Press Pass: August Roundup

8/28/2008 7:35 PM | 2 Comments | Page 2 of 3

Behind the Scenes at EGM and 1UP

I was pretty shocked back in April when Dan "Shoe" Hsu quickly and unceremoniously ended his 11-year career at EGM/1UP publisher Ziff Davis. Hsu has been reluctant to talk about the specific reasons for his abrupt departure, saying initially that "it's just time for me to move on." That changed with a recent frustration-venting post on his Hsu's new blog, Sore Thumbs. In the post, Hsu details the frustrating experience of watching UbiSoft allow a trio of positive Assassin's Creed reviews leak out early, all while 1UP's 7/10 review was forced to wait patiently for an embargo to expire. What's more, Hsu reports Ziff wouldn't let him write a story explaining the situation and the reason for the late review to his audience, for fear of pissing off a major advertiser. According the Hsu, the incident "was one of the reasons (but not the only one) why I resigned."

The entire Sore Thumbs blog (which Hsu cowrites with fellow escapee Crispin Boyer) has been an excellent look at the behind-the-scenes goings-on at a major videogame journalism publisher. Check out the sample argument over what game goes on a magazine cover, some candid talk about how journalists handle bribe attempts, and a discussion of the sometimes delicate relationship between journalists and publishers.

New guitar gaming mag shows signs of life in the print industry

Just when I think the world of print gaming journalism is D-E-D dead, along comes a completely unique title that gets me to rethink the whole market. Guitars and Games is a one-issue special edition that takes an in-depth look at the wide variety of guitar-based gaming on the market these days. Official Xbox Magazine's Dan Amrich handled the gaming content while the team behind Guitar World magazine added interviews with real rockers and information on transitioning from virtual guitar player to real guitar player.

I have no idea how successful this experimental rag will be, but I'm excited by the prospect of game-centric magazine content reaching past the traditional hardcore gaming crowd and towards broader audiences. I could definitely see this type of concept working for other industries. Why not publish a racing magazine about how the real world of cars relates to the virtual. Or how about a fitness magazine offshoot that looks at using interactive entertainment to bulk up? The possibilities are endless, and could do a lot to bring new people into the audience for games and game journalism.