As for amateurs and dilettantes—oh boy, I had people older than me acting more childish than the college interns at times, particularly those who were there due to nepotism.
The Super Mario 64 comparison is relevant. The Final Fantasy 7 shilling is not.
My experience with zines is that I actually made some before becoming an actual journalist for a while, and if you didn’t know, the past few years, zine culture has been in resurgence due to the love for print and the niche readership behind them. Go to a place like Green Apple books in San Francisco and whole shelves are filled with zines—not just xerox and staple runs, but published in standard glossy.
Also, talking about professionalism and video games is not an oxymoron at all, even when writing about video games. Professionalism is a form of conduct that doesn’t disappear because of the field and niche.
Lastly, before you bring in more accusations of Sony hate from me, please do see my profile and contributions at push square, which has a large number of games almost as large as my Nintendo collection.
@Magitek_Knight “Hate Boner”. Classy ad hominem attack that makes no relevant argument to support your case that also happens to be a straw man tactic. 😁
I read the article and again don’t see what you read to conclude things.
Let us try the adult way and I will speak to your two points (dull as they may be).
1. Professionalism doesn’t get thrown out the window just because it’s a fanzine. Yes, they operated like a frat party in a garage, but there are still standards to adhere to for any journalistic endeavor. If anything, the levels of professionalism show more in a tight-knit group there, or “By the fruits ye shall be known.”
2. What hate for Sony or Tomb Raider? If someone reviews a game, focus on the game and refer to other games relevant for comparison. What N. Rox did in the Tomb Raider review was bring in an unrelated game from a totally different genre to support his argument to buy a PlayStation in order to play Tomb Raider.
That’s like saying “I encourage you to buy adult diapers so that you can enjoy laxatives in your coffee” while writing an article about talcum powder and its benefits of dealing with genital rashes.
No hate for Sony at all or Tomb Raider—just not interested in some fanboy whose review sounds like the lunchtime console wars arguments in middle school instead of a game review by its own merits—something GameFan was known for as indicated here so it would look at games more appreciatively that were overlooked by larger publications. 😁
In other words: N. Rox just sounds like the same establishment the magazine attempted to run contrary to then. 🤪
Game Players was indeed interesting...their humor and open disdain for fans writing letters, and the tone certainly made them read like the writers of Mad Magazine had a party with weird writers like Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski.
@Magitek_Knight if by my “bias” you mean my understanding of “professionalism”, then that sure says a lot about your understanding of professionalism. 😁
I read GameFan occasionally. I lost faith in them when Super Mario 64 came out and Tomb Raider got praised more to the point it won game of the year. Particularly as I mentioned in another article comment, N. Rox once reviewed Tomb Raider and then went on to praise the PlayStation and encouraged people that this was the killer app, and in the same review article said that if that wasn’t enough, Final Fantasy 7 was too. Shilling for Sony and praising another game in an unrelated genre for a review of a game—not professional to me, but hilarious in hindsight now that Square owns the Tomb Raider IP.
@Robzilla Graphics and sound for the port, yes. I didn't mind the lack of blood and gore. The Genesis version just had more extras and was a more faithful port in spirit.
@Damo yeah, but it was definitely a pain to play the game pressing the start button to switch between punches and kicks when only using the standard controller Genesis controller. Thankfully, my friends and I weren't combo fiends back then, we were most definitely button mashers, even when playing SF2T on the SNES at my home and SF2CE at another friend's place.
Comments 14
Re: Intellivision Closes Amico Fundraising Ahead Of Schedule
At this point they may as well just put their games on Switch or Steamdeck.
Re: Yuji Naka Killed "Dreamcast's Star Fox", Says Former Sega Producer
@Damo Quite a different person to contrast Shigeru Miyamoto. The fathers of two iconic characters and now we see: “By the fruits, ye shall be known.”
Re: Intellivision's Wii-Like Amico Console Gets Delayed For A Third Time
@Drumpler Actually, the M2 never came out. =D
"The console was cancelled in 1997, but the M2 technology was incorporated into other devices."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic_M2
Re: Intellivision's Wii-Like Amico Console Gets Delayed For A Third Time
Is it safe to say this is more Phillips CDi than 3DO? Or even Atari Jaguar? Perhaps even M2?
Re: Polymega's Launch Is Delayed Until Early Next Year
Would love to have one... though acquiring the old games would be tough since a lot of my old cartridges and CDs are gone.
Re: Feature: Drugged Coffee, Pirated Games And Empty Bank Accounts - The Story Of GameFan Magazine
@Magitek_Knight apology accepted.
As for amateurs and dilettantes—oh boy, I had people older than me acting more childish than the college interns at times, particularly those who were there due to nepotism.
Re: Feature: Drugged Coffee, Pirated Games And Empty Bank Accounts - The Story Of GameFan Magazine
@Magitek_Knight Sure thing, college student.
The Super Mario 64 comparison is relevant. The Final Fantasy 7 shilling is not.
My experience with zines is that I actually made some before becoming an actual journalist for a while, and if you didn’t know, the past few years, zine culture has been in resurgence due to the love for print and the niche readership behind them. Go to a place like Green Apple books in San Francisco and whole shelves are filled with zines—not just xerox and staple runs, but published in standard glossy.
Also, talking about professionalism and video games is not an oxymoron at all, even when writing about video games. Professionalism is a form of conduct that doesn’t disappear because of the field and niche.
Lastly, before you bring in more accusations of Sony hate from me, please do see my profile and contributions at push square, which has a large number of games almost as large as my Nintendo collection.
Re: Feature: Drugged Coffee, Pirated Games And Empty Bank Accounts - The Story Of GameFan Magazine
@Magitek_Knight “Hate Boner”. Classy ad hominem attack that makes no relevant argument to support your case that also happens to be a straw man tactic. 😁
I read the article and again don’t see what you read to conclude things.
Let us try the adult way and I will speak to your two points (dull as they may be).
1. Professionalism doesn’t get thrown out the window just because it’s a fanzine. Yes, they operated like a frat party in a garage, but there are still standards to adhere to for any journalistic endeavor. If anything, the levels of professionalism show more in a tight-knit group there, or “By the fruits ye shall be known.”
2. What hate for Sony or Tomb Raider? If someone reviews a game, focus on the game and refer to other games relevant for comparison. What N. Rox did in the Tomb Raider review was bring in an unrelated game from a totally different genre to support his argument to buy a PlayStation in order to play Tomb Raider.
That’s like saying “I encourage you to buy adult diapers so that you can enjoy laxatives in your coffee” while writing an article about talcum powder and its benefits of dealing with genital rashes.
No hate for Sony at all or Tomb Raider—just not interested in some fanboy whose review sounds like the lunchtime console wars arguments in middle school instead of a game review by its own merits—something GameFan was known for as indicated here so it would look at games more appreciatively that were overlooked by larger publications. 😁
In other words: N. Rox just sounds like the same establishment the magazine attempted to run contrary to then. 🤪
Re: Feature: Drugged Coffee, Pirated Games And Empty Bank Accounts - The Story Of GameFan Magazine
@Andy_Witmyer
Game Players was indeed interesting...their humor and open disdain for fans writing letters, and the tone certainly made them read like the writers of Mad Magazine had a party with weird writers like Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski.
Re: Feature: Drugged Coffee, Pirated Games And Empty Bank Accounts - The Story Of GameFan Magazine
@Magitek_Knight if by my “bias” you mean my understanding of “professionalism”, then that sure says a lot about your understanding of professionalism. 😁
Re: Feature: Drugged Coffee, Pirated Games And Empty Bank Accounts - The Story Of GameFan Magazine
I read GameFan occasionally. I lost faith in them when Super Mario 64 came out and Tomb Raider got praised more to the point it won game of the year. Particularly as I mentioned in another article comment, N. Rox once reviewed Tomb Raider and then went on to praise the PlayStation and encouraged people that this was the killer app, and in the same review article said that if that wasn’t enough, Final Fantasy 7 was too. Shilling for Sony and praising another game in an unrelated genre for a review of a game—not professional to me, but hilarious in hindsight now that Square owns the Tomb Raider IP.
Re: Finally, Sega Genesis Fans Can Feel Good About Their Version Of Street Fighter II
@Robzilla Graphics and sound for the port, yes. I didn't mind the lack of blood and gore. The Genesis version just had more extras and was a more faithful port in spirit.
Re: Finally, Sega Genesis Fans Can Feel Good About Their Version Of Street Fighter II
@Damo yeah, but it was definitely a pain to play the game pressing the start button to switch between punches and kicks when only using the standard controller Genesis controller. Thankfully, my friends and I weren't combo fiends back then, we were most definitely button mashers, even when playing SF2T on the SNES at my home and SF2CE at another friend's place.