XBN and GMR folding

[Gamereviewgod]

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/572/572992p1.html

[RCM]

I've met quite a few ZD staff. They all seemed to be very nice. Too bad for them. Too bad for us those magazines were around. Trash I say!

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[postulio]

i loved GMR, one of my fav mags, that sucks.


well at least we still have Game Informer and EGM.

[Blackjax]

Damnit! I liked GMR...

I suppose I overlooked its flaws due to the cheap price, much like with Game Informer :)

[tholly]

obviously biased, but expected....(the title gives it away) XBN had a lot of info in it and was pretty informative

too bad for them

[Half Japanese]

GMR's no big loss in my eyes, but I'll miss XBN. It's a shame that one's closing down too, it just happened so randomly. I really like Evan Shamoon's contributions to the Official Dreamcast Magazine a few years ago and it seemed to have folded the same way, just out of the blue (last issue shipped without a demo, they tried to cover for this fact by saying 'Sega's looking for new ways to distribute demos'). It's a shame. I hadn't familiarized myself with most of the staff there, admittedly, but I've enjoyed Shamoon and Che Chou's contributions in their work over the years.

And now it must be said: How the living fuck is GamePRO still in business?

[Rogmeister]

I also liked GMR. I liked the look of the magazine and some of its features. XBN was okay...I got it because I found a free subscription to it...not my favorite magazine but I hate to see anyone lose a job. It especially sucks around Christmastime and that's usually when this kind of thing happens so the companies don't have to pay salaries into next year.

[Gamereviewgod]

You guys want irony? This morning, I got my monthy issue of XBN. Inside it said I had to renew. I log onto to one of my cheap magazine sites and re-subscribe. Tonight, I find this. Go figure.

[Rogmeister]

I just got XBN as well. One thing I do know...I'm not subscribing to any other magazines. I'll let them run out...I think EGM has the longest to go as I believe I'm paid up there until the summer of 2006...

[swlovinist]

GMR was a good mag, I am going to miss it :( I know that is had shortcomings, but some of the twisted humor in the mag was great! As for XBN, I never subscribed to it, but I always respected some the great articles I found myself reading in some occasional mags I bought. It certainly was better than that POS offical Xbox magazine that comes out each month. uhh

[buttasuperb]

I've been getting XBN for free for about 6 months and I have no idea why. Oh well.

[norkusa]

I've had a free subscription to XBN for a while now and thought it was a great magazine. People think it's basically a Nintendo Power for Xbox but it really isn't like that. They actually write objective reviews and intelligent articles. Good worldwide coverage too. I'm gonna miss it.

[Lady Jaye]

GMR was okay, but not much more than this. I subscribed during its first year but did not renew.

And now that the news is out, it figures: no one was pushing GMR magazine down my throat yeaterday at EBGames (and I don't remember seeing any issues either).

[qbertandernie]

noticing a trend...did XBN go out of business for giving away too many free subscriptions? or did they give free subscriptions to increase production to try for more ad dollars?

either way it didnt work..

[tholly]

noticing a trend...did XBN go out of business for giving away too many free subscriptions? or did they give free subscriptions to increase production to try for more ad dollars?

either way it didnt work..


yea, my subscription was free

[Vectorman0]

I still miss ODCM and NextGen...

[Ed Oscuro]

I also got my last issue yesterday. Fittingly, Batman's on the cover, and this may well be a Batman game that gets the mood and the experience down pat. Such an occurence might not cause the world to end...was XBN sacrificed in place of this event? I did notice some funny things yesterday, such as an assertion that Sonic (one) won due to style, not gameplay - and they even recommended the GC version of the Sonic Collection over the XBox version! They definitely brought this one on themselves! All joking aside, I love this magazine - I can't seem to bring myself to refer to them in the past tense quite yet - and always will. Print rarely brings this reaction out of me.

There has been a lot of great content in there, and you have, for example, the badass Ask Itagaki! feature (turns out he's a Bush supporter, though...d'oh! Oh well, better than being a US-basher), and so are the Pop Quiz "we name their influences, and they tell us if we're right" articles. This time they've got Kouki Sadamori from Sammy - awesome!

On the light side again, they also have the founders of Bioware on page 62 - Muzyka looks like he's got a red devil chin thanks to the lighting :P

Out of the (admittedly small) selection of current gaming mags I've seen, XBN had the best content and design inside and out. The logo is decievingly simplistic, but the big XBN melting together on the front cover is a bold statement that the staff made good.

It's a great magazine. I'm really gonna miss it :(

XBN > OXM. At least the ones I've seen.

They need to go all-out and do a Your Sinclair-style "ride off into the sunset" issue...except they can't really since the XBox is still a live platform (no pun intended) and everybody's been transferred out already, I assume.

[Ed Oscuro]

noticing a trend...did XBN go out of business for giving away too many free subscriptions?
No, I've never heard of them giving away free subscriptions. I think most of us got ours from a promotion some forums or other had (sign up and run!)

[josekortez]

I knew GMR would fold once they removed "The List." What gaming magazine can be considered complete without a list of the best games available for every system. And when your Retroactive section focuses on common games like Madden and Resident Evil, look out!

[rbudrick]

I never really understood why ZD made a mag to compete with their other mags....they've done this for quite a while though...Anyone remember EGM2/Game ?? (shit, what was it called? Didn't it have 3 names?).

-ROb

[RCM]

I never really understood why ZD made a mag to compete with their other mags....they've done this for quite a while though...Anyone remember EGM2/Game ?? (shit, what was it called? Didn't it have 3 names?).

I'm pretty sure that ZD doesn't make magazines to compete with each other. More like compliment each other. I think there are way too many ZD magazines even with GMR and XBN gone.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[Nez]

Good riddance I really didn't like GMR, there review were off IMO. Plus when there retro section has games that were released only a couple of months ago I cant help but dislike the mag.

[GamecubeFreek]

this sucks, GMR was one of my favorites. Well actually, the first twenty issues or so were awesome, recently it has been lacking...but still. This also sucks because it is lessening the need for videogame journalists, which is not good for those aspiring to be one. Hopefully some of the guys and gals that lose their jobs will start up another mag...hopefully.

[jdc]

I didn't care for either of them myself.

The only magazine that I really do miss is Gamer's Republic. Dave Halverson and gang put out a super high quality mag. I still have every issue.

The only mag that I buy every month is OPM.

[RCM]

The only magazine that I really do miss is Gamer's Republic. Dave Halverson and gang put out a super high quality mag. I still have every issue.

If you like GR you should check out PLAY if you haven't already. I actually like PLAY better than GR. Nothing beats Gamefan though.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[Half Japanese]

Man, Play is by far my favorite mag on the market these days, but I have a lingering feeling that if they don't get their shit together they'll fold at some point too. Maybe it's the Halverson curse. They've been promising new website for several months now, ever since they cut their ties with popcultureshock.com . Still the same ol' filler text taking the place of what should be a haven of the hardcore. Such is the way it goes with smaller print media. I always get more enjoyment reading something produced by a couple of guys instead of a fully-staffed company full of people to do designated this-n-that. Reading Play is like talking games with your buddies; you might not always agree with them, but you know where they're coming from and can respect at least that. Much better than the forced fart jokes a lot of the other swill litters their pages with.

[mr_nihilism]

Good riddance I really didn't like GMR, there review were off IMO.

I acutually consider GMR's reviews to be more accurate than the majority of magazines. They never seemed to overrate any games, unlike the Official Playstation Magazine and Playstation Monthly.

Sad...



How the living fuck is GamePRO still in business?


There's no justice. That piece of shit magazine can only appeal to the ignorant, or children. I suppose it's one and the same.

[IcewynG]

It's a real shame that XBN has folded. I really liked that mag (more than the OXM actually). The formatting and content was great and definitly liked the Ask Itagaki! and the Xpress sections.

The ironic thing is, on the last page, for the preview of the month, you can read : The Xbox is DOOMed (referring to Doom3). Funny thing when that is the mag that is ultimatly folded... :/

[Rogmeister]

Well, an issue of GMR arrived in today's mail...so the staff did get to do one final issue at least and notify everyone that the magazine has indeed ended.

[josekortez]

Did GMR do a final Hot List for their swan song? Either way, I'll wait until my local EB throws it out, and then I'll pick the magazine up.

[SoulBlazer]

I got my Feb 2005 DVR in the mail today also -- so this is the final issue?

[Rogmeister]

No hot list but they do have one interesting feature, "When Monsters Attack: The Top 50 Games of 2005". Interestingly, I don't think I've heard 0f the game they pick at #1, Wanda and the Colussus for the PS2. Then again, there's quite a few games in this list I was not previously aware of.

[josekortez]

Wanda and the Colossus is the pseudo-sequel to Ico, or at least it's made by the same people.