What is Grab It Magazine?
Grab It Magazine is a triple-A, digital video games publication created to the high standards set by its founder, Chris Stead, on his previous publications, including Game Informer, Official PlayStation and GamePro magazines. It will be presented natively in the digital format, using the medium’s strengths to deepen the reader experience and their connection to the games. Grab It Magazine is in itself an entertaining experience, but it also provides opinion, information and a direct channel to point-of-sale on all of the games showcased in each issue.
Grab It Magazine is an independent magazine, with a team of 20 handpicked staff. We work out of Sydney, Australia, but consider ourselves to be an international outlet - welcoming to, and enjoyed by, gamers across the globe. We don’t take sides – gender, religion, age or otherwise.
Our readers are looking for new games to discover and enjoy through their technology. They range from triple-A console gamers excited by the creativity in the downloadable space, to the super-casuals who got excited about games through classics like Bejeweled. Grab It Magazine targets that middle ground: people searching for something different, better and creative.
Who Is Chris Stead?
Until recently, Chris Stead made triple-A video game magazines. He launched and edited such publications as Game Informer, GamePro, Official PlayStation, Gameplayer.com.au, Maxim, Krash, It Girl and many more. For 16 years he has been the bridge between game makers and game players in what you could call the traditional games industry beast. An advertising-driven, publisher-controlled space, which naturally sticks within the world that supports it. And he loves it, but the world is changing.
Chris, like many traditional console gamers, has become increasingly excited about the evolution in the quality, creativity and experiences found in the downloadable game scene and, in particular, the way that is being fuelled by indie developers. It’s a scene that he believes deserves media coverage with commitment, passion and quality equal to what’s commanded by the Call of Dutys and Halos. So he is starting Grab It Magazine, a new type of media experience for an exhilarating new era.
What is Grab It Magazine’s Review Philosophy?
The independent and downloadable game scene fascinates us here at Grab It Magazine because it’s a space where developers are free to be as creative as their resources and imagination will allow. In the end, fun is fun and the user interface is important, but you can enjoy games in this scene simply for their amazing art style or quirky sense of humour, bizarre mix of genres or funky soundtrack, engaging characters or rewarding puzzles. We celebrate and reward the desire to create, experiment and have fun with the ideas behind making a game. Remember, we’re an indie too.
Why Affiliate Links?
One of the key ingredients to the Grab It Magazine experience is being able to tap a button, purchase a game you’ve just discovered and begin downloading ait while still reading the rest of the magazine. Apple, as the platform holder, takes a cut of every app sold on the App Store, but it is willing to give a very small percentage of its cut to the reference of a sale. We’re not yet sure whether that will amount to any sort of sustainable income – but since the slice of the pie provided by affiliate links comes out of Apple’s bite and not the developer’s revenue, it certainly doesn’t hurt to give it a try.
Can I Advertise in Grab It Magazine?
We’re cognisant of the fact that the downloadable gaming scene - in particular independent developers - won’t sustain a business model that turns on the traditional advertising system. Our goal is to drive a high number of readers through the door using The Hive, and rely on the cover price to survive. However, we will provide the facility to advertise by those who are interested in doing so. The price of these ads will be industry-led, with space auctioned off starting at AU$100 and ultimately costing exactly what you say it is worth. For more information contact us.
What is the Hive?
Without the backing of a publisher, and given the nature of the downloadable game scene, Grab It Magazine’s marketing is socially driven. A key part of this is The Hive. Part of having your game showcased in Grab It Magazine is buying into the idea that the more people who pick up the magazine, the more games everyone will sell. It’s therefore buying into the idea that it is a win-win to pull together and get the content seen.
And a win-win for the two of us, is a win for the platform holder, attracting its support. It becomes in the best interests of all of us.
The Hive is a collective of companies that have committed to sharing the existence of Grab It Magazine across the full reach of their social networks, on the day (or launch days) that the magazine becomes available. A gigantic social wheel that, when turned, ushers as many people as possible through the Grab It Magazine door - so they can expand the scope of the titles they wish to purchase, learn more about the great titles appearing in our scene, and ultimately buy more games.
Can I Join the Hive as a Reader?
Absolutely. The more people that read Grab It, the more money we’ll be able to put back into the magazine. We can expand into other formats, create bigger and better animations for the mag, more content and deeper access to the world of downloadable games. So if you’re willing to help, even in just a small way, to getting the word out there, you’re more that welcome to jump on board.
It is also filled with gamers who want to get the word of Grab It Magazine out and about, so it can expand and deliver bigger and better content, more regularly.
