Those guys over at Edge are a funny lot. Every month, “coin-op” is printed on their front cover, and every month the actual level of coin-op coverage remains zero. This has not gone unnoticed, and it is irksome. But! Forum user RJAY63 thankfully let us know that this month’s issue actually has some arcade stuff in it, and not just some, but a full eight page feature. The magazine’s intrepid journalists head out to the recently revamped Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare, before quizzing Peter Harrison and Patrick Michael on GRID and the general arcade scene (including a brief comment on my favourite flop, 2 Spicy).
Of course, being coin-op coverage in a magazine that largely covers console games, there are some irritations. “What does the truly modern arcade look like?” is a silly question for a magazine which purports to cover coin-op games, and one you wouldn’t imagine would be asked of high street video game stores. By the third paragraph, arcade games have already been dismissed as skill-free thrill rides, and the coverage of some games is somewhat tainted by the availability of console versions. Also, check out that interview – the question on 3D shows that someone clearly hasn’t been paying attention to Metal Gear Arcade.
For all my sniping, the feature is certainly worth a read, most importantly to gain some outside perspective on recent releases. While Edge seems to have gone soft on scores lately (check out how regularly they give 10/10 these days), some of that venomous criticism still remains – commercial hit Terminator Salvation takes an absolute beating, and Primeval Hunt fares no better. Interested? Well then, the article is up and ready for you guys to read right here – enjoy!
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Many of you may know that for the last three occasions that EDGE has covered the amusement sector I have been lucky enough to pen the coverage:
https://arcadeheroes.com/2007/10/15/edge-arcade-article-by-the-stinger-report/
This year a proposal was made again to write a feature but the comment came back that there was no interest in amusement for the foreseeable future by EDGE staffers. I have now learned that SEGA and Code Masters had to ‘encourage’ the editorial team to re-consider (well done too all for achieving this) – explaining why the coverage is un-attributed this time.
The Weston-Super-Mare coverage – equally un-attributed and biting – seems to be an odd companion to the GRID coverage – and I agree with Adam that their scoring and general review seems to belittle rather than review. There is a lot of politics in the EDGE publishing circles and any amusement coverage has to be appreciated – as we do not bring any advertising revenue to their table and budgets get squeezed.
The continuing decline in subscription and readership across all consumer magazines scene is linked in part to poor editorial quality, questionable alliances, review marking and the most obvious decline in consumer retail sales. As the market moved towards a download model the printed media is too restrained to be effective or objective; previous bashing of DLC by some mags not helping their cause any.
I am saddened at this missed opportunity and will continue to try and get some more favourable coverage commissioned in the dwindling consumer media – but the success of the Stinger may prove detrimental to personal commissions. One aspect of the politics is there are constant musical chairs in the editorial department, and the churn means new faces and hopefully some new attitudes.