Editor - Mike Weigand
Publication Dates - 1989 - Present
Magazine Contents - This particular magazine is designed specifically for teens as it focuses on the heavy interest that teens have in the Video Game market. The magazine is largely designed for older teenage boys, as they are the ones with more spending power and more likely to play video games. As one peruses through the front covers of most magazines, they are frequented by images of menacing looking video game men, or science fiction heroes. Rarely are the concerned with a more feminine oriented video game. While the Wii video game consul has upped the anti for game manufacturers trying to capture the female teen market, it is still light years behind what is going on with video games made for males.
The first couple of sections of the magazine consist of editors comments with letters to the editor. Then they move onto articles that are featured on anything the video game magazine feels it is important for its readers to know about. Sometimes they are as innocuous as describing how multi player games have taken over the video gaming industry. However, sometimes they consist of more important essays, dealing with digital rights management and how it impacts peoples gaming lives. The writer described in the one article how the gaming industry is trying to blur the lines of fair use, and trying to make it so that any purchase made by an individual is only for licensing rights and not actual ownership, allowing the designer to take the video game back at any time, for whatever its purpose maybe.
Following the essays they right about current video game issues, the vast majority of the magazine is dedicated to reviews of the games that have been released, the games that are almost about to be released, or promotions for games that will be released in the future. This section could almost be found in the last half of the School Library Journal, were they talking about teen books instead of video games. And maybe the synopsis of the individual video games may run a little longer in GamePro.
Magazine Review - The purpose of the magazine is twofold. The first purpose is to inform the readers about upcoming issues and ideas that are happening in the video game world. This is accomplished quite adequately in the article section of the magazine. They do not talk down to the readers, knowing that the vast majority of them will be teens. They expect their readership to have some understanding of the issues. Teens appreciate being given that kind of respect. Secondly the purpose is to garner excitement for what the video game world has to offer, and allow purchasers of games to make informed decisions about what they want. They do a quite creditable job at this as well, explaining the game, the console, and the type of game play involved, allowing their readers to make informed decisions about their purchases, and in a way promoting those purchases as well. By accomplishing these goals, you cannot help but say that this is a very effective magazine, perfectly suited to the audience it is trying to serve.
Reader's Annotation - Looking to buy and Xbox 360? Trying to determine whether the kinect motion system is better on the Xbox or whether one would be better off purchasing the Wii video game consul? Want to purchase the latest Mario Galaxy game that is coming out for the Wii? For all your video game needs and more, read GamePro magazine.
About the Editor - Ironically enough, as I am printing this out right now, I am finding that Mike Weigand is no longer the lead editor at GamePro magazine. While this maybe important to future issues of the magazine, I believe discussing his impact on the magazine and its past is important to understanding the purpose and direction of the magazine in the future. While it was difficult to dig up information about him personally, he does maintain a Twitter account where one can reflect on what his contributions and ideas about the industry are. First, one gets the idea that Weigand is interested in the promotion of all digital media, as he has various things about Blu Ray editions of the Sound of Music, and other various titles.
Of course Weigands heart is with the gaming industry. And as such the vast majority of his concerns tend towards items in that industry. Many of his web links consist of articles about upcoming items in the gaming industry. The rest seem to be items of interest or concern to the game industry, such as items about Big Brother and whether or not new laws allowing the government to censor websites without due process is a legitimate use of government time and funds, setting a dangerous precedent.
Genre- Magazine
Curriculum Ties - Possibly could be used for a position paper as some essays take positions of digital rights management software - English
Booktalking Ideas - N/A
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 7+
Challenge Issues - The only thing one could argue is that it does nothing to promote the educational goals of a school library.
Overcoming Challenges - Make sure to keep copies of academic type essays found in the magazine and have them available to see that the magazine, while video game focused does have interesting, informative articles that benefit the knowledge and understanding of the teenage population.
Why Included - To be perfectly honest I felt like this would be a fun magazine that could be included, consisting of things I would like to read about, as I am interested in Digital Rights Management issues and I enjoy playing video games.
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