Playstation 2 Magazines

[Xephon]

Talking about this on an online forum is probaly defeating the object, but anyway...

I?ve been a PlayStation2 owner of many years now, having built up a collection of more than eighty games, around a third of which are imports. I own other consoles, but I do play my PlayStation2 games more than others. Do I take my pastime a bit too seriously? Maybe, but I think should be entitled to, after all it?s where most of my hard earned cash goes. So, I enjoy reading about the console and its games, in print and online. This whole preamble brings me to my main point.



Why is it then, that at the age of 35, that I should feel so hugely alienated from many, if not all, of the PlayStation2 magazines on the market? Why do these magazines come across as believing that all PlayStation2 owners are hormonal, sex starved 15 year old boys? Why do these magazines continue to ignore the older PlayStation2 owner, usually more financially capable of buying PlayStation2 games, than your average 15 year old? Why are there no PlayStation2 magazines capable of showing the level of content and intelligence shown by the multi-format magazines, like gamesTM and Edge? Magazines with a more mature outlook are certainly not a new idea, the new 360 magazine from Imagine, overseen by a former gamesTM editor, surely shows that such a market exists, if not for the current generation of consoles, then surely for the next generation. For this infantile attitude perpetuated by the current crop of PlayStation2 magazines cannot, and should not, be carried over to the PlayStation3 magazines. Why? Well, this kind of attitude has consequences, not only for PlayStation 2 magazines, but for all gaming magazines.



Pick up any copy of any of the latest magazines, and you?ll see what I mean ? sex line ads, live sex chat, animated stripping and sex videos delivered to your phone. These ads are not only common in the single format magazines, but have been becoming more and more common in magazines like gamesTM. The reason? The perception is of all gamers as being sex-starved emotionally stunted shut-ins, in need of ?30 Seconds of Oral Relief?. I?d probably be told to have a sense of humour about it, to laugh it off. But surely I should be able to pick up magazines of this calibre without this kind of advertising. Edge can manage without it. OK, so one reason is to bring in money to the company, and these are easy ads to place. But why do the ad departments think it?s OK to place these ads in games magazines in the first place? Because all of us have been tarred with the same brush that all gamers have ? that our pastime is infantile, not to be taken seriously, just a bit of fun at the weekend. So it becomes OK to place these ads (I?ve seen far worse ones than those that end up in gamesTM-hentai anyone?) because of this attitude perpetuated by the people who work at the other magazines. If only it was confined to PlayStation2 magazines, but we?ve all seen the same thing in the Xbox magazines too.



So what can we do? I know many of us here get a lot of our information off the internet anyway, so why care about the print medium? Well, nothing beats the feel of a magazine in your hands, and with a quality magazine it makes all the difference. I?d bet there?s not many of you who would not give up gamesTM to be totally dependant on IGN or GameSpot. So call the ad departments, e-mail them ? do something about it. Let them know you don?t want those ads in your magazines, that subscriptions will be cancelled, copies will not be bought. Enough people do that, and things may begin to change. Maybe.



The real sea change needs to come from the editorial line at the magazines themselves though. Attitudes towards readerships need to change, the realisation that the people with real buying power are often over 25. This affects all magazines and gamers, not just those playing the latest FIFA or Need for Speed. The thought that the PlayStation3 magazines will be inhabited by the emotionally immature journos from the current magazines is a frustrating one. We deserve more. The fact that two mature, well thought out magazines can inhabit the same market should prove there is room for expansion in this area. Remember PSNext? It debuted in 2003, perhaps a bit before it?s time-the PSP hadn?t arrived yet, and the PlayStation 3 was still a whisper. It set out to do all the things we expect of a magazine like Edge with cutting edge (no pun intended) design, and mature discussion. But in a PlayStation2 magazine. It didn?t last very long however. The market wasn?t ready for it. I think it is now it is now.



The next generation of consoles is upon us, and we shall be spending even more of our hard earned cash. So isn?t it time we had mature more mature magazines to reflect the change in the gaming market? Isn?t it time we had magazines that speak to us, instead of bouncing around like hyperactive children demanding our attention? We?ve grown up with gaming, it?s a great shame the magazines haven?t grown up with us.

[eastyy]

Think the problem is

If publishers think of a more mature magazine there not going to think about it the way you and me and many people do

They will take the prince of persia warrior within style route more attitude semi naked women

[Sketcz]

I have always wondered, with the PS1 and PS2 being such big sellers, why have we never had a Playstation magazine of some sort, that was like Superplay? Big on imports and bright fun games? With a passion about the games, rather than treating them as if they were simply some kind of disposable passtime.

For the 32-bit generation I went with multiformat mags like GameFan, that gave some decent import coverage, reviewing the kinds of games I was actually interested in.

You highlight a common (well known?) problem, but well said. The Playstation mags have on average been of a lower quality than other single format mags (N64 mag, Sega Saturn mag, the various DC mags, etc.).

[Distant Cousin]

Why do these magazines come across as believing that all PlayStation2 owners are hormonal, sex starved 15 year old boys?

That's the main reason I don't buy single format magazines, that and the fact that they're unbearably biased.

As a rule of thumb I buy multi-format magazines [am subscribed to Edge-Lite (aka gamesTM)] and it's well written, wonderfully presented and has articles on what I'm interested in. It's also completely unbiased. If only it had an import section...

[nekotcha]

I think that part of the problem is that as a console ages, the demographic naturally shifts to a younger age range, meaning that magazines are more and more likely to target the teenage market. As you point out, magazines like '360' try and take a more mature approach, mainly because the core demographic of 360 owners early in its life cycle will be 20- and 30-somethings. As the console ages, and gets cheaper, this will change and so I think the magazines will naturally cater for that. That said, I think the PS2 mags have always had a slightly more 'laddish' approach than, say, their XBox equivalents, which hasn't helped.

All of which is to say, I absolutely, utterly agree - there isn't a PS2 mag on the market that I can bring myself to read - but I think the problem is here to stay. I just think it's more to do with the demographic they're tring to appeal to rather than any sort of lazy perception of all gamers as being single, desperate losers.

Fully agreed on the Super Play thing, too - while EDGE and GamesTM take quite an import-oriented viewpoint, there's just nothing on the market that has the same blend of lighthearted fun and insane passion for the subject matter. Like I say, I just think the marketing departments at most of the major publishers believe they'll appeal to a larger market if they just put some tits on the front instead. Sigh.

[Xephon]

Thanks for the feedback guys, it's appreciated.

This has been on my mind for a while now, as you can probably tell. Sadly I don't see things changing anytime soon-publishers, like any big business, see what sells, and copy it, until one is undistinguishable from another.

For Future, Edge is a flagship title, a title that they can spend money on, because it makes Future look good. They can afford wraparound covers, not to have ads on the back and inside covers, nor those pron ads that clutter up so many games mags these days-even gamesTM.

What's the solution? I wish there was a simple one. But until the likes of Edge becomes so popular that all the others want their own version, we'll have to content ourselves with what we have. For now anyway...

[Applefiend]

I imagine once the PS3 gets started these mags will cater more to the older crowd, hifi buffs, HDTV owners, Blu Ray fanatics.

They go where ever the money is.

PS2 a is low cost console for the masses now, not the hot rod it was back in 2000. And you know what L7 say about the masses...

[jethro jazz]

id like something more middle ground from a magazine. i dont want a retarded thoughtless pile of drivel like the majority of single format mags but ive recently stopped buying edge after about 4 years because its too damn high brow. sometimes i want something with a little less text, something i can skim, something with a few more pictures. also edge thinks so highly of itself its constantly in danger of collapsing under the weight of its own self importance.

the element that is really missing from both ends of the spectrum is humor. i want something thats genuinely light hearted and funny. edge hasnt made me laugh for years unless its at some uber geeky in joke (which is ok in moderation, but certainly not enough when its all there is). at the other end, i feel that reading any of the single format mags is actually draining my IQ slowly with theyre thoughtless, poorly written text and jokes entirely devoid of humor. games tm is close, but isnt funny enough and doesnt focus on imports at all, which is my other gripe with current mags.

in the end, what i really want is ARCADE back. it was exactl what i wanted from a games mag and the fact it died so young is a tragedy i still feel the need to mourn over.

it does seem that the single format mags are incapable of publishing anything even remotely intelligent though, and contrary to what someone said easrlier, i dont think this is a natural progression as the console cheapens and the audience changes. the original playstation mag was far better than the ps2 one in every respect and actually got better right up to the ps2's launch. n64 has also become massively ****e since it became cube, so it seems to be a problem this generation. in fact, i even remember enjoying the official nintendo mag sometimes in the run up to the 64 and just after its launch, though i picked up the mario lart ds issue a few weems back and its gotten decidedly less ****e than is was for most of this generation.

whats that mature 360 mag called btw? is it good? biased?