his Tuesday was rough for both a handful of folks in the San Francisco Bay area and the gaming industry as a whole. While the writing's been on the wall for publisher Ziff Davis since March of last year (when they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection), thousands of gamers continued to visit the company's websites and purchase Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM). Things took a turn for the worst on Tuesday evening, though, when Ziff Davis announced the sale of many of its gaming web properties to Hearst Publishing (and their competing UGO web network) and the outright cessation of EGM. As the dust settled yesterday, many of the industry's most respected journalists were left unemployed or uncertain as to their futures.
After all, bloggers tend not to care that much about profits.Though the 1up network and EGM may be some of the biggest victims to succumb to more than a decade's worth of industry consolidation, they're far from the first. Back in the late 90's and into the start of this decade, plenty of gaming websites and publications were forced to shutter their doors: NextGen Magazine and DailyRadar.com both had storied histories and catered to a more mature audience; Incite Magazine, which basically read like Maxim for gamers, didn't last nearly as long (but was no less enjoyable). While those who survived that first round of closures undoubtedly counted their blessings, even they were hanging onto survival by their fingernails.
The internet has been both a blessing and a curse for the gaming media. While it's given large publishers an excellent portal with which to interact with customers, it's also made it very difficult for them to make money. After all: why pay for a magazine when you can read its articles online for free? Print journalism (and the higher-grade editorial it tends to facilitate) simply can't thrive in this environment — gamers are a web savvy bunch, and they tend to value timeliness over thoroughness.
All is not lost for game journalism, though. In fact, far from it. The vacuum left by goliaths like EGM will be filled by the new breed of independent journalists. After all, bloggers tend not to care that much about profits. Add to this a plethora of gaming news sites — Kotaku, Joystiq, etc. — and you quickly begin to realize that the state of gaming journalism is perhaps stronger than it's ever been. While goliaths like UGO and IGN will continue to dominate in terms of visitors (and revenue stream), smaller outlets will be able to provide the sort of editorial pieces which print hasn't been able to offer up for nearly a decade (particularly for North American gamers). Perhaps someday American gamers will have easy access to periodicals the likes of Edge or Famitsu, but until that day comes, the bloggers and independents of the web will keep the fire burning.
