Manci Games Is Back!

[ManciGames]

Well, not in it's old format, but it will be returning. I thought the DP forums would be a great place to announce this, due to our past partnership with Joe and Digital Press. DP really came through for us when we needed a price-guide partner and I'm still sorry that it didn't work out better, though I am happy that we were able to help DP gain valuable experience preparing a guide on a more frequent basis.

The original vision of Manci Games was to bring retro gaming to the masses. After six months of hard work, conventions, a launch party, many conversations, research, and two monthly magazines, we determined that the masses did not want retro gaming brought to them and decided to pull the plug on the monthly magazine.

At the time, Issue #3 was pretty much complete and awaiting printing. We had a great Wizards and Warriors cover story lined up, as well as a bunch of other exciting stuff. It's a shame to have that go by the wayside, so after many emails asking us to do so, we have decided to go ahead and print issue #3 at some point in the future.

So, what will the future of Manci Games be? It will not be a monthly magazine. Heck, there may only be one or two issues per year. The new Manci Games is now a hobbyist project. It will never be on newsstands. It will not be a full-time job for anyone. It will not have a price-guide. It will not attempt to compete with other gaming magazines.

It will contain the same great information that the first two issues contained. It will feature stories that you, the classic gamer, will be interested in. It will be for people like you. Gamers. Collectors. It will be something in print that you can call your own.

That being the case, the mag will have no steadfast deadlines. It will come out when it comes out. There will also not be a subscription option. So, you will have to pay full price for it, instead of the $2.00 per issue that you paid last year. But, it will be worth it. I promise.

The website ( www.mancigames.com ) has been updated to reflect the rebirth. No details are being announced at this time, but I wanted to let you guys know first, since you supported us so well the first time around. I'll write again once we have more details to share.

In the meantime, play games!

[SoulBlazer]

It seems the existance of a certain retro mag in England shows retro magazines CAN be loved by the masses if the right aproach is used.....

Still, congrats on the rebirth! :)

[ManciGames]

It seems the existance of a certain retro mag in England shows retro magazines CAN be loved by the masses if the right aproach is used.....

Still, congrats on the rebirth! :)

Sure they can. And that approach is called "have a big corporation fund you". :)

Anyone know what their readership numbers are anyway?

[Muscelli]

remember me, from phillyclassic last year... i was 14 at the time...pretty tall i got a free issue for filling out a survey.... ok, so u prolly dont..

im interested though, i loved ur mag... is it in PDF format now?[/quote]

[ManciGames]

remember me, from phillyclassic last year... i was 14 at the time...pretty tall i got a free issue for filling out a survey.... ok, so u prolly dont..

im interested though, i loved ur mag... is it in PDF format now?

It is not in PDF format. We were never really interested in publishing an online mag. Classic Gamer was doing a good job at that and there are a few others out there doing the same thing. So, it was print or nothing.

However, there are a few large jpg images over at the website for issues 1 and 2. You can check them out if you like.

[Muscelli]

so will it be on paper?

[Kamino]

so will it be on paper?
paper or plastic, mr mancigames? ;)
ah, i read the first two. not bad at all. though i did get them free. good luck.

[ManciGames]

so will it be on paper?
paper or plastic, mr mancigames? ;)
ah, i read the first two. not bad at all. though i did get them free. good luck.

Heh. It will indeed be on paper. Though the means to pay will probably be via plastic.

[boatofcar]

It seems the existance of a certain retro mag in England shows retro magazines CAN be loved by the masses if the right aproach is used.....

Still, congrats on the rebirth! :)

Sure they can. And that approach is called "have a big corporation fund you". :)

Anyone know what their readership numbers are anyway?

Interesting question. I would assume that readership numbers would have to surpass a certain number (10k? 100k?) for the magazine to be imported to US newsstands...I'm loving my subscription though!

[ManciGames]

Interesting question. I would assume that readership numbers would have to surpass a certain number (10k? 100k?) for the magazine to be imported to US newsstands...I'm loving my subscription though!

I believe they were imported from Issue 1. I know I saw Issue 3 in Barnes and Noble. That's why I'm curious as to the numbers. My gut tells me that they aren't that high, but that Live Publishing (Retro Gamers' parent company) is trying to get a fix on the market now, believing that it will take off in the next few years.

Then again, it could just be huge in England. There's lots of things that take off in Europe that don't translate well over here. Robbie Williams, for example. Or soccer.

[Griking]

Was it ever made public exactly what "Manci"games actually ment? If I remember correctly there was a contest or something about the name but I don't remember if the answer was ever announced.

[ManciGames]

Was it ever made public exactly what "Manci"games actually ment? If I remember correctly there was a contest or something about the name but I don't remember if the answer was ever announced.

Nobody ever guessed correctly...

It's actually the middle of the word eMANCIpation.

The name fell in line with the idea of bringing retro gaming to the masses and making people recognize them as a form of art. Thus "emancipating" their history from the dusty old magazines of the past and pulling them into the present.

It was our perception that classic games and their designers receive less and less respect as they fade into history. So, one of our goals was to force the mainstream to recognize the genius of games and designers gone by.

Lofty dreams...

[mr_nihilism]

Hey, that's great news. I'm looking forward to issue three.

[Ed Oscuro]

It's actually the middle of the word eMANCIpation.
Ahh...I feel like I've finally left the dark ages! Good deal.

[Mayhem]

In England, you can't post ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) figures until you've been out for a year. Now that year has passed, might see what circulation RG has been attaining. But it's purely voluntary, they don't have to publish them now but the figures I believe would be available to search.

[ManciGames]

In England, you can't post ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) figures until you've been out for a year. Now that year has passed, might see what circulation RG has been attaining. But it's purely voluntary, they don't have to publish them now but the figures I believe would be available to search.

I just hope a monthly retro mag can catch on in the U.S. someday. We've got Retro Gamer as an import and VGC as a quarterly. Hopefully, one day, one of the two will be a monthly mag available for a reasonable price in the U.S.

[kainemaxwell]

Congrats on the rebirth man and good luck!

[Half Japanese]

Good luck with the revival!

[Cleatis]

...it will be returning.

Fuckin' A'! 8-)
Thanks, MG. :D

[YoshiM]

For some strange reason the rap song from the Atari 2600 "The Fun is Back" commercial ran through my head when I read this thread's subject.

Good luck!

[Mayhem]

Hopefully, one day, one of the two will be a monthly mag available for a reasonable price in the U.S.

It's only unreasonable for RG at the moment because of the bonkers exchange rate. That's one you CAN blame Bush for now :P

[slip81]

Glad to hear about the rebirth. I will be looking foward to future issues :)

[SoulBlazer]

Well, Mayham, what about my suggestion of making it available online for a flat rate download fee? That way you can make it cheaply available to the rest of the world AND still make money on it, as well as increasing exposure. Just allow the option for anyone outside the UK only.

[8bitnes]

Any preview of issue #3 to be posted soon?

[Mayhem]

Well, Mayham, what about my suggestion of making it available online for a flat rate download fee? That way you can make it cheaply available to the rest of the world AND still make money on it, as well as increasing exposure. Just allow the option for anyone outside the UK only.

The only problem is... what's to stop people spreading it after they've downloaded it?

[Flack]

Well, Mayham, what about my suggestion of making it available online for a flat rate download fee? That way you can make it cheaply available to the rest of the world AND still make money on it, as well as increasing exposure. Just allow the option for anyone outside the UK only.

The only problem is... what's to stop people spreading it after they've downloaded it?

My wife was just telling me earlier about new features of Lotus Notes. One of the things you can do is distribute protected documents ... files that have time limits, prevent you from cut/copy/pasting/printing, etc. You can also set a timelimit, where the file is only good for 1 week or whatever. I thought she said they had the same thing in Adobe, but I'll have to ask her again later. Interesting idea that could be incorporated into something like this.

Anyway ... um, good luck on the whole Manci Games thing. Does printing a one-off magazine incur more costs than having a monthly deal set up?

[ManciGames]

Any preview of issue #3 to be posted soon?

Hadn't considered it, but I don't see why not. It's still a long way off, but I'm sure we could throw something up on the MG site within a month or so...

By the way, thank you to all of you who have wished us well. It means a lot!

[ManciGames]

Anyway ... um, good luck on the whole Manci Games thing. Does printing a one-off magazine incur more costs than having a monthly deal set up?

It all depends. Obviously, you get discounts if your intent is to publish monthly. But, I've made some contacts during the first run of MG that should allow us to print a one-off here and there and still be able to sell it for a reasonable rate.

I think the big thing to keep in mind here is that nobody involved is trying to make a living off of it. It truly is a "love of the game" effort.

[Cleatis]

My wife was just telling me earlier about new features of Lotus Notes. One of the things you can do is distribute protected documents

CTRL+Print Screen
Paste into MS Paint
Convert to a nice and pretty *.JPG, *.Gif...whatever.
Email it to a fellow piece of shit. (not directed at you, dude)

Can Lotus Notes stop THAT from happening? :(

[Flack]

My wife was just telling me earlier about new features of Lotus Notes. One of the things you can do is distribute protected documents

CTRL+Print Screen
Paste into MS Paint
Convert to a nice and pretty *.JPG, *.Gif...whatever.
Email it to a fellow piece of shit. (not directed at you, dude)

Can Lotus Notes stop THAT from happening? :(

I don't know if protected documents in Lotus Notes prevents you from doing a cut/paste or not. Many of the "webzines" I've seen in PDF format take up about 3 screens per "page", which means for a 50 page magazine that's 150 screen shots someone's going to have to take, clean up, etc. Not saying it couldn't be done (re: DVD game rips), but it would probably be more hassle than it was worth at that point.

[DEBRO]

EXCELLENT!! I'm glad to see you're back. Like the others have reported, I enjoyed the 2 issues I have.

[BelPowerslave]

Very nice...I had always wanted to see issue 3... :)

Bel