Game Informer celebrates 20 years of print

While many begin to mourn the days when readers turned pages rather than clicked buttons to advance through their publications, monthly gaming magazine Game Informer is celebrating 20 years of industry reporting.

The print publication reported an average paid circulation of 5,073,000 over six months, and saw an increase of 33 percent in circulation since 2009. This was the largest increase out of the top 25 consumer titles in 2010, with only 10 of those titles showing increases in circulation for the year. Given its target audience between the ages of 18 and 34, this is extremely successful, and led to Game Informer’s new seat as the fifth largest consumer magazine in the US.

In addition to the print publication, Game Informer maintains a digital format of its content, which launched in May 2010. As of December 2010, the digital format is being delivered to 127,320 paid subscribers each month. It’s no surprise then that Game Informer’s website itself was named Best Games-Related Site of the year in the Webby People’s Voice Awards in 2010.

The publication plans to continue its print publication, and change its digital strategy as technology evolves, leaving no reader behind.

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Killzone 3 Beta Impressions: Hit Me Baby, One More Time!!!

Killzone 2‘s multiplayer confused many casual shooter fans with its weighty movement and gun handling, but offered a treasure trove of depth and strategy for players who wanted a little more from their online experiences. This time around Guerilla Games strove to make the game more accessible to the console demographic while expanding on the strength of the last iteration. Killzone 3‘s multiplayer represents a culmination of compromise and innovation, showing off the characteristic production values and quality that no other developer can really claim.

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Jeri Ryan and Ian Anthony Dale confirmed for Mortal Kombat webisodes

If you’ve been following the upcoming webisodes accompanying the new Mortal Kombat, you’ll know part of what made Kevin Tancharoen’s pitch video so great was the awesome cast. You’ll be pleased to know that Jeri Ryan and Ian Anthony Dale from the original pitch will be reprising the roles of Sonya Blade and Scorpion, respectively (we hope). Ryan and Dale both confirmed it via Twitter, and seem to be just as enthusiastic about the project as we are. WB Games had previously confirmed that the awesome Michael Jai White will return as Jackson “Jax” Briggs, who seemed to be the potential protagonist of the trailer. This means that all three main actors from the Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film have signed on for the upcoming webisodes.

Also, Jeri Ryan was allegedly on her way to the farmer’s market with “the hubs” when she broke the good news.

The first Mortal Kombat film has gone down as one of the great popcorn movies of the 1990’s while the sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation was pretty horrible. Tancharoen’s vision seems to be more adult than either; let’s hope it translates into some great content to go with Mortal Kombat when it launches April 19, 2011 in the U.S. for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (though European gamers get it a day earlier) .

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Marvel vs Capcom 3 ‘Shadow Mode’ announced

92732331e4127e83035c7ab318d82f57Capcom revealed on the Capcom-Unity blog yesterday that players will be able to square off against simulations of legendary Marvel vs Capcom 3 players in a series of DLC packs coming after the game launches, known as Shadow Mode. These packs include AI scripted after the fighting style of famous players and features the favorite teams they use. The first bundle mimics producers and a QA lead of the development team, although the blog hints that future releases will include all those famous tournament winners you read about.

No mention of price was made, but it would seem kinda exploitative to make you pay for AI builds. Then again, it’s Capcom. Check out a couple pics of the Shadow after the break.

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BlizzCon returning in 2011 in Anaheim

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but Blizzard Entertainment announced today that BlizzCon will be returning for its sixth annual extravaganza of tournaments, panels, previews, and overall geeking out for a large segment of our culture. BlizzCon 2011 is returning to the home of the team formerly known as the Mighty Ducks and will be hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center from Friday October 21st to Saturday October 22nd.

This year’s Con will feature hands-on play time with the latest versions of Blizzard Entertainment games, the unveiling of Diablo III‘s fifth and final playable character class (the demon hunter), an epic closing concert featuring Tenacious D and more.

Pricing and ticket availability will be announced as the event draws nearer, but you may want to watch their official website as BlizzCon 2010 sold out within minutes.

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First Madden NFL 12 details emerge

While most of us were pulling our hair out at how atrociously bad the Black Eyed Peas were last night, Ian Cummings, Creative Director of Madden NFL 12 (yes, Madden games have those) took some time out for the fans during half time to blog about some of the game’s new features. One was the input shown above where A, A, B on the 360 controller executes a surprise onside kick. The other major feature is “Tuner Sets” – gameplay balances that were previously featured in past NHL and NCAA games that allows the developers to tweak the gameplay without the cumbersome process of getting Sony and Microsoft to approve a patch. This will probably save all of us a lot of time and go a long way in keeping online play fun and free from exploits.

More Madden NFL 12 information can be found at the Madden NFL developer’s blog.

With the exception of the NBA Elite debacle last year, EA Sports has really been impressing game critics with their last few rounds of iterations. Expect Madden NFL 12 to do the same when it releases later this year.

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Weekly Nintendo Download features Spot the Differences!, SCAT, more

As a young kid in the 80s, I knew even then that S.C.A.T. was an… odd… name for a game. Thankfully, the NES game didn’t involve bodily waste and instead was a shooter in the Contra mold. Anyway, this is all just to say that S.C.A.T. (which stood for Special Cybernetic Attack Team) is available on the Virtual Console this week.

Spot the Differences!, a picture comparing game, is the lone WiiWare original this week. Although demo versions of Lit and Urbanix will be available to download from the Wii Shop Channel as well.

The DSiWare Shop will receive a quartet of new games this week: G.G Series: Dark Spirits, a side-scrolling shooter; Boom Boom Squaries, a puzzle game; 505 Tangram, another puzzle game; and Shawn Johnson Gymnastics, a gymnastics simulator.

More information on all of these titles can be found after the break.

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Sony officially announces Xperia Play phone

The latest “worst kept secret in gaming,” the Xperia Play phone, was officially unveiled by Sony Ericsson yesterday.

Engadget has all the details on the so-called “PlayStation Phone,” including the date and time of the Xperia Play’s worldwide debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 13th and the crazy Super Bowl ad.

Did you miss the Xperia Play commercial during yesterday’s Super Bowl? Check it out after the break below.

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