Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
And It Begins With a Rant...
So...this is my first blog post. And I figured. What the hell. Why don't I just go off. Call me Old Man McNamara, in honor of Old Man Murray.
Here goes...
I read so many conspiracy theories about Game Informer both online and in letters that it makes my head spin. Some highlights: Game Informer only gives scores because it wants to sell games. Game Informer sold this cover to this company. Game Informer had this ad because they covered this game. I can go on, but there is no reason to, as it all comes back to one thing: the myth that Game Informer is on the take in some way or fashion.
I mentioned this on my twitter and I got back a great response that it’s because a “majority of people are infected with Stupid. It's a disease for which there is no cure and it's spreading fast.”
While I personally find the statement hilarious, at the same time I feel people should question what they read, and where they read it. So while I know there will always be those that hate Game Informer, I can at least make some things clear.
We do not sell covers, review scores, previews, or anything else. Yes, we have a marketing department that sells ads, just like every other media outlet in the world. Marketing has no influence on what we do. They do their job and we do ours. It may surprise some people to learn this, but I don’t even see the ads that go in the magazine until we are in the last week of production – far too late to change something even if I wanted to be on the take.
I don’t put anything on the cover because of any ad buy or other outside influences, though I have been asked if an ad buy would help me make a decision. Whenever this comes up I politely change the subject, as I am only interested in the game and how good we think it will be. Even bringing up such a subject is unacceptable.
Everything we cover is decided by the Game Informer team; we don’t do anything for anyone or any company. It’s all about our integrity and our readers.
I can tell you straight up, the second Game Informer isn’t an independent voice on gaming is the moment I quit. Everyone else that works here is just as passionate about our independence as I am.
Cheers,
Andy
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
