When will we see a monthly retro-gaming magazine?

[16-Bit Guy]

Isn't it about time? Something along the lines of the U.K.'s Retro Gamer Magazine would be great. I've thought about subscribing to that but it's too damn expensive (like $150 per year to import). I think Video Game Collector is the closest thing we have now but there's not a whole lof of content and it's mainly a price guide.

[fennec fox]

We aren't going to see anything as professional as Retro Gamer distributed the way US game magazines are because there's too little advertising revenue.

[cyberfluxor]

We aren't going to see anything as professional as Retro Gamer distributed the way US game magazines are because there's too little advertising revenue.
They could get advertising from the retro game sites to attract more users, online stores, chains that sell older games and even companies that are still releasing compilations on newer systems (ie. Atari, Intellivision, Coleco, Namco, Techmo, ect.). Shoot, even Nintendo could do an advertisement of what VC games are to be released in the comming month.

I personally feel there should be at least one retro gaming magazine, and actually there are several including the one here at DP that's bimonthly. A complete month-by-month magazine would be rough but would have a niche. When I read these old magazines they review some consoles as breakthrus and show us these amazing games that just totally failed and fell under the radar. For a magazine to go back and investigate what went wrong or what's a must buy it would be nifty but it's already over done on websites. Like I said, it'd just be hard to get a good following and make the cash flow.

[maxlords]

There's simply not enough demand to support such a mag. Mags are notoriously unprofitable as it is and to cater to a niche market as fickle as this one....

[Kevincal]

You could always just start collecting vintage game magazines. I love flipping through them. As a matter of fact, I'm auctioning 5 GamePros from 1993... :P

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-GamePro-1993-lot-of-5-issues-Rare-Game-Pro-Look_W0QQitemZ120088835568QQihZ002QQcategoryZ280QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[16-Bit Guy]

I already collect vintage magazines. I just picked up EGM #16 so now all I need are #4,#5,#15. I would edit my post that was moved to the buying/selling forum but I can't access that for 9 more days.

[50s Brawler]

Isn't it about time? Something along the lines of the U.K.'s Retro Gamer Magazine would be great. I've thought about subscribing to that but it's too damn expensive (like $150 per year to import). I think Video Game Collector is the closest thing we have now but there's not a whole lof of content and it's mainly a price guide.

Personally I think Retro Gamer does a darn good job of this and it's worth the $150.00USD a year to subscribe. I just pick them up at Barnes & Noble myself when I can remember to do so. Also I feel that EDGE Magazine from the UK is what "Next Generation" once was in America before it went bust. I also like seeing things from a Brit prespective. However, if you're looking for a magazine coverage of Retro gaming, there are a few fanzines produced quarterly by fans for the fans out there to be had. The one that comes to mind first is The Gamer's Edge, though I can't seem to find them on the web anymore for some odd reason.

Maybe they went kaput, but their articles on the retro scene I always found damn good, and you had the option of printing up the magazine in the PDF format or purchasing pre printed ones. Guy named ShaperMC started the whole project but I haven't spoken with him in ages. I Google "Gamer's Edge" and get some odd photo account that has nothing to do with video games. Anyhow, look around for fanzines, you'll usually get some juicy info that regular publications just wouldn't cover.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w318/50s_Brawler/Bogart.gif

[diskoboy]

I agree. My bedroom is littered with old Electronic Games magazines from the 80's and EGM's from the early 90's. All of which I have read, some for over 2 decades now. And I still enjoy them as if they're new.

I think there is a big enough market. I think if the US can figure out how Europe does it so successfully, it can be pulled off over here.

[YoshiM]

Well there have been some attempts at a classic gaming magazine: Classic Gamer Magazine (http://www.classicgamer.com/) had six print issues followed by two online issues before they stopped due to, if I remember correctly, lack of funds. There was also Manci Games (http://www.mancigames.com/) whose editor posted somewhere on the boards the reason for the mag's ending. There was Syzygy Magazine (http://web.archive.org/web/20001204160900/http://www.syzygy-magazine.com/) (whose site is gone but still available on Archive) which lasted three issues and ended around 2002. I can't really think of any other past "major" attempts in the US other than those. The only "classic" gaming magazine in the states that I'm aware of that's still going is Video Game Collector Magazine (http://www.vgcollector.com/), which is published quarterly, is available at places like Blockbuster Video and is up to issue #7.

Of course, there's always Digital Press (http://www.digitpress.com/products/join_us.htm), which may not be as flashy as an off-the-shelf magazine but it's got great content.

[theshizzle3000]

I figure video game collector will do us just fine I mean we don't want that to have competition and end up losing it as well.

[icbrkr]

Actually, it's $150 for *2* years + 1 (or 13 issues) - the magazine is published bi-monthly. Worth every penny too :)

[Technosis]

Actually, it's $150 for *2* years + 1 (or 13 issues) - the magazine is published bi-monthly. Worth every penny too :)

Here in Canada I can pick it up at a few select Chapters stores for $16.50 Can. an issue (kinda pricey yes!). I have one of the big retro "anthology" special issues that came out as well.....it's packed full of good stuff!

[Blitzwing256]

As much as we love retro-gaming, seriously what could you fill a magazine with that isn't already out there? angry nintendonerdesque reviews? price lists...what? theres just not alot of "new" content that would warrent people paying for it. Any interesting content you'd come up with would already be online, and most if not all people who are retrogamers are already on the internet, it just woudln't work.

[Steven]

As much as we love retro-gaming, seriously what could you fill a magazine with that isn't already out there? angry nintendonerdesque reviews? price lists...what? theres just not alot of "new" content that would warrent people paying for it. Any interesting content you'd come up with would already be online, and most if not all people who are retrogamers are already on the internet, it just woudln't work.


Well, I for one love the feeling of holding a mag in my hands, it's something I can't describe but I know I'm not alone. There's nothing like grabbing a random issue from the glory days and plopping in bed with it for an hour or so on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

As great as some retro sites are, they will never truly duplicate the feeling of holding that mag in your hands.

It'd be fun to see a monthly godly retro mag, and at a decent price, but it probably never will happen. Until then, at least we have many excellent retro sites to enjoy, as well as back issues of the big boys (EGM, GameFan, etc.)

[RPG_Fanatic]

The UK mag Games TM has a retro section and they have a Nintendo only retro mag it's called Retro Revolution their web site is WWW.nrev-mag.co.uk i haven't been to it yet but they have an ad for it on page 55 in issue 52 of Games TM

[Blitzwing256]

Well, I for one love the feeling of holding a mag in my hands, it's something I can't describe but I know I'm not alone. There's nothing like grabbing a random issue from the glory days and plopping in bed with it for an hour or so on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

As great as some retro sites are, they will never truly duplicate the feeling of holding that mag in your hands.

It'd be fun to see a monthly godly retro mag, and at a decent price, but it probably never will happen. Until then, at least we have many excellent retro sites to enjoy, as well as back issues of the big boys (EGM, GameFan, etc.)


Don't get me wrong, I loove looking through my old gaming mag collection (near complete egm gamepro and a complete np set) just to warrent a whole new publication I just don't see what could be done to make it worth paying the newstands price, I can see reviews on new/old releases like begger prince or even the stuff that www.lostlevels.org releases from time to time. (seeing sunman on a magazone cover would be worth it to me) but yeah for it to be a viable product it'd have to do something very diffwernt to make the asking price.

[2Dskillz]

I got a subscription to the DP magazine last May and I have still not seen one issue, And with the price of retro gamer, as much as holding it in your hands would be nice I do not think we will see it.

[Anthony1]

As great as some retro sites are, they will never truly duplicate the feeling of holding that mag in your hands.




Never? Not quite. There is something being worked on by Xerox and other companies called "digital paper". It's a foldable, bendable screen type technology that is a cross breed between some kind of screen and paper. Right now, it's still in the experimental stages, and won't come to the consumer market for another 20 years at least, but eventually it will happen. When it first happens, it might not provide you with the same sensation as holding a real magazine, while snugging in bed, but I'm sure as time goes by they will iron the kinks out, and figure out how to make it have a nice feel in your hands, and not give you eye fatigue, etc, etc. The idea is that you will have a blank magazine or book or newspaper that will be made of this "digital paper", and it will have something along the lines of a USB port on it, and you connect it to your computer and download up to the minute newspapers or books or whatever. Of course, they will have wi-fi versions as well, that will constantly update. Did you see the movie Minority Report? In that movie, there was a scene where Tom Cruise was a on a subway and he was a wanted man at that point, and people on the subway were looking at newspapers and the newspapers were updating while they were sitting there, with moving images, etc, etc. This is going to happen, but yes, it's like 20 to 30 years away from being anything we need to worry about. So for the next 20 to 30 years, tangible magazines still have relevence. But by the time my 6 year old is in his mid 40's, people will wonder why we wasted so much damn paper.

[Mayhem]

Actually, it's $150 for *2* years + 1 (or 13 issues) - the magazine is published bi-monthly. Worth every penny too :)

Actually it's one year. Retro Gamer is now published every 4 weeks (52 / 4 = 13 issues). It has never been bimonthly apart from right at the very start when Live created the magazine. It went monthly shortly after, and Imagine made it 4 weekly when they took over.

Anyone interested in the Veccy should look out for issue #35 coming soon...


As much as we love retro-gaming, seriously what could you fill a magazine with that isn't already out there? angry nintendonerdesque reviews? price lists...what? theres just not alot of "new" content that would warrent people paying for it. Any interesting content you'd come up with would already be online, and most if not all people who are retrogamers are already on the internet, it just woudln't work.

Must work if Imagine are getting good sales from it (by that we're talking somewhere between 10-15k I believe). As a writer for the magazine I know what we have to go through to get a commision. It's all about different angles, and that's where I feel the UK retro magazines have always differed from the US versions. We don't pack our magazines with lots of retro reviews or price lists (well RG does have a buyer's guide I concede). We get out there, find people to interview, write articles about stuff that hasn't done yet, cover machines that are a bit niche, look at company profiles and so on.

But being in the UK, we look to consider everything here, and in Europe and further into the US and occasionally Japan if people can be tracked down. A lot of US publications seem resolutely to stick to US only. Maybe that's the reading populace? I believe here we consider a far wider scope to cover (despite the fact you may think RG harps on the home computer side too much) and it benefits all.

[cyberfluxor]

Never? Not quite. There is something being worked on by Xerox and other companies called "digital paper". It's a foldable, bendable screen type technology that is a cross breed between some kind of screen and paper. Right now, it's still in the experimental stages, and won't come to the consumer market for another 20 years at least, but eventually it will happen. When it first happens, it might not provide you with the same sensation as holding a real magazine, while snugging in bed, but I'm sure as time goes by they will iron the kinks out, and figure out how to make it have a nice feel in your hands, and not give you eye fatigue, etc, etc. The idea is that you will have a blank magazine or book or newspaper that will be made of this "digital paper", and it will have something along the lines of a USB port on it, and you connect it to your computer and download up to the minute newspapers or books or whatever. Of course, they will have wi-fi versions as well, that will constantly update. Did you see the movie Minority Report? In that movie, there was a scene where Tom Cruise was a on a subway and he was a wanted man at that point, and people on the subway were looking at newspapers and the newspapers were updating while they were sitting there, with moving images, etc, etc. This is going to happen, but yes, it's like 20 to 30 years away from being anything we need to worry about. So for the next 20 to 30 years, tangible magazines still have relevence. But by the time my 6 year old is in his mid 40's, people will wonder why we wasted so much damn paper.
Thanks for the heads up on that, however it still just won't beat having the actual magazine. The thing about the collectors in our field is that we just keep everything even when it has no other purpose than to be looked at. There's quite a few people on here who have both digital PDFs and the physical copies of their mags and yet they still read the paper version. Not saying it's not everyones case let alone that more people own the paper just there's always a niche somewhere as long as it's not thrown away.

[icbrkr]

Actually it's one year. Retro Gamer is now published every 4 weeks (52 / 4 = 13 issues). It has never been bimonthly apart from right at the very start when Live created the magazine. It went monthly shortly after, and Imagine made it 4 weekly when they took over.


Actually, that's not entirely true I don't think. I double-checked and you're correct, it's monthly. When the magazine was resurrected around issue 20ish, was it not brought back minus the CD and went to bi-monthly orignally? I could have read it wrong but I'm too lazy to go look for that issue to double check :)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

A monthly print 'zine all about retrogaming simply isn't going to happen. It's been tried. Even with the enthusiasm and love that only fans can work up, it has yet to prove to be financially feasible. It's much more expensive than you might think.

The reason retrogaming lives on the web is simple: you're talking about a demographic that lives to buy stuff at deeply discounted prices, if not trading or bartering for it with absolutely no money involved. It's simply not a demographic that people are lining up to advertise to; the stores and vendors targeting that demographic are already out there on the web or at the various shows, which is about as much outreach as they can afford. Print magazines live and die by ad revenue, not by subscription base.

VGC (which, I believe, is quarterly) and the DP 'zine are about it, so support them - it's the best deal you're probably going to get, and I can personally recommend both of them to you.

[Mayhem]

Actually, that's not entirely true I don't think. I double-checked and you're correct, it's monthly. When the magazine was resurrected around issue 20ish, was it not brought back minus the CD and went to bi-monthly orignally? I could have read it wrong but I'm too lazy to go look for that issue to double check :)

RG started with Live Publishing in January 2004. It was originally going to be quarterly, but the response to the first issue meant that they changed it to bimonthly when issue #2 launched. Continued success and sales meant they switched to monthly at issue #4. There it continued monthly (with a CD covermount) until they went down the pan shortly after issue #18 hit the shelves.

There followed the Retro Survival project headed by Andy F and constructed by me to release the "lost" issue #19 articles. Just as we were about to launch in November 2005, Imagine Publishing announced they'd bought the rights to RG and would be restarting the magazine. The first new issue from Imagine, issue #19 (containing almost completely new material from what would have been in the Live issue #19) launched just before Xmas and has been every 4 weeks ever since, resulting in 13 issues per year.

Nothing like putting the pressure down a little harder on us writers :p

[robotriot]

There's also the German mag Retro (http://www.retromagazin.eu), it's quarterly though I believe. It's a merger of the Go64 and Retro Magazin magazines, and it has some interesting articles in it, a nice modern layout plus a poster. It also regularily features news on current homebrew game projects.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

As much as we love retro-gaming, seriously what could you fill a magazine with that isn't already out there? angry nintendonerdesque reviews? price lists...what? theres just not alot of "new" content that would warrent people paying for it. Any interesting content you'd come up with would already be online, and most if not all people who are retrogamers are already on the internet, it just woudln't work.
First and foremost, I think you could have some very interesting articles. Articles about specific experiences or games or genres or systems or periods in the history of video games. Maybe the raw facts included in those articles would indeed be readily available online, but the value of an article doesn't come from the facts it contains, but the way those facts expressed and in some cases when the writing is good enough even the facts don't matter.

Then reviews, yes you can find reviews for most games online, but you have to seek them out. If you were subscribing to a magazine, the reviews would be delivered to you, so you might find out about a game that you hadn't ever given any thought to are maybe had never even heard of and never would have heard of otherwise. And again, like the articles, the reviews would be about more than just describing what is good and bad about any given game. They would be articles in themselves.

Take a look at some classic issues of VG&CE sometime. VG&CE never relied on breaking news or the hot new thing for their content, it was made up of editorials, in-depth articles, Q&A and all sorts of other great unique stuff. And it was probably the best video game magazine of its time.

Or hell, take a look at Digital Press. I get the feeling that not many people here have ever subscribed to DP. I don't subscribe currently, but I did for a few years when I was in college ("a few years" = 5 issues) and their content was always great.

There'd be no shortage of content. Look how active these forums are.


...word is bondage...

[cyberfluxor]

Never realised it but Hardcore Gamer magazine is free online. LOL I'm so late seeing these things. Never bought one of their magazines before but see them at GameStop and have been tempted to read, espcially last months cover about retro gaming. ;)