More trouble at Edge towers...

[Crispin]

well.. my 2p

I love edge... I love the style, I love the art, I love the attitude and I love the humour.

It's the only games mag worth the price and the content is great.. I look forward to it popping through my door every month... it's the stuff you just CAN'T get on the web. GamesTM's features are badly written in comparison.

This months "tales from the ECTS bar" was great... well written and interesting look into the other side of these shows.

Personally, I'd be very sad if Edge became more mainstream, dished out more 9s/10s just to keep people happy. Hopefully, if this is the case, at least the old staff may start up their own competitor...

Hmm, true as it may have been, I did find it depressing. But also very interesting. Perhaps an normal non-tabloid/non-goddamn tabloib posing as middle class crap "expose" would have been better. The gritty style really brought it home.

But that is just my unique chemical concoctionn in my brain. Presumably others are different. I suppose I'm a better, more informed individual for reading it, so overall a thumb up.

As for the staff starting up another mag, interesting. Could be good I suppose.

[Cacophanus]

I thought you had returned from Japan - are you still writing the Japanese column?

I have finished now, but I am still a freelancer for the mag (I think). My point is that I have made an effort and I dislike it when others haven't (and then consequently compensate for it).

I love edge... I love the style, I love the art, I love the attitude and I love the humour.

...what about the actual content though? I have heard this defense of EDGE's nebulous content on numerous occasions, and it always makes me wonder whether the people that defend EDGE on purely aesthetic grounds even play/care about games at all! <sigh>

[Kirby]

What has being based in the UK as a magazine got to do with the price of fish? Do Film fans of a UK magazine only know about Billy Elliott, Nottingham Hill, Full Monty etc. What a silly thing to say.

This is the point you seem to be spectacularly missing: Edge dont just concentrate or write about Western games. Have you even read the magazine recently? As for your film comparison, do Total Film or Hotdog or whoever feature all the new films from Estonia? I cant believe it, what sort of film magazine doesn't have regular features and reviews on the wonderful films from Eastern Europe.

They do review Japanese games, interview Japanese devcos and produce features on Japan. What cant you understand about not being able to feature every single important/rare/cult Japanese release in one magazine? As it stands now there's a fair amount from each continent in every issue. Some more Western, some more Japanese.

The simple fact is you may not like the amount of Japanese coverage in Edge, but it is there. Personally i think they've got a good mix, but then i probably haven't lived in Japan long enough to be truly hardcore. I'm not being funny, but a magazine with the monthly content that some people are suggesting here would be about as interesting as watching paint dry.

**** me, i dont even know why i'm defending them, i dont even like the magazine that much.

[Sketcz]

<hands kirby beer> (>'_')>u

chill kirby, just now you get an embolism.

on a side note, i have Wil overtons personal email, its quite old, but he may still be using it.
does one of the previous posters want me to email him and see if he's still working at RARE?


anyway, i thought this Jez was probably wils brother.
I mean
Jez Overton
Wil Overton

are they related?

oh, and to guy who said I began to sound like edge, consider yourself officially on my blacklist . Myself and EDGE have nothing in common, not even brands of pants.

[insin_]

...what about the actual content though? I have heard this defense of EDGE's nebulous content on numerous occasions, and it always makes me wonder whether the people that defend EDGE on purely aesthetic grounds even play/care about games at all! <sigh>

Welcome to your opinion

[Brats]

I love edge... I love the style, I love the art, I love the attitude and I love the humour.

...what about the actual content though? I have heard this defense of EDGE's nebulous content on numerous occasions, and it always makes me wonder whether the people that defend EDGE on purely aesthetic grounds even play/care about games at all! <sigh>

I like Edge's content very much. I don't always agree with them, but their opinions are often thought provoking and they address issues in their articles that are never adressed anywhere else, either on the web or in print.

Where else do you see such interesting discussion on the creativity behind some of the all time classics? Who else in English print is able to get so close to companies like Sega, Bungie and Tecmo and produce interesting and insightful articles? Who else would print a four page article on the celebration of C64 music or debate whether too many games are released during the fourth quarter? Who else exposes the issues behind PR or publisher/developer relationships?

It's good stuff imo, and you still haven't given an example of Edge's bad content, despite telling us about it for ages and there being no legal argument to stop you from doing so.

[Brats]

anyway, i thought this Jez was probably wils brother.
I mean
Jez Overton
Wil Overton

are they related?

Sadly not, although my old man is called Wil Overton too. He works for the MOD rather than Rare. So whilst one Wil Overton is drawing pictures of guns and missiles and stuff, the other is probably selling the real thing to some dodgy foreign power .

[nips]

anyway, i thought this Jez was probably wils brother.
I mean
Jez Overton
Wil Overton

are they related?

Sadly not, although my old man is called Wil Overton too. He works for the MOD rather than Rare.

What games have MOD made? 8)

[Azelpds]

Regardless what some people may say or not, its interesting and in some extent funny and curious, to see the topic already is 9 pages long. In other words, yes, Edge it's a important magazine in many ways for many people.

Favourable or not so favourable opinions about it, the fact is that Edge makes people "move", there's no mistake about it.

Sorry about this rusty english of mine and for the long text next

About the situation of the mag or the people involved, it's always sad, at least for me, to see a thing like that happening, specially people going away. A similar thing happened to the french mag Joypad recently after being bought by Future Publishing (strange coincidence here i might say...) and i decided to stop buying the mag because i really cared about the people involved there, like a sort of alternative "family" working there for some years. Don't know how that mag is now, but since some people are not there now, i am not either on the other side hehe.

But what diferenciates much Edge from former Joypad was the passion. I agree that Edge was loosing long time ago and in the present the passion for gaming. The reviews sessions was really badly lately, most things that i care a little lately were some of the columns and some features. But like some here already said, the mag was becoming very depressing, like gaming was no fun anymore or the armageddon is upon us or something lol. err, ok

About people complaining starting a mag, of course its not that easy, but feedback, specially if its well argumented and so on its very good to read and make the persons on a mag think about what may be wrong or right on there, specially if the final results are not satisfatory. But Edge was self locking itself too on a corner, and very elitist i might say.

For example, people talked here about google and so on now because of the features there. For me that was not the point i think its bad, its the way how they were written, most times without entusiasm or in a soporific way. Sometimes i really prefer a "lite" version of a feature and one that its enjoyable to read instead of an article written almost for himself.

And yes, publications, journos, mags etc, are human and have to care for planning and thats a valid point, except for what a staff do or not in the space given. Sometimes its really impossible to put everything you want on a mag, but sometimes you have regular sections too, and that ones most of the time the staff is what decides what enters there and how it enters. But of course time its always too a important factor on a mag, specially combined with planning and schedule hehe. That and people being tired and with lots of stress, a thing that happens a lot too. ^_~

Maybe they need to change a little the attitude, not sure, treating the readers like equals, gamers like thenselves (if they are of course) and stop with the nonsense they are above everyone. Do your stuff, but do not treat the readers like "idiots" or that "mainstream people "is purely ****. If you wanna change the mentality and attitude of some gamers to certain games or even gaming, maybe its good to change your attitude too, in a way that makes things appealing to all. I really know lots of people that could be interested in gaming and other things that with other attitude could be more interested in them.

And you know, its not about becoming mainstream or not, its about the passion for it, the way you describe, tell or write about the things to people. And for me, Edge in that regard was really failing many time ago. They didn't made me interested in gaming or, most important, in playing games, and that its not very good. Heck, i am in charge of a retrosection in one of the mags that i work, but that not stops me from drooling on Kotor, Viewtiful Joe and many others and trying to transmit that same drooling and so to the readers in the reviews, etc.

Well, this a little lenghty now and not sure if i am making some sense or not, better stop hehe, but yes, Edge "moves" people and because of that people discuss about it, shows passion about it, and that its good.

[JAPJAC]

To answer a question, I have every single issue up to the latest - 130.

The fact that Edge is not consistant is a sign that so much writing is farmed out.

Another example:

Edge 130
Page74.

"Yakiniku Bugyo Bonfire!

The notion of on-the-fly customer satisfaction hasn't been effectively game-ified since the likes of Tapper 20 years ago"

So Edge, you knew about Ore-no Ryouri all them years ago but didn't have the space (bollox), then you remembered it, now you have forgotten about it. Talking about showing yourself up. Besides the above game isn't even that good, but yes it is quirky and no it ain't no ONR. If they had a proper team and produced a Magazine like most do this wouldn't happen.

Another example:

During my favourite era of Edge they ran a couple of previews for Toaplan Shooting Battle Vol.1-PSone. This was great and I was ****ting myself waiting to order it. The title was released and was forgotten about, they never followed it up with a review so others could enjoy it as I'm sure it would of got a great score for what it is. Why? No space maybe, lol. But they did review Ultimate Tiger previously for the FM Towns Marty, and they still have banged on about it years later without even mentioning the superior perfect ports for the PSone.

Lack of space should never be a real excuse especially for Edge as they waste so much. TGM or ACE never suffered from this, and even the Mean Machines section in C&VG did a blinding job with the limited space they had.

[Brats]

Those are an example of your grevancies with the mag . FFS, Is that IT!

TGM, ACE and C&VG never covered imports to the degree that Edge do. Besides, which magazines in Japan cover non-Japanese released games to the same degree that Edge cover Japanese games?

[JAPJAC]

FFS no it ain't, examples yeah.

[Brats]

Of course I don't mean those are the only two, I mean those are worst examples you can come up with?

[Cacophanus]

...what about the actual content though? I have heard this defense of EDGE's nebulous content on numerous occasions, and it always makes me wonder whether the people that defend EDGE on purely aesthetic grounds even play/care about games at all? <sigh>

Welcome to your opinion

I asked a question, how is that an opinion?

I like Edge's content very much. I don't always agree with them, but their opinions are often thought provoking and they address issues in their articles that are never adressed anywhere else, either on the web or in print.

It isn't so much a case of like or dislike, but more of some or none. I only dislike EDGE because they 1) never inform me of anything I don't know already and 2) often get they coverage wrong anyway. Not to mention, as JAPJAC is very correctly pointing out, that EDGE very rarely give as full a coverage of the worldwide games industry that it claims to (with the latter "claim" bit being a major bugbear).

Where else do you see such interesting discussion on the creativity behind some of the all time classics? Who else in English print is able to get so close to companies like Sega, Bungie and Tecmo and produce interesting and insightful articles? Who else would print a four page article on the celebration of C64 music or debate whether too many games are released during the fourth quarter? Who else exposes the issues behind PR or publisher/developer relationships?

I have always found the analysis in EDGE to be particularly woolly and, consequently, not all that interesting. This is just my opinion however.

It's good stuff imo, and you still haven't given an example of Edge's bad content, despite telling us about it for ages and there being no legal argument to stop you from doing so.

There is a legal argument, but I will have something shortly regardless.

[JAPJAC]

Pre-release of a huge Jap DC game at the time-Daytona USA 2001. The whole country was gagging to find out the most important question-Link-up Cable support? Edge visited the team, they didn't ask, maybe they didn't even think to ask. Regardless the game did not support this feature, the whole World cried and lost a little bit more of respect for Sega. Maybe if they had asked things would of been different. We will never know.

But not to even be seen to ask - 'FFS'.

Sloppy.

Brats-I'll go on all day if you want mate. Edge is a games magazine, these are important games and important questions. Actually Edge isn't a games mag, it's an monthly industry overview filled with boring statistical information, hardware specs with a few token game mentions as a gesture.

And they are so cool aren't they? The trend of mentioning that they have been to Aki once in a blue moon to purchase some tat appears to be back again. I'm well impressed.

Edge 130:

Praising Pepsi Man PSone, which is a great little game for what it is-so bad it's good. What was the Edge score again?

Circa 1994:

"Oh Edge, your boring me. Do you think the the PSX will be able to do a perfect port of Ridge Racer PCB or what!? Do you think the Saturn will be able to do a perfect port of Virtua Fighter or what!?."

The Edge verdict on Ps2 Ridge Racer V? The best new-skool 3D arcade racer in the home ever, could be purchased on Jap import for 65 squid day one, better than Rave Racer coin-op as a single player game-bargain of the century. Laughable.

Edge bores.