Retro Gaming Magazine

[zapiy]

Brilliant stuff fella, it's great to read that you have taken all the advice here and everywhere else onboard, it shows in the mag and your responses and I think that will win you many new readers.

[TrekMD]

Triverse, I can't seem to find a subscription option on the site for the magazine now.  Was it removed?

[triverse]

It is still there, just some code got messed up and part of it is mixed in with issue two's Magcloud separation area.

http://retrogamingmagazine.com/buy-rgm/

[TrekMD]

Perfect, thanks.

PS:  Well, not so perfect. The button doesn't seem to work. 

[triverse]

This is the reason we won't be using Paypal buttons in the future.  I checked it before I posted and it worked fine.  Let me recopy the code over and see if that fixes it.

[TrekMD]

This is the reason we won't be using Paypal buttons in the future.  I checked it before I posted and it worked fine.  Let me recopy the code over and see if that fixes it.

I can understand.  If necessary, I can wait until you have a different system implemented. Thanks.

PS:  It worked!  Thanks!

[triverse]

Informal poll:  How important is a physically printed magazine to you?

[Shadowrunner]

I actually received my physical copy of issue 2 today. I really like that it's printed so it's pretty important to me. Guess I'm just old fashioned when it comes to magazines, but I don't really like reading them on a tablet.

[TrekMD]

I like having a print magazine, to be honest.  It's not the same when reading a printed magazine than digital; however, I will read either way if it is something I like. 

[zapiy]

Same as Trek. I prefer a real printed mag if I had the choice. I tend to read from cover to cover if it's a printed mag or skip through when digital.

[triverse]

Honest question here.  What do you want to see in a magazine, especially one like RGM?  The reason I ask is because judging by what is rocking on the site and what goes in the mag, we have two different platforms going here.  The site is running away with traffic but that traffic is not translating into downloads of the mag, let alone purchases of the print.

So, what do you want to see in a magazine like RGM?  Should we push more "modern" retro like Shadowcrypt, The Goonies remake and Perseus 230 (the top 3 articles of the last month or so)?

Do gamers care to read about games that are 20+ years old?  Are the other mags that cater to retro onto something by inserting more "modern" retro games into their pages? 

I ask these questions because, well, that is how you find out what people want.  We are going to be going with a professional layout designer with issue #3 onward (all in so to speak) so that should cure most of the problems with the layouts and such.

I feel that we are RIGHT there but just a "hair" off from the mark to breaking out into something bigger with RGM.  The market is there, it is just that the current mags don't cater to that market.  Everyone is just slightly off target in my eyes but I want to hear from the people that support these mags on what you want to see in the mags.  What would make you download the PDF and/or buy a print?

[TrekMD]

As a retro gamer, I want to read mainly retro content in a retro magazine.  There are areas where retro and modern sort of meet, though, that would be interesting to read about.  Examples are retro compilations for modern systems, emulation of retro consoles for modern systems, demakes of modern games for retro systems, and modernization of retro titles.  I'm sure articles about those topics would be of interest and could be interesting.  For example, you could look at an update of a retro game and review how well it retains the original's feel (or not). 

It's good to see that the site is doing well, though.  Hopefully, the magazine will follow suit.  Also good to see you'll have a professional layout designer moving forward.  That will elevate the quality of the magazine. 

Insofar as download vs print...I personally prefer to read print magazines but do like to have some sort of digital option as well. 

[TL]

I am with Trek here, I want to read about retro games, not modern games. This is one thing that I really hate about Retro magazine, the focus on all the modern games that have some vague relation to something retro.

Put it this way, Retro Gamer magazine sells around 10,000 copies a month and 90% of that at least is hardcore retro content, I think that tells you a lot . . . .

[triverse]

I believe in as much transparency as humanly possible, especially in business related issues, but that doesn't make it any easier to say this next part. 

RGM #3 will be delayed until we can find a layout designer.  I have approached several and all have had one reason or another to not be able to do the work (life is busy basically).  I am continuing to search though and hopefully the delay will be short. 

I feel this is best for the magazine as it is quite prominent that I am not a layout designer and I agree with the many many comments that the design is holding the magazine back.  There is only so much time in the day and I am much more capable in promoting the product than I am at building it.

If it is to go too long, I will personally contact subscribers and arrange for refunds for unused portions of the subscriptions on a case by case basis.

Thanks everyone for understanding.

[TrekMD]

Sorry to hear about the delay but I can certainly understand.  Hopefully, you find someone soon who can help with the layout.