I purchased two Italian gaming magazines during my travels: “PlayStation 2 Magazine Ufficiale Italia” and “Game Republic.” I found “PlayStation 2 Magazine Ufficiale Italia” in a small convenience store in the miniscule town of Montecatini Alto. It largely resembles the “Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine” released in America, though I believe such “official” magazines are available worldwide, though from different publishers. I initially assumed that it was just a translated version of the official PlayStation magazine from the United Kingdom, but it appears to be a completely original publication for the Italian market. The entire editorial staff appears to be Italian, and the magazine seems to have been in existence for over four years.
The front cover of the magazine features a group shot of the World Cup champion Italian soccer team, and is advertising a feature story about Pro Evolution Soccer 6, one of the most popular games in all of Europe. Additionally, the front cover advertises a special feature about the Gran Turismo racing series, another European favorite. “PlayStation 2 Magazine Ufficiale Italia” has much, much less advertising than any American gaming magazine I’ve ever read, and the advertisements it does have are almost entirely from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The reviews use a full one- or two-page layout with large screenshots (many American magazines give reviews one-half or one-third of a page with a single picture), but the editorial content is largely the same. The games are rated on a ten-point scale, with half-points in-between.
As with most worldwide official gaming magazines, “PlayStation 2 Magazine Ufficiale Italia” comes with a playable demo disc, with eleven playable games and a video reel. A small hint guide for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was also included with the package, which was impressively large. In America, all of these things would be poly-bagged to save space, but the Italian magazine used a large, cardboard backer to allow the individual parts to be displayed. It takes up an enormous amount of space, and the additional packaging is probably factored into the price (€8.90 [$11.25], while the American magazine is just under $10).
The monstrous packaging of "PlayStation 2 Magazine Ufficiale Italia."The other magazine I purchased was “
Game Republic,” which looks startlingly similar to “
Gamers Republic”, an American magazine that folded a few years back.
My guess is that the rights to the design and such were sold abroad.
“
Game Republic” is a multi-platform magazine from the same publisher as “PlayStation 2 Magazine Ufficiale Italia,” and similarly lacks a heap of advertising (and uses many of the same ads in the same places).
It has a fair bit in common with some of the American multi-platform magazines of years’ past.
Not only does it have game reviews, previews, and features, but there is also a focus on anime and Japanese culture.
The same ten-point scale is used for reviews, and the magazine sells for €5.
Several other gaming magazines were available at the newsstands, including specialty magazines for the PlayStation 2, Xbox/Xbox 360, and PC. My time spent with the Italian gaming magazines revealed them to be just as detailed and wide-reaching as your average American magazine. Considering the size gap between the American and Italian gaming markets, this revelation was fairly shocking. I have no idea how these magazines are profitable, though. With little advertising and a likely small base of readers, I have to wonder how they can pay the writers a decent wage. Maybe all the tourists (like me) buy the magazines and stare blankly at the pretty pictures.
# posted by Andrew Hayward : 10:59 AM
