Protip: GamePro gives up on print and online

by Christopher Grant on Nov 30th 2011 4:30PM

Gaming magazine icon GamePro announced that the November issue – its first quarterly installment – will be its last, after 20-plus continuous years of publishing. The website will also be closed, effective December 5, IndustryGamers reports. If you're looking for gaming content, expect to be redirected to "the PCWorld GamePro channel on pcworld.com," publisher IDG says. And that means that GamePro's editorial staff is out, while PCWorld's will attempt to make up the slack.

But GamePro isn't going away completely; instead, it's "refocusing its US business exclusively on its growing custom publishing and solutions business." That means custom content, like the E3 show daily, which publisher IDG and GamePro historically produce. But for you, dear reader, GamePro is dead. So we leave you with the above video, of a simpler time, when magazines still ruled and jean jackets were still cool.

RIP GamePro, and good luck (former) GamePro staff.

Source: Industry Gamers

Tags: gamepro, idg, magazine, print

Reader Comments (112)

So who is left? Game Informer, Nintendo Power OXM and OPM. Man so sad. GamePro was one of the first video game magazine i ever read,

@(Unverified)

Game informer always shocks me with their stuff... They get info before the web

@(Unverified) Of the Print Mags i think game informer is the best out there.

@Timjoy

It's because of their massive subscriber base (due primarily to GameStop subs). Such a huge readership means they can guarantee more readers than any other website or mag could hope for. If you're a publisher, it's the smartest way to get your info the maximum attention you want.

@(Unverified)

I respected 'em. They were a nice industry presence.

If any editors or fans are reading this, my heart goes out to you guys. Can't imagine my own personal devastation if Joystiq went out.

@(Unverified) Is @Gamer still running?

@(Unverified)

EGM i thought? Or did they go under again?

@(Unverified) Game informer used to be free quarterly.

@(Unverified)
Don't forget Edge, a.k.a. The Best One. (Also, is EGM still around or did that shutter again?)

Was John Davidson still Editior in Chief there when they closed?

@lonecow No, he moved on a while ago.

@lonecow

Damn shame, too. I subscribed after he overhauled it and was very impressed by the content. Some of the feature articles were much more sophisticated and engaging than you'd find in Game Informer.

That's not necessarily a dig at G.I. Publications that big have such a broad audience that their content tends to flatten out a bit.

High-five if you remember GamePro's old rating system!

@KagaSakai

http://www.planetvb.com/content/articles/scans/gamepro_usa/03_96/gamepro_usa_03_96_1.jpg

RIP GamePro :(

@KagaSakai God I feel old I remember running to the corner store to pick up the latest gamepro and EGM on another note who remembers nintedo trading cards with the gum so hard you Could stick someone up with A piece

@XperimntNterror

That ratings systems brings back SO many memories! I miss those days a lot!

@XperimntNterror

Wow at Virtual Boy reviews... That takes me back to high school years... Now I feel old...

That review page illustrates why I stopped reading magazines, particularly Gamepro which seemed to be the worst offender: You cant review a game in just one paragraph.

They needed to dedicate way more pages to their reviews. The big games got bigger reviews but even then sometimes they would just be one page with 3 quarters of the page being screenshots. Magazines tried to do too much which just made everything suffer.

@KagaSakai

The summer of 93, I still remember fondly. Drinking 7/11 slurpees, playing SNES games, and reading EGM and GamePro magazines.

An awesome summer

Man I remember reading gamepro back in the day.

That description of how to get the key in Maniac Mansion reminded me of why I don't like adventure games...

About time. Print is a dying form of media. You can't survive by putting out news that everyone has known about for a month or, as Gamepro tried to laughably do, a quarter. We've got places like NeoGAF, 4chan, Joystiq and other blogs for that. We know information coming out of Japan as soon as it happens.

@Suichimo
Thanks for your apathy, cool dude

@Suichimo

Did you just list 4chan?!?!

@Suichimo

Yes, because I'd much rather read 4 Chan than a print publication.

Good god, dude.

@Suichimo I guess I shouldn't be surprised that people are downvoting you for telling the truth, but goddamn people.

@okayfrog
Well, he does a horrid job at showing any heart. "About time" is a dick thing to say. Besides that, I read print magazines for games and cars in particular still. Yeah, I can sit staring at a computer in my free time too, but since that's what I get to do at work - I find it nice to get gaming news in print form.

@adobe64

ap·a·thy [ap-uh-thee]
noun, plural -thies.
1. absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.
2. lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.

Opposite of that actually, print needs to die. It is a relic with the internet now. A magazine that comes out once a month can not provide the same source of information as a website that can update damn near instantly.

@ItsameMatt03

Yes, I find they, commonly, are one of the first places to have new information. Regardless of what you think about 4chan, /v/ is quick on the pick up.

@Duke

I just don't see the point to waiting a month for information when you have it all at your fingertips mere moments after it comes to light.

@Suichimo They weren't doing news anymore, dude. They had switched to doing cool, well-researched features. They'd been doing that for over a year. Screw off.

That description of how to get the key in Maniac Mansion reminded me of why I don't like adventure games...

@TheMightyEthan

But I had no idea you could warp like that in Crystalis.

GamePro always sucked anyways.

@ItsameMatt03

Totally.

It's not like the people that worked there needed their jobs or anything.

Dick.

@ItsameMatt03

Oh come on! Nobody ever liked Gamepro unless you were 9 years old and didn't care about writing that wasn't produced by people that seemed to not make it past middle school.

There is a reason it was known throughout the game community as "LamePro." I hate when people act fake when something unfortunate happens to something or someone and has to try to be all gushy. At least I am expressing my true feelings about the worst game publication ever.

@Sam406 If they were better at their jobs maybe they'd be in business? 1% ftw!!!

@ItsameMatt03 As one of those writers, I will offer that we were all quite well educated. However, we knew our audience was younger/tweens and looking for entertainment in their reporting, so we aimed for that tone of voice. I made a point never to talk down to the audience -- nobody wants to read something that they feel is beneath them -- but I did feel I had the liberty to treat games like they were, you know, FUN.

f you didn't like that voice, that's fine, but that does not mean we were stupid.

If you have any other questions about how GamePro was written during my era (late 90s/early 00s), drop me a line. Google my name and it'll be easy.

@ItsameMatt03 make sure you post here when you lose your job, so we can all act like immature douchebags and laugh in your face, prick.

@OneOfSwords

Alright! Dan Amrich! I remember you from OXM I think.

I understand what you are saying, but GamePro writing just always came off as childish to me. I remember having friends when I was in my "tween years" who read GamePro, but I always stuck with EGM and GI. I think there is a better way to write to that age group, but still have appeal towards readers with more mature taste and advanced literacy. You guys never seemed to try to bridge the age gap. At least your competitors could do that. I am surprised it took this long for GamePro to become extinct.

I'm sorry for coming across as a heartless jerk. I do sympathize with those who will be out of work, but you, for instance, moved on to Activision I believe, so I'm sure there will be opportunities for all the writers and other staff elsewhere. There are better places to be than at a sub-par "tween" magazine.

Inevitable really. Good reading tho back in the day tho. I had a subscription with them for YEARS.

Though I haven't read GamePro in years, I hope for nothing but the best for their staff while moving on from here.

Is Electronic Gaming Monthly still around? I kinda miss reading EGM.

@IRoveRucyRiu EGM is gone too.

@(Unverified)
Wasn't it brought back? Or did it die again?

@PointlessPuppies

You are correct. EGMi is a digitally distributed version of the mag:

http://www.egmmag.com/

@PointlessPuppies It's still kicking, bi-monthly now. Came back in 2010

@IRoveRucyRiu
Yeah, EGM is still around, it got closed down, but restarted. It is still pretty good if you are interested.

GamePro is a gaming magazine that no longer prints magazines or any form of online service... anyone else a bit confused by their business model?

@Midnitte

Why didnt they just kill print and go for emagazines?

Also sucks for all the people who are losing their jobs right before christmas.

As they were once great, they aren't so great now. Their articles for the past six months have been shit. I have totally ignored them, just as I have with G4TV.

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Protip: GamePro gives up on print and online

Reader Comments (112)

Posted: Nov 30th 2011 4:34PM (Unverified) said

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