The End of an Era: Lamenting the Loss of EGM

Hello everybody, my post today is some very sad news and comes with a heavy heart. By now many of you, my fellow gamers, have heard that EGM, one of the finest gaming publications around, is closing its’ doors after 20 years. This is a truly sad period for the gaming industry, and for game journalism as a whole.

EGM, in my opinion, was the quintessential video game magazine. Every month I couldn’t wait for the new issue of EGM to hit store shelves, and I loved seeing what new bits of industry news I could pick up in the latest issue. EGM was especially important to me as a young lad in my pre-internet days. The magazine was my only link to the gaming industry, and it was a huge source of inspiration for me wanting to become a games journalist. I can remember sitting on my couch playing games and having my dad come in screaming at the top of his lungs because I neglected my chores for that day. “What are you going to do when you grow up?” He’d yell. Then, sarcastically, he’d say, “Maybe you can get a job playing video games someday, you lazy …” The rest is all curse words and inaudible mumbling, but as he was yelling I remember looking at the magazine next to me and thinking, “You know what Dad, &$!# you. I will get a job writing about games.” And the rest is history.

While I haven’t quite reached my goal, I’d like to think that I’m on the right track, and last fall I graduated with my Bachelors Degree in Journalism. EGM helped me make the decision on which major to tackle before I even got to school, helping save me a lot of money and time. Many of my friends still remain in college after switching majors multiple times, while I’m done and in the real world, so thank you EGM! The money I saved helped me buy your issues!

But enough about me, I’m writing this post not as a goodbye, but a thank you. Thank you, Shoe, Milkman, Crispin, Shane, Donahue, Suttner, Shawnimal, Jen, and the countless others that made EGM the single, best gaming magazine on planet Earth. It was always my ultimate goal to write for you someday, and it saddens me greatly that I will never have that chance. I hope that all who were let go find other amazing opportunities; I don’t envision such talented writers being out of work for long.

If EGM meant as much to you as it did to me, take a minute to go to 1up.com and send your best wishes to the EGM/1up crew. Thanks again EGM crew for all the good times! Hopefully we will all get the chance to peruse your pages again, so for now I will think of this not as a game over but just a really long pause. Until next time kids.

Related Posts:

• July 3, 2009 -- The New (Old) Face of EGM
• March 19, 2009 -- Support Dan Hsu’s Latest Web Venture – BITMOB!
• July 8, 2009 -- Writing About Games: The Not-So-Impossible Dream