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WoW Magazine ending with issue 5
It looks like publication delays and deadlines were not the worst of the World of Warcraft Official Magazine's troubles. Issue 5 of the oft-late magazine will be its last, and subscribers have been sent emails with redemption codes for a refund or a package of the six pets from the Blizzard pet store. You are apparently only allowed to get a reimbursement if you request it in writing by Sept. 30, so check your email soon if you are a World of Warcraft Official Magazine subscriber. The World of Warcraft Official Magazine was a pretty cool resource when it came out, but with print media for a game that changes so often and critically as World of Warcraft, the magazine just could not keep up. It is a shame, however, to see anything of this caliber end. I think I speak for a lot of readers and WoW fans when I say that the magazine had a lot of potential. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Don't panic about those WoW Magazine subscription renewal notices
We got some reports through Twitter and the tip line that current subscribers to the World of Warcraft Official Magazine had received notices asking them to resubscribe. Several people, especially those who ordered subscriptions and haven't yet received their four issues, took this to mean that their subscription had lapsed and that they wouldn't be receiving any more issues unless they resubscribed. This is not the case! We contacted Andy Salisbury, editor at the mag, and he had this to say: The email is just a reminder. Those that paid for 1 and 2 year subscriptions will get their 4 and 8 issues (respectively), regardless of timing. We're not going to hold anyone's issues hostage or anything of the sort, it's just meant to let subscribers know about renewal! So don't panic. The email was just intended as an "if you like the WoW magazine, resubscribe to it!" notice, not as a notification that you won't be getting what you paid for. Thanks to Andy for getting back to us so promptly.
Is there a place for MMO magazines?
In the vein of the World of Warcraft magazine, Massively reports that NCSoft has announced a magazine for the MMORPG Aion. Unlike the quarterly World of Warcraft magazine, the Aion magazine will be digital-only and come out every four weeks, or roughly every month. The Aion magazine also features bonus in-game items for players who pre-order, such as armor dyes and consumables. The magazine announcement actually begs the question about whether there's much sense in publishing magazines for an MMO, a constantly evolving and growing game. I subscribed to the World of Warcraft magazine mostly out of a love for the print medium, even though I'm well aware that the information published therein could be made obsolete by a single patch or hotfix. Working for WoW.com, I understand the value of online content which can be updated very quickly and frequently. Best of all, most online magazines (as opposed to Aion's digital format) are free. That said, the World of Warcraft magazine looked gorgeous from the previews and from an artistic standpoint, I always believed there was value in a well-made and laid out publication. I'll have a better idea of what to think when my magazine actually arrives. That's the other thing. Aion's digital-only magazine will presumably be available for download, giving instant gratification. Online magazines are just one web browser away. The World of Warcraft magazine, on the other hand, was due to come out in the 4th quarter last year but encountered a few bumps along the road and was pushed back ever so slightly. When we learned that it finally started shipping early this year, I was pretty stoked to get my hands on one. But it's now March and nothing has arrived in the mail, so that's a big minus for print subscriptions right there. Sure, I live in Asia, but I paid my $69.95 just like everybody else. I'd almost forgotten about it, actually, but Massively's post about Aion's mag reminded me and got me more than a little upset that I haven't gotten my copy two months after folks started getting theirs. Kwurky can only keep me amused for so long, after all.
World of Warcraft: The Magazine, coming soon
In a rather surprising turn of events, Blizzard has announced that they're teaming up with publishing group Future to print a quarterly magazine about, you guessed it, World of Warcraft. For the yearly subscription price of $39.95 USD, readers will receive four issues of the ad-free WoW magazine, including concept art, hints and sneak peeks at upcoming content patches and expansions, interviews with developers, strategies for raid and dungeon encounters, and more "insider and player perspectives". The issues are stated to be more than 140 pages long and glossy as heck. It's admittedly rather shocking that a magazine like this is getting published -- not because of content or anything like that, but because print is considered a flagging medium. The formula for success here seems to be to offer a high-end product -- Future says they consider it more of a "collectible coffee-table book" than a magazine -- and sustain it on subscriptions alone, since it'll be free of advertising. Hopefully legions of fans will subscribe and give the 'zine its lifeblood, since it actually sounds pretty cool to me. The first issue is scheduled to go to press at an as-yet-unknown date this fall, and is supposed to contain interviews with top guilds about Ulduar strategies, a retrospective on WoW for its fifth anniversary, and unnamed other content.Those wishing to subscribe can visit the magazine's official website on August 21st -- that's BlizzCon day one -- and enter their info there, or visit the WoW Magazine booth at the 'Con itself.
