Why Can't Video Game Magazines Be Like This Anymore?

[Jedi Master Baiter]

So I looked through the first issue of Nintendo Power from Retromags, & I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with how much detail the guides went into in each game:

-a two-page artwork showcasing the abilities of each character in SMB2
-a second quest guide to Legend of Zelda (which I still haven't finished yet!)
-Dragon Quest III article! (Dragon Warrior wasn't even released yet)

-& their responses to letters seem to be friendlier than anything I've seen from EGM

I know this was only a few years into the NES's life & Nintendo was trying to build up a fanbase, but seeing as current magazines have GameFAQs (<-my God, the first time I capitalized that & didn't write 'gamefuqs') & the rest of the internet to contend with, wouldn't it be in their best interest not to disinterest potential customers by posting incoherent, irrelevent jokes & blasting their fan base in their letters section?

By the way, whatever happened to Hsu & Chan?

[klax]

one thing. Nintendo power was owned by nintendo, so they had to be nice. And they had all the insider info. But there still the only magazine today that has a nice letter section!

[FamicomRetroGamer]

I loved magazines back in the 90's and early 2000 but now, now I find no point in buying magazines it's not the same feeling/taste as it was back then, not even the quality's that good.

Now instead of buying magazines with playable demos just download the demos off of the Xbox LIVE Marketplace / PlayStation Store, and for games info use the internet.

I believe it's becoming hard for magazines to make profit but there's still people in the world that buy them, not as many as it was back then but still some.

Back then I'd get excited to buy a magazine and play the demos it had with it, now it's watching Blu-rays or receive Xbox 360 games (more Blu-ray films/series than games).

If Dragon Ball had its own magazines like before, hell yeah I'd buy 'em!

[nensondubois]

Quality in general was better in the 1990's-early200's. Nintendo Power always had several interesting articles and a lot of goofy stuff which is almost entirely gone today. Nintendo Power had to be nice, but they gave subtle hints of bad games like Back to The Future for the NES, and for that, I praised them.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

I still don't see the justification; just because magazines aren't affiliated with anybody means the writers can badmouth the fanbase, or potential customers?

I remember EGM in particular.  I can't cite anything because I'm not at home, but I had a subscription that coincidentally ended before their "hiatus."  And I was always put off by the responses to the letters.

[nensondubois]

If a magazine company would badmouth a game, the game company could sue them... I don't know. I guess that magazine companies were susceptible due to the nature. They also didn't want to hurt the sales of Nintendo by bashing games for it and causing a loss in consumer confidence to some degree; Nintendo Power had reason to did this if that's the case.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

If a magazine company would badmouth a game, the game company could sue them...

What does this have to do with anything? I'm talking about negative responses to fan letters.

And Seanbaby badmouthed (still badmouths?) lots of games, but usually the games are bad.

[nensondubois]

If a magazine company would badmouth a game, the game company could sue them...

What does this have to do with anything? I'm talking about negative responses to fan letters.

And Seanbaby badmouthed (still badmouths?) lots of games, but usually the games are bad.

Maybe it would cut down on sales if they badmouthed people who sent fan letters. I have only one or two of the old Nintenopower magazines and I know the AVGN did a review on them covering fan letters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eegQI9WM6mk

[FamicomRetroGamer]

If a magazine company would badmouth a game, the game company could sue them... I don't know. I guess that magazine companies were susceptible due to the nature. They also didn't want to hurt the sales of Nintendo by bashing games for it and causing a loss in consumer confidence to some degree; Nintendo Power had reason to did this if that's the case.

An MSN employed reviewer gave Gears of War 3 a bad review, he's probably going to be fired (if he isn't already).

Not only he works/worked for MSN but the game was also a Microsoft exclusive, some people like to get their lives screwed up. Neither do I believe the game was as bad as he said, I'd give it a 8/10 blindly.

[UglyJoe]

Pretty much: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/30

[L___E___T]

Pretty much: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/30

To be fair, I know first-hand that 'that' whole affair was not as it went down...  I don't necessarily disagree with the score, but there were other factors at play.

[UglyJoe]

Haha, I was guessing you'd say something like that