Topic: Do You Think Gaming Magazines Are Still Relevant?

Not sure if a thread exists for this topic or not, but I wanted to talk about game magazines. I am deeply sorry if one does.
We all have our memories from looking through game magazines such as Nintendo Power and being amazed as a kid, but now Nintendo Power doesn't do much but give news to gamers. The same goes for many gaming magazines, to the point where these magazines have gone out of print and changed format to a website. That brings me to my question, do you like gaming magazines/ think they're relevant? With the Internet as an always updating source of information, it is very rare that you can find a new piece of news in a magazine that couln't have been found on the Internet days ago. I personally love gaming magazines, specifically Nintendo Power, because although they aren't the best source of information, they keep me entertained and the experience is more enjoyable to me. I love coming home to find a new Nintendo Power in my mail, and although many publishers are making interactive magazines online to replace their print ones, physical magazines and information hold a special place in my heart. And they can also be used to distribute physical media such as posters or Kid Icarus Idol cards.
So what do you think? Do the pros outweigh the cons of print gaming magazines or vice versa?
Again, please delete this thread if the same topic exists.

To an extent, yes.

@JuLeDoS considering pikmin 2 new play control got got a release date from nintendo power (which was the first noticeable source before the article on nintendo life (I think though), yes they are

@WaveBoy I have the exact same opinion. While I myself am a Wii baby, I still like looking at the articles, reviews, and pictures. And I completely agree with the cover thing, pretty much everything they pitnon their covers is official artwork, usually box art. That's lazy.

Of course not.
I still like reading Nintendo Power nonetheless.

@Brando67854321 But the thing is, usually a gaming website such as Nintendo Life will see the information from the magazine before it ever reaches your doorstep.

@JuLeDos sorry thanks my bad

My sentiments exactly. Exclusives don't stay exclusive for long, as most websites get the info from those issues really fast. It's basically much faster and easier to get info online. Features and history are all magazines are good for anymore, and if you find a good website, you can have those online, too.

I think they are finding ways to remain relevant, such as exclusive interviews and previews. Still, gaming sites can steal these exclusives and publish parts of them with only a simple citation. Nothing goes as in-depth as a good Nintendo Power magazine, and I enjoy certain writers, so in that specific case, the magazine is still relevant to me.

Yes, but not for news, and longer term even reviews. The game magazines that survive will be the ones providing in depth content that most people wouldn't read on the Web

Print and Web reading habits are different. Games press, on the whole, fails miserably to understand that difference.

My favorite parts of Nintendo Power were always the special interviews, behind the scenes, and fun unique articles. And posters were nice until they decided to use only official artwork and eventually quit.

I grew up with Nintendo Power in fact I was a subscriber from issue one to 150 after that it did seem pointless to pay whatever it was they are charging for a subscription when as you say you can get the info for free from the internet (Yes yes I know that there is a monthly cost for internet at your house but there are places like school or a library where you can use the internet for free) and you can get news and info daily instead of monthly.

Honestly though even if I had the extra dough to spend on a subscription I still wouldnt get NP I have flipped through them at the grocery store and there are just not the same as they were 20 years ago.

But yeah any kinda of magazine or newspaper is kinda pointless nowadays with the internet at least to me anyways.

Not really. Gaming magazines do usually have better features and in depth write ups on new reveals. But for news not really.

Somewhat yes.

I still enjoy NP. It offers another review on top of the ones I get from NL and IGN, so I have more viewpoints to see. There's also no website that can even come close to that "fun" feeling you get when flipping through a magazine.

Yes. I only do Nintendo Power, yet it still has interesting info even after all of these years. They even still do exclusive reveals (Like Cave Story + And the new MSF levels in this month's issue)

I do Nintendo Power and Game Informer, even though Game Informer is as generic as it gets and I'm a Nintendo gamer.

Hmm... yes and no. The internet has, for the most part, left gaming magazines obsolete. Of course, I continued Nintendo Power even when it was mostly obsolete, but I loved the magazine until it switched publishers. At that point, the quality seemed to plummet. Perhaps gaming magazines could still be useful, but they are obsolete for revealing news. Honestly, even before NP switched publishers, I already knew all the news before my magazine came in the mail, even exclusive information. It was uploaded to the internet so fast. But with good writers, a gaming magazine could be worthwhile. I have yet to see that since the fall of NP. Also, NP had a lot of extras. There were free gifts for signing up or renewing subscriptions (some of which were exclusives). There were monthly contests with great prizes (I won two shirts that I still wear). There were even freebies, such as the Super Smash Bros Melee soundtrack. Of course, now there's AR cards, which are alright but not worth subscribing to, as I can just pull up the image on my computer to "scan" them in. As far as I know, these physical prizes are rare now anyways.

I am guilty of a Game Informer subscription, but not because I enjoy the magazine. It is simply a freebie for having a rewards account with GameStop. A freebie that isn't even enough to sway my opinion on being a member.

No, game magazines are no longer relevant... but they could be if they aim to fill a different niche. Great memorable writers could make them worthwhile, especially if they pull the focus away from simply spreading news or reviews. Perhaps more importantly, free items could make the subscription fees worthwhile. I would subscribe if I could glean more from the magazines than day old information.

All you need is nintendolife.com