Game Informer
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The July 2011 issue cover
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| Editor-in-Chief | Andy McNamara |
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| Categories | Video game |
| Frequency | Monthly (12 per year) |
| Publisher | GameStop |
| Total circulation (2014) |
6,723,581[1]:{{{3}}} |
| First issue | August 1991 |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 1067-6392 |
Game Informer (GI) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. As of December 2014[update], over 6.7 million copies are sold each month, making it the fourth-largest magazine in the United States by circulation.[1] Game Informer debuted in August 1991 when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine.[2] It is owned and published by GameStop Corp., the parent company of the video game retailer of the same name, who bought FuncoLand in 2000. Due to this, a large amount of promotion is done in-store.[3] Purchasing a subscription to the magazine also gets the subscriber access to special content on the official website.
Contents
History
Magazine
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Game Informer debuted in August 1991 as a six-page magazine. It was published every two months until November 1994, when the magazine began to be released monthly.[4]
In April each year, Game Informer includes Game Infarcer, an annual spin-off of the normal magazine, as an April Fool's joke.
Game Informer has included three "Sacred Cow Barbecues". Similar in style to a celebrity roast, the occasion is meant to "knock some of gaming's most revered icons off their high and mighty pedestals."[5]
Website
Game Informer Online was originally launched in August 1996, and featured daily news updates as well as articles. 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.[6] 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, creator of PlanetGameCube.com (now known as NintendoWorldReport.com).[7] Berghammer is currently the editor in chief of the EGM Media group [8]
On March 2009, the online staff began creating the code for what would be the latest redesign to date. The redesign was to release hand-in-hand with the magazine's own redesign. On October 1, 2009, the newly redesigned website was live, with a welcome message from Editor-In-Chief Andy McNamara. Many new features were introduced, including a rebuilt media player, a feed highlighting the site activity of the website's users, and the ability to create user reviews.[9]
In February (sometimes January), Game Informer's editors round up to count and judge the "Top 50 Games of last year". The games are sorted in order of release date. They do not have rankings, but they do commemorate special games with awards like Game of the Year and other examples. They also have mini top 10 charts of differing categories, both in the Top 50 games section of the website and in the regular magazine.
In August each year, Game Informer includes a "E3 Hot 50", a special section that reviews the year's E3 and most to all of its games, which also temporarily replaces the "previews" section.
Australian edition
In November 2009, Game Informer was launched in Australia by former Australian GamePro, Gameplayer and Official PlayStation Magazine editor Chris Stead.[10] By June 2010, Game Informer Australia had become the first local games publication to pass 10,000 subscribers. By August 18, 2010, it had become Australia's biggest selling video games publication.[11]
Game Informer Australia has picked up three Australian Magazine Awards for best in category, multiple nominations in the Lizzie awards and the 2013 MCV award for Print Publication of the Year. Chris Stead also received the 2013 Journalist of the Year gong at the MCV awards.[12]
Reviews
Game Informer currently reviews games on the Wii, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita consoles. Older games, three per issue, were given brief reviews in the magazine's Classic GI section (compared with the game's original review score, if one exists). This was discontinued in 2009, months before the redesign of the magazine. 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 (but flawed) game. A running gag in every issue is that in the review table (where the magazine defines what each score means), the 1 score is always changed to a different joke.
To this date, 26 games have received a perfect "10":
Some games have even received scores of 1 or below by Game Informer: Batman: Dark Tomorrow received a 0.75,[13] Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown for Game Boy Color got a 0.5,[14] and the Xbox fighting game Kabuki Warriors scored a 0.5.[15] In the latter review, editor-in-chief Andy McNamara stated that "I literally won a match just by bashing the controller against my ass. I wish I was joking, but the score is seriously Kabuki Warriors zero, my ass one." This was confirmed by his fellow editors. Another game reviewed for Classic GI – Marky Mark: Make My Video for Sega CD – was given a 0, making it the lowest-rated game by Game Informer. A score of 1 was handed out to the Kinect game Hulk Hogan's Main Event in the December 2011 issue. A score of 1 was handed to Postal III, which was cited for its glitches and bad gameplay. In 2009, editor Bryan Vore handed a score of 1 to the Wii game Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution, calling it "Terrible in Every Conceivable Way". A score of 1 was given to Fighter Within.
Awards
- 1992[16]
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Game of the Year | Street Fighter II |
| Best Playabilility in a Video Game | Street Fighter II |
| Best 8-Bit Game | The Empire Strikes Back |
| Best Hand Held Video Game | Faceball 2000 |
| Best Sports Game | NHLPA Hockey '93 |
| Best Puzzle/Strategy Game | Lemmings |
| Best Concept in a Video Game | Bart's Nightmare |
| Best Action/Adventure Game | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 |
| Best Game Translated from Computer | Out of this World |
| Best Graphics in a Video Game | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 |
| Best Role-Playing Game | Dragon Warrior IV |
| Best Simulation Game | Super Battletank |
| Best Sound in a Video Game | Cobra Command |
| Best Shooter Game | Axelay |
| Best Peripheral of the Year | Sega CD |
- 1996
- 1997
- Game of the Year - Final Fantasy VII
- 1998[17]
| Games of the Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | Winner | Honorable Mentions |
| Nintendo 64 Game of the Year | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | Banjo-Kazooie Turok 2: Seeds of Evil |
| PlayStation Game of the Year | Resident Evil 2 | Metal Gear Solid Crash Bandicoot: Warped Gran Turismo |
| Saturn Game of the Year | Panzer Dragoon Saga | Shining Force III |
| Arcade Game of the Year | Marvel vs. Capcom | Gauntlet Legends |
| PC Game of the Year | Half-Life | StarCraft Thief: The Dark Project |
| Game Boy Game of the Year | Pokémon | James Bond 007 |
| Technical Excellence Awards | ||
| Award | Winner | Honorable Mentions |
| Best Graphics in a Video Game | Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (Nintendo 64) | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Resident Evil 2 Crash Bandicoot: Warped |
| Best Playability in a Video Game | Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PlayStation) | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time |
| Best Sound in a Video Game | Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation) | Tenchu |
| Best Developer of the Year | H2O / Neversoft | |
| Best Video Game Accessory of the Year | Expansion Pak (Nintendo 64) | Game Boy Camera (Game Boy) |
| Style Awards | ||
| Award | Winner | Honorable Mentions |
| Best Action Game of the Year | Tenchu (PlayStation) | Turok 2: Seeds of Evil Rogue Trip |
| Best Sports Game of the Year | Hot Shots Golf (PlayStation) | Football - NFL Blitz Baseball - MLB 99 Hockey - NHL 99 Soccer - International Superstar Soccer 98 |
| Best Action/Platform Game of the Year | Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PlayStation) | Spyro the Dragoon Banjo-Kazooie |
| Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) | Resident Evil 2 Metal Gear Solid |
| Best Racing Game of the Year | Gran Turismo (PlayStation) | 1080° Snowboarding |
| Best Strategy Game of the Year | Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation) | Shining Force III |
| Best Shooter Game of the Year | Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (Nintendo 64) | Colony Wars: Vengeance Einhänder |
| Best Fighting Game of the Year | Tekken 3 (PlayStation) | X-Men vs. Street Fighter WCW/nWo Revenge |
| Best Role-Playing Game of the Year | Xenogears (PlayStation) | Pokémon Panzer Dragoon Saga Final Fantasy VIII Demo |
| Best Puzzle Game of the Year | Devil Dice (PlayStation) | Tetris DX |
| Who's Hot | ||
| Award | Character | Game |
| Best Hero of the Year | Solid Snake | Metal Gear Solid |
| Best Villain of the Year | The Evil Pigs! | Tomba! |
| Best New Character of the Year | Rikimaru | Tenchu |
| Best Inspiring Performance by a Video Game Character | Squirtle | Pokémon |
| Best Memorable Moment of the Year | Psycho Mantis | Metal Gear Solid |
- 1999
- Game of the Year - Super Smash Bros.
- 2001[18]
- Game of the Year - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- 2005
- Game of the Year - Resident Evil 4
- 2006
- Game of the Year - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Staff
Current
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- Andy McNamara – Editor-in-Chief: 1991[19]
- Andrew Reiner – Executive Editor: 1994[20]
- Matthew Kato – Senior Editor: 2001[21]
- Joe Juba – Reviews Editor: 2003[22]
- Matt Miller – Previews Editor: 2004[23]
- Matt Bertz – Managing Editor: 2006[24]
- Ben Reeves – Senior Editor: 2006[25]
- Jeff Cork – Senior Editor: 2007[26]
- Tim Turi – Senior Associate Editor: 2009[27]
- Jeff Marchiafava – Senior Associate Editor: 2009[27]
- Ben Hanson – Video Producer: 2010[27]
- Kyle Hilliard – Associate Editor: 2011[27]
- Kimberley Wallace – Associate Editor: 2012
- Mike Futter – News Editor: 2013
- Daniel Tack – PC Editor: 2014
- Wade Wojcik – Video Editor: 2014
- Brian Shea – Associate Editor: 2015
- Javy Gwaltney — Associate Editor: 2015
Former
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- Paul Anderson – (The Pro Player, Game Professor): 1992–2001 (died 2007;[28] a message that reads "In Memory of Paul Anderson" appears in the Staff section of all current issues)
- Elizabeth Olson: – 1991–94
- Rick Petzoldt – (The Video Ranger): 1991–95
- Marianne Morgan – (The Game Master): 1991
- Ed Martínez – (The Video Wizard): 1991
- Erik Reppen – (The PC Jedi): 1996–97, 1999–2001
- Ross van der Schaegen – (The Rebel Gamer): 1991–95
- David "Vinnie" Vinyon – (The Video Vigilante): 1994–96
- Ryan McDonald – (The Arcade Alchemist): 1995–97
- Jon Storm – (The Greedy Gamer): 1996–99
- Robert Stoute – (The Game Cassanova): 1997–99
- Paul Bergren – (The Game Burrito): 1997–99
- Lisa Mason – (La Game Nikita): 2002–06[29]
- Beaux Hawkins – (The Arcade Assassin): 1998–99
- The Vidiot – (Minister of Destruction): 2000–01
- Jay Fitzloff – (The Gonzo Gamer): 1999–02
- Justin Leeper – (The Digital Deviant): 2001–04
- Chet Barber – (The Joystick Jockey, The Chronic Gamer): 2002–03
- Jeremy Zoss – (Gamezilla): 2003–06[30]
- Kristian Brogger – (The Game Dawg, The Video Viking): 2000–03
- Nick Ahrens – Media Editor: 2005–10
- Meagan Marie (formerly VanBurkleo) – Associate Editor: 2008–11[31]
- Annette González – Associate Editor: 2009–11
- Matt Helgeson – Senior Features Editor: 1999-2015 [32]
- Phil Kollar – Associate Editor: 2009–12
- Jim Reilly – News Editor: 2011–12
- Adam Biessener – PC Editor: 2003–13[33]
- Dan Ryckert – Senior Associate Editor: 2009-2014[27]
- Jason Oestreicher – Video Editor: 2011-2014
- Bryan Vore – Digital Editor: 2007-2015[34]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "10 Years of Game Informer" (August 2001). Game Informer, p. 42. "In August 1991, FuncoLand began publishing a six-page circular to be handed out free in all of its retail locations."
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- ↑ Game Informer Issue 183 inFamous
- ↑ "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]."
- ↑ [1][dead link]
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- ↑ Game Informer, issue 8 (January-February 1993), page 34
- ↑ Game Informer, issue 70 (February 1999), page 22-25
- ↑ "Games of 2001", Game Informer, January 2002, page 52
- ↑ [2][dead link]
- ↑ [3][dead link]
- ↑ [4][dead link]
- ↑ [5][dead link]
- ↑ [6] Archived April 27, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ [7][dead link]
- ↑ [8][dead link]
- ↑ [9] Archived May 16, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ [10][dead link]
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- ↑ [11][dead link]
- ↑ [12][dead link]
- ↑ [13][dead link]
- ↑ [14][dead link]
External links
| Review aggregators | |
|---|---|
| Video game magazines | |
| Video game websites | |
| Related | |
- Articles with dead external links from November 2014
- Articles with dead external links from February 2014
- Articles containing potentially dated statements from December 2014
- Articles using small message boxes
- American monthly magazines
- American video game magazines
- GameStop
- Magazines established in 1991
- 1991 establishments in Minnesota
- Video game journalism
- Magazines published in Minnesota
- Media in Minneapolis, Minnesota
