Games Mag ABCs

[Sketcz]

I would be interested to know if gamesTM is appealing to the masses that buy games magazines - not just the import/hardcore/retronut otaku that it could be construed as being written for.

And why does it need to pander to anyone but those demographics you just mentioned?
I subscribed because the first issue I read appeared to cater towards said import/hardcore/retro gaming groups.

If it were to suddenly go mainstream, and become more of a gaming lifestyle mag, (read "casual gamer"), you can be sure Id cancel my sub.

I find it sad, that because the obsessive gaming demographic is smaller than the casual gamer demographic, (which is grotesquelly huge), they shouldnt be catered to, or that no section of the gaming market should be dedicated to them.

Thats why I hate casual gamers. Since they are the majority, the market is seemingly ruled by them, and everyone laments:

"Obsessive gamers are too small a minority, we cant make enough profit, better cater to another group."

That is why I wish gaming would go back to being insular, when obsessive gamers were the majority, when we generated profit.

Ill be blunt, there is no mag that I am 100% happy with.
Nothing feels catered precisely to my demographic of gamer anymore.
GamesTM is as close as I can find, especially after Edge decided to collectively take a dump on serious gamers everywhere several issues back (dont even get me started on Poole and Redeyes anti-serious-gamer rants).

Apparently we dont generate enough profit anymore, so we are left by the wayside as the world goes on the hunt once more, for more money.

The last mag I can say I really loved was n64, before that Super play, before that EGM (circa 1990). Oh, and of course theres always Famitsu when I can get it.



GAH! Im now left with a bitter taste in the mouth...


Luckily, the magazine market doesnt appear to totally be run like that, since so far GamesTM still exists, and its still a good read, so far....

Which leads me onto striders point, bought over by highbury you say?

What, if any changes are they bringing about? Or must I actually buy that issue to find out?

Are you allowed to reveal a change in direction of epic proportions?
Rest assured, I along with other readers will be waiting at the sides ready to critique, in case anything goes horribly wrong.

[John Beaulieu]

Casual gamers are what make the industry what we know and love today - to see someone post that they hate casual gamers is a sad state of affairs, and shows someone with the blinkers well and truly in place

for example - Edge is viewed by many as Future Publishing Ltd flagship magazine, and yet who could say we would have Edge (with its 27,000 sales a month) without the likes of Offical PS2 Magazine (188,000 sales a month) helping to increase the Future coffers.

last time i saw any numbers on the demographic make-up of the 'industry', casual gamers made up 95% of the market, and yet I still find that I have more than enough games to play each and every year so i am guessing that the 'market' isn't as geared towards them as some people make up ..... though saying that I won't deny that I deem myself to be casual

camps

[Crispin]

for example - Edge is viewed by many as Future Publishing Ltd flagship magazine, and yet who could say we would have Edge (with its 27,000 sales a month) without the likes of Offical PS2 Magazine (188,000 sales a month) helping to increase the Future coffers.

camps

Ay, I'm a casual gamer too. But whilst I'm happy that magazines such as OXMUK sell in droves, indicating the popularity of games, I can't but wish it was written better. The casual gamers could do with better reviews. And previews. I'm not saying include all the weird EDGE things in them, far from it. But OXM-UK giving ETM a 8.5/10 is just, well, wrong. Slightly better balanced reviews would be welcome, and dropping of the immature fanboy comments. Gamers deserve better than that they are currently getting.

In my opinion.

[Game Boy]

Thats why I hate casual gamers.

Laughable.

[Max M]

Ay, I'm a casual gamer too.

I wouldn't say anyone who posts on forums like these could be classed as a 'casual gamer', I consider that someone who has minimal interest in gaming and isn't likely to care enough to bother with message boards and the like.

And as for magazines, I happen to think the best ones are those that succesfully cater to both crowds, N64 magazine was a good example of this, they used to have plenty of your usual coverage for the casual Nintendo fan (without being overly patronising) but they also used to have tons of import coverage and regurlarly reviewed obscure/niche Japanese games.

Edge seems to be having something of an identity crisis at the moment and doesn't know who it's aiming at.

[Crispin]

Ay, I'm a casual gamer too.

I wouldn't say anyone who posts on forums like these could be classed as a 'casual gamer', I consider that someone who has minimal interest in gaming and isn't likely to care enough to bother with message boards and the like.

But the thing is, I haven't played a proper videogame or purchased one in over a month and the status quo doesn't look like changing for another month. Before Uni I would have classified myself as an avid/keen/serious gamer because I played games on a regular basis.

I have yet to complete a game in 2004. Apart from Colloseum there isn't a game I'm interested in till Full Spectrum Warrior, and only that because I like the premise of using your brain for a change.

I'm certainly not up there with the rest of you. So I think of myself as a casual.

I think I've reached a turning point. I'm now a casual gamer. Doesn't mean I don't know what the hell is going on. Nor does it mean I can't appreciate games, I do. But, meh. I don't really know what I'm saying. I can't articulate it yet.

[Sketcz]

Thats why I hate casual gamers.

Laughable.

This is meant for camps as well.
Laughable because I dont like the fact that one demographic overshadows another?

Sure, there may be games released that serious gamers love, but the bottom line is, and no one can deny this, the fact that casual gamers are the majority, they generate more profit and therefor are catered to more than another group of the market.
Even though there are games that serious gamers love, in general the types of games available have changed due to this shift in market sizes.

I regard that as imbalance.
And that, I dont like.
Its not a blinkered view, its a deceptively simple view.

Is that laughable? I guess it is.
hohoho and an obligatory laughy symbol :