Even though this was an incredible summer for geeks with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, lately there’s been tough times with geek media, which is unsurprising, especially given the current state of print.
Yes, we just reported that book stores are doing better than ever, especially thanks to Fifty Shades of Gray, but that’s for a whole market that’s been virtually ignored, namely randy middle-aged women.
It wasn’t even a year ago that Future Publishing, who put out Nintendo Power and music mags such as Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado, was said to be struggling, and now the stalwart Nintendo Power is indeed done for after a 24 year run.
According to CNET, Future couldn’t get a new deal set up with Nintendo to keep the magazine going, with the Japanese-based corporation refusing to help expand their online content.
Nintendo issued a terse statement saying that the last issue will be this December, and that “Nintendo Power magazine is closing and is not moving to a new publisher. We have nothing further to announce at this time.” (Nintendo Power had a readership of 475,000 people, and at the time of this writing published 281 issues).
Oddly enough, all may not be lost with gamer magazines because CNET also reports that Game Informer magazine is the third most popular magazine in America this year, and its sales primarily originate from the GameStop retail chain. But fans recall Nintendo Power very fondly, and it’s going to be very tough for many gamers to see this one go.
Some time back, we also lost Wizard Magazine during the recession, which was quite heartbreaking for me to learn as well, because that was the must read mag for comic geeks everywhere. It’s getting extremely difficult to keep a print magazine alive, and if I was starting one tomorrow, I wouldn’t even consider a print and ink format because for a new kid on the block it’s a surefire get poor quick scheme.
And the same week it was reported that long time entertainment reporter Patrick Goldstein would be leaving the L.A. Times a rumor hit Deadline that the paper’s king of the geeks, Geoff Boucher, may also be leaving the paper. He wouldn’t confirm or deny this to Deadline, but if he’s indeed out the door, it’s a big loss along with Goldstein.
Boucher’s Hero Complex column was all over all things geek, and he reported extensively on the production of The Dark Knight Rises, which was tougher to break into than Fort Knox. Yes, there’s more important things to report in the news than the progress of the latest comic book movie, but the geeks can not be discounted or denied, and it won’t be easy to replace someone like Boucher who understands that world inside and out.
