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GMR and XBN magazines are no more
- Thread starter Kumiko Nikaido
- Start date
Bummer.
I did 7 years at EB before taking the plunge into writing. They really were not focused on what they were doing with GMR. Instead it was more of a knee jerk reaction by an incoming management outsider after seeing the competition had their own magazine. Their indecision was pretty clear from the fact that they continued their relationship with Gamespot to source their quasi-editorial content at ebgames.com.
The timing is especially tough, but probably coincides with EB's fiscal calendar which closes at the end of January.
I only got to write a couple of previews for them before the editorial lineup shuffled, but they are good folks. I wish them all the best.
I already missed Next Gen.; now there's another on that list.
I did 7 years at EB before taking the plunge into writing. They really were not focused on what they were doing with GMR. Instead it was more of a knee jerk reaction by an incoming management outsider after seeing the competition had their own magazine. Their indecision was pretty clear from the fact that they continued their relationship with Gamespot to source their quasi-editorial content at ebgames.com.
The timing is especially tough, but probably coincides with EB's fiscal calendar which closes at the end of January.
I only got to write a couple of previews for them before the editorial lineup shuffled, but they are good folks. I wish them all the best.
I already missed Next Gen.; now there's another on that list.
Kobun Heat
Member
me: Any updates?
skip: we're blaming EB for 99%. the other 1% is sean hannity.
skip: we're blaming EB for 99%. the other 1% is sean hannity.
Blazyr said:
Blayzr pretty much has the gist of it. We're actually a very profitable magazine, so this hasn't been a result of poor performance, but more of a business decision resulting from a partner who wasn't really committed to co-publishing a mag. It's a tough decision, but that's how it goes. Still, every one of us on the staff is proud of the magazine we put out every month, and we're glad for all the support we've gotten from everyone for the last two years. You'll no doubt see some of us again in the near future.
In the meanwhile, we're definitely going out with a bang. We have Resident Evil 4 as an exclusive review, and I'm very glad about that. It's such a great game and GMR is the only place in print you'll be able to read the review (for the February issues, everyone else gets to run their opinions in March issues). That said, the whole issue is packed full of cool stuff, and we hope you like it. We think the cover is pretty hot too.
Thanks for everything. We'll see you soon.
~Milkman
Jonnyboy117
Member
Never read a single issue, but good luck to everyone who lost their jobs.
So I get it that folks like XBN, but what other decent general gaming mags are left?
The biggest standout about GMR was how independant they managed to be despite their funding source, at least in my opinion. Big props to all involved for the hard work that must've entailed.
If the industry is still growing, why is print doing so badly? Is the 'net affecting it that much?
The biggest standout about GMR was how independant they managed to be despite their funding source, at least in my opinion. Big props to all involved for the hard work that must've entailed.
If the industry is still growing, why is print doing so badly? Is the 'net affecting it that much?
Gorey said:
Well, like Mielke says, GMR's cancellation wasn't really a cutting-losses thing. I suspect Gamestar's case is more complicated as well.
That said, I gather that ad buys in the enthusiast press are lower than expected all round this fall (print and web). I think what you have there is companies gambling more of their money by trying to reach a mainstream audience.
DFS.
wipeout364
Member
I quite liked GMR. I thought it had a great tone to it. I also liked the cheap subscription price. Reviews were hit or miss but the mag read well. ONce Simon Cox left you knew trouble was brewing.
I have cut back on buying print magazines lately. EGM I used to buy on a regular basis, but its weak content, and poor decision to increase its price to add on a weakass CD pissed me off so I stopped buying it after three years. I am still recieving GMR for the next month. PLAY I have also stopped buying lately. XBN is great as far as writing and content I just wish it was multiformat.
Anyway I am saddened at the passing of GMR, it was one of the best magazines on the stands. It's strange that in this time of expanding game markets the number of print mags is not able to expand.
To all the guys here from GMR thanks for the great articles, reviews, humour, my life in ..., and retroactive. Most of all thanks for a mag that didn't wreak of EB bullshit.
I have cut back on buying print magazines lately. EGM I used to buy on a regular basis, but its weak content, and poor decision to increase its price to add on a weakass CD pissed me off so I stopped buying it after three years. I am still recieving GMR for the next month. PLAY I have also stopped buying lately. XBN is great as far as writing and content I just wish it was multiformat.
Anyway I am saddened at the passing of GMR, it was one of the best magazines on the stands. It's strange that in this time of expanding game markets the number of print mags is not able to expand.
To all the guys here from GMR thanks for the great articles, reviews, humour, my life in ..., and retroactive. Most of all thanks for a mag that didn't wreak of EB bullshit.
Agent Dormer
Dirty Drinking Smoker
john tv said:
Don't tell me something is going to happen to XBN too... that would just suck. :|
Jeez... are ad buys that low? I don't get it? I talked to someone on the PC mag side about this recently and he indicated that ad buys are down because there's a lot more places to advertise now (web, TV, mainstream mags, etc.) but does it really pay these companies to pull their ads from enthusiast publications to the point that the enthusiast pubs die off?
I guess as long as the "Official" mag exists, no one cares too much. *sigh*
I guess as long as the "Official" mag exists, no one cares too much. *sigh*
MightyHedgehog
Member
:-<
Dave Long said:
It's something I wonder about too. Cuz when a publisher buys ads, they're not just buying those pages of out-and-out promotion, they're supporting an independent organ that promotes their games. That was the point we were always trying to get across to people when IGN was in dire straits -- you're not just buying banners, you're buying the continued existence of something that can be an asset to you.
With the Xbox looking to have a pretty empty year in 2005, though, I can see why XBN was looking forward to some hard times. The pool of advertisers to draw from there is pretty limited.
DFS.
Agent Dormer
Dirty Drinking Smoker
Man, this fucking sucks. XBN, you will also be missed.
CrimsonSkies
Member
I didn't think the Xbox fanbase could support two exclusive magazines.
MightyHedgehog
Member
WarPig said:
So, why not jump onto the next-gen wagon as early as possible, then? I mean, if Xenon is hitting at the end of next year, why not just quickly transition the mag into a mixed-format mag as soon as possible? XB2N?
Or did Imagine/Future get some kind of ridiculously tight deal with MS for info/support in the next-gen? I was looking forward to the XBN crew getting the title of Official XBOX 2 Magazine, too.
J. Horwitz
Member
On the bright side, EGM has just added ~150k non-overlapping subscribers for a period of, say, 3 months. So stop all your crying - congratulations are in order for EGM, which has just experienced a huge uptick!
...
Seriously, XBN and GMR were the only remaining reasons to purchase Ziff-Davis publications. My sincere condolences to all affected by today's very foolish decisions; know that they were not ZD's first, or last. You guys are way better than this, and though you will never do it, you should leave as a group and start a competing publication. It has been needed for a long time in this oligarchical and terrible media environment.
...
Seriously, XBN and GMR were the only remaining reasons to purchase Ziff-Davis publications. My sincere condolences to all affected by today's very foolish decisions; know that they were not ZD's first, or last. You guys are way better than this, and though you will never do it, you should leave as a group and start a competing publication. It has been needed for a long time in this oligarchical and terrible media environment.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Good mags never survive. Except for Edge.
I don't know much about US magazines, but in the UK some great magazines have died over the years. DC-UK and the official Dreamcast magazine were both awesome (yep, an official mag was good, believe it), though I can't remember if DC-UK died before the DC or not. I think maybe it did.
Arcade though...that was a great mag. Anyone else remember it? Real quality I thought.
Anyway, sorry to hear about this guys, I never got the chance to read your magazines, but if they were as good as the ones I mentioned then I sympathize.
I don't know much about US magazines, but in the UK some great magazines have died over the years. DC-UK and the official Dreamcast magazine were both awesome (yep, an official mag was good, believe it), though I can't remember if DC-UK died before the DC or not. I think maybe it did.
Arcade though...that was a great mag. Anyone else remember it? Real quality I thought.
Anyway, sorry to hear about this guys, I never got the chance to read your magazines, but if they were as good as the ones I mentioned then I sympathize.
Fucking shit...
Any more info yet? Is this simply a business decision to keep the amount and direction of the mags more focused, or is it because of ad revenue?
If the latter, I'm guessing this won't just be an isolated problem and pretty soon it's gonna start affecting other mags.
Any more info yet? Is this simply a business decision to keep the amount and direction of the mags more focused, or is it because of ad revenue?
If the latter, I'm guessing this won't just be an isolated problem and pretty soon it's gonna start affecting other mags.
spookyfish
Member
Wow. I'm so sorry, guys. Good luck in all your future ventures.
Milkman, don't you dare leave the gaming pubs ....
You guys post and let us know where you are in a while.
Milkman, don't you dare leave the gaming pubs ....
You guys post and let us know where you are in a while.
Mr. Lemming
Member
I like XBN. I just got my new issue in today. The whole "The XBOX is Doomed" promo at the end has a new meaning now.
Korranator
Member
Personally, I think that you were too generious with that score.ferricide said: