CVG to Close | Edge Online Goes Aswell

KKLEIN wrote:Bet he'll probably regret that in the morning.

He's not in regret mode yet...

Rob Crossley and Ben Parfitt are always blowing smoke up each other's arse on Twitter.

Talking of Parfitt I'm glad a few people other than myself called him out on his copy and paste strawberry float up on WWE 2K15 right underneath the article. In typical fashion though he couldn't be bothered to correct it.

Tweets have been deleted already.

What happen?

Website

I'm very shocked about CVG. I started visiting when it launched. For a big site it mostly recycles news from other outlets and is light on original interviews and features and voice - but I visit everyday! Gamesradar is a very USA-centric and Kotaku UK looks alright but is pointless because it is chock a blok filled with articles from the US site, only in a different wrapper. Years ago I used to love TotalFilm. Empire has done a clever thing by becoming the definitive consumer movie mag and intrinsic part of the movie industry and establishing a brand in the USA and hosting their own awards ceremony.

Mafro » Thu 15 May 2014, 10:42 pm wrote:

twitter.com/RichStanton/status/467072155663237120

Mafro, the tweet you posted by Richard Stanton to Rob Crossley has been deleted but I still have it showing on my iPhone. What's the history behind it?

He just had a pop at EDGE too. I didn't screen grab it but he said someone else should buy it as Future don't have a clue.

KKLEIN wrote:He just had a pop at EDGE too. I didn't screen grab it...

I've sold a number of EMPIRE magazines on ebay that have gone for over £100 (sub copies). It completely depends on the cover, and while they don't mean anything to me, clearly they've become highly sought after internationally.

Couldn't get rid of the Tom Cruise edition for love nor money last month though...

Rich Stanton hates Future, basically. Had bad experiences working for them hand has ranted about them on Twitter before http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=495020

Regarding this closure, I haven't visited CVG for ages and the last time I visited Gamesradar it was Americanised to strawberry float. Haven't seen much of Kotaku UK other than from a few links posted on Twitter.

Website

KKLEIN » Thu 15 May 2014, 11:04 pm wrote:I've sold a number of EMPIRE magazines on ebay that have gone for over £100 (sub copies). It completely depends on the cover, and while they don't mean anything to me, clearly they've become highly sought after internationally.

Couldn't get rid of the Tom Cruise edition for love nor money last month though...

Oh strawberry float. I had years and years worth of them and subscriber copies and EDGE. I've continually needed to make space so you know what I've regularly done? Taken them to the skips or put them in the recycling. :fp:

Ebay just seemed like too much work. Ironically I did sell a ton of old C&VG, ACE and Arcade and stuff.

Mafro » Fri May 16, 2014 12:07 am wrote:Rich Stanton hates Future, basically. Had bad experiences working for them hand has ranted about them on Twitter before http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=495020

Regarding this closure, I haven't visited CVG for ages and the last time I visited Gamesradar it was Americanised to strawberry float. Haven't seen much of Kotaku UK other than from a few links posted on Twitter.

I read gamesradar a fair bit but in the last few months it appears to have descended into 10 GAME SECRETS YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE!!! Territory.

Ad7 » Fri May 16, 2014 6:34 am wrote:
Mafro » Fri May 16, 2014 12:07 am wrote:Rich Stanton hates Future, basically. Had bad experiences working for them hand has ranted about them on Twitter before http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=495020

Regarding this closure, I haven't visited CVG for ages and the last time I visited Gamesradar it was Americanised to strawberry float. Haven't seen much of Kotaku UK other than from a few links posted on Twitter.

I read gamesradar a fair bit but in the last few months it appears to have descended into 10 GAME SECRETS YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE!!! Territory.

Which is sadly why they get better numbers than most of Future's sites.

Future are an omnishambles,. They're making no money so open a new website in Kotaku UK (pretty decent so far despite opening it being a baffling decision) then the next month they decide to close one their best and best known sites.

More of Future's proposed cuts to its games department are coming to light.

The entire games portfolio is set to lose 13 members from its 51-strong team.

And the websites of Edge, OXM, ONM and OPM could be closed. This was assumed yesterday when we discovered that CVG faces closure and that Kotaku UK, PC Gamer and Gamesradar would be the only surviving online brands.

What's more, the company's games print publications in London faces a proposed moved to Bath. This includes OXM, ONM plus other entertainment brands such as Total Film and T3.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/future-u ... th/0132528

Closing Edge I guess would make the magazine relevant again. The site is cack for the most part.

The closure of the magazine websites actually makes perfect sense as you either do them properly or not at all. Apart from OXM - which is now known as TotalXbox - they're either half arsed & more like semi-blogs or flat out terrible, & the only thing they serve to do currently is take away from the magazine itself. They're way understaffed.

It also makes sense for something like Official PlayStation Magazine to be a print & tablet operation, with the online aspect being video/podcast material through YouTube & say a section on whatever the main Future site will now be - presumably GamesRadar (which ironically will now need a semi-refit because it's not fit for purpose). In its current guise I'm not visiting GamesRadar for my news.

These magazine websites though were mainly filled with content that was already being produced for the magazine. There didn't appear to be too much additional work going on. So therefore surely losing 13 staff members is only going to negatively impact a division that has already had its budgets & staff depleted. Unless of course one or more of the gaming publications is about to be axed.

38 people to produce 6 monthly magazines (7 if you include the bookazine specials, though these are also mostly rehashed content) & 3 video game websites is still mightily tight though. It takes 18 of us just to (ineptly) run GRcade!

KKLEIN wrote:The closure of the magazine websites actually makes perfect sense as you either do them properly or not at all.

I have to agree, KKLEIN. I buy two Future gaming mags and whilst I think they're terrific I struggle to understand how the websites offer any value. In a dream world there would be significant links between the two formats... but there hasn't been. I guess its because the money, manpower and imagination haven't been available - which leads to your original point.

KKLEIN wrote:38 people to produce 6 monthly magazines (7 if you include the bookazine specials, though these are also mostly rehashed content) & 3 video game websites is still mightily tight though. It takes 18 of us just to (ineptly) run GRcade!

I don't know if it still happens, but the old Xbox World and PSM3 mags shared much of the same content - it was mainly the colour schemes and single-format reviews that changed. I suspect that the cut-backs may require more of this approach. Getting increased subscriber numbers is critical as not many people will drop six pounds on a games mag. The message of cheaper subscription prices needs to be shouted a lot louder and clearer.

Oh, and GRcade runs like a dream :-)

.

Not Future, but as they're clearly struggling, imagine what is happening over at...Imagine. Their mag websites are occasionally updated blogs, now! Gamer doesn't seem to have gained much traction at all (a paltry 17,000 followers on Twitter), the forums are dead, there are only a handful of reader comments, & Play is practically on its very last legs. Within the last year their covers have all looked astoundingly similar. Never seen anything like this done before:

At least Future's brands are relevant, even if they're not making much money. Imagine only has GamesTM...but for how much longer.

I read X360 last year & it had 1 solitary advert in the whole thing. That just can't be sustainable.

Retro Gamer is an excellent magazine but for which, I think I'm correct in suggesting, no circulation figures have ever been published. I'd hate to see GamesTM or Retro Gamer disappear.

I saw today that Xbox Gamer magazine has changed into plain 'Gamer'; a multi-format magazine. It cost four quid and it wasn't very impressive; the 'staff writers' page still showed the guys as Xbox-style avatars and the mag editorial was still skewed towards Xbox. It seemed to be a case of change taking place with little thought (or, more probably) money being spent on it.

Gaming mags really are in a dreadful state. At least Future, for all its troubles and wrangles, still publishes the three main 'official' console mags and they're worth a good read (via subscription rather than the shelf price).

GamesTM is a great magazine.

Ad7 » Fri May 23, 2014 6:22 am wrote:GamesTM is a great magazine.

yep i love reading games tm , I've been very tempted to subscribe to the digital version on my tablet . Gutted if CVg goes though i read the website a lot and also the podcast is decent and funny as well and they get in different members from the future mags.

I'm still a subscriber to Retro Gamer and it's just a nice read, their interviews and features with developers of older games is something you just can't find online, however as time goes on the more I feel like they're recycling the same content for their more broad feature sections (obviously considering their niche it's to be expected eventually :lol:

). However the writing quality is not on par with say Edge or GamesTM.

I've been a reader of games magazines since I was probably 5 years old and I've never really stopped buying them. So it's difficult for me to consider what younger audiences think of games magazines, and as the reader figures decline year on year I can't help but feel that digital editions will never gain nearly the same kind of traction that general games websites do, or even print magazines in their earlier years had done.

Personal opinion is that Edge should pursue a paid model for their website that offers the full back catalogue of reviews and articles through the years via the site. I've got something like 200 issues and even though they take up a ton of space I still thumb through the odd issue now and again. I can't help but think that by offering so much of their site content (that also gets into the magazine) for free, they've kind of devalued themselves.

CVG to Close | Edge Online Goes Aswell

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