Any thoughts on PLAY magazine? (1 Viewer)

[Chad Ellinger]

While still mourning the lost of my beloved NextGen magazine, I have been desperately searching for a replacement of the same caliber. Although many on this forum have recommended the UK-based EDGE, it has been difficult to find here in the states, and the subscription price of £62.02 is a little steep. Today while perusing the magazine rack in Barnes and Noble, I came across PLAY, a videogame magazine that also covers, in its own words, "anime, dvd, film, music, gear, toys." The layout and picture quality look outstanding. The articles seem to be decent in this (the December 2002) issue. Would anyone with a subscription to PLAY care to comment? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the magazine before I decide on whether to subscribe.

 

[Kelley_B]

I have a subscription. Play is from the people that brought out GameFan, Gamers Republic. I like the fact that they have a lot of pictures as I use them to decorate my cubicle at work. The writing isn't anything that special although they are talking about including nudity in the next issue!

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

As the former EIC of GameGO (and GameFan), I can assure you that no one that worked on that mag, works on Play.

 

[Kelley_B]

Well I stand corrected. So what are you working on now? As I liked both GameGo and GameFan over EGM, GamePro, etc...

 

[JoshF]

I'm pretty impressed with Play, so far. It looks sometimes like they're trying a bit too hard, but that's excusable.

I'm a fan of EGM, but that's mainly because I get to write for them.

 

[Chad Ellinger]

As the former EIC of GameGO (and GameFan), I can assure you that no one that worked on that mag, works on Play.

Play's editor-in-chief is Dave Halverson, who created GameFan (his alias was E. Storm, if I'm not mistaken).

 

[Chad Ellinger]

The GameFan connection bothers me a little bit. I liked GameFan, but they would gush over almost every single game that came out. One of the things I appreciated about NextGen is that they weren't afraid to criticize even the most heavily hyped games.

 

[BrianB]

they would gush over almost every single game that came out.

PLAY is heavily guilty of that IMO, good games get gushing reviews that are just a little /too/ over the top. Wish I had a copy handy to give some examples.

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

Yes, he and a few others created GF and then he left for Gamers Republic which is when I became EIC of GF.
I would also like to note that, under my watch, GF did NOT gush over everything--we were the most critical mag on the market at the time, and far more heavy-handed than NextGen (NextGen's pathological hatred of 2D games always got on my nerves even though I was friends with a number of them).
Note that Play continues that gushing till all the blood is out of our body 'style'--can't say I care for that for any number of reasons.
As for what I'm doing: currently write about a million Prima strategy guides and have a project over at www.1upcomics.com that should come to fruition in the next few months--it is not gaming magazine related.

 

[JamesH]

I thought Play was decent enough. It's certainly better than the majority of the garbage out there. I really don't think ANY of the mags I've read lately have actually been GOOD though.

 

[Dan B]

There was an interview with Dave Halverson recently at Gaming Age, here's the link.
Interviewing the Game Writers - Dave Halverson
I remember liking Gamefan many years ago, I may have to give Play magazine a look.

 

[Kelley_B]

I only have my subscription like I said earlier for the pictures.

 

[Dan B]

And I subscribe to Playboy for the articles...

 

[Kelley_B]

well atleast i admit why i buy the magazine
And speaking of PlayBoy my friend just got me a subscription for Xmas as a jag gift. My wife wants to kill him, but he just can't stop laughing about it.

 

[KevinRB]

I've always thought that Play was more style over substance. There is a ton of empty spots in the magazine that are just there to look cool, when in fact they could be filled with a lot more video game information.
Plus, they feature video game whore Tom Ham who accepts bribes for his reviews...
http://www.fatbabies.com/story_jan-june02.html#tom_ham

 

[BrianB]

To be fair to Tom (who I don't know), using FatBabies as a basis of slander isn't a good idea, Kevin.

 

[KevinRB]

Are you suggesting that FatBabies may not always be true???

 

[Jon W H]

All of this does bring up a good question, though: Are there any truly decent gaming review mags to be had? I, too, lament the loss of Next Generation.

I'm starting to think that it's a wide open field for someone to create a well-respected mag.

 

[Graeme Clark]

Are there any truly decent gaming review mags to be had?

Not really.

I like Play, and I liked Gamefan. While I agree somewhat with the gushing critisizms, it's probably one of the reasons that I like the mag as well. Mainly, I like the enthusiasm for truely great games, for games that don't get their fair shake and just for games in general. If a publication is too critical, it gets to the point where you wonder why they're even writing about games.

I get most of my magazines for free now, but I'd still gladly shell out for NextGen if I could. I miss it dearly.

 

[Dave F]

I wish I had read this thread before buying the latest copy of Play. Had I known that Dave Halvorson was involved, I would've dropped the magazine instantly and washed my hands of it. I think the primary reason it's sold in a bag is so that you can't see how bad it is.
Any piece of crap that lands on their desk is instantly raved and gushed over. The only requirement for liking a game seems to be that it is new. But I guess it keeps the promotional review copies coming. :/
-Dave