Final EGM issue to be 'printed' on 1UP

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 8th 2009 at 2:14PM }

R.I.P. Electronic Gaming Monthly
1989-2009

EGM's ~~departing~~ final editor-in-chief, James Mielke, has posted the magazine's last cover on his blog, revealing that the issue will be available to read (in hi-res) on 1UP. Protip: You can print it out and put it in your mailbox out of respect for the publication's demise.

Mielke's post goes on to discuss his eight-month stint in the captain's chair -- following the departure of longtime editor Dan Hsu -- and features candid images of the mag's final days. Toward the end of the piece, Mielke claims the EGM circulation was between 550-650K and its death "was simply a matter of UGO wanting a website, not a magazine."

Bonus: Here's an image of nearly every EGM cover, ever! [Via GameCulture]

Tags: 1up, egm, electronic-gaming-monthly, ugo, ziff-davis

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

fwacce @ Jan 8th 2009 2:20PM

Maybe they should put EGM on eBay rather than just dissolving it altogether.

LeadBoxx @ Jan 8th 2009 2:23PM

I will miss ya EGM. I have issues back to 90 in my attic. Thanks to Joystiq again for hooking me up with a free subscription.

McWeen @ Jan 8th 2009 2:25PM

Pour out your 40 for your dead homie.

butaneko @ Jan 8th 2009 2:26PM

I was hoping to transfer my remaining issues into a subscription to Cat Fancy. This online issue better not cut into that.

Gregorius @ Jan 8th 2009 2:29PM

There goes some great bathroom reading material. RIP EGM.

Deeznuts420 @ Jan 8th 2009 3:54PM

hear hear, i have around 20 issues in my bathroom :( R.I.P. E.G.M.

Fernando Rocker @ Jan 8th 2009 2:30PM

Nice cover...

It kinda reminds me an old magazine from the 90's, with a Street Fighter II cover, with all the names of the characters, just like this new cover.

It was one of the first magazines I read, and this one will be one of the last gaming magazines I will read (I have a Phaser 7400, so I will print it).

Professor Lario @ Jan 8th 2009 2:37PM

I assume you mention owning a Phaser because you are going to print us each a copy?

Fernando Rocker @ Jan 8th 2009 2:39PM

(>'.')>

Noshino @ Jan 8th 2009 2:45PM

Yah, read it too.

I got Nando's email, anyone that wants a copy, please send your information and picture to the following email address:

frocker@msn.com

Fernando Rocker @ Jan 8th 2009 2:55PM

My bad... it doesn't have the names of the characters, but I still remember that edition. One of the first magazines I bought.

http://fightingstreet.com/folders/variousinfofolder/shenglong/EGM_Cover.jpg

Crusty Magic @ Jan 8th 2009 3:05PM

@ Noshino

We can actually get a printed copy of this?

DarkTetsuya @ Jan 8th 2009 3:05PM

Now that you mention it, I'm thinking that's what they were going for with this.

;_; I might have to check for it next time I'm at the grocery store...

Wiinterfang @ Jan 8th 2009 3:08PM

You want my credit card number and a stool sample too noshino?

Noshino @ Jan 8th 2009 2:30PM

UGO sounds like a mean spanish dude... :

Dirty @ Jan 8th 2009 2:32PM

Its the end of an era, but I know what really killed EGM..... joystiq.

butaneko @ Jan 8th 2009 2:35PM

There's blood on your hands, Alexander Sliwinski

Chicago Mafia @ Jan 8th 2009 2:35PM

Hahaha. Evil comment. But kinda true. But I did like to have all the pretty video game ads in my hands. I'll miss the mag.

butaneko @ Jan 8th 2009 2:36PM

Bloggio killed the magazine star

Courtney @ Jan 8th 2009 2:44PM

I smell a photoshop opportunity in that comment.

baby sea tuna @ Jan 8th 2009 2:44PM

It's true, once I was able to read Joystiq on the can via my iPhone magazines became irrelevant.

Deeznuts420 @ Jan 8th 2009 5:12PM

theres probably life growing on your iphone tuna

Daniel @ Jan 8th 2009 2:37PM

Dammit, I had 3 months left on that free sub they gave out a while back.

Pay or not, it was a fine mag and will be missed.

Noshino @ Jan 8th 2009 2:40PM

Yah, not only that, the presentation was much better than most other magazines out there...

I preferred EGM so much more over GameInformer ;(

WilliamLove1978 @ Jan 8th 2009 2:38PM

I've been subscribing to this magazine for almost it's entire run. This sucks. Long live EGM. The subpar mag that is Game Informer is going to be the only thing left. The only reason that they even exist is the whole "being owned by Gamestop" and giving away with your "membership" things.

Noshino @ Jan 8th 2009 2:42PM

Yah, they live off exclusives...

Hell, I really think that most of their budget goes on buying exclusives because the design of the magazine is awful when compare to EGM

Adolph @ Jan 8th 2009 2:38PM

Good riddance. That magazine got under my skin. They refused to give Super metroid a perfect score, and they are pussies and couldn't beat F-zero GX and gave it a bad score. Not only that but they over rated Wind Waker and I think gave it perfect 10s.
9.5 or 9's are justified for that game because of the boring aspect of sailing and the tedious triforce hunt.

So I'm glad they are dead. Twas a great rag to wipe my ass with.

butaneko @ Jan 8th 2009 2:43PM

Ha

Well sir, while I may not agree with what you say I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

Mr Khan @ Jan 8th 2009 2:45PM

In their defense, F-Zero GX was pretty damn hard

Ghaleon @ Jan 8th 2009 2:56PM

So you wanted a quality 20-year-old magazine dead because you don't agree with their scores by a degree of .5

fulluphigh @ Jan 8th 2009 3:08PM

Oh, and you're stupid. They didn't give Wind Waker a perfect score for the exact reason's you described.

Epic fail.

D_Average @ Jan 8th 2009 3:36PM

I'm not sure what was more childish, Adolph's comment, or the act of deleting Adolph's comment.

I thought Joystiq was better than VenomFangX....

DangerMouse @ Jan 8th 2009 2:48PM

GamePro Wins

Fatality!!

Mr Khan @ Jan 8th 2009 2:58PM

Which is sad. EGM might've started sliding in its final years, but Game Informer and especially GamePro have been even worse

Oddly it's the European Edge that i respect most of all, nowadays

Captain.Lx @ Jan 8th 2009 2:49PM

I wonder what happens to all the people just signing up for a subscription... I still had 8 months to go?!

Diskoboy7 @ Jan 8th 2009 2:50PM

I still have the first 30 (starting at issue #2) issues in my closet.

SFII kept them alive, during the early years. It's painfully ironic their final issue deals with SFIV.

Cheers. To the second greatest gaming mag, ever printed. (The original Electronic Games, being the first...)

Ghaleon @ Jan 8th 2009 2:58PM

GameFan put them all to shame. It's been a long time since a magazine covered what they thought was good as opposed to what they got paid to hype.

dan @ Jan 8th 2009 3:01PM

I still have Electronic Gaming Monthly issue #1 in my basement, along with hundreds of other issues. The magazine stole my heart and made me a permanent video game. I was a subscriber off and on and even as the magazine morphed. Even as it lost a little bit of its charm (e.g. changes in look, Shoe leaving) and most people I talked to turned to Game Informer, EGM was still tops in my heart. Q-man, April Fools, the thousands of reviews I read. Their issue #150 list of their top 100 games of all time is my favorite article, but it was their discussion-based reviews that really set them apart. I'll never forget the absolutely giddy review of Halo that spanned three pages, or the first time Shoe handed out a 0.0 out of ten (Mortal Kombat Advance) or anything in between.

Here's to, if not the greatest, certainly my all-time favorite video game magazine.

jorojoserojas @ Jan 8th 2009 4:38PM

Don't forget this review:

"It's just another karate game."

SeannyD @ Jan 8th 2009 3:16PM

That link to all the covers is awesome. I'm gonna save it and possibly make it into a poster to hang on my wall. Probably 4 or 5 of the last 6 years I've had a subscription to that magazine and I'm sure as hell gonna miss it.

Looking at all those covers gets me a little choked up about what a huge part EGM had in my gaming life. Haha.

JPN @ Jan 8th 2009 3:17PM

Sooooo...do I get my remaining subscription money back or will they just be keeping that? Yeah, I'm gonna need my money back...

I'm sorry but I think it's a great magazine. It's no National Geographic but it was good reading for its price. They handled the competition of the internet and sites like gamefaqs, etc. taking their piece of the pie well.

mrlogical @ Jan 8th 2009 3:21PM

On Rebel FM, the crew said they were possibly going to be able to get together the cash to print 100 issues of the final mag and would then auction them off for charity. I know I'll be bidding.

shannon @ Jan 8th 2009 3:28PM

i still have the issue that yoshitaka amano illustrated for ff x. i started reading egm when it pretty much started and it's sad to see it go. i wish everyone there the best.

Neuromancer @ Jan 8th 2009 3:30PM

I can only hope that somehow, against all odds, the great Seanbaby will survive the transition and deliver the same witty and urbane humor he is so well known for.

shannon @ Jan 8th 2009 3:33PM

if you didn't already know: www.seanbaby.com

Neuromancer @ Jan 8th 2009 3:36PM

www.sarcasm.com

Neuromancer @ Jan 8th 2009 4:04PM

http://www.homestarrunner.com/404

Derek @ Jan 9th 2009 4:39PM

I still cannot believe that this UNKNOWN ad company "UGO' suddenly buys out 1UP.com and because of their actions now EGM has to die.

I've been an loyal reader since 2003, and now, I'm gonna have a magazine obsession collection stopped because of UGO. FUCKING UGO. I've never heard of the company UGO before.

This is like FORD being bought out by the company "Southwest Tiller Modem Company". (WTF RIGHT???)

I PRAY that UGo continues EGM, by faith and mercy, and continue the magazine somehow. I wont rest for "ONLINE-ONLY" magazines.

THOSE ARE CALLED BLOGS,.