Most respected VG publication?

[tmc]

What videogame magazine could be considered to be the worldwide most respected by the industry and public alike?

Coming from England i'd say that we're often being led to believe that it is EDGE magazine, however, whilst i do think this is probably the case in terms of the magazines i've read i have very little knowledge of international magazines, or indeed what is the thoughts of those inside the industry itself.

Is their an American publication or any other for that reason that could make that claim? (ok so EDGE dosn't make this claim itself but i think it likes to think it is the most respected magazine).

I've recently started to listen to a lot of the 1up podcasts and i'm taken aback by the level of professionalism, maturity and seriousness of the contributors. Maybe it's my own predjudice but i never thought mainstream videogame journalism in America managed to get out on that level or had a market for that sort of tone.

just a few thoughts, any of your own?

[Nebagram]

Much as I like Edge, I've got to believe that up until 2000, CVG was the absolute Big Daddy of videogames mags. Any mag that can run a Street Fighter Alpha 2 moves list... twice... is the proverbial mutt's.

[Poofta!]

im not really sure... id like to believe that EGM is that sort of magazine, but a lot of people (many on these forums as well) believe that the magazine has dropped in quality significantly in the last 10 or so years. personally i like EGM.

i believe GameInformer is probably the last worthwhile magazine in the states.

also to me, PCGamer is the absolute best but its pc only obviously, and i think the quality definately dropped after Rob Smith left (i loved gary whitta too, and of course greg vederman) however i know the UK version is just as great (if not arguably better?)

[16-bit]

What videogame magazine could be considered to be the worldwide most respected by the industry and public alike?

Coming from England i'd say that we're often being led to believe that it is EDGE magazine, however, whilst i do think this is probably the case in terms of the magazines i've read i have very little knowledge of international magazines, or indeed what is the thoughts of those inside the industry itself.

Is their an American publication or any other for that reason that could make that claim? (ok so EDGE dosn't make this claim itself but i think it likes to think it is the most respected magazine).

I've recently started to listen to a lot of the 1up podcasts and i'm taken aback by the level of professionalism, maturity and seriousness of the contributors. Maybe it's my own predjudice but i never thought mainstream videogame journalism in America managed to get out on that level or had a market for that sort of tone.

just a few thoughts, any of your own?

I would agree with your assement. The only magazines I subscribe to are UK based ones: Economist, Elle Decoration UK (my wife), and Retro Gamer (actually I don't subscribe, but I buy every issue).

[MrSparkle]

back in the day i was all about gamepro, nintendo power, and egm these days i dont even bother picking up gaming mags as they really lost some of their magic since the early days.

[Poofta!]

gamepro and nintendo power have got to be the most childish and biased crap out there. especially gamepro, i wouldnt even take a free subscription of it when offered a while back.

[monkeysuit]

Personally I don't even bother with most of the magazines that are available today. I feel that online content has far surpassed anything that you could get out of a magazine these days. When I want reviews, news, previews, etc. I just pull up Joystiq, Kotaku, or 1up.

I really do wish that there was a magazine out there that truly "got it" how the old EGM did.

[diskoboy]

No magazine will EVER be better than the original Electronic Games.

[Push Upstairs]

gamepro and nintendo power have got to be the most childish and biased crap out there. especially gamepro, i wouldnt even take a free subscription of it when offered a while back.

I can't speak for today, but the early 90's Gamepro and their puns....ugh.

[G-Boobie]

I have a soft spot for EGM for sure. I also think that Games For Windows is pretty well done.

Game Informer is shit as far as reviews and 'objective journalism' go, but because they're owned and operated by Gamestop, they have the absolute best previews outside of the internet.

All of course in my opinion.

[Zap!]

back in the day i was all about gamepro, nintendo power, and egm these days i dont even bother picking up gaming mags as they really lost some of their magic since the early days.

If you didn't read Video Games & Computer Entertainment during that time, you missed out.

[fcw3]

I've recently started to listen to a lot of the 1up podcasts and i'm taken aback by the level of professionalism, maturity and seriousness of the contributors.

1UP is EGM.

I've recently dropped my subscription to EGM for just the reasons listed above. And I had been a subscriber since issue #3.

I thought EGM really started its descent when, what was that guys name ?, John Davison ? took over editorial (and I use that term loosely) duties. He and the current staff, seem to think we're are more interested in them than we are about games. The "personality" of the staff really comes through and it seems these people are about 12.

In going for more of an "adult" market, why did they feel the need to act less mature ? The language and comments had me restrict access to the magazine from my video game loving, pre-teen son.

The last straw for me was a picture of one of the staff members with a gun pointed to his head in his little bio section before the reviews. I knew I only had an issue or two left on my subscription and promptly threw away each request to re-subscribe.

I wonder what the original editor (Ed Semrad?) thinks of the current incarnation ?

FRED

[zemmix]

For games I like EGM, GI, games for windows and pc gamer. Thats about it thats out now in the US at least. I used to love Next-Gen. I still have all of my old Next-Gen issues in storage somewhere.

I still like reading the mags because I often find out about games/stuff that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. Like the game Saboteur that Pandemic is working on.

[Icarus Moonsight]

GI I'd say is most improved overall. It's a pretty good mag these days. Actually one of the best... scary.

My favorite of all time was Gamers Republic. I still miss it. *tear*

[Emuaust]

The only mags I read are retro gamer and an Aussie mag Called Hyper, I also buy PC Powerplay another Aussie mag.

Hyper and PC Powerplay are the only mags I read for the simple fact they tend to be the least bias reviewers.

[mailman187666]

I've always bought the Playstation mag and the XBOX mag just to see what was comming soon and for the demo disks inside. I haven't bought either of those mags in a very long time. I don't even know if they have a Playstation mag anymore.

[Nick Goracke]

I wonder what the original editor (Ed Semrad?) thinks of the current incarnation ?

Here's a good quote from a former EGM staffer:

"During the time I worked at EGM, I never saw Ed Semrad pick up a controller, hold a joystick, or play a game. Not once."

http://homepage.mac.com/chris_johnst...604/index.html

I think it's safe to say he couldn't care less what direction it went after he cashed out.

[Fanboy]

While I saw mention of Edge, why is there no love for the award winning Games™? It's my pick for best current games magazine. It is nearly devoid of game advertisements (although they seem to make up the slack with phone sex ads every now and then), so they sidestep the whole advertising content vs. editorial independence morass that seems to tar all North American magazines.

Not afraid to look at the gaming scene in North America and Japan, interviews with people within the industry and multi-page looks at some of the issues within the industry, it's the clearest successor to Next Generation that I've found. And, yes, I know that NextGen was the NA version of Edge, I just find Games™ more NextGen-like than Edge.

In the past, Next Generation (obviously) and Electronic Games (the second incarnation) would be my favourites to look back upon.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

One magazine that I used to read and enjoy, while not entirely a gaming magazine, was PC Accelerator. That was one magazine that was not afraid to call a turd a turd. Unlike some magazines that have their token "bad" game each month. With them it was like, "we review whatever we get, good or bad." The complaint that some people had about the magazine was about their more "adult" content. In response to that, they ran an article comparing themselves to some "women's" magazines as far as the number of "butt", "cleavage", and "nipple" pictures. They came in last behind Cosmo, Vogue, and some other "women's" magazines.

JY

[tmc]

Just remembered Uk magazine 'ARCADE'anyone remember that one. It finished a few years ago now but it was a great publication.