Video game industry: $100 billion and no mag??

[qbism]

Missing Game Developer... kept thinking somebody would bring it back. Obviously video game creation is inherently digital. Print media is declining. But it's puzzling that this growing and maturing industry is no longer able to support even one paper magazine to read in the loo. Maybe there is some ironic underground retro xeroxed/ stapled mag. Anyone here used to read GD?

[ceriux]

um im not sure if this is what you mean but i get game informer...?

[leileilol]

developer != bullshitter, er informer. I gave up on gaming mags around 2002, and console gaming mags in 1995. What Qbism is asking for is entirely different.

[scar3crow]

I think the profit margin for the Game Developer magazine wasn't broad enough to sustain its production without putting Gamasutra in general at jeopardy. This is partly because much of the magazine content was on the site, and the magazine was filled with so many ads, that it was often worth it to just read the site.

[qbism]

I check out Game Informer online once in awhile. Mainly geared to consumers rather than developers. Some GI writers can put out thoughtful and even critical reviews of the end product, but usually there's no digging into the creation process.

GD was indeed thinning out toward the end. Lots of ads, but maybe not paying much? One of the last issues pointed out that it was hard to tell how many people were actually reading it. On one hand many of the subscriptions were free, so some might be going straight to the recycle bin. On the other hand a single magazine can be shared by many. Authors were disenchanted by lack of feedback from print articles. The disadvantages of print.

Yet flipping pages of a well-curated hardcopy of articles is irreplaceable. Some digital magazines simulate the format with PDF or a viewer that simulates page-flipping, a cheesy sort of porn. The content and format are there but not the touch.

GD also used to distribute the gorgeous "Play!" publication about once a year. This is (was?) a high-grade bound art book featuring commercial artist in gaming and similar industries like product, packaging, and toy design. Play! magically appeared in my mail 2 or 3 times over the years but not recently.

While wondering about this I did a web search and found that Indie Game Magazine has gone back into production, although looks like digital-only. I've never read it but might give it a shot.