The pro point of print mags is that you can read them *anywhere* ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" /> Unless you use a Laptop ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
I actually like browsing through the newest mag sometimes, after a day of work, putting a cup of tea besides me ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> While reading on the Pc my fingers are always wanting me to write something down, can't hold my hands still ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" />
But anyway I'm quite disappointed about the quality of Germn gaming mags ... well they need good selling topics, but I miss more and more depth in them. We have here in Germany 3-4 gaming mags, PC Games and Gamestar, both heavy competors, the ugly PC Action (was once quite good, don't know what happened to it) and the Computer Bild Spiele.
The Newspaper "Bild" ("Picture" or "Image") is what I've heard from the british Newspaper "Sun". They've lauched differen sister-newspapers, one for Automobiles, one for Computers in General, and one (the newest one although it's now already a few years old) about Computer Games. They all use a language that is not very sophisticated with the aim to explain even absolute newbies computers and games. This leads to them using some kind of "different" words / terms unknown in the "real"computer area. For example they don't use the term "patch", but istead constantly say "program enhancing / correction package" or something similar.
The PC Action was once quite a good mag, but now it's simply ugly. The niveau is even more "flat" than that of the Computer Bild, some like the PCA because they believe everything there is written in a sarcastic / cynism tone. To me, it simply sounds like some teenies being allowed to write a mag including allowance to express their dirty fantasies (sorry, this sounds quite harsh, but that's the way how I feel about it). Once I browsed in it, but the disggust was so strong that I had to take a catalogue about an exhibition of the Greek Classic as an Antidote - no, this is no joke, it really happened !
The gone PC Player was once very good, but suffered more and more, until it was closed.
At the beginning of the 90s turmoil in the german market of gaming magazines took place, created by the advent of the Gamestar. IDG (publishers of PC World and German sister PC Welt) seemingly tried to buy out all top editors from *all* german gaming mags- with success ! So they created the Gamestar, consisting of editors from PC Games, PC Player, ASM I think (long gone) and so on. Since then, the PC Player suffered more and more, until it was bought by Future Publishing, being turned into a more "trendy" (as we say here in Germany) gaming mag (meaning it was oriented more towards the younger audience), but that didn't succeed. It was later closed. Many believe even now that the original PC Player was the best German gaming mag ever.
That's how it looks (from my subjective point of view) nowadays in the German market.
