Total PC Gaming magazine is no more

Lunatic Dreyfus said:
I'm slightly surprised people are still paying £5+ for a mag that's already badly out of date by sale day.
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...and that's the problem for gaming magazines, PC ones especially. Anyone who is enthusiastic enough to do PC gaming is going to have internet connectivity and therefore read all the news and reviews for free weeks before the Magazine hit's the streets. A cover mounted DVD or CD is a relic of the 90s when modem demo downloads took forever by modem.

The only PC magazine that managed to hold my interest until recently was Custom PC and even that's lost my money now.

Having said that I quite like Wired (UK edition) although since relaunch a few months back editorial has been a bit variable in quality.
 
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Print magazines shouldn't try to sell on the basis of news. It's the one area they're gauranteed to be unable to compete in. Quality in depth features are where its at. I like Edge & Games.
 
Its a shame when this happens. I subscribe to PC Gamer and enjoy reading it every month, so i'd recommend it to you. Also another PC magazine (some game content) that i would say is a good read is Custom PC.
 
I used to read pc gamer and pc format every month back in the 90s and early 00s but since the internet gets my vote. Gamer magazines cant really cut it any more i think and will go out of fashion soon enough. Fight to the death battle royale style as they take each other out :)
 
OK might give PC Gamer a go for a couple of issues. It might be a bit old school but I still like flicking through a mag when I'm offline.
 
:S I went to the shop looking for PC Zone and when I couldn't find it I bought PC Gaming issue 31, I'd seen it before but never bought it over Gamer or Zone, but it's a very good magazine. The first time I buy it and it gets discontinued. I've cursed it. I'm sorry.
 
Received the latest mag not long ago and no mention of it's demise and no letter in the post. Will be cancelling though cos I'm not interested in the Games TM mag.
 
Received issue 31 but no letter yet - definitely don't want Games TM as a replacement though as I already subscribe to that
 
I like PC games magazines, there's just something about them that is far nicer than an online review.

But ever since the magazines gave FarCry 2 94% I've stopped buying them. I'd rather read 5 web reviews and make a judgement, then pay to be lied to.
 
Athanor said:
...and that's the problem for gaming magazines, PC ones especially. Anyone who is enthusiastic enough to do PC gaming is going to have internet connectivity and therefore read all the news and reviews for free weeks before the Magazine hit's the streets. A cover mounted DVD or CD is a relic of the 90s when modem demo downloads took forever by modem.
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But you can't do that on the tube, bus, train and at my mum house, where I used to read it.

The cover DVD are pointless. They made a big deal of not having one and the cheaper price made we switch to it. Oddly they were rather quite when they added it as a "free" gift the same time the mag got a price hike.

I thought the hardware section was very good. They also didn't do game guides for games i don't play.
 
Disappointed as I have subscribed since issue one, not totally surprised though as the mag has been getting thinner.
The decision to include the dvd was the beginning of the end as one of the biggest selling points was no dvd (pointless in this day and age) and cheaper price.

Might give pc gamer a go, its all very well people saying there is no need for a mag in this day and age but its nice to have something on the coffee table that you can just pick up and read or take to the loo without having to get the laptop out.
 
Anyone else received the letter yet other than the OP as there's no mention of tpcg closing on their website which is still being updated.

As for alternative PC gaming magazines given the choice of PCZ or PCG I think I'd rather subscribe to the National inquirer as there's more accurate info in that than both of the mags (and I used to write for one of those as well)
 
I get PC Zone as I tend to find the reviewers opinions are close to my own. In all my years buying games mags that's the thing that I look for the most as I know most reviews are somewhat biased so I find the ones that are biased in the same way as my own views :D
 
I've always found the style and content of Total PC Gaming to be much more mature than some of the silly (often poor quality and badly edited tat) of the other gaming mags.

Moving on then... so what sites do we recommend for PC gaming and hardware reviews?
 
davecarter said:
Might give pc gamer a go, its all very well people saying there is no need for a mag in this day and age but its nice to have something on the coffee table that you can just pick up and read or take to the loo without having to get the laptop out.
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That's why I've been a subscriber to PCG since 1994 :)

However...I do have to ask myself why I stay subscribed to it? The first thing I do is throw the DVD is the bin; the cover disc has become obsolete in the light of almost-ubiquitous broadband. Commodore Format cover-tapes and Amiga Action cover disks...those were the days :D

There's also been a few issues lately where the bulk of the reviews have been indie games, which is more a reflection on how the PC as a games platform isn't what it used to be (a 3 -4 page spread on Spelunky?!).

At the end of the day, it's mostly down to having a stack of paper with a nice glossy cover dropped through the letterbox every month because as an informational resource, the Internet sticks a rod up it's bum and uses it as a floor-mop.

Oh, and the best thing for lavatorial excursions possible is an iPod Touch and WiFi - bowel movements have never been so fun (ok, they always were quite fun but now they're super-streaming video and webpage-tastic!)
 
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Total PC Gaming was the only PC gaming mag I read every month. Even after they failed to stick to their guns and added the useless cover disc that had made them different in the first place. I thought it was well written and generally more mature than the other mags.

PC Gamer and PC Zone - both overpriced with a lack of substance, dodgy reviews (like PC Zone glossing over the whole Assassin's Creed DRM issue in their review) and increasingly juvenile and puerile writing. And of course useless cover discs adding to the price.

I have recently picked up a couple of issues of Edge - which I think is very good if you don't mind a multi-format title. The PC seems to be respected and given a decent share of the mag. So that's the one I'll probably go for now.

Shame to see this magazine go down - especially as the direct competition is so poor...
 
GeezerButler said:
Shame to see this magazine go down - especially as the direct competition is so poor...
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That hits the nail on the head really - it was by far the best written PC Gaming mag out of the three (disregarding the "early" days before TPCG was on the scene)... makes you wonder if either the majority of PC gaming people didnt know of its existence or are so "special" they are suckered in by the publisher sponsored reviews of the other two resort to these days...
 
chaparral said:
Why not read the online PC reviews for free :confused:
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I believe "Rainforest UK" have actually blocked reviews being posted on C&C 4 presumably over fears that the almost universal condemnation of both the stringent DRM and fairly pathetic game will damage sales. I believe the US counterpart is still allowing reviews but, particularly if the trend towards lousy games and insidious DRM continues to gather pace, how long before they adopt the same policy?

On a wider note re PC gaming mags, back in the "day" mid-90's to early 00's when PC gaming was probably at its peak there was always a huge and diverse selection of titles to be covered. Most months saw a new combat flight sim or two, a racing game, RPG or FPS. Contrast that now to the relatively moribund state of the genre and I wouldn't be surprised to see PCZ or PCG go next (or maybe bi-monthly), as there's just not enough new or interesting stuff coming out, IMHO.
 
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