Game Informer
| File:Gameinformer nov07.jpg Game Informer's cover for the November 2007 issue. | |
| Executive Editor | Andrew Reiner |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | August 1991 |
| Company | GameStop Corporation |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | www.gameinformer.com |
| ISSN | 1067-6392 |
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 3 million subscribers according to Andrew Reiner, making it the highest circulated video game magazine,[2] and as of the first quarter of 2007, it is listed as the 23rd largest overall magazine. Game Informer is now ranked among the top four magazines for reaching males 18 to 34. [3]
It is owned and published by GameStop Corp., the parent company of the video game retailer of the same name. Due to this, a large amount of promotion is done in-store, which has contributed heavily to its large subscription base.[4]
As of March 2008, 179 issues of Game Informer have been published.
Every year in the April issue, GI publishes a parody called "Game Infarcer" as an April Fools' joke.
GI Staff
There have been many different members on the GI team through the years. Handles are in parenthesis, current GI staff members are listed at the top, and members no longer active are below.
- Andy McNamara (The Game Hombre): 1991-present
- Andrew Reiner (The Raging Gamer): 1994-present
- Matt Helgeson (The Original Gamer): 1999-present
- Matthew Kato (The Gaming Katana): 2001-present
- Adam Biessener (The Alpha Gamer): 2003-present
- Joe Juba (The Real American Gamer): 2003-present
- Matt Miller (The Once And Future Gamer): 2004-present
- Matt Bertz (Lord Gamington III): 2006-present
- Bryan Vore (The Gamer's Advocate): 2007-present
- Ben Reeves (Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamer): 2006-present
- Paul Anderson (The Pro Player, Game Professor): 1992-2001; Became circulation manager; Died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2007
- Elizabeth Olson: 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 VanDerSchaegen (The Rebel Gamer): 1991-1995
- 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 Mason (La Game Nikita): 2002-2006
- Beaux Hawkins (The Arcade Assassin): 1998-1999
- The Vidiot (Minister of Destruction): 2000-2001
- Jay Fitzloff (The Gonzo Gamer): 1999-2002
- Justin Leeper (The Digital Deviant): 2001-2004
- Chet Barber (The Joystick Jockey, The Chronic Gamer): 2002-2003
- Jeremy Zoss (Gamezilla): 2003-2006
- Kristian Brogger (The Game Dawg, The Video Viking): ???-2004
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 worse than terrible; 10 is a rare, "outstanding", nearly perfect game; and 7 is "average", a decently playable game.
Some games have dipped even lower, however, receiving sub-1 scores: Batman: Dark Tomorrow received a 0.75,[5] Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown for Game Boy Color got a 0.5,[6] and the Xbox launch title Kabuki Warriors scored a 0.5.[7] In the latter review, editor-in-chief Andy McNamara said, "I literally won a match just by 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.
Criticism
Game Informer rated Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the GameCube a 6.75/10 in its November 2004[8] issue stating that despite being entertaining "the art and combat are killed in their tracks by the game's downright shameful dialogue."[9] This sparked a controversy concerning the grading system. A member of the Game Informer staff named Jeremy Zoss defended the score on the magazine's forum, stating that while they found it well-made, they had to take into account how well a game will appeal to the masses in their score. This message generated even more controversy, causing Jeremy to post a rebuttal to complaints.
Website
GI Online 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.[10] Both Leeper and Kato were eventually placed on the editorial staff of the magazine.
GI Online 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 (now known as NintendoWorldReport.com).
References
- ^ "10 Years of Game Informer" (August 2001). Game Informer, p. 42. "In August of 1991, Funcoland began publishing a six-page circular to be handed out free in all of its retail locations."
- ^ "Game Informer Announces Rate Base Increase".
- ^ "Game Informer is one of the top 25 magazines by subscriptions".
- ^ Vargas, Jose Antonio (2005). "A Magazine Whose Lineup Is Always in Play". Washington Post.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Batman: Dark Tomorrow review on GameInformer.com".
- ^ "Shrek Fairy Tale Freakdown review on GameInformer.com".
- ^ "Kabuki Warriors review on GameInformer.com".
- ^ "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door".
- ^ "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door".
- ^ "On the Web" (August 2001). Game Informer, p. 49. "Sadly, this ill-fated site was to last little more that [sic] a year, as gameinformer.com would fall prey to the massive meltdown of the Internet economy in February [of 2001]."