800 lb. Gorilla

EA has apparently secured a deal with the NFL to monopolize the football videogame industry. <sigh> You really have to wonder what they're thinking. They already own most of that market due to the popularity of Madden. I guess Sega's recent price cut on their sports games made them feel pretty threatened. It was certainly a bold move on their part (and a sensible one - nobody should be paying standard game prices for a sports game that is really just an updated roster of the teams). Although rumor had it they were going to raise the prices again in a year or two. What really ought to happen is that sports games should go the way of the MMORPG - you buy the game once and then pay a yearly fee to have the updated content. Plus the online factor ensures that there's always a decent opponent. You could probably work out some pretty interesting things with regards to trades and draft picks as well. So there you go. Million dollar idea. Just remember to give me credit when you rip it off.

Sounds like a bunch of game magazines are getting the axe. GMR and XBN and one other one I can't recall (it's mentioned on GAF's main page if you went to check out the EA story). I like magazines. We currently only subscribe to a couple. I'm always on the lookout for something new to peruse though. I used to subscribe to a game magazine. (OPM if you're that curious) It was interesting for a while. Game journalism is a tricky thing. Reviews are odd things - they're barely more than hype - occasionally you'll find a reviewer you can trust, but it's a rare thing. Previews are really nothing but hype, and the game industry itself (while getting more interesting) certainly lacks the appeal of something like Hollywood or the political arena. So that leaves not too much more than the ads - which game magazines are chock full of as well. (Not that there are many magazines that aren't mostly ads...) There have been some interesting pieces on the state of game journalism and where it needs to head. Who knows, it might even get there some day. It's sad that more magazines are disappearing though. I suspect it's pretty hard for magazines to survive. I think the internet has hurt them slightly more than things like newspapers or books. Magazines tend to be pretty specialized, and while there's something satisfying about the physical aspect of a magazine, the net has the potential (and the reality) to be a lot more specialized than a magazine.