GameStop Shuts Down Game Informer, The Longest-Running Gaming Magazine In The US

erek

erek

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"Game Informer was purchased by GameStop along with its previous owner, gaming retail competitor FuncoLand, in 2000. This essentially gave the publication its own one-magazine newsstand across thousands of stores, with GameStop customers getting a yearly subscription as one of the perks for signing up for the store’s rewards program. In the days before online gaming blogs and YouTube channels were ubiquitous, thumbing through the pages of Game Informer was the main way many players experienced the world of games beyond whatever few they and their friends owned.

In recent years, however, as GameStop has spiraled following the collapse of physical game sales, the massive corporation became an albatross around Game Informer’s neck, weighing it down with clueless middle-managers and contradictory and ever-shifting directives. Despite its meme stock explosion, which has netted it billions in the bank, GameStop has continued cutting jobs across its business, including nearly annual rounds of layoffs at Game Informer.

Longtime editor-in-chief Andy McNamara left to join Electronic Arts in 2020, with departures of other senior staff following amid the ongoing crunch. After dropping physical issues of Game Informer from its rewards program, GameStop finally let the publication start selling directly to subscribers again a couple of months ago. It seemed like a new, more independent beginning of sorts, or at least a prelude to the decades-old legacy outlet finally getting spun-off or sold.

Game Informer’s closure comes as GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen continues shit-posting about the 2024 election. In an email to staff last year, the executive called for “extreme frugality” and criticized “money wasters” who didn’t contribute to the company or its success. He’s currently being sued by the former company behind Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $47 million in insider trading profits.

Update 8/2/2024 12:08 p.m. ET: Added reactions from some current staff."

Source: https://kotaku.com/game-informer-gamestop-meme-stock-gme-last-issue-1851611973
 
It's funny.

I have never read this or any other game publication. Not online or on paper.

Hardware magazines and online publications - absolutely - but never games.

I get my information about games organically.
 
I don’t think it’s particularly anything indicative of the magazine itself, just like I don’t hold a lot of stock in the claims of “XYZ TV show lost XX% of its viewers in the last year” being a significant indication of the TV show (when measured as cable/ota viewers). Things are changing. Mediums are changing. Cash flow is changing.

A magazine still feels nice to look through, but when you have access to free information it’s hard to ignore the free stuff.

I think part of it, is that because information exchange is so easy now, that you have lots and lots of people who are willing to do a small amount of reviews for free in order for views, likes, or just good will. Nobody has to pay them for a full time job, they just make the content for free. Printed media was gate keepers of information, but the limited number of people making the information deserved to be compensated for the their time. Now you can go on YouTube and find 5 random people that decided to make a review for whatever product you are looking for and it doesn’t cost you anything. It’s a different dynamic.
 
I really thought more magazines would be dead by now. I used to enjoy PC Gamer, long ago. I think it's up to $20+ per issue now. Who buys these magazines?

Once in a while, the kids drag me to Barnes & Noble. They still have a magazine section. Seriously, I thought these would be long dead. Maybe they'll mostly die with the end of the Boomers.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
It's funny.

I have never read this or any other game publication. Not online or on paper.

Hardware magazines and online publications - absolutely - but never games.

I get my information about games organically.
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Why is that funny? I never read any publications about lawn care. And thus my level of knowledge on the subject is close to zero.

Unless you are suggesting you are an expert on all things games. Now that would be funny.
 
M76 said:
Unless you are suggesting you are an expert on all things games. Now that would be funny.
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Definitely not an expert on all things gaming, but it has been a big part of my hobby for 40 years.

One would think I might at some point have been interested in a game magazine, but I don't recall ever having that interest.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
It's funny.

I have never read this or any other game publication. Not online or on paper.

Hardware magazines and online publications - absolutely - but never games.

I get my information about games organically.
Click to expand...

I had a sub to PC Gamer for a couple years and the Official Dreamcast magazine. Partially just for the demo discs, because back in the dial up days you couldn't really play demos any other way.

PC Gamer is actually how I learned about Counter-Strike, and they shipped the mod on the demo disk. Which meant you only had to download an update to the mod instead downloading the full mod, which took forever on dial-up.

Once all the free online gaming news websites came up and I had broadband I ditched the magazines.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Definitely not an expert on all things gaming, but it has been a big part of my hobby for 40 years.

One would think I might at some point have been interested in a game magazine, but I don't recall ever having that interest.
Click to expand...
Before the age of mainstream internet printed magazines were the only source for info on upcoming and current games. It was worth buying for the bundled CD full of patches, mods and demos alone in the era of dialup.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
It's funny.

I have never read this or any other game publication. Not online or on paper.

Hardware magazines and online publications - absolutely - but never games.

I get my information about games organically.
Click to expand...
They were a useful tool over 20 years ago. Writing quality declined and information became more readily available online.
 
I have hundreds of old guitar player and video game magazines, which I still dig through and read on occasion. My absolute favorite collection of old magazines, however, is my box full of Omni mags. Nothing makes me feel instantly young again like picking up one of those and reading through it—they remind me of a time when the world still felt full of wonder and possibility.
 
Shit for me it was EGM and EGM2, at some moment I had Tips&Tricks subscription. Then Next Generation magazine they had a great articles on a Nintendo killer. (VM Labs?) 3do M2 and Sega Model 2 that draw me in to them.
 
Axman said:
Video killed the radio star...
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Video was not necessarily better for many type hardware review, but the advantage of a free video format for a video game review versus a paid print seem hard to argues against.

They need to become collectible work of art, which seem to have been the direction they tried to go with:

s-l1600.jpg
 
caddys83 said:
Shit for me it was EGM and EGM2, at some moment I had Tips&Tricks subscription. Then Next Generation magazine they had a great articles on a Nintendo killer. (VM Labs?) 3do M2 and Sega Model 2 that draw me in to them.
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Yeah, this is really depressing. I subscribed to Game Informer back in the day, but my journey started with EGM. I also had a subscription to Nintendo Power for a while, but EGM was the one I stuck with the longest. I remember having a Tips & Tricks subscription for a while too that you've brought it up. This thread is hitting me with some massive nostalgia bombs.

All these game and tech companies shutting down lately makes me sad.

dr-who-sad.gif
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
It's funny.

I have never read this or any other game publication. Not online or on paper.

Hardware magazines and online publications - absolutely - but never games.

I get my information about games organically.
Click to expand...
Back in my Amiga days, I would occasionally buy European Amiga magazines since they came with floppies of games and/or game demos which was pretty cool.
In the late 80's I had a sub to Nintendo Power Magazine.
 
Zepher said:
Back in my Amiga days, I would occasionally buy European Amiga magazines since they came with floppies of games and/or game demos which was pretty cool.
In the late 80's I had a sub to Nintendo Power Magazine.
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I too had a sub to Nintendo power, started with that promo where you got a free cart of dragon warrior (as it did with so many people)
 
I just don't understand how Gamestop is still in buisness itself. There is only one near me though now. Compared to 5 a few years ago. The mall had 3 alone lol.
 
vegeta535 said:
I just don't understand how Gamestop is still in buisness itself. There is only one near me though now. Compared to 5 a few years ago. The mall had 3 alone lol.
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There's no more GameStops in my town. They've abandoned ship.
 
vegeta535 said:
I just don't understand how Gamestop is still in buisness itself. There is only one near me though now. Compared to 5 a few years ago. The mall had 3 alone lol.
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I don’t know either.

lol why would one mall have 3 separate gamestops?
 
Game Informer was the only reason I still had a Gamestop account. Oh well, a few more dollars saved.
 
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