How did Gamepro get this bad?

darkessenz · 03-03-04, 05:22 PM

I just can't stand this magazine at all---I got it for free, but I don't even know if I want it anymore.

The layout is probably the worst of any magazine I have ever read. I could do better using pagemaker and my printer. Whats with the border around EVERY STINKING PAGE?

The reviews, which is what we really read the magazine for, are small and not well written. I read LAMEPRO this month, and it was NOT funny. The features look terrible, and are hardly ever that interesting. Who produces this shit?

The real question is---why do i keep reading it? The answer is because it just happens to end up on my floor, and the covers actually look somewhat nice. I somehow forget how awful the content is, and open it up again with dismay.

Adam Tyner · 03-03-04, 05:43 PM

I said something similar in a previous thread.

Quote:

I have a free subscription and can't force myself to actively read it. I keep the latest issue in my bathroom to stave off boredom, but that's all it's really good for.

I started reading GamePro extremely early on...issue 3? 4? I'd guess this was 1989...I was definitely in sixth grade at the time. I thought it was brilliant, and I actually was a fan of the "Adventures of GamePro" strip. I even bought all three collections of comics, if that's any indication. I remember being incredibly excited about the debut of GamePro's syndicated JD Roth-hosted TV show. It was such an event that I even spent the night at a friend's house in anticipation. We couldn't find it in the TV listings, but GamePro listed a local station as airing it, so we got up unnecessarily early and checked in every half hour to see. (It never did air that morning, either. Even though I liked GamePro as a magazine back then, I never warmed up to the TV incarnation, from co-host Brennan's grating surfer voice to Roth's chroma-keyed shenanigans.)

I'm not 10 anymore, though, and GamePro holds absolutely no appeal to me anymore whatsoever. The writing is skewed fairly young -- I don't know what their target demographic is, but I'd guess somewhere around 12 to 14.

The emphasis appears to be on its reviews, and they certainly take up a hefty portion of the magazine. (Almost as much as the dozens and dozens of pages of advertisements!) They're entirely insubstantial, though -- it's rare for a title to receive more than a half-page write-up. Even "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" couldn't get a full page, at least not for the review. Screenshots, assorted eye candy, "ProTips" along the lines of "press 'Start' to pause the game!", and graphics/audio/etc. summaries eat up much of that space, leaving very little room for the actual review. I was skimming an issue a few months ago and noticed several reviews -- actual reviews, not previews -- that were four sentences in length. Four long sentences, admittedly, but still... Sports and RPGs have their own sections and enjoy more detailed reviews.

It bugs me too that the writers hide behind cartoonish personalities like "Scary Larry", and at least some of the staff writers use multiple psuedonyms. It's like...I dunno, I can't imagine being 25, flipping through an issue of GamePro, and thinking, "Well, the bullfrog with sunglasses rated this game a red smiley face, so I guess I'll shell out fifty bucks." I guess someone likes 'em -- GamePro makes action figures of some of those editors.

Oh, and if you thought "The Adventures of GamePro" was bad, try their current comic strip, "Hidden Characters". Jesus Christ on a cracker.

cheapskate · 03-03-04, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Adam Tyner
I said something similar in a previous thread.

This magazine is awful. Skip the wordy-bits and you may get a few minutes of enjoyment out of the pictures.

Trevor · 03-03-04, 06:27 PM

I actually appeared on that TV show. Well, maybe it was just my name and screenshot. I got a high score on some Genesis game and sent it in. A friend called me like a year later and said she saw me on TV.

The thing is, I've never really been that good at video games, and I'm sure that the only reason they used me was that I was the only person that played that particular Genesis game (Target Earth?) and sent in a picture.

But yes, the magazine is lame. I get it for free, but recently renewed for 4 years for $5 on ebay, but I regret spending that much.

flashburn · 03-03-04, 06:28 PM

They should just change the actual magazine to 'Lamepro' instead of that just being the title of the April Fools section.

dancinns · 03-03-04, 06:51 PM

I use my for bathroom reading material and later on for the guides.

joshd2012 · 03-03-04, 06:53 PM

I said the exact same thing after getting my free subscription. It is a worthless magazine but I read it anyway.

Trigger · 03-03-04, 06:54 PM

I said the same thing as well - sucky magazine. I get it for free too and I don't even want it.

msdmoney · 03-03-04, 07:04 PM

I completely agree, but in addition to being hardly readable I don't find they are very objective in their reviews. I get the impression that they buy into the hype for big games. Also many times there reviews seem like they could have been written by reading the back of the box and reciting the features listed there, without much in depth info on the actual game.

I only get gamepro because its free, but I also get EGM free which I consider much better. I remember back in the day enjoying Next Generation magazine much more than gamepro, even at a younger age. I've heard there is a magazine that is a spinoff of NextGen or has the same writers/editor or something like that.

Lethal Nemesis · 03-03-04, 07:06 PM

Same here. I get it free, but I don't want it either. I probably flip through the pages a couple times and put it away for good.

jeffdsmith · 03-03-04, 07:07 PM

I miss the days of the original Next generation magazines. Unless nostaliga has got ahold of me, those magazine were awesome.

KissyFurNYC · 03-03-04, 07:15 PM

Does anyone remember Game Players and Video Games and Computer Entertainment. Both were horribly laid out. VG&CE edited under Andy Eddy, who I think runs GamePro now just is/was a horror. The most BORING lakcluster editorial style. GamePros current problem is that it is schizo: it's caught in the middle of market Maturation, where now the fans skew much older and they still to the frown face/ happy face reviews for GTA..which if they market towards kids...WHY BOTHER REVIEWING IT?!?!?!?! Pure shite!
I loved the car wreck of a mag called DieHard GameFan. The writers (nick rox!!) were on crack, but it was very pretty and full of picks and imports. THAT mag started from ads in EGM back in the day. EGM got better when Ziff Davis took them over. They are obviously try to expand the audience for gaming: their magazine is getting slicker and slicker, moving towards an Entertainment Weekly style layout. The one I looked forward to was Next Generation. But they got crappy toward the end too. Alot of their future-of-gaming predicitions were way off, but it was nice to read something written for adults. Polygon, a new monthly is a Next Gen wannabe, but the content is not great. It had potential.

smirnoffski · 03-03-04, 07:34 PM

Ya, I agree all the mainstream gaming magazines have taken a serious plunge. I also get Gamepro for free, I glance at the screenshots of the games and toss it away.

At least with EGM, I spend some time reading but that one too is going down hill.

The only reliable gaming source is IGN and then Gamespot for me.

Gideon68 · 03-03-04, 07:57 PM

I thought it was always bad. I subscribed for a year in the '90s and never renewed.

I do have the free sub but don't even read it. I was hoping it had gotten better over the years.

indy2029 · 03-03-04, 09:26 PM

My favorite game magazine was Gamefan. Now that magazine rocked! Too bad there aren't that many hardcore magazines anymore. Next Generation was good too. I read EGM (but that sucks because there are wayyyyyy too many ads and the new review structure sucks) and GMR (a good general game magazine). IGN is my #1 video game source.

Trevor · 03-03-04, 09:32 PM

I say this everytime a magazine discussion pops up, but what I really want are in-depth multipage reviews. The little 1 paragraph reviews some of these mags do are a joke.
I could deal without a lot of the fluff previews, old news, and 'features' and buy a magazine that was just 20 or so in-depth reviews (with multi console comparison) each issue.
Can I please get at least one amen?

funkyryno · 03-03-04, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Trevor

Can I please get at least one amen?

I'll give you an eh ...

The only reason I read game magazines is because I got a bunch of free subscriptions from this site. I'd rather just go to the Internet for my reviews.

CreatureX · 03-04-04, 12:45 AM

Yeah Gamepro sucks. But I guess their subscribers like the magazine since they are still around while so many other magazines have died.

mr.snowmizer · 03-04-04, 12:55 AM

The fake n-gage ad in LamePro this issue, itself, more than justified my annual subscription fee ($0.00, just like the rest of you).

GamePro has always been this bad. But every once in a while, like a broken clock which is right twice a day, the magazine stumbles into publishing something worthwhile (Xbox Doom 3 article and pictures, for instance).

darkessenz · 03-04-04, 01:27 AM

I personally enjoy GameInformer, seems to be a little less fluff.

NExt is also good for a deeper perspective.

Jackskeleton · 03-04-04, 03:21 AM

Amen. it's one of the worse magazines out there. I remember the days when EGM was the size of a phone book because of ad's. It seemed like a worthy five buck cost. Now it also looks like shit. both magazines are a shadow in their former image. they are awful.

Lethal Nemesis · 03-04-04, 04:26 AM

For some reason I liked EGM's old review format better, even though it only contained one screenshot and 3 (used to be 4) reviewers. What I really miss are the old school review crew members, like Shawn (forgot his last name) and Sushi-X. During that era, they were, IMO, the multiplatform gaming magazine to beat. I still think they're overall the best right now, but I think it's true that they are slowly going downhill.

Ergyu · 03-04-04, 04:52 AM

Back when I was a kid I hated Gamepro and I still do. I get it for free, and just like looking at the pictures. EGM was my magazine of choice when I was younger.

Adam Tyner · 03-04-04, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jackskeleton
both magazines are a shadow in their former image.

I disagree. I don't think GamePro is substantially worse than it's ever been -- I think its biggest problem is that it's more or less exactly the same magazine it has been for nearly a decade and a half.

Homer Simpson · 03-04-04, 09:25 AM

I stopped signing up for the free subscriptions a while back, it's not even worth the space in my recycle bin.

03-03-04, 06:27 PM	#4
Trevor DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: somewhere shopping Posts: 21,740	I actually appeared on that TV show. Well, maybe it was just my name and screenshot. I got a high score on some Genesis game and sent it in. A friend called me like a year later and said she saw me on TV. The thing is, I've never really been that good at video games, and I'm sure that the only reason they used me was that I was the only person that played that particular Genesis game (Target Earth?) and sent in a picture. But yes, the magazine is lame. I get it for free, but recently renewed for 4 years for $5 on ebay, but I regret spending that much. __________________ forum helps: search - reviews - Challenge Compendium - DVD "upgrades" missing features from original release - DVDTalk Facebook - OCD/Storage/Organization - BD Digibook Thread - Free Daily Android App - All Gift Card Deals Personal: PMs are the anitchrist, just email me. Holiday'12 - Comedy '12 My Countdown Counting down to: The 2nd Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge The 2nd Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge has started!

03-03-04, 06:28 PM	#5
flashburn DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Deltona, FL Posts: 7,535	They should just change the actual magazine to 'Lamepro' instead of that just being the title of the April Fools section. __________________ Xbox Live Gamertag: FlasHBurN2012 My Ever Growing Blu-ray, HD DVD, and DVD Collection

03-03-04, 06:51 PM	#6
dancinns DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 8,242	I use my for bathroom reading material and later on for the guides. __________________ Facebook \| Twitter XBox Live/PSN Gamertag: dancinns

03-03-04, 06:54 PM	#8
Trigger DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 23,458	I said the same thing as well - sucky magazine. I get it for free too and I don't even want it. __________________ theomnom.com Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence? Sai Baba

03-03-04, 07:04 PM	#9
msdmoney DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,697	I completely agree, but in addition to being hardly readable I don't find they are very objective in their reviews. I get the impression that they buy into the hype for big games. Also many times there reviews seem like they could have been written by reading the back of the box and reciting the features listed there, without much in depth info on the actual game. I only get gamepro because its free, but I also get EGM free which I consider much better. I remember back in the day enjoying Next Generation magazine much more than gamepro, even at a younger age. I've heard there is a magazine that is a spinoff of NextGen or has the same writers/editor or something like that. __________________ DVD Collection (DVD Afficionado) Music (Hip Hop) Collection (Guzzlefish) Video Game Collection (IGN) Book Collection(Mediachest) We must deceive them so as not to hurt them, and in that way, we honor them - Dwight Shrute 360 Gamertag = Mos Mike D

03-03-04, 05:22 PM	#1
darkessenz DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: MI Posts: 1,921	How did Gamepro get this bad? I just can't stand this magazine at all---I got it for free, but I don't even know if I want it anymore. The layout is probably the worst of any magazine I have ever read. I could do better using pagemaker and my printer. Whats with the border around EVERY STINKING PAGE? The reviews, which is what we really read the magazine for, are small and not well written. I read LAMEPRO this month, and it was NOT funny. The features look terrible, and are hardly ever that interesting. Who produces this shit? The real question is---why do i keep reading it? The answer is because it just happens to end up on my floor, and the covers actually look somewhat nice. I somehow forget how awful the content is, and open it up again with dismay.

03-03-04, 06:53 PM	#7
joshd2012 Banned Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Blu-Ray: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Petition Posts: 6,677	I said the exact same thing after getting my free subscription. It is a worthless magazine but I read it anyway.

03-03-04, 07:06 PM	#10
Lethal Nemesis DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: May 2001 Location: California Posts: 7,613	Same here. I get it free, but I don't want it either. I probably flip through the pages a couple times and put it away for good. __________________ how you gon' get fired on your day off?

03-03-04, 07:07 PM	#11
jeffdsmith DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 3,184	I miss the days of the original Next generation magazines. Unless nostaliga has got ahold of me, those magazine were awesome. __________________ Badgers!? Badgers!? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!.

03-03-04, 07:15 PM	#12
KissyFurNYC Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 166	Does anyone remember Game Players and Video Games and Computer Entertainment. Both were horribly laid out. VG&CE edited under Andy Eddy, who I think runs GamePro now just is/was a horror. The most BORING lakcluster editorial style. GamePros current problem is that it is schizo: it's caught in the middle of market Maturation, where now the fans skew much older and they still to the frown face/ happy face reviews for GTA..which if they market towards kids...WHY BOTHER REVIEWING IT?!?!?!?! Pure shite! I loved the car wreck of a mag called DieHard GameFan. The writers (nick rox!!) were on crack, but it was very pretty and full of picks and imports. THAT mag started from ads in EGM back in the day. EGM got better when Ziff Davis took them over. They are obviously try to expand the audience for gaming: their magazine is getting slicker and slicker, moving towards an Entertainment Weekly style layout. The one I looked forward to was Next Generation. But they got crappy toward the end too. Alot of their future-of-gaming predicitions were way off, but it was nice to read something written for adults. Polygon, a new monthly is a Next Gen wannabe, but the content is not great. It had potential.

03-03-04, 07:34 PM	#13
smirnoffski Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: So. CA Posts: 804	Ya, I agree all the mainstream gaming magazines have taken a serious plunge. I also get Gamepro for free, I glance at the screenshots of the games and toss it away. At least with EGM, I spend some time reading but that one too is going down hill. The only reliable gaming source is IGN and then Gamespot for me. __________________ My DVD Collection

03-03-04, 07:57 PM	#14
Gideon68 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 984	I thought it was always bad. I subscribed for a year in the '90s and never renewed. I do have the free sub but don't even read it. I was hoping it had gotten better over the years. __________________ XBox Live Gamertag: BrassyLobster

03-03-04, 09:26 PM	#15
indy2029 Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 231	My favorite game magazine was Gamefan. Now that magazine rocked! Too bad there aren't that many hardcore magazines anymore. Next Generation was good too. I read EGM (but that sucks because there are wayyyyyy too many ads and the new review structure sucks) and GMR (a good general game magazine). IGN is my #1 video game source.

03-03-04, 09:32 PM	#16
Trevor DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: somewhere shopping Posts: 21,740	I say this everytime a magazine discussion pops up, but what I really want are in-depth multipage reviews. The little 1 paragraph reviews some of these mags do are a joke. I could deal without a lot of the fluff previews, old news, and 'features' and buy a magazine that was just 20 or so in-depth reviews (with multi console comparison) each issue. Can I please get at least one amen? __________________ forum helps: search - reviews - Challenge Compendium - DVD "upgrades" missing features from original release - DVDTalk Facebook - OCD/Storage/Organization - BD Digibook Thread - Free Daily Android App - All Gift Card Deals Personal: PMs are the anitchrist, just email me. Holiday'12 - Comedy '12 My Countdown Counting down to: The 2nd Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge The 2nd Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge has started!

03-04-04, 12:45 AM	#18
CreatureX DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Space Junk Galaxy Posts: 2,469	Yeah Gamepro sucks. But I guess their subscribers like the magazine since they are still around while so many other magazines have died.

03-04-04, 12:55 AM	#19
mr.snowmizer Senior Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 825	The fake n-gage ad in LamePro this issue, itself, more than justified my annual subscription fee ($0.00, just like the rest of you). GamePro has always been this bad. But every once in a while, like a broken clock which is right twice a day, the magazine stumbles into publishing something worthwhile (Xbox Doom 3 article and pictures, for instance).

03-04-04, 01:27 AM	#20
darkessenz DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: MI Posts: 1,921	I personally enjoy GameInformer, seems to be a little less fluff. NExt is also good for a deeper perspective. Last edited by darkessenz; 03-04-04 at 02:29 AM.

03-04-04, 03:21 AM	#21
Jackskeleton DVD Talk Godfather Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: City of the lakers.. riots.. and drug dealing cops.. los(t) Angel(e)s. ca. Posts: 52,228	Amen. it's one of the worse magazines out there. I remember the days when EGM was the size of a phone book because of ad's. It seemed like a worthy five buck cost. Now it also looks like shit. both magazines are a shadow in their former image. they are awful. __________________ *OTHER FORUM TEAM 7 leader*I will not say them here nor there. I will not say them anywhere. I will not say those Words you twit. I will not, will not sayI quit! Leaving a dark wet stain where your brain used to be? weird..tv? The bank is worth the risk

03-04-04, 04:26 AM	#22
Lethal Nemesis DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: May 2001 Location: California Posts: 7,613	For some reason I liked EGM's old review format better, even though it only contained one screenshot and 3 (used to be 4) reviewers. What I really miss are the old school review crew members, like Shawn (forgot his last name) and Sushi-X. During that era, they were, IMO, the multiplatform gaming magazine to beat. I still think they're overall the best right now, but I think it's true that they are slowly going downhill. __________________ how you gon' get fired on your day off?

03-04-04, 04:52 AM	#23
Ergyu DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 2,847	Back when I was a kid I hated Gamepro and I still do. I get it for free, and just like looking at the pictures. EGM was my magazine of choice when I was younger. __________________ Let Go.

03-04-04, 09:25 AM	#25
Homer Simpson DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Springfield, USA Posts: 1,181	I stopped signing up for the free subscriptions a while back, it's not even worth the space in my recycle bin.