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[Mama Smurf]

So here's an example of the great Capcom interviews. It's with two of the guys behind Megamn Battle Network and there are only 6 questions there, so you just know they're going to go right to the good questions and skip any filler.

Here are 3 of the questions:

"If you could be any character from Megaman, who would you be and why?"

"If Megaman had a fight with Viewtiful Joe, who would win?"

"So, you're saying the development teams would fight each other too?"

I SHIT YOU NOT

 

[DefectiveReject]

ah ha - Dean "Former Deputy Editor of NOM" Scott - I'm not going to get into any conversations with you on this forum... but thanks for your input... yes I did edit my post because with hindsight it was unfair... decent exclusives are regularly achieveable in magazines... they just rarely tend to happen with UK magazines... that's the nature of the industry - information flows mainly from the US and Japan and this is reflected in how coverage appears across the world... as for your problems with code and US games... well you don't have to worry about all that anymore do you ?

So the exclusive shots promised of Zelda next month aren't exclusive?

 

[Amir0x]

It was new to MILLIONS of people outside of you

This is NOT a valid point. I cannot even fucking believe you're trying to go here.

Here is the point, and it's very easy to comprehend so stick with me now.

This information is out in the PUBLIC ARENA. Whether or not you'd have to be a geek to get it is irrelevant, because this same information was published also in dozens of magazines MONTHS ago. And it was done so in dozens of magazines with at least 1000% better writing and 1000% less fanboyism.

From your standard, any news is fair game because someone, somewhere might not have heard of it. I can post news about Street Fighter 1, because some chick in Malaysia has never played videogames before. I can start a magazine containing amazing advances in Ford Model T technology. I can post an entire feature about Nintendogs, listing nothing but the features from the title so that precious uninformed consumers might learn about it (you can PET dogs by touching the screen! I'm not joking here!)!

This is NOT how you make a good magazine. Nearly every drop of the information is months old, already covered in pretty much every important gaming format on earth - from magazine to internet. And some of the information is just factually incorrect, such as how they say it's DIFFERENT that Link now starts off unaware of the adventure that awaits him. Since, hey, that happened in Wind Waker and other Zeldas before!

You're simply accepting of it, because you have a ridiculously low standard. That's fine. I don't. Objectively speaking, there's so many issues with this magazine that you could probably write your own publication about it.

What's a shill?

Someone who eats any company line currently out there. Such as accepting this magazine as "good", when it's a piece of shit.

 

[Magicpaint]

Hopefully with time, the mag gets better for its own good really.

A preview as dated and basic as that Twilight Princess 'preview' should be banished... yeah, definitive preview indeed.

I'm also against the idea of hyping up a magazine and promising 'new info' when there isn't any, what was wrong with just promoting the free games offer? With the hype, you guys set up an expectation that the magazine possibly couldn't have met, it's hardly suprising then that people find it to be sub-par... especially with some of the quotes I've read from Ami's post.

 

[Peru]

Learn the meaning of "objective", please.

 

[kaizoku]

To You

I'm putting in an objective view to amir0x's critisism for those who are yet to buy this. Which I believe he argues the magazine suffers from.?

What the...

The guy was here yesterday hyping up his magazine to the max. We have every right to be disappointed with our purchase. How other people feel about it means nothing to us and they can make their own choices. As consumers its useful to hear about the experiences of previous buyers, its not helpful to say "well it was ok you might find it useful even if I didn't".

Personally, thank you to Amirox and co for dishing the dirt and letting us all know what to expect.

 

[Gaybrush Threepio]

This is NOT a valid point. I cannot even fucking believe you're trying to go here.

Here is the point, and it's very easy to comprehend so stick with me now.

This information is out in the PUBLIC ARENA. Whether or not you'd have to be a geek to get it is irrelevant, because this same information was published also in dozens of magazines MONTHS ago. And it was done so in dozens of magazines with at least 1000% better writing and 1000% less fanboyism.

From your standard, any news is fair game because someone, somewhere might not have heard of it. I can post news about Street Fighter 1, because some chick in Malaysia has never played videogames before. I can start a magazine containing amazing advances in Ford Model T technology. I can post an entire feature about Nintendogs, listing nothing but the features from the title so that precious uninformed consumers might learn about it (you can PET dogs by touching the screen! I'm not joking here!)!

This is NOT how you make a good magazine. Nearly every drop of the information is months old, already covered in pretty much every important gaming format on earth - from magazine to internet. And some of the information is just factually incorrect, such as how they say it's DIFFERENT that Link now starts off unaware of the adventure that awaits him. Since, hey, that happened in Wind Waker and other Zeldas before!

You're simply accepting of it, because you have a ridiculously low standard. That's fine. I don't. Objectively speaking, there's so many issues with this magazine that you could probably write your own publication about it.



Someone who eats any company line currently out there. Such as accepting this magazine as "good", when it's a piece of shit.

Can't we all just be friends and agree that Xbox360 is crap?

 

[Shiggy]

Yes, but only if you tell us more about the new Revolution graphic technology and how it works on a normal television

 

[Amir0x]

Can't we all just be friends and agree that Xbox360 is crap?

No I think Xbox 360 is good, and that 360 LIVE is pretty much the best thing to happen to consoles since ergonomic controllers!

But besides that, sure we can be friends.

 

[DefectiveReject]

No I think Xbox 360 is good, and that 360 LIVE is pretty much the best thing to happen to consoles since ergonomic controllers!

But besides that, sure we can be friends.

i thought it was a bag of crap and only a slight improvement over what i had the first time i bought an Xbox!!
[/sarcasm]
(yes i do have one)

 

[Vibri]

Edge is the only UK (or European) magazine that still has the power to break world exclusives, but even that's fading.

The reason UK magazines don't break real exclusives is their circulations suck. OPM UK is by far the biggest circulated UK games magazine, which puts it at literally around 1/40th of what Game Informer distributes to.

 

[sprsk]

boy this is an exciting thread. Who's going to post next? reggie? reggie where are you!?

 

[duckroll]

boy this is an exciting thread. Who's going to post next? reggie? reggie where are you!?

Reggie just read the thread and now he's busy knocking on those posters' doors to take names and kick asses. :lol

 

[DefectiveReject]

Reggie just read the thread and now he's busy knocking on those posters' doors to take names and kick asses. :lol

nah he's too busy reading his Blue Ocean stategy book

 

[Twilight Rockstar]

"This is NOT a valid point. I cannot even fucking believe you're trying to go here."


You know what? It IS a valid point in a major way. 8/10 of our readers (and I expect that figure to go up with Nintendo's recently acquired new fanbase) will learn a lot from our magazine because a) they don't have time to sit on the internet all day, and 2) they actually don't care THAT much about games. . . it's a small part of their life and what little they know they get from magazines.

My point is this: no, there was no new info in the Zelda preview because (as I've already repeatedly said on this forum) the assets were pulled at the last minute. NCL changed their minds and are holding out for a bigger launch event. GDC most likely. When that kind of thing happens we're not going to look at each other and say "tell you what guys, let's not print it cos there's no new info". It's the first issue. A lot of new people will be buying it including a whole loads of new DS owners who don't know ANYTHING about Zelda. I'm sorry but it's a no-brainer: the preview goes in.

I'm not saying we won't have exclusive stuff. We will. But we will also be covereing stuff that people such as yourself will already know about. Wherever possible we'll give you brand new info. . . info that will satisfy people like you. BUT for most people (and remember, we are a business after all) the info IS brand new. The people who post on these and other forums, despite being very important, are in the minority in a big way.

But you know what. . . nothing I can say will improve your opinions of issue 1. All I can say is, scan through the next couple of issue and see what you think. Hopefully we'll be able to get the balance right and command a little more respect from people such as yourself.

Take it easy

 

[Amir0x]

You know what? It IS a valid point in a major way. 8/10 of our readers (and I expect that figure to go up with Nintendo's recently aqcured new fanbase) will learn a lot from our magazine because a) they don't have time to sit on the internet all day, and 2) they actually don't care THAT much about games. . . it's a small part of their life and what little they know they get from magazines.

Since this pretty much ignores the entire part where I explained thoroughly why this line of thinking is incorrect, or leads to a poor magazine... I'll just point you back to that post of mine. It explains it very well.

My point is this: no, there was no new info in the Zelda preview because (as I've already repeatedly said on this forum) the assets were pulled at the last minute. NCL changed their minds and are holding out for a bigger launch event. GDC most likely. When that kind of thing happens we're not going to look at each other and say "tell you what guys, let's not print it cos there's no new info". It's the first issue. A lot of new people will be buying it including a whole loads of new DS owners who don't know ANYTHING about Zelda. I'm sorry but it's a no-brainer: the preview goes in.

This is an example of choosing bits and pieces to reply to. I wasn't asking you to pull the Zelda preview. But, regardless... I can only judge from this issue. A complete lack of new information from any aspect of this magazine doesn't endear me to it. Would you not consider that a legitimate complaint, given that this is issue #1 and it's all we have to go on?

But this ignores the inaccuracies (Difference: Link starts TP unaware of the adventures that lie ahead!), the hyperbole and fanboy rantings. Etc, etc... I mean I've gone over this eighteen times in this thread and I won't assume you care to read it... but my criticisms are all there.

But you know what. . . nothing I can say will improve your opinions of issue 1. All I can say is, scan through the next couple of issue and see what you think. Hopefully we'll be able to get the balance right and command a little more respect from people such as yourself.

I hope so man. I acknowledge this is a first effort, and a lot can change. I just think the change has to be pretty dramatic from what I'm reading.

 

[DefectiveReject]

"This is NOT a valid point. I cannot even fucking believe you're trying to go here."


You know what? It IS a valid point in a major way. 8/10 of our readers (and I expect that figure to go up with Nintendo's recently acquired new fanbase) will learn a lot from our magazine because a) they don't have time to sit on the internet all day, and 2) they actually don't care THAT much about games. . . it's a small part of their life and what little they know they get from magazines.

My point is this: no, there was no new info in the Zelda preview because (as I've already repeatedly said on this forum) the assets were pulled at the last minute. NCL changed their minds and are holding out for a bigger launch event. GDC most likely. When that kind of thing happens we're not going to look at each other and say "tell you what guys, let's not print it cos there's no new info". It's the first issue. A lot of new people will be buying it including a whole loads of new DS owners who don't know ANYTHING about Zelda. I'm sorry but it's a no-brainer: the preview goes in.

I'm not saying we won't have exclusive stuff. We will. But we will also be covereing stuff that people such as yourself will already know about. Wherever possible we'll give you brand new info. . . info that will satisfy people like you. BUT for most people (and remember, we are a business after all) the info IS brand new. The people who post on these and other forums, despite being very important, are in the minority in a big way.

But you know what. . . nothing I can say will improve your opinions of issue 1. All I can say is, scan through the next couple of issue and see what you think. Hopefully we'll be able to get the balance right and command a little more respect from people such as yourself.

Take it easy

Ex-a-fricking-actly Majority and mass audiences FTW!

 

[olimario]

I feel mislead.

 

[kaizoku]

Ex-a-fricking-actly Majority and mass audiences FTW!

He did not say what you've been trying to say at all >_> What he said made sense and is acceptable, you were basically telling us the mag is fine as it is and we're fools for being disappointed.

He came on here hyping it up, it didn't deliver - THATS life. I do like the design, I think it has potential, as does everything around Nintendo right now. But still things need to be delivered, if they can pull it off - great.

But just because you find excuses and whatever doesn't make it a good magazine, or better than its rivals or anything. Still, props on good artwork, looks like a nice read if nothing new.

 

[olimario]

Ex-a-fricking-actly Majority and mass audiences FTW!

I think everyone's problem is that Twilight Rockstar advertised his magazine here by stating that it will have a bunch of new information when he knew we already knew everything.

That's low.
ANYTHING FOR SALES! I'LL LOAN YOU MY DAUGHTER FOR THE NIGHT IF YOU BUY MY MAGAZINE!

 

[DefectiveReject]

He did not say what you've been trying to say at all >_> What he said made sense and is acceptable, you were basically telling us the mag is fine as it is and we're fools for being disappointed..

See at least 3 of my above posts which try and tell amir0x that the information was new to millions of potential buyers who don't sit at a computer all day.

as i also argued it was a good mag

 

[Twilight Rockstar]

Since this pretty much ignores the entire part where I explained thoroughly why this line of thinking is incorrect, or leads to a poor magazine... I'll just point you back to that post of mine. It explains it very well.



This is an example of choosing bits and pieces to reply to. I wasn't asking you to pull the Zelda preview. But, regardless... I can only judge from this issue. A complete lack of new information from any aspect of this magazine doesn't endear me to it. Would you not consider that a legitimate complaint, given that this is issue #1 and it's all we have to go on?

But this ignores the inaccuracies (Difference: Link starts TP unaware of the adventures that lie ahead!), the hyperbole and fanboy rantings. Etc, etc... I mean I've gone over this eighteen times in this thread and I won't assume you care to read it... but my criticisms are all there.



I hope so man. I acknowledge this is a first effort, and a lot can change. I just think the change has to be pretty dramatic from what I'm reading.

Ok, last post from me today. . .

My apologies for not reading all your criticisms. I should have, I know, but it's launch day for us and I'm jumping between marketing meetings, Nintendo meetings and setting up various events for our clients, AND I've got to film at the Harpers/Brits after-aftershow party tonight so I'm a tad busy. Normally I would have read it all but I wanted to make some kind of response before the end of the day.

Soooooooo. . . yes I do consider it a legit complaint, hence the reason why I've said I hope you see an improvement and have tried to justify why certain 'old' content was in there. I take your opinion very seriously.
I also take the mass market very seriously, after all, more sales (and that can only really mean new readers in this case) = more money/more sway with exclusives = more sales/more industry respect = better gifts/promotions/exclusives = more sales/more sway/more industry respect = better magazine for everyone. In this case we're starting with almost nothing (no disrespect to anyone involved with the last mag, they did the best with the breadcrumbs they had) and building up. I'm not asking for sympathy: I have no right to ask for that from a potential customer. Just try and understand that we are endeavoring to give you what you want.

I hope you'll forgive me for brushing past the factual innacuracies. I don't have time right this second to go and quote bits from the article but pull me up on it in the near future. As for the fanboy rantings. . . sorry but if I or any member of the team likes something we're going to be enthusiastic about it. I do this cos I love games. I'm not going to curb my enthusiasm for you, sorry. That aspect will NEVER change as long as I'm involved.

I've got to go now but I'll catch up with other criticisms soon.

 

[MrSardonic]

"This is NOT a valid point. I cannot even fucking believe you're trying to go here."


You know what? It IS a valid point in a major way. 8/10 of our readers (and I expect that figure to go up with Nintendo's recently acquired new fanbase) will learn a lot from our magazine because a) they don't have time to sit on the internet all day, and 2) they actually don't care THAT much about games. . . it's a small part of their life and what little they know they get from magazines.

My point is this: no, there was no new info in the Zelda preview because (as I've already repeatedly said on this forum) the assets were pulled at the last minute. NCL changed their minds and are holding out for a bigger launch event. GDC most likely. When that kind of thing happens we're not going to look at each other and say "tell you what guys, let's not print it cos there's no new info". It's the first issue. A lot of new people will be buying it including a whole loads of new DS owners who don't know ANYTHING about Zelda. I'm sorry but it's a no-brainer: the preview goes in.

I'm not saying we won't have exclusive stuff. We will. But we will also be covereing stuff that people such as yourself will already know about. Wherever possible we'll give you brand new info. . . info that will satisfy people like you. BUT for most people (and remember, we are a business after all) the info IS brand new. The people who post on these and other forums, despite being very important, are in the minority in a big way.

But you know what. . . nothing I can say will improve your opinions of issue 1. All I can say is, scan through the next couple of issue and see what you think. Hopefully we'll be able to get the balance right and command a little more respect from people such as yourself.

Take it easy

Fair enough. Any news on the internet that is more than 10 days old gets lost in the archives of websites, and for the average consumer a magazine condenses it all every month.

But you've got to admit, your questions to Capcom were ridiculous and, dare I say it, childish: "If Megaman fought Gozilla in a lava pit, who would die first and could I collect their bones", "What is the density of a DS cartridge experiencing a pressure of 2.85Pa". Ok, I exaggerate, but they sucked and I think you were misleading in your posts on this forum.

By all means post "old" news in your magazine, but please, differentiate yourself from other mags by not writing fanboy nonsense and asking developers what their favorite colour is.

 

[Amir0x]

Ok, last post from me today. . .

My apologies for not reading all your criticisms. I should have, I know, but it's launch day for us and I'm jumping between marketing meetings, Nintendo meetings and setting up various events for our clients, AND I've got to film at the Harpers/Brits after-aftershow party tonight so I'm a tad busy. Normally I would have read it all but I wanted to make some kind of response before the end of the day.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond in a level headed fashion. Just remember, I curse and rant and bitch... but that's just my personality, it's nothing personal to you or your staff.

Soooooooo. . . yes I do consider it a legit complaint, hence the reason why I've said I hope you see an improvement and have tried to justify why certain 'old' content was in there. I take your opinion very seriously.

Good to know.

I also take the mass market very seriously, after all, more sales (and that can only really mean new readers in this case) = more money/more sway with exclusives = more sales/more industry respect = better gifts/promotions/exclusives = more sales/more sway/more industry respect = better magazine for everyone. In case we're starting with almost nothing (no disrespect to anyone involved with the last mag, they did the best with the breadcrumbs they had) and building up. I'm not asking for sympathy: I have no right to ask for that from a potential customer. Just try and understand that we are endeavoring to give you what you want.

I respect that, but, I still don't think that has much to do with just how old this info is. It's all pretty much ancient. Like I said in my examples, if you have no limit on just when you stop posting outdated information... it's just going to lower the quality of your magazine.

But anyway, moving on...

As for the fanboy rantings. . . sorry but if I or any member of the team likes something we're going to be enthusiastic about it. I do this cos I love games. I'm not going to curb my enthusiasm for you, sorry. That aspect will NEVER change as long as I'm involved.

That's very unfortunate. Although I respect your right to have a magazine like this, it pretty much counts me out.

 

[DefectiveReject]

Even the BBC have incorrect reporting of widely available information

Demand is expected to get a boost in March when Nintendo releases the DS Lite, a slimmed down, cheaper version of the handheld.

Link
i'm off to let them know!

 

[MrSardonic]

Demand is expected to get a boost in March when Nintendo releases the DS Lite, a slimmed down, cheaper version of the handheld.

Hard to know if the BBC is implying that DS demand is low, or that the insanely high DS demand is going to get even greater when DSL is launched.

Also, Nintendo need to ditch DS Lite as the handheld's name - not only is that a shit name, but it also implies that functionality is reduced

 

[Twilight Rockstar]

"That's very unfortunate. Although I respect your right to have a magazine like this, it pretty much counts me out."

I suspected as much. The needs of the many and all that. . . your sacrifice is noted.

 

[LizardKing]

Twilight- why would a more professional/journalistic/newsworthy approach fail to cater to the mainstream gaming audience? Shouldn't you worry about the highest quality of magazine first and let the sales follow?

(This is not to imply that your mag isn't high quality, because I haven't read it and I don't know, but you seem to be saying that you are willing to sacrifice the readership of the hardcore gamer (and integrity/professionalism) of the magazine because you are not worried about them and are just worried about the mainstream gamer. Isn't this just an excuse to fill the mag with more fluff?)

 

[Xrenity]

Twilight, I think the problem is you told us you were going to have some exclusive stuff, and obviously you didn't.

It's new for the 'mainstream' though, so good for them.

 

[Roders5]

I'm on my way to pick this up now. These bad comments don't worry me too much because I pretty much know what to expect from Nintendo magazines, but I'm still gonna check it out, I'm impressed by the new look at least.

Twilight, I just subscribed and it made me start at the issue released in April. When will my free game be coming?

 

[Koshiro]

"That's very unfortunate. Although I respect your right to have a magazine like this, it pretty much counts me out."

I suspected as much. The needs of the many and all that. . . your sacrifice is noted.

I just discovered Lee Nutter worked on this. Is he regular staff? Anyone harking back to the SSM days is alright in my book.

 

[PhoenixDark]

So no new news? :lol

What about Capcom? More "the Revolution is cool and it will allow developers to make innovative games" talk? -_- no real, concrete details FTL?

 

[Luckett_X]

Woah! This thread took a turn for the awesome! Nintendo reps duking it out with ex-Nintendo magazine staff, Ami taking down everyone left, right and centre and sporsk shining the Reggie symbol into the sky! Its like the Face-Off of Nintendo forum topics!

Flicked through the mag while in town, just... nothing grabbed me. Its all really ancient news and pretty fanboyish writing. I just don't get how an officially sanctioned mag with people getting paid to write articles for it can contain less info than fansites created in peoples spare time! I don't know whether this issue was thrown together really quickly because of lack of time for launch, but it certainly feels like it.

I also enjoy when Nintendo often spouts the "we are taking europe seriously again!" nonsense, and then laughs "ha ha as if we'd give you even a shred of exclusive info lolzorz".

Having said all that, gaming mags are generally trash, and are only usually worth the demo's. Which leads us to a very interesting point:

SURELY. SURELY when Rev launches there is going to be demo discs in official mags. If theres EVER been a console that needs people to try games before they buy, its the Rev. Hell, mags could even give away more obscure titles for the Virtual Console.

Nevertheless, the new Official Nintendo magazine failed to impress me perhaps for one key reason: while the emap original was still pretty shitty, it had one of the best free gifts ever: Inflatable Chain Chomp :3

 

[Zerodoppler]

I like how they hyped the mag on frickin GAF, and then said the information was for people that donesn't spent the day in front of a computer.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

would it be too much to ask if I could give monies to someone who would buy the mag with stickers and send them to me?

 

[PhoenixDark]

I like how they hyped the mag on frickin GAF, and then said the information was for people that donesn't spent the day in front of a computer.

QFT

Should have posted it on Oprah's message board. God.

 

[vitaflo]

I never thought Nintendo employees could be more annoying than Nintendo fanboys.

 

[Error]

eh... what happened here? :\

 

[Oblivion]

Oh fuck, where to start? First, it does not match RE4. Not even close. Shoddy texture work, awkward art direction, and all sorts of weirdness puts if far short. And that's not all. WIND WAKER already looked stunning before this game ever did, so the difference remains style. Secondly, the graphics are not even close to making next gen graphics irrelevant.

I find it funny you call TP's art direction "awkward" yet praise WW in the same post. I'll give you that it might not match RE4 on a technical level (though I'd love to be proven wrong), but that's about it.

 

[clearacell]

In the Age of the Internet I wouldn't expect official magazines (who need to put as much marshmellow fluff in the least amount of pages to have more room for advertisements) to have very much new info. There are too many leaks and too many competing game web sites that allow the magazines to have any edge whatsoever.

That being said, the info may not be new for us but for most John Q. Casual it may be the only time they see this news. I have friends who are Zelda fans and they still don't know when it's going to be released, let alone it's already been delayed .

I guess it just needs the chance to get off the ground...it just seems the magazine isn't geared for the likes of those of us who frequent GAF. Here's hoping they get some exclusive content for at least some redemtion, otherwise they'll soon become the butt of jokes as Nintendo Power has become.

 

[Robobandit]

Disappointing that there was no new exclusive information (Edge 156 all over again), not entirely Twilight's fault, since Nintendo does like to pull information and content at the last minute (we've seen this before, of course). However, the marketing guys need a shorter leash so that expectations are not raised too high.

I understand that you are trying to sell magazines, but the people that are going to pick up a gaming magazine are most likely going to be the kinds of people that post here, and care enough to be up-to-date on the latest and greatest from a company that they like. I suppose that this just confirms that Nintendo is not revealing any Revolution info until GDC at the earliest and no one should expect any, "exclusive" from a magazine or anything else containing useful information.

 

[elostyle]

Stage 1: 1up
Stage 2: NoE
Satge 3: ???

Boy I sure am curious what the GAF endboss is going to be!

 

[xexex]

another bullshit magazine down the drain.

 

[DefectiveReject]

Ami taking down everyone left, right and centre

yeah sure............i think it was more a case of everyone else backing out of an argument Ami wouldn't let go, as ever

 

[elostyle]

yeah sure............i think it was more a case of everyone else backing out of an argument Ami wouldn't let go, as ever

Well that just happens every now and then.

 

[DefectiveReject]

oh well.
Zelda Pics in Issue 2 or i'm pulling an Ami

 

[Jonnyboy117]

Classic thread! Gaming journalism for the win.

By the way, the PGC forums are no more of a gutter than GAF, they're just not as busy. We do have excellent moderation, though. Drinky wouldn't last ten minutes. There are plenty of vindictive assholes, though, so Amir0x is always welcome.

 

[Tempy]

Gaming magazines are at a disadvantage to the internet when it comes to major news, but here's a few things I'd admire in a magazine...

* Nice print quality
* You can still have nice never-before-seen screenshots of game in development provided by the developer/publisher
* Providing a summary of news
* Articles which provide insight into development of a game, its trials and tribulations, etc.

Random ramblings...

* Writing that does not cater to the lowest common denominator. There's nothing wrong with making your magazine attractive to read for all ages, but don't treat your readers like morons - and NO, kids are not supposed to be treated like little morons either. Treat them like that and they'll grow up to be big morons.
* "If Megaman had a fight with Viewtiful Joe, who would win?" ... Seriously now. Insightful editorials yes, kindergarten GameFAQs interviews NO.
* Nobody is saying to curb your enthusiasm, but when you say wow without explaining why you feel that way then how exactly are we supposed to get excited? There's a difference between being genuinely excited and blathering hyperbole to increase sales.

And since NoE-related peeps are looking...(and in some cases flinging poo)

* What the hell is up with you guys? ;_;
* When looking at the newsstands here in the Netherlands there might be one single official Nintendo magazine amongst the various general, ps2 and xbox mags. Some Ps2 and xbox mags even have demos or at least trailers on dvd. Is it so hard to have a dvd with trailers or even game (GCN) demos? If other mags can do it....
* All these stars from purchased Nintendo games can be used on....ringtones and wallpapers? What? I know there was a questionaire a few months ago; still waiting on whether that will mean I'll be able to spend those stars on some more.....fun stuff.
* Why must Europe get the shaft when it comes to getting games in a timely manner? Animal Crossing NGC being a notorious example (why buy the EU version for 60 euros when at the same time the US version was being sold dirt cheap for $20). The DS idly stood by without Castlevania , Kirby, Advance Wars - quality games - while PSP got released, taking up more precious store shelf space than DS titles. The main reason I import from the US? Because I don't have to wait for games to come out in Europe...if at all.

 

[SpoonyBard]

Great post, Tempy.

The way I see it, there is one videogame mag worth a damn, Edge, and then there are the others. All of them crap. And even Edge may have lost some of its, er, edge these days. It's still lightyears better than the other mags I have read lately, Game Informer, EGM and the two big Finnish mags Pelaaja and Pelit. Not to mention all those "offical" magazines I see on newstands, those are utter shite, and only sell because of their demo discs.

I wish there would be more magazines like Edge, but I understand that it's much easier to do a ten page hype preview of some crappy licensed game than a two page in-depth article that actually says something interesting.

 

[WhippinSean]

Wow! I'd hate for a certain someone at NoE who's above Saunders to see his posts! Oh no! What a shame that would be.