I understand this post is well after the fact, so forgive me for that. I’ll do my best to update this site on a more consistent basis. This post isn’t just about the closure of my go-to game publication, but the whole of the games journalism industry.
I was extremely shocked when I saw the post on X about the closure of GameInformer in August. GI had been a staple of the industry for almost as long as I’ve been playing games. My List of Games to Play was/is updated monthly, primarily based on reviews from GI. Hell, at one point I had seen EVERY SINGLE VIDEO that they published. I was a superfan. I read every article and applied to work at GI several times. I followed every Editor on my socials so that I wouldn’t miss anything. GameInformer even inspired me to start this site and podcast. Game journalism has been lessened by its demise.
About GameInformer
GameInformer was still one of the bestselling magazines when it was shuttered in August of this year. Nonetheless, 2019-2020 was a real turning point for the publication. Due to GameStop’s financial issues, about half of the GI Staff was let go. Andy McNamara, longtime Editor-in-Chief, left in 2020 also. Andrew Reiner, an Editor who had been with GI for almost as long as McNamara, became the new EiC. But, just 2 years later, he’d be gone as well. Matt Miller did a great job of leading the magazine in its final stretch. Despite his efforts, the magazine had become a shadow of what it had once been.
What went wrong?
The transition from physical to digital media is ultimately what led to the end of GameInformer. While the magazine did really well in adapting to an online digital format, its parent company GameStop did not. Less and less customers were going to their local stores to buy games. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft no longer needed to go through a middleman to get their games to customers. They created their own digital storefronts and gamers opted to license buy their games from the comfort of their homes.
So long, my friend
Through the heartaches and woes of adolescence and young adulthood, GameInformer was there to help me out of my doldrums. When I needed to distract myself, it was easy to pick up the latest issue and lose myself in the writing. I’ll always be a fan of many of the editors that worked there. I want to take a moment to list the ones I appreciated the most (in no particular order):
- Andy McNamara
- Andrew Reiner
- Brian Shea (check out All Things Nintendo)
- Matt Helgeson
- Dan Ryckert
- Tim Turi
- Dan Tack
- Matthew Kato
- Ben Hanson (check out MinnMaxx)
- Ben Reeves
- Kimberly Wallace
- Kyle Hilliard
What this means for the future of game journalism
Unfortunately, GI hasn’t been the only casualty this year. Dexerto, one of the more popular sites for game reviews, recently laid off their editors. Just posted today, Esports-focused publication GGRecon is also shutting down. Where does it end? Will companies just turn to AI to publish these reviews? Will reviews even be a thing in 5 years? I really couldn’t say. I want to believe that sites like IGN and Giant Bomb are safe. Still, I thought the same about GameInformer, and look where we are now. Maybe people will turn to smaller sites like this one for reviews and opinions. This would create a more intimate relationship between author and reader. But I don’t see myself as one of the experts. I’m just a regular guy who loves games. With the fall of GI, I can only conclude that game journalism stands on the precipice. To which side it falls lies with us, the readers.
MegaSound Waves 