in a mad, mad world.
Chuck Berry
Gold Member
The golden age was the 16 bit wars bro. Shit sometimes the advertisements alone were worth buying the mag for. Back then EGMs were fuckin tomes. I remember getting one that was well over 300 pages back in 93-94. Previews of Beyond Oasis and a mini DKC guide included…
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