- by Arthur "Arturis" Orneck
- Posted on November 30, 2011 @ 12:30 PST
Its a sad day for the gaming industry as IDG Entertainment announced today that it would be closing down its US based GamePro Magazine distribution, along with its online presence, GamePro.com. The site will be taken offline at noon on December 5th, and the existing GamePro staff and branding will be relocated to a sub-channel of PCWorld.com.
As a former employee of GamePro, I am saddened by this news, but I can't say that I am fully surprised. The market for Video Game News is incredibly "instant gratification" oriented, which makes it difficult for a print publication to stay current and fresh when it doesn't hit the news stands for almost a full month after the information is available on the internet.
To put things in context, GamePro Magazine began its publishing run 22 years ago, in 1989, which makes it older than one of GameGeex's writers. Many gamers of our generation, myself included, grew up with GamePro magazine and it's trademark "ProTips". While working for GamePro, I helped develop various parts of their site, particularly their Forums and Blogs. I also rebuilt and helped spearhead their offshoot BlogFaction blogging network, the spiritual forefather of the Blogomancer blogging network that powers GameGeex.
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:O. To think I read the last issue of GamePro moments ago. The new redirection of random gaming topics and commentary was very amusing.
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I will always have fond memories of Gamepro, mostly of the editorial staff and how welcoming they were to freelancers. I guess this means omgRPG.com will finally be going offline as well. What a shame.
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There are two reasons I stopped reading GamePro (and all gaming magazines for that matter):
1. Ninety-nine of my gaming is on a PS3 and the other 1% is PC. I am not interested in purchasing an XBox or Nintendo device, especially not the latter. As such, I don't want to pay for a magazine that devotes equal time to all platforms. Of course, I understand why they did it but it didn't serve me well and, after all, that's why we pay for magazines.
2. I don't even read PlayStation-centric versions of magazines because I really only play three games: NCAA Football, the Shooter du Jour, and the Platformer du Jour (Ratchet, God of War). That's it. SO, having a magazine tell me about all of these other games will either be useless to me or, worse, frustrating that I can't pull myself away from the games I am enslaved.
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I remember reading Gamepro way back in the day. It was my monthly ritual of sorts, and I'd particularly read the reviews. I guess you could say those early publications are what first got me interested in video game journalism.
And speaking as a journalism major, print media in general is a dying breed. The internet has made things so much easier, including the deliverance of news at a faster rate than print could ever compete with. It's one of the main reasons why EGM decided to convert to an online format after they were initially shut down, rather than stick with a print-based one. It's come to a point where you either need to adapt, or get lost in the dust.
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I already miss them. I remember being 13 and buying a new copy every month at the grocery store. It was great to be able to crack one open and read everything they had to say about all the great upcoming games and my friends and I would obsess for hours over screenshots of upcoming games - Halo 2, I remember distinctly among these. I stopped reading shortly after they discontinued their April Fools' issues, but that doesn't mean I'm not sad to see them go.
Now cracks a noble heart, goodnight sweet prince.
