I have some questions, questions as to what Edge are thinking (if their thinking at all), and id like to understand what their offering us in 2011.
This isnt a witch hunt and im not anti Edge magazine.
I live in the UK and Ive been buying Edge since issue one, up until 4 years ago that is, and ive not bought an issue since. The reasoning behind my sudden lack of Edge purchases was due to a little thing called the internet.
Yes, since having my house wired to the net 24/7, i have no longer needed to buy edge in order to keep up to date with all my gaming news, and this has led me to ask.....who's still buying Edge?.
Actually, my real question wasn't to ask who still buys the magazine, but rather why Edge didnt foresee the potential of the internet and make an increble website featuring every review theyve ever done in their magazines and video reviews of current games?, i really think Edge missed the boat, whilst IGN and Gamespot are steaming ahead, Edge are left flogging a magazine when they should really be the most respected gaming opinion online.
I still hold Edge magazines opinions of games very highly and id like them as a company to atleast consider doing the online thing properly.
I wanted to know what Edge gave Halo 3 recently so i came to this site and typed in Halo 3, and guess what?, nothing came up, and that needs to change.
Edge could be the next IGN but more mature and with highly respected indepth video reviews, however it seems as though Edge are behind the times and despite the potential of online, are opting to stick with magazine sales in a few countries rather than taking the gaming world by storm.
I'll leave it at that for now but id like some peoples opinions on this topic, also, if possible id like to get some feed back from Edge themselves, id really be interested to know why on earth this site is so limited and also why their so unwilling to scrap the magazine and go online, remember, its only a matter of time before books, magazines and newspapers will die out completely, information is slowly but surely becomming digitalized and when it does, Edge will be left far far behind, if i worked for Edge and had an ounce of business sense, id get on with it ASAP.
Understanding Edge
Posts: 24
Perhaps you managed to spell 'Halo 3 review' incorrectly into the search box. Just a wild guess.
So are you saying you don't have an ounce of business sense? And IGN...really?
JustMyOpinion wrote: "Edge could be the next IGN but more mature and with highly respected indepth video reviews..."
So, nothing at all like IGN then? You are right about the video reviews though, they are sadly lacking from the internet since DVD game along.
I still read the magazine, becuase Edge has never been about up to the minute industry news for me. They're about quality journalism with high standards of writing, design and interesting article subjects. I don't care if they beat everyone to the latest online exclusives, but I do care what their considered opinions are on those stories.
I don't think that given their current (and no doubt shrinking) resources that they could be constantly hunting for news, exclusives and then writing and publishing them online and still maintain the quality that they are known for.
If you want the latest up to the second tattle, by all means keep going to IGN or the dozens of other sites that publish every rumour and half-truth out there. That's not why I continue to read Edge
Voodoo is correct, the reviews are here, just do a search for them.
IGN is fucking gash. 'The Basics' articles are some of the worst previews I've ever read.
IGN uses big font to make it look like they've written a lot.
Is that a professional pet hate reg?
It surely is. And you have no idea how often pupils think it works.
Jesus christ people, it dosnt take a rocket scientist to understand why i mentioned IGN, you all seem to think by mentioning IGN, im saying Edge should dumb it down, no, i was saying Edge should be exclusive to online and make video reviews, thats all.
reg, I used to do it myself in AS Media, font 12 instead of 10 while I waffled on about some shit in The Matrix for pages.
I can't read the website in the toilet, or on the metro, or in a bar, or in the street. And no, I'm not buying a fucking ipad.
Not everybody sits in front of a computer all day. Some people actually like to drag a bit of paper around the place to read. It's like asking who reads books any more.
justmyopinon said : i was saying Edge should be exclusive to online and make video reviews, thats all.
Cheers mate. I'm sure the people behind Edge will take your expert advice on board and ignore the fuck out of it. I assume you are fully aware that Edge magazine has just gone through a complete revamp, both on and offline. Future Publishing have recently refocused their buisness strategy towards online markets and they have just been announced as Best Digital Publisher 2011. They are just about to release their first eBooks . Digital now accounts for a third of all Future’s commercial revenues. I think they know what they are doing online. They do not need the barely literate, half baked brainvisions of some internet opinionmonger who only wants video reviews becose reading stuff is like reely hard too do sumtimes. Two words for this place - Hell and handbasket.
And paragraphs!
Oh really voodoo?, the magazine has just had a revamp???, oh why didnt you say sooner, i cant believe the thought of video reviews and a more indepth website even crossed my mind, i mean a video review would be great, but a revamped magazine with a shiny new cover and thicker spine!, wow im sold, who was i to think edge bringing us the same indepth reviews in video form would be a step forward, when its all about a simple magazine revamp, silly me
I don't think you understand how to use sarcasm properly. Try again.
You have no argument kow, last time i checked edge was quite expensive so why would i opt to spend money on their games information when i can get it for free elsewhere?.
Aslo, you seem to do all your reading on the toilet or in the streets, and even though that statement reeks of bullshit and i bet you do all your reading at home, ill go out on a limb and try to believe you.
Lets just say you do do all of your reading faaaaar far away from any internet hotspots....the amount of money youve spent over the years on edge could afford you a phone with internet capabilities, something you could quite easily use while your talking....sorry, "taking" a shit.
I dont understand why you people are so dead against something youll benefit from. Youd rather put on your coat, walk to your local magazine shop in the rain and spend a silly amount of money on an issue of edge rather than just switching on your laptop and watching a free video review?, im sorry but non of you are making an ounce of sense.
Magazines are old school, people dont like ownign hard copies of things anymore, its just clutter, even games themselves are gonna be download only sooner or later, just take steam for example, i buy on steam because i dont want to own a game in its case, because its just clutter, also, that game can break (magazine could rip). Digital never breaks, it lasts forever.
Ah, I understand now. You're a moron. That's fine, carry on.
Kow you won't last long on the streets with an iPad yo.
Haha above. "people dont like owning hard copies of things anymore", worst statement ever, thanks for generalizing.
I for one, on the way here, saw a number of people carrying hard things. The Society for the Carrying of Hard Things approves of this. Hear hear.
Blimey. Looks like the 4.0 re-vamp has affected the forum users too.
Intelligent and considered debate - OUT
You're a nob because you made a tpyo - IN
@JustMyOpinion - Although the genralisations you make are a bit strong, the sentiment behind your question is entirely valid.
Let's look at 3 types of consumer
1. Hard Copy reader
2. Digital Copy Reader
3. Constant Copy Reader
Right now Egde caters for two of these markets and leaves the constant copy reader a bit out in the cold (not totally, but a bit). This forces the move towards the likes of IGN, Gamespot, Eurogamer etc. where their revenue will principally come from advertising so content is free to access.
Let's consider a situation where subscribers, and therefore already gained revenue (I'm not going to open the debate up to the fact Edge has advertisers and get revenue from two streams, the advertiser and us who pay to have the adverts in front of our faces), were given access through the website or other digital device, app etc, a live portal of complete content.
A new review that you're waiting for, and for the Edge seal of approval, is posted and you have access earlier than waiting for hard copy. Sounds like a good idea.
That big article about developers in outer mongolia gets posted, read it now or wait for your hard copy to arrive....
Of course this solution doesn't cater for non subscribers, but could it be a way to increase subscriptions, offer something different, create a differerent revenue stream etc etc?
Maybe.
I'm sure there will be flaws in my thinking, feel free to point them out.
PS before anyone starts to reply typo was spelt wrong intentionally..
Justmyopinion wrote: "Youd rather put on your coat, walk to your local magazine shop in the rain and spend a silly amount of money on an issue of edge rather than just switching on your laptop and watching a free video review?"
Yes. I was going to reply to some of your other points, but then I realised you were a cretin.
Fourwisemen wrote:
"Intelligent and considered debate - OUT
You're a nob because you made a tpyo - IN"
Intelligent and considered debate occurs when there is intelligence and consideration on both sides. As for typos, one is forgivable - an inability to write like an adult makes it harder to take you seriously.
JustMyOpinion: Magazines are old school, people dont like ownign hard copies of things anymore, its just clutter, even games themselves are gonna be download only sooner or later, just take steam for example, i buy on steam because i dont want to own a game in its case, because its just clutter, also, that game can break (magazine could rip). Digital never breaks, it lasts forever.
You seem to have confused 'people' with what you think.
Why on earth do they need to do video reviews? I can't think of anything more awful than a writer awkwardly presenting a video review. Whats wrong with a written review?
Also, the reason for Edge's minimal online presence until recently is likely to do with the dispute Future had with Tim Langdell, who fortunatly has now been kicked in the cunt by a number of people.
Heh - "kicked in the badger"
i personally think that all of you are being a bit hard on "justmyopinion". a lot of the points he mentioned are completely valid - it's just that he made the mistake of mentioning them on a forum filled with dedicated edge readers.
i personally don't read online reviews - instead preferring video reviews (like the ones put out by http://www.youtube.com/user/InecomCompany)
for me, the re-design represents more of a facelift for the magazine, and does not (in any way) allow for the magazine to remain competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace - this website being a key example as isn't as fully featured as other industry leader websites (such as eurogamer and ign).
there's still a place for print, but with sales of kindle books outstripping print based copies (in the usa at the very least), i don't know how long it will be before digital does indeed eclispe the need for physical copy.
many of you already admit that you no longer buy edge (instead preferring the convenience - in terms of cost etc - to get your information from the web). will the new price-point of £5 really tempt you to buy a copy?
also, the removal of online/offline in the magazine removes any reason for the average user to interact with the magazine. edge will (most probably) not re-print this post/thread in their magazine, meaning that all of you will probably only be able to read this post on your computer/smartphone.
typos aside, justmyopinion has a valid opinion. as to whether you choose to listen to what he/she has to say is entirely up to you.
finally: don't forget as to what recently happened to hmv etc who all became overly reliant on physical media. edge should be re-positioning themselves so as to ensure that they remain an industry bible (both offline and online) - and not a veritable has-been in the face of more nimble and more hungry competition (such as eurogamer and ign, who probably have a far higher readership at this moment in time).
i personally think that this re-design smacks of laziness. as if edge continue to believe that just because they were first to market, that they are somehow entitled to still command a large marketshare. and i'm sure that the dinosaurs thought the same thing before they were wiped out by forces beyond their control...
www.prankster101.com
Opinions are valid. Presuming everybody feels the same as you and labelling differing actions and preferences as lies and bullshit makes you a moron, I'm afraid. If you're not intellectually capable of entering into a debate then don't bother starting one, start a blog somewhere far away.
one does not necessarily need to be intellectually capable in order to enter a debate - so long as they go with the common consensus.
i think the previous incarnation of this forum came to represent something of a mob mentality, whereby those with less popular viewpoints got a public lynching. it's why i hate forums - esp rllmukforum. they're nothing more than mere popularity contests, whereby one's popularity (regardless of merit or talent) influences one's standing in the community.
in any case: nothing we say will be influencial in crafting the course of the gaming industry. the removal of offline/online saw to it that even regular edge users have no say in the public/print sphere of the magazine. and that just creates an "us vs them" mentality, which has no place in the age of the internet.
finally: i think blog owners have far more weight in the industry that forum users. rockpapershotgun/destructoid are glorified blogs (and blogs aren't that far removed from websites anyhow), and its owners have journalistic credentials. but will a forum user be allowed access to the likes of e3, and be granted journalistic status? i highly doubt it.
www.prankster101.com
Nobody on the old forum go lynched for having unpopular views, they got lynched for barging into the forum without having checked what was already there and presuming they could pimp their wares in a place a lot of people considered their online home. Or for appearing out of nowhere and being condescending or insulting. Minority or unpopular views started arguments but nobody got browbeaten for them.
are you arguing that it's ok to be ignorant as long as you are established? so where does that leave edge?
are competitors really not allowed to enter the marketplace because edge was here first, and because it considers "intelligent gaming journalism" to be its forte and home?
speaking of forums, and maybe i was a bit harsh on the old edge forum - but definitely not on rllmukforum, how do you establish yourself when the place already seats established forumites? because unless one is really crafty and agrees with what an established member of the community/tribe has to say, then it just becomes a battle of (baseless) egos. and popularity.
and rllmukforum consists of a bunch of nobodies anyway...
www.prankster101.com
You establish yourself in a forum by being interesting - not by talking utter bollocks and asking the most moronic rhetorical questions I've ever seen.
Basic grammar and spelling also helps establish that you're not a moron.
interesting for whom?
i don't find the majority of what rllmukforum has to say as being interesting.
anyway, i think i have talked enough "utter bollocks" and will refrain from "asking the most moronic rhetorical questions" some people have ever seen. i will also retire from this thread, and will contribute towards it no more (even if a later post asks me to do so).
www.prankster101.com