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"Games magazines."

Ok, this post may seem a bit "bitty" and not quite together, but i've had a few thoughts on games magazines generally and though i'd put them all together in one easy to read post.

PC Games magazines: How many games magazines give games higher marks than they deserve to get exclusive reviews and demo's? I've seen a number of games get high marks, 85%+ in one magazine, but lowish marks, 60%ish, in another. Is this difference just down to the differences in taste between the reviewers or is something else going on?

Console Games Mags: Why is it that only the Official DreamCast magazine has a demo disc on? I havent owned a PSX or PS2, but is it the same with Sony? Is it only the Official Sony magazines that have demo discs?

If so, why? Do they make sure that the official magazine is the only one with a cover disc just so people buy it? Do they think that if all the magazines had cover discs then no-one would buy the official one as they think it's biased?

I first bought the Official DC Mag because it had the demo disc. After reading it, i realised that it wasn't biased at all and it was very neutral. Do other people think the same? Are Sega, Sony etc worried that others may not agree and buy an independant mag if they all had demo discs?

Also, do independant magazines need authorisation to from Sega/Sony to have a demo disc? Can't they just approach some publishers and set up deals between themselves?

Also, does anyone know if there will be a GBA only magazine or will i have to buy a general Nintendo mag?

I know that there are more questions then answers here, so please fill in the gaps!

Yes they do YH, Unlike NOM who give a rubbish game 8 out of 10.

Honesty is what makes a great magazine.

I never watch the videos on the demo discs, there's no point. I want to know how the gmae plays and you cant get that impression from watching a vid.

I do buy ODM as i think it's actually the best mag, not just because of the disc on the front. The first time i bought it was because of the demos but after reading it i realised that they aren't biased and if a Sega game is crap then they give it the score it deserves, 4 out of 10 or whatever.

I NEVER EVER buy the official magazines...

I buy PSW as it has the DVD which has all the latest games on there. I've seen Devil May Cry and that is just stunning. I dont care too much about playable demos but the DVD is great as you can see footage of games that are 6 months from being released. The DVD is also over an hour long usually or myabe just under the hour sometimes. I read the reviews in the magazine as well as reviews on websites. What I want really is a pretty good magazine and the DVD. With the internet you can find so much information on the games and reviews that I stopped buying games magazines as there wasnt much point in spending £2.50, £3 on a magazine with less information than on the internet. With the DVD its a added bonus as now I can watch the game as well as read the reviews. The videos on the DVD would take ages to download in you could find them all and the quality would be no where near what it is on the DVD.

It seems that if the Dreamcast Demo Disk is issued by Sega, it's up to them what they put onto it. The Mag can't complain if they put the same stuff on every week?

I often buy a magazine, about 2 every month. The Official Dreamcast Magazine (ODM) don't make the demo's, Sega does. they choose what games should be on and what video's should be on. This is probly why no over DC mag has a demo as they arn't official. And many people like there magazines without demos as it makes them cheap!

On the PS2 unofficial mag's do have demo's. But there not playable demo's. There just DVD's.

I dont mind if a mag has a demo or not as long as there good. A lot of people just buy the mag's with demos because they've got a game on them, I think this is wrong. I buy the magazines for the reviews. The previews and the news that coming up!

Also i think that with an official mag you will get a better answer, or review result as they are official and not biased at all!

Maybe for the Gamecube, but i think the optical discs that Nintendo use are more expensive than your standard CD or DVD. But i did hear somthin a while back about gettin a demo disc with the actual console.

It is a shame that N64 demo cartridges are not possible. It would just be way too expensive - each mag could cost £25!

Maybe for the GameCube though........

u should be grateful for your demo disks! Us n64 owners never got any demo carts! But i see where your coming from. They can fit loads of stuff onto discs but they seem to fil it up with crap right?

The demo disk that comes with the Official Dreamcast Magazine can sometimes be amazing with up to four playable demos and loads of game movies. But sometimes the same demo's keep getting repeated issue after issue. This was so with the last two mags with 18 Wheeler.
They had a playable demo of Daytona USA 2001 AND the movie! which was a bit pointless.
It was made up though by a really cool demo of Confidential Mission which is cool with the light gun.

So the demo disks seem to be hit or miss affairs. Some are good, some are'nt.