Computer Gaming World aka "Games for Windows: the Official Magazine" is now online only.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167296

Probably not surprising but still kinda sad.

The older I get, the less I like the Internet or a computer.

It was bound to happen. With Game Stop's Game Informer ruling the gaming magazine roost (largely through the inclusion of a years subscription with the yearly purchase of their trade in discount card) it will be almost impossible for any other gaming magazine to compete with their subscriber numbers. Compounding the issue is the fact that most folks are not going to subscribe to multiple gaming magazines, thus GI's large subscriber base directly cuts into the other magazine's subscriber base and rack space/sales (Surprisingly, if I recall correctly, Game Informer was in the top 25 circulation for paid subscriptions in the US, and one of the top 4 for its key demo 18-34 y/o males a year or two back).

againze advertising rates is tied directly to circulation numbers, which means that other game magazines are suffering a double hit, the loss of subscriber fees and the much larger hit to their advertiser rates (I'll leave, for a later time, discussion regarding the ethical issues surrounding the largest gaming magazine wholly owned by the largest game retailer, the effect such an enterprise has on game quality, and the barriers to entry it poses for smaller development houses and publishers).

It's kinda sad, I generally ended up getting more information out of CGW when I read it as a magazine compared to just the generic "Game info sites" I visit. Mostly because the game sites are really freaking annoying to read. Everything BLINKY BLINKY BLINKY!!!!!

On the flip side, I'm really starting to enjoy Wired Magazine and Wired Online as well as keeping Engadget in my favorites.