Comment on GameStop Shuts Down Game Informer, The Longest-Running Gaming Magazine In The US
millie@beehaw.org 3 months ago2006 is a bit late in the game. Game magazines as a relevant medium peaked in the 90s. By 2006 you have a pretty robust internet, what’s the point? Yeah, sure, if you stick them in every single B&N they’ll sell, but Game Pro and Nintendo Power were institutions in the 90s. If you wanted to know about games, that was the way.
GammaGames@beehaw.org 3 months ago
Fair point! Looks like Nintendo Power had well over a million throughout the 90s and Game Pro sat around half a million. GI didn’t start until 1991 so it would’ve been significantly lower, but it started getting pushed harder by 2000 so it started to grow.
We’ve probably done more research in this thread than the person writing the article lol
millie@beehaw.org 3 months ago
Honestly I mostly just know because I have a big stack of old Game Pros and Nintendo Powers from the 90s and I only ever remember seeing Game Informer in Barnes and Noble once those became a thing.
otherbarry@lemmy.zip 3 months ago
Same here, back in the 90’s had multiple year’s worth of Nintendo Power magazines & later on Game Pro as well. I do remember seeing Game Informer around & sometimes bought those issues but never really got into them. I can’t even think of any friends that had Game Informer magazines back in those days.
TBH I’m kind of surprised at those numbers @GammaGames@beehaw.org posted, maybe Game Informer was a bigger thing outside of the northeast U.S. where I was.
GammaGames@beehaw.org 3 months ago
(According to my hastily-done internet digging)
It was mostly distributed by FuncoLand, and only really started to pick up when they included it in their Fan Club subscription. B&N bought them in 2000 and pushed it hard while expanding stores, eventually they got big enough that they could get exclusive reveals.
So it’s a case of pretty much always being bundled in with another service!