Not a single topic on GamePro dying? Really?

Kyougu

Caswynben wrote:

I was sad when Game Players died.

Yeah, that was a fantastic magazine. That one and PSM had good mix of humor and news.

DarkPrimus

Lars wrote:

DarkPrimus wrote:

Dirty wrote:

RockinX wrote:

Way to spoil the events of a game, lol.

If you don't want your game spoiled, don't read a guide.

Well actually, the FF7 game guide that goes for ungodly amounts of money is so valued precisely because it is a fully comprehensive guide that manages to also be completely spoiler-free.

Ungodly amounts of money you say? Which guide is this? I have two (one with a black background that came out before the game was released in America, and one with a white background that came out after/during; I considered the black background one to be better despite it's translation not always matching the final release).

Yeah it's the one that actually used a translated beta release. The Versus guide.

DisruptorX2

DarkPrimus wrote:

Yeah it's the one that actually used a translated beta release. The Versus guide.

They probably did that on all games. Their BG II guide has some incorrect graphics.

My friend has a guide for Fallout 2 that also has some incorrect graphics.

Shady3011

darkmayo wrote:

and nothing of value was lost.



Gamepro was always the retarded kid who lived next door to Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Pretty sure that was EGM2.

george-x

I'm honestly all for nostalgia - I really am. I have some very fond memories of GamePro, and the thrill of seeing this:

knowing I would want the game it represented for Xmas. But honestly, if they haven't shifted their resources to a digital-based tablet service by now, they deserve to bite it. Or even an attempt to exclusively ramp up their website and reviews. Shrug.

Xenogears of Bore

Their writing was always below industry standard. If you wanted good multiplatform coverage you had EGM.

It was also famous in the late 90's for being the DBZ mag.

Shady3011

Magic Pink wrote:

Turkey wrote:

I don't get why GamePro didn't establish an online presence. That seemed to work for Cracked...

Becvause their reviews tended to max out at 5 or 6 sentences.

Buy this game! It has guns! I like guns! That's why it's awesome! They should make more games with guns!

george-x

Haha, when I was a kid I didn't know better. Granted that was a long, long time ago in Gamepro's initiation period

Shady3011

Their review icons always reminded me of the Warheads packaging. I don't know why. It probably had to do with the fact that I saw it often as a kid.

Xenogears of Bore

Me too, Shady.

george-x

Holy crap. That could be like a 7.0/5.0.

Shady3011

george-x wrote:

Holy crap. That could be like a 7.0/5.0.

Alright. That made me laugh.

SmokeStacks

CorporateLogo wrote:

Is this the Versus Guide

Because that was excellent, as were the RE2/Nemesis guides

Was that the one that had two writers (one for each set of scenarios) and they both inserted passive-agressive insults toward the other into the text?

Because that guide was incredible.

Avynte

I had eyes for only one magazine as a kid:

Skull2185

I burned the shit out of my mouth by eating a whole bag of black cherry warheads once.

Worth it

Mulletude

I was all about PC Games as a younger man. And PC Gamer was my favorite. That and Computer Gaming World listed just above.

GamePro is from my days as a young boy. Along with Nintendo Power. Haven't touched either in years but it was definitely one of my favorites during the SNES era

george-x

Mulletude wrote:

GamePro is from my days as a young boy. Along with Nintendo Power. Haven't touched either in years but it was definitely one of my favorites during the SNES era

This.

President Rex

I recycled about 93'-'98 about 2 months ago. I hadn't looked at them in years and since the writing wasn't spectacular or the review recommendations necessarily all that helpful I dumped them. The LamePros were pretty great, but I refuse to dig through dozens of magazines to find one treasure trove.

Always liked that Jurassic Park "A game 65 Million Years in the making" ad, though. That is what I remember about GamePro. That and the GameGenie codes.

redfield85

To be honest, whenever we go on trips via plane, I usually pick up the latest GamePRO or EGM. This stinks. I used to read them all the time back in the day.

And that video is great. I remember that TMNT Gameboy game! So good.

Fig-D

Pent wrote:

PCXL was way more of a tragedy, but still it's inevitable for dead tree publications

I loved PC Accelerator.

I subbed to another magazine that had died and they switched my sub over to PCXL not long after their first issue. Then, they died too. And I was switched again to PC Gamer. Then I unsubbed.

Hewn

I adored GamePro as a kid. Adored. My folks were kind enough to keep me subscribed and I fondly remember many of the issues mentioned by TheSonicRetard.

Just seeing these avatars brings me back to a glorious time.



Here's a cover from 1993 that's burned into my memory:

Spoiler:

Now I haven't read the magazine since, oh, 1997? So I have no idea what the state of affairs have been for over a decade, but early GamePro has a special place for me as a gamer.

darklite_x

I've always loved PC Gamer, especially when they used to do those giant 300 page issues for every issue. Then PC Accelerator came out and it was fucking awesome. Then it died, which was sad. I've read or subscribed to just about every video game magazine out there at one point in time. There was also another one I loved that for the life of me I can't remember. It didn't last very long and I can't recall if it was a gaming mag in general or just a pc gaming mag, but I think I first read about Halo in it, when it was being designed to be sort of an MMO type PC game.

LBD_Nytetrayn

Kyougu wrote:

Caswynben wrote:

I was sad when Game Players died.

Yeah, that was a fantastic magazine. That one and PSM had good mix of humor and news.

Game Players was hilarious and snarky before it was the thing to do.

Then everyone started doing it, and so they became ULTRA Game Players, and "grew up." Unfortunately, we already had Next Generation for that.

Then they started letting some of the humor back in, but it just wasn't the same. Then they became Game Buyer or something, and died shortly thereafter.

I miss my old issues...

Speaking of which, the former GP editor, Chris Slate, is now the editor for Nintendo Power. In the most recent issue, he basically denounced his original review for Yoshi's Island, in which he gave it a 7.5.

And I wonder how many other magazines have their own fansites.

Now, imagine this next part to some sort of end-of-movie/series "where are they now?" music:

Former magazine Editor in Chief Chris Slate is now Editor in Chief at Nintendo Power. Bill Donohue, formerly of Game Players, is at PSM. Francesca Reyes, formerly of Game Players, is now Editor in Chief at Official Xbox Magazine, another Future publication. Frank O'Connor, who helmed the later issues of UGP and Game Buyer is now at Microsoft, as director of the Halo franchise. Roger Burchill, formerly of Game Players, is managing editor at PSM. Rick Sanchez, formerly the disc editor for Game Players, is at GameTap.

Madpanda

The first thing I thought about when I heard this was "Didn't they die out years ago?". I had a subscription for a long time as a kid, just looking at the first few volumes covers brings back a nostalgia wave. I usually pickup old strategy guides when I am looking at retro stuff, might have to pick up some old gamepro's also.

george-x

Madpanda wrote:

The first thing I thought about when I heard this was "Didn't they die out years ago?". I had a subscription for a long time as a kid, just looking at the first few volumes covers brings back a nostalgia wave. I usually pickup old strategy guides when I am looking at retro stuff, might have to pick up some old gamepro's also.

Gamepro's what.

Spoiler:

Get it. Grammar joke. Because yours is subpar. Winky face.

Kreutz

I was a Nintendo Power kid but I also bought (had my parents buy) Gamepro when it had a game review I was interested in. I always prefered NP because Gamepro had ads, until I got old enough to realize that NP was one big ad itself.

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

My reaction to this thread title was "wait, gamepro was still alive?"

I never thought it was that remarkable really. I got nintendo power as a kid and later PCGamer, and the writing was better in both. Even after it became obvious to my young self that nintendo power was just shilling for the company (and hilariously, panning non-nintendo titles that turned out to be great), it was more fun to read than gamepro.

Broktune

I always read Gamepro when flying. It seemed to be the only gaming magazine in the airport and I would pick it up. I think gaming magazines, like Game Informer make wonderful toilet reading.

I also cringe when I see the "Who cares" type of post. It paints a small picture of why the game magazines started dying off and it kind of shows that smug entitled attitude that so many have these days. I come from the time when you needed to read these magazines to get the latest news. I remember shitting my pants with excitement when I picked up an early issue of Gamepro to see the first pics of Lakers vs. Celtics on the Genesis. Holy shit, 5 on 5 basketball.....with the real players!! Also, when I saw those red crazy faces for a good review, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the game. So yeah, a nostalgic part of me is sad to see Gamepro gone.

Raiden333

Game Players had the best writing staff of any magazine, ever. Especially the recurring gags. Remember "The Box"?

jothki

LBD_Nytetrayn wrote:

Now, imagine this next part to some sort of end-of-movie/series "where are they now?" music:

Former magazine Editor in Chief Chris Slate is now Editor in Chief at Nintendo Power. Bill Donohue, formerly of Game Players, is at PSM. Francesca Reyes, formerly of Game Players, is now Editor in Chief at Official Xbox Magazine, another Future publication. Frank O'Connor, who helmed the later issues of UGP and Game Buyer is now at Microsoft, as director of the Halo franchise. Roger Burchill, formerly of Game Players, is managing editor at PSM. Rick Sanchez, formerly the disc editor for Game Players, is at GameTap.

I imagine that the reunions are awkward.

DasUberEdward

Gamepro was a pretty big part of my childhood. Having said that I moved on to PSM and then the internet so they haven't been in my life for a very long time.

It is still pretty sad knowing that a staple of my younger years has vanished. I can't be the only kid who ran out to local video rental stores day after day hoping to find a game he read about in a magazine.

TOGSolid

darklite_x wrote:

I've always loved PC Gamer, especially when they used to do those giant 300 page issues for every issue.

I was a huge PC Gamer fan for a long, long time. I stopped reading mostly because I read their Crysis 2 review and spent the whole thing going "...really guys? ... really?" Sucks too cause I had gotten to meet Logan Decker at Pax Prime >.>

LBD_Nytetrayn

Raiden333 wrote:

Game Players had the best writing staff of any magazine, ever. Especially the recurring gags. Remember "The Box"?

I still have my Skullbat for The Cleansing. All hail Gazuga!

...I really need to buy that magazine's run now...

Kobun

Even as a kid, GamePro felt horribly dumbed down. I was thankful to discover VG&CE in '89. Even went back to grab some old Electronic Games, Replay, and other magazines. While the death of print media will be rightly attributed to the Internet, I do think GamePro, EGM, and others struggled to find an audience because they were still being written with children in mind. Even the later, "grown up" editorial changes still was at best aimed at a teenage market, the extent of growing up the magazines allowed themselves to mature. I'd like to think VG&CE could have survived, but unfortunately the change in publisher and/or departure of Andy Eddy (oddly enough) gave way to the magazine divebombing for the kids drawn to GamePro and EGM, where it just could not compete. Of course, that's the market the advertisers were still focused on, so I guess I can't blame any of the magazines for taking that approach.

I was never crazy about how GamePro used its reviews as a tips-and-tricks point, either. Sorry for the hurried scan but look at this: half the review is tips. You're there to sell me on a game, not show me how to beat it before I even have a chance to play the thing. I can agree that it's an end of an era and feelings of nostalgia when looking through any early video game magazine, but I don't think most will remember GamePro for being good, just kinda there. Always there. Which now it isn't, something I and I suspect most would never have known were it not for the Internet telling us so.

Sam

Is Microsoft's Major Nelson the same dude who used to write for Gamepro?

I'm guessing not. But I still remember Gamepro every time I see the dude's name mentioned.

Beltaine

Meh, even in the 6th grade, we called the mag LamePro.

I still remember my friend's Dad asking me if his son would want a game for christamas because it got all "freaked out spiky haired dudes" for a rating in Game Pro.

Dratatoo

I don't see why anyone would, what with the Internet and all.

If well put togher, magazines can point towards games which I didn't know of, because they have to cater to different readerships and cover a broad spectrum of software .

Snarky replies to readers mail

This is something I personally hate as well. Some magazines I know of tried to be "hip". Well this doesn't work if you are insulting your readers IMO.
One positive example from my youth: I remember back in the day (I was really young and uninformed) I send a letter to a Sega magazin, asking some stupid questions. But I got a nice response, to each of my questions in the readers mail section of the next issue without any snarkiness.

My incoherent thoughts of the future of PC / Games Magazines:

Maybe nowadays you might have to reverse the usual distribution tactic. Create a (big) platform and community and then release a magazine. Thats how the german Buffed magazine came to live (its an german mmo newsite - IMO its pretty medicore but they can afford to release a monthly magazine). It seems that nowadays you need to provide a framework other people can latch onto in order to release a successfull magazine.

Another example is the german c't (Computer and Technique) who run a IT news site, but it originally startet as normal multiplatform magazine. In every issue they have a main focus "displayd, hard disks, operating systems". You can get a overview on their site, but in order to get to meat you have to buy the magazine. The articles and reviews though are very well reasearched and written. Usually they contain information you can't simply find in that form in a man page of linux, wikipedia or through a simple google search. They also have digital versions available - for example though the Amazon Kindle shop. I think, even when the physical magazine should bomb in the shops, they could keep it alive through the more cheaper digital distribution channels.

JaysonFour

I still have stacks and stacks of old video game magazines at home. I actually feel better researching for old game strategies in them, rather than the net, mostly because it feels like you're visiting old friends.

Gamepro was okay for what it was, but at the same time, I remember not really trusting thier reviews for the longest time because of the avatar thing- I wasn't going to trust them if they wouldn't put thier own names on the reviews. Not to mention while Nintendo's tip line was simply a long distance call while Gamepro's was a 900 number.

It was a pretty good value for its time, though- but it just got overshadowed by the other magazines. I mean, let's face it, if you could have a subscription to GamePro or Game Players, which one would you choose?

I think I had simultaneous subscriptions to Game Players, EGM, Nintendo Power, Video Games & Computer Entertainment... they all did something well. NP had maps, Game Players had humor, EGM was good reading, and VG & CE was really off-the-wall too.

I have the complete set of Game Players right from when the crazy started to where it ended. They can still make me laugh today- not to mention some of the game ideas were just gold. I remember finding the first Secret Message, myself. The Box, the Cleansing, the Subscriber's Newsletter... really, really good times.

LBD_Nytetrayn

JaysonFour wrote:

I have the complete set of Game Players right from when the crazy started to where it ended. They can still make me laugh today- not to mention some of the game ideas were just gold. I remember finding the first Secret Message, myself. The Box, the Cleansing, the Subscriber's Newsletter... really, really good times.

...so jealous right now...

RoyceSraphim

I dreamed someone tossed an issue of Gamepro on my bed right before 3 frenchmen delivered 4 pizzas to my non-existent balcony. I actually remember gamepro as being one of those things I could not afford and always reaching for it to supplement my none existent gaming budget.