Game Informer

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Game Informer (often abbreviated to GI) is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. Formed in August 1991^[1], the magazine has nearly 1.9 million subscribers, making it the highest circulation video game magazine^[2], and as of 2006, one of the 100 overall highest circulation magazines in the United States^[3].

It is owned and published by GameStop Corp., the parent company of the video game retailer of the same name. Due to this, it is promoted in large part in-store, which has contributed heavily to its' large subscription base.

To date, 165 issues of Game Informer have been published.

Contents 1 History 2 GI Staff 3 Reviews 4 Website 5 References 6 External link

[edit] History

Game Informer began as a 6-page quarterly Funcoland circular^[1], created with the primary intent of providing a price list for the store's used video games; however, the publishers decided to insert industry news briefs and game reviews into the catalog as well. Over time, the used games catalog and Game Informer publication became separate entities.

For years, Game Informer was published every other month, until moving to a monthly format. Cover games were usually the big title reviewed inside the issue, which were often accompanied by strategy guides done by the editors. Sold primarily at Funcoland stores, subscriptions were accompanied by a discount card that provided a 10% discount off of used game purchases. Sales associates received a $2 commission on every subscription that they sold.

After the purchase of Funcoland by GameStop, Game Informer received a larger budget. The staff used this to redesign the magazine. Physically, it received a firmer binding, using higher paper stock, and increasing the number and size of the pages. Content-wise, nearly everything had changed -- including columns, review sizes (the main/second opinion format over the original three-reviewer formula), and layouts. GameStop also aggressively pursued advertisers and newsstand distributors. The first issue to feature the new format was November 2000, showcasing the then-new PlayStation 2 console on the cover.

Since that time, GameStop set its' sights on increasing the subscription base, meanwhile changing the duration of subscriptions and the format of the discount card several times. In March 2005, the subscription price in store was increased from $9.99 to $14.99, the subscription length went from 10 months to 12 months, and an additional benefit was added -- an extra 10% in store credit for video game trade-ins. The card also gained a name -- the "More Card". (Previously it had simply been referred to as the "GameStop card" or "Game Informer card". At the time, the price increase was attributed to the rising prices of fossil fuels which are used in the printing and distribution of the magazine. Most recently the card's name has changed to the "Edge Card" (which was adopted from EB Games' discount card after it merged with GameStop in October 2005), and the magazine and card are featured prominently at both GameStop and EB Games retail locations. Selling the magazine subscription to customers is a large part of the GameStop culture, and stores are measured and ranked on subscription sales.

The affiliation with the huge retailer has led to Game Informer achieving the highest circulation of any video game publication -- though some competitors question the authenticity of the numbers, claiming that many subscribers don't read the magazine, merely subscribing for the discount card. The large subscription base has allowed Game Informer's editorial staff valuable leverage to help them secure world-exclusive cover stories and features over competition with a smaller reader base.

[edit] GI Staff

There have been many different members on the GI team (handles are in parenthesis):

• Andy McNamara (The Game Dandy, Game Hombre): 1991-Present
  
• Andrew Reiner (The Raging Gamer): 1994-Present
  
• Matt Helgeson (The Original Gamer): 1999-Present
  
• Paul Anderson (The Pro Player, Game Professor): 1992-2001
  
• Elizabeth Olson (Editor-In-Chief... no handle?): 1991-1994
  
• Rick Petzoldt (The Video Ranger): 1991-1995
  
• Marianne Morgan (The Game Master): 1991
  
• Ed Martinez (The Video Wizard): 1991
  
• Erik Reppen (The PC Jedi): 1996-1997, 1999-2001
  
• Ross Van Der Schaegen (The Rebel Gamer): 1992-1995
  
• David "Vinnie" Vinyon (The Video Vigilante): 1994-1996
  
• Ryan McDonald (The Arcade Alchemist): 1995-1997
  
• Jon Storm (The Greedy Gamer): 1996-1999
  
• Robert Stoute (The Game Cassanova): 1997-1999
  
• Paul Bergren (The Game Burrito): 1997-1999
  
• Lisa ??? (La Game Nikita): 200X-2006
  
• Beaux Hawkins (The Arcade Assassin): 1998-1999
  
• The Vidiot (Minister of Destruction): 2000-Present (last appearance: August 2001)
  
• Jay Fitzloff (The Gonzo Gamer): 1999-March 2002 (Jay's last appearance was in Feb. 2002, but the announcement that he left was in March 2002 - unlike most recent editor departures.)
  
• Justin Leeper (The Digital Deviant): May 2001-January 2004
  
  The info below is not certain.
  
• Kristian Brogger (started in 2000)
  
• Matthew Kato (started in 2001)
  
• Chet Barber (started in June 2002)

[edit] Reviews

Game Informer reviews games on the Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PC, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation Portable consoles. Older games are given brief reviews in the magazine's Classic GI section (compared with the game's original review score, if one exists). The magazine's staff rate games on a scale of 1 to 10 with quarter point intervals. A score of 1 is considered terrible, 10 is a rare, nearly perfect game, and 7 being average.

Some games have dipped even lower, however, receiving sub-1 scores: Batman: Dark Tomorrow received a 0.75^[4], Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown for Game Boy Color got a 0.5^[5], and Xbox launch title Kabuki Warriors scored a 0.5^[6]. In the latter review, editor-in-chief Andy McNamara said, "I literally won a match just bashing the controller against my ass." This was confirmed by his fellow editors. One game reviewed for Classic GI -- Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch: Make My Video for Sega CD -- was given a 0.

[edit] Website

Game Informer's website was originally launched in August 1996, and featured daily news updates as well as humorous articles. The magazine editors updated it as a labor of love, with what little spare time they had. Justin Leeper and Matthew Kato were hired on in November 1999 as full-time web editors. As part of the GameStop purchase of the magazine, the site was closed around January 2001. ^[7] Both Leeper and Kato were eventually placed on the editorial staff of the magazine.

GameInformer.com was revived in September 2003, with a full redesign and many additional features, such as a review database, frequent news updates, and exclusive "Unlimited" content for subscribers. It was managed by Billy Berghammer, former creator of PlanetGameCube.com.

The Game Informer message boards, a staple of the website since the redesign in 2003, has enjoyed moderate success, averaging roughly 100 users online at any given time. Many editors of the magazine have been known to interact with the community at times as well. The boards feature separate sections for each major console company (Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft), PC gaming, a General Gaming and Classic Gaming sections as well as Reader Reviews, Ask GI (where one can communicate directly with the magazine's staff), an off-topic section which includes the "Social Thread", in which forum members talk about inane things or whatever is on their minds, and a recently added "Game Informer Online Suggestion Box", where readers can suggest additions or subtractions from the site.

[edit] References

[edit] External link

• GameInformer.com