Robert M Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I received this email today: From: jmercer@mancigames.com Subject: The End of Manci Games Date: June 3, 2004 9:54:58 PM CDT C'mon now, don't frown. You and Manci Games gave it our best shot! After much blood, sweat, and tears, Manci Games Magazine has decided to call it quits. While our subscriber base has been the absolute best that one could ask for, we feel that the market simply is not big enough to support a monthly, full color, 48-page magazine dedicated solely to the retro-gaming market. The Bad News: No more Manci Games after Issue 2. The Good News: All paid subscribers will receive a full pro-rata refund! If you paid by Paypal, your refund will be sent back via Paypal. If you paid by check or money order, a check will be issued. All refunds will be issued by June15th, 2004. In order to make sure that the returns process flows smoothly, we will be ensuring that everyone who subscribed through 10:00 PM on June 3rd, 2004 will receive a copy of both Issue #1 and Issue #2. This will allow an even 10/12 pro-rata refund to all subscribers, while also giving any late-comers the opportunity to acquire both issues for $2.00 each. Expect these to show up in your mailbox within the next two weeks. Thanks again to all of our subscribers. You guys are the best readership a new mag could hope for. Also, thank you to all of our contributors. There would not have been a magazine without you. While Manci Games is packing it in, there are a few upstarts willing to give it another go! Be sure to check out: Retro Gamer - http://www.livepublishing.co.uk/content/re...etrogamer.shtml (Manci's Choice!) Classic Gamer - www.classicgamer.com (Online Only & High Quality) Video Game Collector - www.vgcollector.com ("The Beckett of Video Games") Manci Games wishes the best of luck to all of these publications. Hopefully, you will get to check out MG alumni within the pages of all of them! Manci Games Magazine might be dead...but Manci Games Publishing lives on. Be sure to check the website again a month from now, as we will be unveiling an exciting new project... Signing off (for now), The Manci Games Crew Its too bad. I was enjoying the magazine. I do have the dubious distinction of appearing in picture ads in both issues. Ah well, I wish them the best in there future plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I just read the email. That's a major bummer. I was pulling for them and hoping that they'd make it. According to the email, they're refunding everyone June 15. I'm not sure that'll happen, but either way, it was a good, albeit short-lived magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 What do they mean there's no market? Oh well. There's gotta be loads of people into classic games who haven't admitted it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 That sucks. I hate to see classic mags close up so soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 What do they mean there's no market? Oh well. There's gotta be loads of people into classic games who haven't admitted it yet. There are, but unfortunately, for an independant magazine to make it, there needs to be a tremendous fan base for that magazine. Magazines cost a great deal to publish. I'd like to see both issues in their entirety appear in AA's DB. The article on 5200 controller repair was excellent in this latest issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Ok, what exactly happend to their going national by August. For a second I was extremly worried. I thought for a second they might become like a beckett or a wizard. since these magazines have been around they have made it almost impossible for a modest collector to get some good deals. It is true that a magazine like this would have brought major credibility to our industry, but it would of brought a greed factor that would of priced many games out of range for people like myself. Now only if The Video Game Collector can go in a like manner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Iacovelli Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 man that sucks, I was hoping they would stay a bit longer so at least they could come to VGS'04. hopefully,thier publishing project goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I hate this happened. I just read the e-mail myself. I wonder if they considered going bi-monthly or even quarterly. I liked the 2 issues of Manci I have. I thought I read on DP the other day that issue 3 was ready to ship this month If so then why just stop at issue 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian M Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I knew it!! While their intentions were good, I just saw this as yet another GamesGo and Polygon Magazine. It takes a lot of funding (and resources) to run a quality print mag, I just didn't get that impression from Manci games. Oh well, so sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 To be honest it had became obvious to me the whole project was too ambitious. The classic gaming scene isn't big enough to keep the magazine going monthly and it didn't look like they had the resources to keep going at this pace. They should have started bimonthly then switched to monthly if demand was high enough. But in the end I can't blame them for being so "bold", as I am also facing similar risks in order to suport my beloved hobby... I will miss them, and I can't help but lament that the planned Sky Jaguar review isn't going to see the light of day anymore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oesii Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I will miss them' date=' and I can't help but lament that the planned Sky Jaguar review isn't going to see the light of day anymore... [/quote'] Well with any luck and some nudging over at the Manci forum at DP, maybe they can release Issue #3 in electronic .pdf format? It was suppossed to go into production on June 8th so I bet some to most of the articles are written. Was your reviews slated for issue #3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opcode Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I will miss them' date=' and I can't help but lament that the planned Sky Jaguar review isn't going to see the light of day anymore... [/quote'] Well with any luck and some nudging over at the Manci forum at DP, maybe they can release Issue #3 in electronic .pdf format? It was suppossed to go into production on June 8th so I bet some to most of the articles are written. Was your reviews slated for issue #3? Well, I sent them a review copy some two months ago. I am not really sure since communication has never been this great. I was promised a small advertisement space but never got contacted again about this matter. In fact that was just a sign to me things weren't going as planned... To be honest I am fearing there isn't even a half-finished issue #3 as I don't believe they would have gone this far just to have it cancelled in the last minute... My guess is MG was cancelled right after issue #2. Did you notice there isn't any update about issue #3 in MG website? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 That's a shame. I hate to see anything classic gaming related fail. However I'll admit that I didn't subscribe because I just don't have time to read a magazine. I get all the classic gaming news I really need from the web (websites like AA for instance, and e-zines like MyAtari). I can't remember the last time I read a classic gaming mag (and there have been a few) and found some new information. 2600 Connection was the last print publication that I really read. I miss that one... I think with a community this small (and in the grand scheme of things we are relatively small), e-zines are the way to go. Print publications are just too expensive. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 ...but we can, of course, still look forward to the next issue of STMagazine! I think it's just great that we still have an Atari-specific magazine around (and now in English too!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Yeah too bad. Just like Gameliner! Well at least we'll get a copy of Issue #1. -paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc74 Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 In reality I think a mag has to make it onto newsstands where people can see it. Retro Gamer in the UK has been an absolute storming success, and copies are even making their way over here. I always thought that the retro scene was much stronger in North America that in Britain, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the fact that North American mags rely more on subscriptions than in the UK is the problem. I think most UK mags still rely on casual browsing in newsagents and corner shops for most of their sales, whereas over here you're unlikely to find a Retro Gaming magazine appearing anywhere other than a very large book/magazine seller. As an ex-pat Brit I order Retro Gamer every month, but its UK oriented articles and substantial coverage of home computers probably won't go so well over here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatdan Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 That is really, really disappointing I have a few copies of the first magazine left over from the Midwest Gaming Classic, and I was really impressed by the overall quality. I was worried that there simply wouldn't be enough contining content though. Their Retrobrew selection was awesome, but when new releases for classic consoles sell less than 1000 copies, the market for a magazine reviewing them isn't there I guess. Hopefully, something new and great will come out of this though. And if you happen to have a copy of the second one lying around, I would love to pick it up since I accidentally gave mine away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerG Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 Is Retro-Gamer available by subscription? I have several editions of Retrogames (also UK) - good reading, but the dollar/pound conversion and shipping makes for pretty steep prices. Still - I would prefer a subscription rather than buying every month from a website. Look like a great magazine though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 In reality I think a mag has to make it onto newsstands where people can see it. Retro Gamer in the UK has been an absolute storming success, and copies are even making their way over here. I always thought that the retro scene was much stronger in North America that in Britain, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the fact that North American mags rely more on subscriptions than in the UK is the problem. I think most UK mags still rely on casual browsing in newsagents and corner shops for most of their sales, whereas over here you're unlikely to find a Retro Gaming magazine appearing anywhere other than a very large book/magazine seller. As an ex-pat Brit I order Retro Gamer every month, but its UK oriented articles and substantial coverage of home computers probably won't go so well over here. Looking at the ebay auctions over there in Europe it is very evident that the gaming scene is bigger there. True when it comes to rare games American's have England beat in price. But when it comes to the common game and regular system England has us beat hands down. For instance if I were to tell my fellow gamers I came across a Atari 2600 system for $20 people would probably say that you paid a little to much. If I was in england and said I picked up an Atari 2600 system for 12 pounds about $20 U.S. I would of been congratulated for picking up such a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc74 Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 Is Retro-Gamer available by subscription? I have several editions of Retrogames (also UK) - good reading, but the dollar/pound conversion and shipping makes for pretty steep prices. Still - I would prefer a subscription rather than buying every month from a website. Look like a great magazine though! According to RG 3, you can order a subscription through a company called Express Mag (www.expressmag.com) but I visited the website and found no mention of Retro Gamer as of yet. Thankfully I still have my UK bank account and can pay for each issue on the RG website. It takes 4 weeks to arrive via surface mail, but until a copy turns up in Thunder Bay I'll have to keep on doing it. Incidentally, on a recent trip to Duluth I found 3 copies of RG 2 in Barnes & Noble at the Miller Hill Mall - anybody in that vicinity might like to check it out, or check out a B&N if there's one near you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gateway Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I met Jaysen at PhillyClassic 5. Very friendly and full of enthusiasm! This is sad. I was rooting for Manci to find continued success with this magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omne Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 The article on 5200 controller repair was excellent in this latest issue. Thank You. My first published article. It's too bad the 5200 controllers killed the mag! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Hey I just got two issues of this mag today! It looks real good. I like seeing new stuff on classic games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 you fuckoff Seriously tho, I am sad to see the mag fold.. i was going to purchase it when it went national becasuse I feared that it would fold and that I would lose all of my money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I received my refund today as promised by Manci, which makes them a class act in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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