The Changing Landscape
by ted2112, HSM team writer
For those of you looking to watch E3 conferences and updates on G4…don’t bother.
The pioneering video game channel has ceased to be. The last bastion of gaming on a national network has become the Esquire Network. The change happened at the end of April and shows like X-Play and Attack of the Show are now sadly over. Now instead of programming dedicated to us, the gamer, we will now have shows dedicated to the “mufti-faceted lives of today’s men” – whatever that means. I checked the line-up and all I saw was a lot of cooking and travel shows.
I must be helplessly out of touch, because I’m not a fan of cooking shows. I am a gamer.
This change was brought about by Comcast, who, a few years ago, got a huge chunk of channels in the NBC-Universal buyout deal. Networks like G4 got sold to the highest bidder to put their name on, while smaller NBC owned stations got re-branded Cozi -TV,a network dedicated to re-runs like the Six Million Dollar Man and Magnum PI.
Network television isn’t the only change to gaming. Look at the retailer, GameStop. I have always supported this video game store. I love the fact that I have a local store to buy games. I still prefer having the disc, and the guys and gals who work at the store are kind of like ambassadors to the gaming world. The store chain, however, is on the brink. With slumping video game sales and the uncertainty of pre-owned games, the store has started to sell tablets and cell phones in an effort to diversity. GameStop has also announced store closings. The chain acquired EB Games in 2005 and has been struggling to keep the over 3,200 stores in the US profitable.
This diversify/store closing plan reminds me of the Borders Books chain in its final years, and we all know how that turned out.
One of the victims of a GameStop closing would be Game Informer Magazine, which is owned by GameStop. I have a love-hate relationship with this publication. I am a big MMO player, Home in particular and anything that GameStop can’t sell doesn’t fair well in the magazine. You can’t find Home for sale on the shelves of the GameStop retailer, therefore the coverage of Home in Game Informer has been very negative. The same is true for PSN and XBox Live downloadable titles. It seemed to have bothered Game Informer that last years’ Journey did so well, and they had an almost begrudgingly sour attitude to coverage of the game when everywhere else there was universal praise for the game. As much as I don’t like the, “if we don’t sell it, we don’t like it” philosophy of the magazine, they have some good writers and they do well with coverage of mainstream games. It would be sad to see one of the few remaining print gaming magazines go under.
The other big print gaming magazine, @Gamer which is owned by Best Buy is in a state of change. The once all print magazine is changing its focus on an on-line magazine. You can still pick up a copy of @Gamer in the Best Buy stores, but I don’t see this lasting for much longer. In fact, the only reason this magazine is still publishing is that it is tied in to the huge big box retailer. Much better publications, like Electronic Gaming Monthly, went under because it didn’t have the luxury of a huge corporate partnership. The future of Best Buy is uncertain as well. The video game and DVD section of the store has gotten much smaller over the years as the cell phone and television section has taken over the focus of the store. I think Best Buy will survive, but the focus on serving us gamers will be greatly diminished.
The landscape of video games is changing before our very eyes. The once mighty retailers like GameStop and Best Buy are fighting for their very survival, while the advent of downloadable titles is becoming dominant. Also, the surviving publishing “authorities” like Game Informer and @Gamer are now trying to play catch up to the surging on-line gaming magazines. In fact, the success of this next generation of consoles may well determine the winners and losers for this wide industry and its many related components.
You’ll be happy to know that we here at HSM are here for you. We don’t have stockholders or have to fight for floor space at your local mall, and that is just what is killing the traditional gaming retailers and their attached magazines. Our EOD channel in Home is free and run by people who love doing what they do. We won’t be selling out to the Esquire Network. If you’re interested in cooking shows or how to blend herbs, I suggest playing the video game Resident Evil. Mix the red herb with a green herb and you get a very effective zombie remedy.
June 9th, 2013 by ted2112 | 7 comments
ted2112 is a writer and a Bass player that has been both inspired and takes to heart Kurt Vonnegut words...."we are here on planet Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different."
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Great article Ted as always. If Gamestop goes down it will be a sad day for many. Many people can’t afford to buy new PS3 or Xbox consoles and having a place to get used ones is a godsend when you have one die on you. It is also a place you can trade your old consoles in for in-store credit toward an upgrade, and they always make sure that any used one works by checking them over first.
I guess if they cease to be the only alternative for us will be pawn shops and take your chances that it functions right.
I hope they stay in business, the magazines aren’t as big a loss for me as I don’t read them anyway, but being able to get old games is a big plus for people on a tight budget.
This article shook me a bit because what you speak of is nothing but the truth: the landscape of gaming is starting to change in a way that devalues the passion that we have for the medium.
The Gamestops near me have been pretty boring to go into, whereas before you had this sense of great feeling upon entering the store. I’ve always been a collector and to move games into digital downloads is more about control than anything.
This isn’t something I’m fully fond of but change is change; we can either accept it or not.
I’ve stopped reading GI for a long time. Though I love some of the Writers there, the articles aren’t up to my liking and everything seemed to be highly biased.
But this is a good article, nonetheless Ted. Glad this was brought to this Gamer’s attention.
I have got Game Informer every month for years. It is a good but over the top opinionated magazine and without Game Stops help I dont think they would still be in business. I also dont think that very many magazines will still be in print form in the future unless they are something you can read while waiting in a doctors office. This was a very good article I had to comment.
I’m hopeful that there’s a silver lining somewhere in there, with Machinima taking up the void filled by SpikeTV and the old G4 (If only I could divulge my personal feelings about that channel re-branding mess, but I might take heat for it!).
I feel that entertainment sectors are still catering to the same old demographics, forgetting that livelong gamers are adults now, and most with families. As the baby-boomer ‘Soap opera and reality TV’ cable generation fades, I see a potential shift in entertainment in all forms. I would go so far as to say that gaming will continue to gain a foothold in all households, while traditional cable/satellite and regular programming will wain.
People want content now, and that boils down to one thing: instant digital content. As much flack as the big three console companies get, they are onto something with the assumption that consumers want the kind of ‘a la carte’ gaming and media content that other industries refuse to provide. We have to remember, that in the long-run we’re really competing with Apple and Google TV and other providers of instant digital content.
great article as always. its a good eye opener. I, for one, like going into Game Stop and browsing games and talking to the employees to get opinions on hat to buy. i would be upset if this closed. i still miss having so many bookstores to look around in. i feel technology keeps advancing, sometimes i wish everything would slow down. anyway, great read.
The landscape of this industry has never been particularly stable, remember the 80’s crash? I think E.T singlehandedly did that lol!
Seriously though, there is a massive paradigm shift towards digital control that has split gamers in half the world over. Personally, I dont think theres anything better than having a good rummage through a bargain bin and finding gold y’know, and it’s just not the same with digital stuff, looking at a screen.
What worries me right now is what Microsoft have revealed so far about their shiny new machine and the draconian ideas within. Ive not had a chance to check out their “clearing up the issues” at E3 yet but unless they do an entire U-turn on every policy they’ve mentioned so far all I see ahead for games (on the XboxOne) is a completely stifled industry controlled by a company that would rather spy on you at home than bring you the entertainment you’d like.
Potentially MS could be steering the industry into another E.T market crash. Let’s hope that Sony have it sussed and Nintendo can stay standing tall throughout all this…
G4 is gone…good! Adam Sessler was a moron and ATOS was a waste of a good program. I could never watch a review with out them almost saying that they hated Sony. Their coverage was as biased for the XBox as an elephant in a peanut store.They far too many times interjected views into reviews that were not even relevant past the views of themselves just spewing.No tears here for G4.
I look to the changing landscape of the gaming world like Sun Tzu says to do, see it as a moving river, adjust to it and flow with it. For me, I will miss places like Gamestop if it’s gone. It does serve a great purpose as it gives people a chance to buy and sell games as another facet of the buyers economy.
Everything has to change, some for good and some for bad, and I was hesitant before I went online as I had no way to do so much, but when I did get online, it was a very big shift for me to see the advantages, and there are plenty. Maybe in the future we wont even have brick and mortar stores for downloadable content like music, and games. I don’t know, maybe I’m rambling, I tend to do that ya’ know. Good article though. And yes, I’d hate to see the brick and mortars go the way of the dodo, there is a visceral fun to walking in and buying something, even that rare super bargain.Yeah, I rambled.