Games magazines on the way out?

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 14th April 2008

Could games magazines face extinction? It certainly seems so...

For a long time now PC magazines have been slowly losing readers and, according to 1Up's Simon Cox, the medium may face utter extinction soon.

Speaking to GameSpot about the closure of the American Games for Windows magazine, Cox said that the continued loss of readers and revenue - or "Dollars and eyes as Cox put it - meant that games magazines face an uncertain future.

True, the news isn't all that surprising or shocking - the fact that websites like bit-tech offer the same news on a free and constantly updated basis has destroyed much of the market for commercial, monthly print formats. It is a little shocking though to hear Cox discuss how established magazines like EGM, Nintendo Power and PC Gamer may also face a cull soon.

In fact, Cox's attitude wasn't that the magazines might face extinction, but that it is only a matter of time before the magazines close as there is only so long that they can continue to be supported by subscribers.

One wonders what that will mean for the online games journalists when the print medium suddenly does collapse and the market is flooded with unemployed writers. Do you still read games magazines, or do you rely on bit-tech for all your news? Let us know in the forums.