In 1981, the first dedicated video game magazines were launched. In 2009, they continue a pattern of decline that has characterized the last several years of their history. Generally this is attributed to the emergence of the Internet and its overwhelming capacity to provide information rapidly, efficiently and democratically to a technologically savvy audience. The advantages of websites catering to games over their physical counterparts are well-rehearsed – free content that’s open for all to contribute to and rapid delivery of it.

These are the things that magazines have never been able to provide, and which have allowed websites to make their gains. Writing, printing and distributing a magazine comes with substantial costs, precluding giving them away free; the professional nature of the medium demands experienced, paid writers to provide content; and the usually monthly publication schedule of magazines means that they routinely fail to stay genuinely up to date with the machinations of a fast-moving industry.

EGM’s recent trials and tribulations are proof of the perils games magazines are facing.

Mostly, all these developments have probably been good for games both as a form of entertainment and as an industry. With a variety of free-to-access websites to choose from, we’re more able than ever to make informed decisions on where to place our cash when it comes to looking for quality gaming experience. Similarly, the openness of these sites means that almost anyone can at least comment freely on online articles, and even contribute their own. Gamers participate in games journalism, and it’s not just imposed upon them. Whilst magazines have long accepted letters from readers, these are always chosen by staff, often for the wrong reasons, and consigned to just one or two pages. With websites, readers can participate in every aspect of content, quickly, openly and actively. Games websites are organic affairs, driven by a symbiotic relationship that ties readers to writers to advertisers in a much tighter way than magazines ever could.

Online games journalism, though, has its own shortcomings. Quality of content is arguably more variable due to the medium’s openness. However, some of the very best content that appears online would probably never have appeared in print simply because it was written by so-called unprofessional or amateur journalists. More worrying is a potential danger of online journalism which is connected to the third of its advantages over print media: its ability to stay up to date and current.