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The Internet Entertainment Games

Digital Subscriptions to Paper Gaming Magazines - Worth It? 52

Posted by simoniker from the virtual-paper dept.
Thanks to GamersWithJobs for its review of digital subscriptions to notable videogame magazines such as EGM or CGW, running down the advantages ("No need to store it at home and you really can't lose it because you can download the magazine as necessary. Unless your wife manages to trash the entire Internet, digital magazines are pretty hard to throw away"), and disadvantages ("No CD/DVD that comes in many magazines these days... Some users will find the need to zoom and scroll as they read a hassle") of the Zinio Reader based digital formats, although for the Baghdad-based reviewer of these digital subscriptions, "getting content otherwise not available in Iraq is a big plus."
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Digital Subscriptions to Paper Gaming Magazines - Worth It? More

Digital Subscriptions to Paper Gaming Magazines - Worth It?

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  • I'd do it (Score:4, Informative)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @11:50AM (#9431383) Homepage Journal
    Sadly, I'm not into games enough anymore to want to subscribe to a gaming site. However, I am ready for the 'digital magazine' idea. I'd prefer to download a huge PDF or something, but I'd settle for site access I guess.

    There was a time I resented the idea of not having a physical copy.. but I've moved like 3 times in the last 2 years. It don't take many of those to despise having to update subscriptions. I am still warming up to the idea of paying for news, though. It still seems funny. In that case, I demand video downloads etc.

  • not worth it (Score:3, Funny)

    by nes11 ( 767888 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @11:54AM (#9431447)
    it's really difficult to carry an electronic copy into the bathroom with you as you read. and even if you're fortunate enough to have a tablet, it's a huge pain to have to scroll while you're conducting 'other' business. :-D
    • it's a huge pain to have to scroll while you're conducting 'other' business.

      Why would your hands be unavailable? What kind of other business are you talking about?

      • lol, nothing like the latest Half Life 2 screenshots to get a guy going.
      • I think he's saying one hand would hold the tablet while the other is unavailable for scrolling.

        Read into it what you will, but I assumed he meant (cough)wiping(cough)...

        • You don't need more hands for a tablet than for a book, so there.
          • I can read a book with one hand. Not my preference, but it does work and it really isn't that hard to do. You hold the book with the base of its spine in the palm of your hand (imagine Hamlet holding Yorick's skull) and use your thumb to flip pages.

            So, you were saying?

    • and since I read (in the can) that 70% of Americans do most of their reading in the can, this is probably a bigger issue than they realize.

      Maybe it'll work in France...
  • I can read them while on the toilet. And no I don't have a laptop!

  • Good Idea (Score:5, Insightful)

    by netfool ( 623800 ) * on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @11:55AM (#9431459) Homepage
    The article forgot a couple PROs:
    - Your 3 year old won't bring it behind the couch/secret-fortress-of-magazine-destruction-and- general-place-for-hiding-your-stuff and tear your magazine up when he's alone in the living room.
    - Your 3 year old won't spill his milk on the article about Half-Life 2 and have it drench every page under it (though, I guess he could spill milk on the computer and cause it to explode somehow, but that hasn't happened yet so I'll mark this a PRO).

    It's a great idea, I'm all for it. The use of searchable text is invaluable to me, I tend to go through magazines backwards for some odd reason and never look at the table of contents except as a last resort.

  • Paper (Score:5, Insightful)

    by stereo_Barryo ( 530287 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @11:56AM (#9431474)
    Paper is easier on the eyes over a period of time ( higher res than screens ) and can be held in a more comfortable position for a long time. Score one for old-tech!
    • I don't agree about the comfortable position.

      Holding anything other than a mouse in my right hand causes my entire right arm to painfully curl up to my shoulder and my left arm begins to have severe tremors.
      It makes reading a magazine extremely difficult since the magazine is constantly slapping me across my face.


    • ebooks are easier to search
      ebooks are easier to cut / copy / paste
      ebooks are easier to give to friends

      score one for ebooks

      ofcourse, by ebook I mean something friendly, like ascii, not the ugly and
      bad pdf/rtf/doc/lit or the horrendously bad zno

      --
      /apz, "She liked him; he was a man of many qualities, even if most of them were bad."

  • Disadvantages . . . (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dausha ( 546002 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @12:10PM (#9431666) Homepage
    * Can't grab a copy and go stink-up the bathroom, unless you're on a laptop and have wireless. Even then, ew. There are some places laptops shouldn't be.

    * What happens when their server goes down or they decide to change business models?

    This is true of any online rag, not just gaming.

    • 1. you dont need wireless, ever, just a 50m of nice blue cat5
      2. you dont need laptop, pdas are in game as well (all hail pdb/rb/prc)
      3. why is washroom a bad place for a pda? get one that is water resistant

      although I do agree, a site that requires for you to be online to read
      the material is bad.

      --
      /apz, There's a lot to be said for not saying a lot.
  • ...when they say GamersWithJobs, they really mean jobs!

    On the other, you'd think that someone stationed in Baghdad might be looking for different news from home than this [gamerswithjobs.com] or this [gamerswithjobs.com].

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @12:28PM (#9431904)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Why? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mutewinter ( 688449 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @01:07PM (#9432397)
    I like the idea, but only if I'm getting a digital *and* print copy. The truth is, I find very little in print magazines that is better content-wise then the internet.

    website pros
    -updated hourly/daily
    -download demos
    -pictures from the games + movies
    -multiple websites offer reviews making it easier to spot out reviewer biases
    And of course, its free! Why the hell would I want to read a magazine? One reason only, portability. I can lay down on the sofa or sit in a vehicle and read it. I can apply the same to newspapers or other print periodicles. Books have the whole eye-strain issue due to their length. Digital paper is going to change everything ;)

  • Paper is still cheaper (Score:5, Interesting)

    by superultra ( 670002 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @01:13PM (#9432480) Homepage
    I somehow received a free Zinio subscription to EGM, and as far as digital reading software goes it's quite well designed. It's intuitive, streamlined, clean, and clear. You can tell Zinio has attempted to replicate the reading process digitally with its turning pages and fold out ads. I was impressed.

    That said, when a subscription to the Zinio/digital EGM costs $19.99 and you can easily find [ebay.com] a four year paper subscription for under $5, why bother with the hassle? If I subscribe to the magazine, why can't I pay a few dollars more and get access to the digital version as well?

    I remember reading an interview with the suits at NetFlicks in Wired a year or two ago. They said it was still cheaper, and practically faster, to snail-mail data on CDs to someone than to provide it over the net. Zinio's pricing proves this hasn't changed.

    I suppose the only advantage to Zinio is not having magazines pile up somewhere. Of course, I have yet to find a game magazine that's worth keeping anyway. They're so filled with hyperbolic previews, barely edited junior high level writing, and gratituous screenshots that they're not worth the hard drive space to save them on.
    • the guy whose auction you linked has a couple dozen magazine subscriptions for sale, all 2-4 year, all under $10. I don't get it. What's the catch?
      • Not sure. I've ordered at least 10 magazines from various ebay auctions, and all have gone through within a month to two months. Didn't pay more than $10 for any of them, many major magazines (Harper's, Atlantic). That doesn't answer your question, I know, but it seems somehow legit.

    • Zinio reader is crap

      1) you have to register
      2) scrolling an article with mouse reduces resolution
      scrolling an article with keyboard causes choppiness
      3) magazine is reproduced with advertisements, if you
      are saving the printing costs, and delivery costs
      why not save some more on the bandwidth/scanning
      of the advertisements.. Most funny is the time spent
      on making sure that all the postcard based inserts
      also are flipping on the pages
      4) no way of reformatting pages (why oh why do I get thr
  • Considering that the price for a magazine/newspaper is generally used to recoup the costs of production and distribution, these magazines would be better advised to offer the digital versions for free. They can increase their circulation which in turn could increase their revenues.

  • Paper's not dead... yet... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by h0mer ( 181006 ) on Tuesday June 15, 2004 @02:12PM (#9433234)
    I see no incentive to subscribe to something that's being converted from print to digital media. I'd rather subscribe to a website, like IGN [ign.com]. Say what you will about their reviews, but they always have up-to-date news, plenty of pictures and video of the newest games, and there's some actual original content lurking in their Insider section. Plus, for $5.95 a month, it's exactly the same price as that month's EGM or what have you.

    Now on the other hand, print trumps digital in a couple areas. For example, coverage from E3. Sure, all the websites have their coverage up as it's happening, but there's soooo much content! I like to buy the EGM or other mag after E3 and be able to leaf through it. When I find something that looks interesting, I can find further details on the web.

    Also, it's frustrating when you find a nice site that has infrequent updates. There is a 'zine called Polygon, and while they may not have the most current reviews and previews, their layout and writing style is 'A' material.

    Ziff-Davis has the right idea with their website, 1UP [1up.com]. If you check a review for a game, they'll give you the 1Up review, the EGM Review Crew ratings, and possibly the review from Official PS2 or Xbox magazine.

    I like gaming sites but print still has intangibles that cannot be replicated on the computer.
  • How about digital archives of long-past magazines? A full run of Computer Gaming World for instance, or archives of Nintendo Power by year?

    I'm sure I'm not the only one who would pay for such a product. Of course, for virtually any product, there are probably at least 10,000 people willing to pay any price.
  • Well, I signed up for the digital versions of a couple of magazines because of many of the reasons listed above. However, I was turned off because Zinio doesn't offer a client for ANY handheld (PPC or Palm). I have a Sony NX70 and would love to be able to read the magazine on that beautiful display. PDFs and Docs work, so why not this type. While I think it is an idea whose time has come, I still think that it needs to come a little further.
  • Back when I subscribed to EGM (in the days when IGN was free) I found that 75% of the content was stuff that I'd known about for months (take E3 screenshots for instance, which would usually show up 2-3 issues after the show happened). The only times something would be new is if the magazine extracted an exclusivity clause in exchange for a cover story or whatnot (essentially publicity for the game). This news article didn't specify what the lead time for the digital magazine was, but I'll venture a guess
  • More magazines should do this and go with paperless alternatives. I'd definitely subscribe to adult magazines that do this so that I can get the magazines online... wait... nevermind.
  • I used Zinio for a year or so, but gave it up for three reasons:
    1. No Linux client available. When I asked they said that they had "no plans" to support one. I didn't need this potentially restricting my choice of OS.
    2. Annoying customer service. For example, once I'd switched over to digital, I was not able to switch back. Zinio provided a page for this but it was, as far as I could tell after repeated attempts, totally inoperable. I eventually cancelled the subscription and started up a separate paper-base
  • The #1 drawback to online magazine subscriptions is Commode Compatibility. Yeah, I've got a wireless network, so I could take my laptop and either hold it on my lap (Eeewww!) or setup a table, but those don't particularly appeal. The other alternative would be to print out articles to read, but that could take a lot of paper, and when time is of the essence I really don't want to wait on a printer.

    I guess I could get an iLoo [com.com] if they were for real, but I don't think my wife would think one of those parke

  • Tahya al-Moqawama al-Iraqiya!
    Tahya al-Moqawama al-Iraqiya!

    Death to Americans! Every American pig in our country will soon be dealt with like the first four in al-Fallujah! Our Resistance and our Mujaheddin will slaughter every one of you.

    And 11 September will be brought to your cities once again.

    Tahya al-Moqawama al-Iraqiya!
    Tahya al-Moqawama al-Iraqiya!

    DEATH TO THE AMERICAN PIGS!

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