Retro Gamer Magazine Worth It?

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

What’s everyones opinions on Retro Gamer Magazine? It’s been around for quite a while and I contemplated getting a subscription years ago but I think at the time I saw some reports of people bot getting every issue delivered and problems getting that rectified. Are there still problems like that? Is it worth the price?

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

1 minute ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

What’s everyones opinions on Retro Gamer Magazine? It’s been around for quite a while and I contemplated getting a subscription years ago but I think at the time I saw some reports of people bot getting every issue delivered and problems getting that rectified. Are there still problems like that? Is it worth the price?

I had a subscription for awhile. It’s a really nice magazine for sure. Lots of articles to read and whatnot. I decided to stop getting it because it seemed to focus on a lot of pre-NES which doesn’t really interest me. Never had an issue getting my copy every whatever months. I haven’t had a subscription in like two years so hopefully the quality is still there. If you live near a microcenter they actually carried it last time I was in there so you can pick up the latest copy and check it out

[Sumez | 2,951]

I have a few issues, I really like most of the content, and if they are focusing on a game you like, I think they are able to do enough research to feel like the content still has some value.

I don't think I'd have any interest in subscribing/getting every issue, though. Given the subject, there's not much news to cover, and it's kinda self indulgent I guess, given if you're into old games you probably aren't gonna learn that much new from reading them either.  

[G-type | 2,481]

There aren't a lot of contemporary print magazine options for this topic. This is a pretty good one.

[Tulpa | 3,494]

4 hours ago, Sumez said:

Given the subject, there's not much news to cover, and it's kinda self indulgent I guess, given if you're into old games you probably aren't gonna learn that much new from reading them either.  

Yeah, it's tough to do this with a magazine. Anything old has been rehashed by everyone, and anything new and exciting gets covered by blogs, Youtubers and podcasters the same day it comes to light.

[wongojack | 214]

I get it confused with "Old School Gamer Magazine." I got the digital subscription when they did their recent kickstarter.  I can't say I've really used it at all.  I have read a few issues in print over the years, but never maintained a subscription.  I think I just have spent so much time around retro-gaming that there's not much they can tell me.  Plus there's so much specialized content on Youtube; how can they hope to compete with that?

 

 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

15 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Yeah, it's tough to do this with a magazine. Anything old has been rehashed by everyone, and anything new and exciting gets covered by blogs, Youtubers and podcasters the same day it comes to light.

 

14 hours ago, wongojack said:

I get it confused with "Old School Gamer Magazine." I got the digital subscription when they did their recent kickstarter.  I can't say I've really used it at all.  I have read a few issues in print over the years, but never maintained a subscription.  I think I just have spent so much time around retro-gaming that there's not much they can tell me.  Plus there's so much specialized content on Youtube; how can they hope to compete with that?

 

 

Personally I am very picky with youtube channels I watch. If I get even a whiff of something I don’t like, bad audio, distracting mannerism, other stupid little shit, I just don’t look at any more of their videos. As a consequence I have a very small contingent of things I watch on there. So just having info on youtube is kinda meaningless to me. 

Similarly if Im going to read something, I want something in my hands. I can’t stand long form reading on a screen. It cost me a lot more money in college because I bought all the books physically when most others had the bootleg pdfs of the books. 

So this is why Ive been debating getting the magazine, also since I haven’t had a magazine subscription in years and it would be nice to have something small to look forward to once a month. 

My main concern was the delivery issue from years back

Edited December 14, 2022 by LeatherRebel5150

[wongojack | 214]

11 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

 

Personally I am very picky with youtube channels I watch. If I get even a whiff of something I don’t like, bad audio, distracting mannerism, other stupid little shit, I just don’t look at any more of their videos. As a consequence I have a very small contingent of things I watch on there. So just having info on youtube is kinda meaningless to me. 

Similarly if Im going to read something, I want something in my hands. I can’t stand long form reading on a screen. It cost me a lot more money in college because I bought all the books physically when most others had the bootleg pdfs of the books. 

So this is why Ive been debating getting the magazine, also since I haven’t had a magazine subscription in years and it would be nice to have something small to look forward to once a month. 

My main concern was the delivery issue from years back

Well, I'm talking about a different magazine here, but if you don't like bad details in your Youtube channels, then I wouldn't recommend Old School Gamer Magazine.  When I have read it, I've found mistakes like typos and grammar problems.  It looks nice but at least the old issues had a lot of little details off.  Maybe they have improved?

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

Quick bump on this I’m at Barnes and Noble and they carry the magazine if you were wanting to take a look at the content. Not sure if all B and Ns carry the same stuff but worth a shot if you have one by you. @LeatherRebel5150

[Tanooki | 4,933]

They started carrying it again, or just some stores?  A couple near me haven't had them in at least a year or two, maybe more, whenever that big NeoGeo issue went out took me months of finding random other issues before/after to where I got pissed and bought it online.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

6 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

Quick bump on this I’m at Barnes and Noble and they carry the magazine if you were wanting to take a look at the content. Not sure if all B and Ns carry the same stuff but worth a shot if you have one by you. @LeatherRebel5150

Unfortunately the closest BN to me is about an hour away. Otherwise I would just pick them up there. But thanks for looking out!

[FireHazard51 | 2,043]

I think I need to check out the digital copies some time 

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

26 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

I think I need to check out the digital copies some time 

The feature on the one I saw today was Commodore 64 which is the reason I cancelled it. They focus a lot on pre-nes stuff which isn’t my cup of tea. 

[FireHazard51 | 2,043]

8 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

The feature on the one I saw today was Commodore 64 which is the reason I cancelled it. They focus a lot on pre-nes stuff which isn’t my cup of tea. 

That's stupid.  Like do they not understand that retro will include newer consoles like Classic Rock stations from 20 years ago play different music than the same Classic Rock station of today?  Retro Gaming isn't a fix selection of consoles.  That shit should expand with every new console that is released.

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

25 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

That's stupid.  Like do they not understand that retro will include newer consoles like Classic Rock stations from 20 years ago play different music than the same Classic Rock station of today?  Retro Gaming isn't a fix selection of consoles.  That shit should expand with every new console that is released.

I mean they focus on all things that we would consider “retro” I just felt they focused more on pre-nes which wasn’t for me. 

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

They're a Euro centric magazine, so not only is it a lot of pre NES stuff, but it primarily gears toward 8 bit computers rather than home consoles.  Still, I've enjoyed every issue I've read.  It's well written, well researched, and generally top quality.  It also covers a wide spread of time, as some issues focus as late as the PS2 era.  So I recommend it, especially if you have an interest in games of all eras.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

The price of this magazine shocks me. But I get it, its print media which is already hard to do and its also from Europe. But I just can't pay $20 for a magazine off the news stand.

[Sumez | 2,951]

39 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

That's stupid.  Like do they not understand that retro will include newer consoles like Classic Rock stations from 20 years ago play different music than the same Classic Rock station of today?  Retro Gaming isn't a fix selection of consoles.  That shit should expand with every new console that is released.

Making a feature on C64, one of the most popular retro computers of all time, is stupid? 

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

1 hour ago, FireHazard51 said:

That's stupid.  Like do they not understand that retro will include newer consoles like Classic Rock stations from 20 years ago play different music than the same Classic Rock station of today?  Retro Gaming isn't a fix selection of consoles.  That shit should expand with every new console that is released.

I have a mag that focuses on the PS1 and another who's cover feature was Goldeneye. They cover a wide variety, but each issue has an overarching focus.  Makes each issue feel like a cohesive unit.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

3 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

I mean they focus on all things that we would consider “retro” I just felt they focused more on pre-nes which wasn’t for me. 

I had a similar experience with Nintendo Power, where they more or less stopped having much, if any NES content in the magazine 2-3 years before the system actually wound down, at which point I just didn't renew my subscription, as I just didn't have the interest in the SNES (and for the most part, still don't, blasphemy or not).  Can't blame you at all.  If there's not a well balanced variety, it's really not doing a good job of appealing to everyone who's interested in the "retro" category.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

That image some posts ago, I have that arcade special it's a really good one.

But I see repeated comments about Retro Gamer, here, over at atari age too, elsewhere.  They all are the same.

Great magazine...BUT...  That but, they have their lips firmly pushed first and foremost on the ass of euro-computers, they get the most coverage, the most appreciation, and the most leniency on how so called great they were/are which really, they largely just weren't, but given the market at the time it's what was easiest to put up with.  I strongly considered buying the magazine as a sub for years, but too much garbage coverage ignoring large chunks of the more globally cared for stuff (NES, Master, TG/PCE, IBM PC compatible, etc) doesn't inspire wanting to drop like $10/issue.  That's why I liked when BN carried the things, I could walk in, browse the contents, and choose to snap it up or not.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

41 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

That image some posts ago, I have that arcade special it's a really good one.

But I see repeated comments about Retro Gamer, here, over at atari age too, elsewhere.  They all are the same.

Great magazine...BUT...  That but, they have their lips firmly pushed first and foremost on the ass of euro-computers, they get the most coverage, the most appreciation, and the most leniency on how so called great they were/are which really, they largely just weren't, but given the market at the time it's what was easiest to put up with.  I strongly considered buying the magazine as a sub for years, but too much garbage coverage ignoring large chunks of the more globally cared for stuff (NES, Master, TG/PCE, IBM PC compatible, etc) doesn't inspire wanting to drop like $10/issue.  That's why I liked when BN carried the things, I could walk in, browse the contents, and choose to snap it up or not.

The thing is, they do cover that stuff, but being that it's a UK magazine, who's primary audience as a print magazine would be domestic, it makes perfect sense that they'd focus on what was popular domestically.  I have an issue that is almost fully devoted to the TurboGrafx, for example.  I wouldn't suggest someone who wants specific things to become a subscriber, but I would absolutely suggest combing through back issues, as most issues have an overarching focus that could be of interest.

And honestly, I really dig the focus on systems that weren't popular here, like the Speccy or the BBC Micro.  Why?  Because that's an area where I don't know all that much, so reading about it is actually informative to me.  I find I'm less interested in an NES feature since there really isn't anything they can put in there that I don't have at least some prior knowledge of, which makes reading it kinda blah.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

On 12/22/2022 at 1:14 AM, the_wizard_666 said:

The thing is, they do cover that stuff, but being that it's a UK magazine, who's primary audience as a print magazine would be domestic, it makes perfect sense that they'd focus on what was popular domestically.  I have an issue that is almost fully devoted to the TurboGrafx, for example.  I wouldn't suggest someone who wants specific things to become a subscriber, but I would absolutely suggest combing through back issues, as most issues have an overarching focus that could be of interest.

And honestly, I really dig the focus on systems that weren't popular here, like the Speccy or the BBC Micro.  Why?  Because that's an area where I don't know all that much, so reading about it is actually informative to me.  I find I'm less interested in an NES feature since there really isn't anything they can put in there that I don't have at least some prior knowledge of, which makes reading it kinda blah.

Oh no I get that, totally, I just wish it was a bit more balanced because in europe depending on the nation the NES or Sega device of the time were top dog for dedicated gaming off some random euro-pc.  That's why I never subbed.  I'd love to have that NEC issue.  I've got the Neo-Geo one which had the bagged in second mini magazine for it, and then that arcade only one i pointed out as it's a fantastic almost book of sorts.

I do agree we know a lot more about our stuff than there stuff, but they also got quite a few unique games we didn't get at all or didn't get localized out of Japan that they aggravatingly did.

I think they also fairly recently for the anniversary did a big one on the classic PC Doom versions/episodes too.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

On 12/21/2022 at 4:06 PM, LeatherRebel5150 said:

Unfortunately the closest BN to me is about an hour away. Otherwise I would just pick them up there. But thanks for looking out!

By chance I happen to go out to dinner with some family last night in the same plaza way out by the BN. So I stopped in to see if I could grab an issue and I dont know if it’s just a special end of the year issue, or if things have really gotten that bad with prices, but it’s worse than what @CodysGameRoomsaid it was $30 for the issue. My memory seems to tell me I remember seeing them for like $12-15 years ago, which was still buts but I could swallow it. But $30? No freaking way. That puts the nail in the coffin for my interest in a subscription 

On 12/21/2022 at 6:05 PM, CodysGameRoom said:

The price of this magazine shocks me. But I get it, its print media which is already hard to do and its also from Europe. But I just can't pay $20 for a magazine off the news stand.

 

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

$30 holy crap. I didn’t even look at the price at my BN but now I’m curious lol