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Grampy on 24 August 2008
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Phrancheyez said:

I have Game Informer and I thoroughly enjoy it. My interpretation of the magazine is that it's for hardcore gamers, I've always felt that based on the types of front page features and full-to-multiple page reviews vs. half-or-less page reviews.

The Nintendo Wii is a casual machine. Some games are kinda fun, but it's a casual Machine. Trying to say that it appeals to hardcore gamers is like reversing that psychology and saying the PS3 is a casual machine because of LBP.

That being said, I'm grateful that Game Informer doesn't waste my time on casual games. They don't completely skip over either Wii or DS either. I'm glad the focus on 360 and PS3 because I'm a hardcore gamer. I don't want to learn about Mario Party 23 or Brain Training or Animal Crossing. In my opinion, some titles you know what they are regardless of a review, like Mario Party titles. If I like Mario Party games, the last thing I'm going to do is read a review about it because they're all the same. Either I'll want to buy it or I won't.

Also, most Wii games aren't that complicated to begin with and don't need 5 page reviews. The games aren't big enough to go far enough in depth to use 5 pages. Games like Gears 2 and Resistance 2 can easily take 5 pages and still not give enough information. This paragraph alone is why this thread is a moot point.

Read them HELL! You are just about prejudiced enough and narrow minded enough to write for them.... maybe even an editorship.

There is a small problem however. Game Informer is a trademark of GameStop and it is used as an inducement to get people to obtain a discount card. Therefore it is not a truly independent magazine but in large part a GameStop catalogue. If it were a strictly subscriber/advertiser driven-magazine they could call themselves Super Cool Hard-Ass Gamers - No Nintendo Allowed and require you submit proof that your balls weighed half a pound if they wanted to, and they would be well within their rights.

A commercial publication with a huge blatant invested interest in the content has a requirement to make some reasonable attempt to fairly and proportionally reflect their buying public. It doesn’t take an expert to detect a distinct bias in Game Informer which is not balanced that way. In fact, any product that they expect to have a hard time obtaining supplies of, is lucky to get mentioned at all.

This bias has not gone unnoticed and because of that reason my copy goes straight to the circular file and I go online where I have a much better chance (or somewhat better chance) of getting some impartial reviews.

 

Fishey Joe started a thread a few months ago about GameStop losing sales, especially of Wii products, to Best Buy, Target and even Walmart. Not very surprising actually; to get customer loyalty you have to show it.

 

And by the by, I’m so glad YOU find so much greater depth in a first person shooter (there’s a concept) than Zelda, or more complexity in driving around Freedom City than in Super Mario Galaxy. I would debate the point if there was the slightest chance of it changing either of our minds. Just don’t assume the whole world thinks like you. In fact, I think you can safely assume that if video games are the most important thing in your life, you definitely belong to a small minority indeed.