The Perfect Retro Mag Debate

[Duddyroar]

Continued from here.

[Leon Retro]

Good move Duddy. I haven't got the time or energy to post today, but I will certainly be up for some good debate tomorrow!

Gentleman, Start Your Engines!

[Duddyroar]

What makes the perfect retro magazine? An impossible question to answer, surely?

'Retro gaming' covers so many different formats, any magazine trying to please everyone is going to have a hard time. You simply cannot expect someone in their 40's who remembers the first arcade games to be into the same software as someone who experienced gaming for the first time with their Playstation.

Personally I think Retro Gamer has the right split. I like reading about the old 8-bit consoles and publishers - it really was a time where bedroom coders could turn themselves into superstars overnight - but my heart lies with Japanese consoles, which RG is giving fair coverage to every issue.

To expect RG to start giving more coverage to obscure Japanese games that cost ?100 on ebay is impractical. The core reader of the magazine (and the core gamer in the UK in general) does not and will not dabble in imported software, so a UK retro magazine is obviously going to stick with domestic retro games, as this stance gives the best sales figures. And magazines are a business, remember!

Thoughts?

[Strider]

To be fair, there's a big difference between what makes a good Retro mag and what makes a good retro mag financially viable

There's loads of things you could do with something like RG, whether those changes would make it sell though are another thing entirely

[SharkSkin-Man]

I think fanzines are the only way you'd get decent print coverage of Japanese console/arcade gaming now.

[Nakano]

They would probably have to make two different mags to please everyone. One for consoles and one for the computers, but I don't think it'll work financially though.

[muse hunter]

i already mentioned that retro game struck an almost perfect balence between the three main sectors of retro gaming (arcade, home consoles, and home computers). Retro gamer does not do that, i bought the first issue (with a predicatable speccy main article), thought it was decent but too much home computer coverage, thought it might give a home console the limelight the next month, but no, and ever since i stopped buying the mag, when i walk into WHSmiths i make the effort to flick through the latest issue, in hope that there might be something there to make me buy it but nope, every time disappointed at the scraps given to the home console sector, and the mag goes straight back onto the shelves. Duddy, no way does retro gamer give an even balence.

I read Kingston's post on the other thread and he was right, retro gaming should be about celebrating past games, i don't buy retro because i have a hankering for the past i buy it because gameplay was so pure and there are still gems out there for me to discover, its not about niche jap games, it was about great gameplay. Games like puzzle bobble are celebrated by gamers like us and casuals alike, not for nostalgia reasons, but because it is a great game. Retro gamer has forgotten about this when it focuses on the 8 bit computers, regardless what the speccy fanboys might say it is 100% based on nostalgia, who today would want to load up a tape for 5 minutes or even more so they can play games that are almost unplayable? No one want to do that except the obsessive middle aged men wearing huge rose tinted glasses who just can't/won't let go of the past. Retro gamer by pondering to such a demographic are giving retro gaming a bad name, people who flick through mags like retro gamer will believe that that all retro gamers are said demographic and thus retro gaming will never become acceptable to the majority.

[Kaladron]

i already mentioned that retro game struck an almost perfect balence between the three main sectors of retro gaming (arcade, home consoles, and home computers). Retro gamer does not do that, i bought the first issue (with a predicatable speccy main article), thought it was decent but too much home computer coverage, thought it might give a home console the limelight the next month, but no

Well, Issue 20 featured the Neo Geo Pocket Color, the next issue has the SNES (with quite a bit of import coverage/info) and the issue after that has another Japanese console. There'll be plenty of console coverage but, with only one retroinspection per issue it will take time. If you're only interested in one kind of retro then you probably don't want to be buying the mag every month but I recommend that you check each new issue because there will be something you're interested in at some point (if my own plans work out).

[Kaladron]

As for the perfect retro mag - I would paradoxically like to see more reviews of modern games. As someone who prefers the good old days of gaming I'm naturally drawn to new games that retain the simplistic style of old and would love to see retro mags give more space to new 2D fighting games and shmups as well as PC homebrew and and new titles for old machines. I seem to be in the minority here though.

[Duddyroar]

Retro gamer has forgotten about this when it focuses on the 8 bit computers, regardless what the speccy fanboys might say it is 100% based on nostalgia, who today would want to load up a tape for 5 minutes or even more so they can play games that are almost unplayable?

There's been very little Speccy coverage in RG of late, but regardless of that the machine still has some amazing games that are worth discovering today. To say that they are 'unplayable' is harsh - as I mentioned in the previous thread there were plenty of unplayable console titles too.

And it's not all about nostalgia, either. I find the features an enjoyable read because they teach me something new about machines I might not have heard of or played. Plus, the features cover videogames in general, and this should be interesting no matter what your personal preference is.

[JAPJAC]

I`ve not seen this magazine but I remember in England that the main focus of retro gaming seemed to be 8-bit comuter gaming. Of course I grew up on this but today I have no interest in re-living any of it as this time was a frustrating time. Everyone looked to the arcade for gaming pleasure and it was only until the PC Engine that things started to get tasty.

I think these types of magazine focus on 8-bit computer games as opposed to Japanese Neo Classics not through choice but rather lack of knowledge and experience from the journalists. They might be able to list every CodeMasters computer game released but when it comes to NC`s they really haven`t a clue and it shows.

Not to have obscure expensive (not all greats are pricey of course) great games featured because of price is a silly thing to say as I will remember that when I`m looking at car magazines with Lambo`s, Ferrari`s and Porsches splashed all over the cover.

The best fanzine I think was Electric Brain and the best magazine ever was TGM.

[Geoff D]

Not to have obscure expensive (not all greats are pricey of course) great games featured because of price is a silly thing to say as I will remember that when I`m looking at car magazines with Lambo`s, Ferrari`s and Porsches splashed all over the cover.

Sounds like there could be a bit-of-fun feature in there - games that command stacks of cash, & are they worth it? That kind of thing.

[vocoderfreak]

I used to like the family tree in the Retro section of Gamestm. Bring that back! I'm not so keen on the features about fans and their collections. I'd like to see some articles about the evolution of gaming staples - a look at titles that really pushed the boundaries of graphics, sound, gameplay etc.

I think I'd also like to see things about artwork, covers for game boxes, things like that.

One thing that I used to absolutely love in Zzap! was when they would invite a reader along and have one of the members of staff play against them. That was always brilliant fun, but it relied on the fact that you knew about the writers for the magazine - Julian Rignall, Gary Penn etc.

[Sketcz]

I resent your allegation JAPJAC that the freelancers of RG don't know anything about "JNC" as you like to put it. I for one have never owned a home computer, be it 8 or 16 bit, I've always been a Japanese console fan (thought like to dabble in all manner of consoles). And I'm sure other freelancers (such as Mr Day and Mr Anderson) would agree with me.


As for my perfect retro mag? Off the top of my head, something along the lines of GameFan (USA mag, heavy import coverage, kinda like a multi-format cross between EGM and Superplay), except have it only about retro.

I jest of course.

All joking aside, I think RG is the most economically viable long term retro mag you'll find being published in the UK. The only way an English-language console-only (with heavy Japanese emphasis) retro magazine could possibly be viable, is if American publishers decided to enter the market, since America became hooked on consoles from the NES onwards, and a much higher % of people played imports due to it being easier for them (NTSC consoles and all). Plus they had the PCE and NeoGeo released locally, both of which got some heavy coverage in mags at the time.


EDIT:
And purely for the benefit of Muse Hunter so he can sleep easy at night (), there is a nice feature I'm planning, that I think you will really appreciate.

The eyes amigos, keep 'em skinned!

[NeoClaret]

Lots of Snes and Neo Reviews with pics of sluts covered in nothing but old consoles..........yep thats the kind of Retro mag I would subscribe to. One hell of a read when I'm taking a dump