egm-now posts

The relaunch of Electronic Gaming Monthly in both print and online versions is now in full swing. The first print magazine issue has been on newsstands for a few weeks now and the EGM[i] online interactive magazine has posted its third issue this week. Today it was officially announced that both the print and online editions of EGM would be getting a new Editor-in-Chief in Billy Berghammer.

Berghammer has a ton of previous game journalism experience that included some time as the Managing Editor of Game Informer's web site and later for an all too brief stint as Editorial Director of Gaming for G4TV.com.

We've been wondering how the upcoming relaunch of Electronic Gaming Monthly will be pulling off their big plans for an interactive electronic version of their print mag. In a new update to the sparse EGM web site this week, founder Steve Harris finally gives a demo of how EGM[I] will work by using a cover of the magazine's "lost issue" (the issue that was completed by the previous EGM team before its owner Ziff Davis pulled the plug).

The demo uses a new technology created by a company called ScreenPaper. The demo itself isn't all that interactive but it does show at least what the visual look of the e-magazine will be like, complete with sound effects. Harris says, "Within weeks you'll be able to read, watch, and listen to pages that are vibrant and legible, without the need to zoom in and out " EGM's first print and e-issue should be released sometime in March with an April 2010 date.

Fans of Electronic Gaming Monthly's print magazine have reason to celebrate today. After ZiffDavis shut down the magazine's operations over a year ago the magazine's original founder Steve Harris bought back the rights to the magazine. Today Harris updated the EGM web site with an update, announcing that folks in North America can now sign up for subscriptions to the new EGM. Subscriptions include getting the monthly print magazine mailed to you as well as access to EGM[I]: The Digital Magazine, their weekly extension of the print magazine. Six months of the EGM/EGM[I] combo costs $14.99 while a full year costs $24.99 for US subscribers (Canadians will have their own subscription options).

The print mag itself will start showing up in newsstands with the April 2010 date issue (which likely means they will get the issues sometime in March) The magazine will have a heavier than normal paper stock that Harris states will "provide greater reproduction quality and to give the magazine a nicer overall look and feel. " The cost for each newsstand issue will be $6.99 so obviously subscribing to the mag is the better value. Harris is still being pretty vague on what EGM[i]: The Digital Magazine will be like, saying, " It is an entirely new product that literally brings content to life in ways that print magazines and websites just can't do." We should see the interface of the product in the coming weeks which will incorporate video, downloads and more. He also hints that it will have some kind of interaction with Apple's upcoming iPad product and other tablet based PCs.

It's a rare thing for a print magazine to come back to newstands after being shut down but one of the biggest such mags in the gaming industry is doing just that. After months of preparations, Electronic Gaming Monthly will return to newsstands in March with its April 2010 dated issue.

As some of you may know, the magazine was shut down just under a year ago by Ziff Davis as part of its complete escape from the game media industry. However the magazine's original founder Steven Harris bought back the rights to EGM last May. Since then he has been working to relaunch the print magazine and tie it into a digital version, EGM[i]: The Digital Magazine. Each newsstand copy of EGM will have a code to access EGM[i] that will provide both original content as well as article extensions. The new EGM will also have contributions from a number of the magazine's previous writers and editors.

It looks like the revival of Electronic Gaming Monthly is gaining steam. Last week it was announced that the canceled gaming magazine's ex-editor in chief Dan Hsu and its Reviews Editor Demian Linn would be contributing to the new upcoming version of EGM. Now comes word that one of the original magazine's columnists, Sean "Seanbaby" Reiley, will also be writing for the new EGM.

"Seanbaby" will be offering up his "Rest of the Crap" column once again to the new EGM's print magazine and web site. The column goes after genuinely horrible games with humor and, well, humor. In a separate announcement, it was revealed that the new EGM would feature contributions from Area 5 Media. The company was founded by Ryan O'Donnell and Matt Chandronait, who were formerly producers of the 1Up Show on 1Up.com. They now work on another only weekly gaming show, CO-OP. There's still no word on when the new EGM will launch.