Letter from the Editor
Not the best of news.
It’s with sadness today that I must announce The Industry is going on hiatus. Three issues in, we regrettably are lagging behind our key targets to an extent that it demands we rethink our present business model. As a bootstrapping startup, we’ve always known the necessary growth trajectory was ambitious, and so we must be pragmatic in addressing the challenges we face moving forward.
We have ideas in mind about how we can do this, from a content, app and marketing perspective that we’re going to be exploring in order to see if we can bring a great product to more readers. While we’re in that process, though, the reality is we’re not generating the readership merited by the quality of the articles our authors are producing, and our ability to compensate them fairly for the level of work we demand is compromised by inadequate revenue.
We’ve been thrilled by the level of enthusiasm and support shown by readers like you, but we must do a better job of bringing The Industry to a wider audience if it is to be a sustainable home for great journalism. We don’t know how long this process may take, so in the meantime, we have to do the right thing for our current readers by deactivating subscriptions.
We are unfortunately unable to offer refunds directly through whichever app platform you receive The Industry, but will offer store credit to readers with recently renewed subscriptions. If this includes you, please send a copy of your most recent receipt and a request to contact@theindustrymag.com and we’ll get you squared away promptly.
Thank you so much for your support.
All the Best,
Casey Ayers
Managing Editor
@caseyayers
Issue 003: I’m No Good At Filmmaking
I’m not going to lie to you.
I refuse to fill these pages with words of faux-confidence and arrogance—placing myself on a pedestal of film mastery.
I am not the greatest. I am not the best. I am not a trailblazer. I don’t know what I am, exactly; but I do know that I am not to toot my own horn. I am flawed. I will try not to preach, but give you advice to the best of my know-how. I’m going to tell you my story of highs and lows (mostly lows), small victories and many losses, anecdotes and more anecdotes.
For the past two years, I have poured my heart and soul into the one thing that I have grown to hate. I’ve wanted to push it away, time and time again, but it always pulled me back; even when I thought it wasn’t worth the effort. I’m going to tell you about my documentary on the fighting game community, “Down, Right, Fierce!”
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Each month, subscribers receive two issues filled with the most insightful reporting, from 
gaming’s best authors in a print-like presentation for tablets, free from the distraction of advertising.
At just $2.99 monthly, subscribers to The Industry receive a significant discount from the list price of $4.99 per issue.
Best of all, you can read this entire issue for free right now by signing up for a free trial. If you’re still not sold, you can cancel your subscription at no charge.
The Industry is available for all iPad and Kindle Fire devices. The links below will have you a tap away from our latest issue. We hope you’ll give us a chance to win you over with some of the best content available for gaming enthusiasts and professionals alike.
Issue 003: Gaming is Universal
Almost Anyone can pick up a controller, stand in front of an Xbox Kinect or waggle a Wiimote to have a gaming experience. The demographics of gaming have changed to the point that it is just as likely that your grandma will pick up a Wiimote as it is for your little brother.
The broad appeal has many people from different economic classes, races, and nations interacting with each other, through platforms like PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and various PC-based networks. For all the promise of online gaming’s melting pot, though, one group in particular has met challenges. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) population is not only a growing gaming demographic but also among the most complicated to understand for fellow gamers, advertisers and the industry as a whole.
Continue reading this article in:
Each month, subscribers receive two issues filled with the most insightful reporting, from gaming’s best authors in a print-like presentation for tablets, free from the distraction of advertising.
At just $2.99 monthly, subscribers to The Industry receive a significant discount from the list price of $4.99 per issue.
Best of all, you can read this entire issue for free right now by signing up for a free trial. If you’re still not sold, you can cancel your subscription at no charge.
The Industry is available for all iPad and Kindle Fire devices. The links below will have you a tap away from our latest issue. We hope you’ll give us a chance to win you over with some of the best content available for gaming enthusiasts and professionals alike.
Issue 003: Game Movies Suck
Video Game movies have been a part of me for as long as I can remember. Literally.
My very first memory is sitting in a drive-in theater watching The Last Starfighter, Nick Castle’s 1984 movie about a young man who is so good at a stand-up arcade game that he’s recruited to fly the game’s starship in space. Revisiting that film recently it certainly has a cheesy ‘80s feel, but it holds up because it does the one thing a video game movie must do to be good: make it personal.
Video games work because players mentally insert themselves into an alternative, impossible experience, creating a very strong connection. It’s not Master Chief blowing away The Covenant in Halo; it’s you. Adrian Peterson doesn’t break off an 80 yard run in Madden NFL; you do. And Kano doesn’t rip the heart out of an opponent in Mortal Kombat; that’s you. Video games are all about putting yourself in the skin of the characters and the best video games – and video game movies – thrive on that. Movies like The Last Starfighter. Everyone has fantasized about becoming a part of a video game and Starfighter provides that experience.
Providing an experience close to a video game in a video game movie is where Hollywood gets it wrong, again and again. They crank out movie after movie that looks like a game, sounds like a game, but are about as fun as a load screen. Movies like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Doom, Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia come to mind.
These movies suck because the characters and stories never give the audience anything to grasp onto. Yes, the characters from the game are there (in some cases) and yes, they’re walking around in the correct settings, but the writing is devoid of emotion or stakes. Most of the films are nothing more than a video game title slapped on something that’s far from what we remember of the game.
Continue reading this article in:
Each month, subscribers receive two issues filled with the most insightful reporting, from gaming’s best authors in a print-like presentation for tablets, free from the distraction of advertising.
At just $2.99 monthly, subscribers to The Industry receive a significant discount from the list price of $4.99 per issue.
Best of all, you can read this entire issue for free right now by signing up for a free trial. If you’re still not sold, you can cancel your subscription at no charge.
The Industry is available for all iPad and Kindle Fire devices. The links below will have you a tap away from our latest issue. We hope you’ll give us a chance to win you over with some of the best content available for gaming enthusiasts and professionals alike.
The Industry’s Sean O’Neill and Casey Ayers had the pleasure of appearing on the Power Button podcast this week. Check out a great discussion about The Industry, the future of gaming media and much more inside!
What’s the Best Way to Read The Industry?
We’re excited to announce that, starting today with Issue 002 of The Industry, each issue will be available as an eBook on Kindle. Adding this option allows us to support many more platforms than before in a way that makes sense for each. We’ll keep working to make reading options even better moving forward, but in the meantime, we wanted to provide a guide for the best way to read The Industry depending on the type of device you have. If you have any questions, please email us at contact@theindustrymag.com and we’ll be happy to provide you with an individualized answer!
I Have An iPad
Perfect. You should download The Industry from the App Store. The first issue is now available totally free of charge, no trial, no strings attached. You can purchase the latest issue for $2.99 or sign up for a subscription for $2.99 a month, which saves you 50% off the single issue price. Even better, subscriptions come with a 7 day free trial, so it’s like getting another issue for free!
I Have A Kindle Fire
Great! You should download The Industry from the Amazon Appstore. The first issue is now available totally free of charge, no trial, no strings attached. You can purchase the latest issue for $2.99 or sign up for a subscription for $2.99 a month, which saves you 50% off the single issue price. Even better, subscriptions come with a 14 day free trial, so it’s like getting another issue for free!
I Have Another Android Tablet
You can probably get the full experience of The Industry by downloading The Industry from the Amazon Appstore. If you don’t already have the Amazon Appstore on your Android tablet, you can get it in three easy steps. We can’t guarantee this will work on every Android tablet simply because there are so many, but it should work on most devices if you live in a country that Amazon supports. So far, we’ve had readers on major tablets like Nexus 7 successfully download The Industry. Tablets 7” and larger running a recent version of Android will most likely be able to run The Industry. Smaller devices, such as the Nexus 4 and other Android phones should see below.
I Have An iPhone
You’re not alone. We’ve had more readers request support for iPhone than any other platform. We’re still looking for a long-term solution that allows iPhone users to subscribe, but in the meantime, you can download the full text of each issue of The Industry as a Kindle eBook. Issue 002, for example, is available here. There are some limitations you should know about: our eBooks don’t include the visual design elements found in the full version for tablets, and each issue must be purchased separately. However, you’re still able to read the exceptional work of our incredible slate of writers, and do so in a way that makes reading The Industry a pleasure even on a smaller screen. All you need is Amazon’s Kindle App for iPhone and you’re ready to go.
I Have An Android Phone
You can join in the fun, too! We’re still looking for a long-term solution that allows iPhone users to subscribe, but in the meantime, you can download the full text of each issue of The Industry as a Kindle eBook. Issue 002, for example, is available here. There are some limitations you should know about: our eBooks don’t include the visual design elements found in the full version for tablets, and each issue must be purchased separately. However, you’re still able to read the exceptional work of our incredible slate of writers, and do so in a way that makes reading The Industry a pleasure even on a smaller screen. All you need is Amazon’s Kindle App for Android and you’re ready to go.
I Don’t Have Any of These Mobile Devices, But I Have A Computer, Which Is How I’m Reading This In The First Place
You keep it simple; we like that. We’re looking for a long-term solution that will allow us to share articles with all of their design elements intact on Mac and PC. Unfortunately, because article designs tend to be interactive, simply offering a PDF for download isn’t a good option. The good news is, you too can access The Industry in Kindle eBook form. Issue 002, for example, is available here. There are some limitations you should know about: our eBooks don’t include the visual design elements found in the full version for tablets, and each issue must be purchased separately. However, you’re still able to read the exceptional work of our incredible slate of writers, and do so in a way that makes reading The Industry a pleasure even on a smaller screen. All you need is Amazon’s Kindle App for Mac, the Kindle App for PC or just the Kindle Cloud Reader and you’re ready to go.
Issue 002 Available Now!
Issue 002 is now available for download. Here’s the letter from Managing Editor Casey Ayers with a rundown of this issue and the state of The Industry.
Welcome, or welcome back.
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind here at The Industry following the release of our first issue. We’re thrilled by the kind words and level of interest in our humble publication by readers, journalists and industry professionals alike. We have great things in store for our next few releases, and that begins today with Issue 002.
In this edition, Jeff Rivera dives into the world of professional gaming, taking us on a tour through its past, present and future. Matt Green discusses the dangers of cashing in on successful games with sequels too soon and too often. I suggest an old-fashioned idea could have saved Sim City from its disastrous launch.
Our cover story this week is by Lucas DeWoody, the author behind last issue’s retrospective look at Nintendo Power. In this issue, Lucas takes us on a journey through the life, death and rebirth of the game that reigned supreme in the days before video games: pinball. Not often do gaming features include appearances by Abe Lincoln and the King of France, so enjoy.
Before diving in, a couple points of business:
First, thank you to our new subscribers from the bottom of our hearts. We look forward to keeping you informed and entertained in the weeks and months to come. You’ll notice that we’ve added a proper table of contents to this issue, the first of many reading experience improvements to come.
Second, in order to help bring a taste of The Industry to a larger group of readers, we have now made Issue 001 freely available for download. If you’re a subscriber, you received Issue 001 for free as part of your trial period, and we’re so glad you took the time to check us out. Although canceling subscriptions is easy to do, we know many readers are wary of trials but would be happy to see what we’re all about if we were just a tap away. We’re only doing this for Issue 001 and don’t have plans to offer other issues for free on a time delay moving forward.
We’re also reducing our single issue price to $2.99, placing it in line with the monthly subscription charge. The benefits of subscribing are easy to see: you’ll get two issues for the price of one each month, and you can always cancel if we don’t exceed your highest expectations. Even so, we know some folks are just more comfortable buying one issue at a time, and we think this pricing is more fair for those readers.
We’re planning to begin offering The Industry through Kindle Direct Publishing beginning with this issue. This will allow us to reach readers on platforms like iPhone and Android tablets that we don’t currently support by way of Amazon’s Kindle reading app for those devices. It will also allow readers with traditional eReader Kindles, such as the Kindle Touch and Kindle Paperwhite, to access The Industry.
Unfortunately, this method comes with limitations: the file format used for Kindle publishing isn’t sophisticated enough to handle the complex designs and layouts used in each issue and subscriptions aren’t an option. Even so, offering the text of individual issues for download in an eReader-friendly format is our best option for universal access to The Industry at this time; because our focus is always on the strength of our written content, we think this is still a great experience for readers without an iPad or Kindle Fire. Each issue will be available for $2.99.
Finally, a request for your help: if you enjoy The Industry, please tell your friends and colleagues. Our goal remains to create a great environment for gaming’s finest journalists to share their best work, but that is only possible with your continued support.
All the Best,
Casey Ayers
Managing Editor
@caseyayers
Issue 002: At Rest
War. War never changes.
Video game publishers have learned that the easiest path to reliable success is to turn the company’s biggest cash cows into annual releases. Stumble into the right success and a popular music game or first person shooter becomes a franchise, reemerging every holiday season, groundhog and/or zombie style, to produce six more months of steady revenue.
All too often, players must deal with the diminishing returns that come from overtaxing a franchise that just cannot take the weight of holding up a corner of the industry. While the money may keep rolling in as devoted fans continue to buy up the latest iteration of a favorite game, creative fatigue is always nipping at developers’ heels. Stockholder demands aside, perhaps it’s time to let some of these franchises take a year off to regroup. It would be better if some of them were at rest for a while.
Continue reading this article in:
Each month, subscribers receive two issues filled with the most insightful reporting, from 
gaming’s best authors in a print-like presentation for tablets, free from the distraction of advertising.
At just $2.99 monthly, subscribers to The Industry receive a significant discount from the list price of $4.99 per issue.
Best of all, you can read this entire issue for free right now by signing up for a free trial. If you’re still not sold, you can cancel your subscription at no charge.
The Industry is available for all iPad and Kindle Fire devices. The links below will have you a tap away from our latest issue. We hope you’ll give us a chance to win you over with some of the best content available for gaming enthusiasts and professionals alike.
Issue 002: The Life, Death & Rebirth of Pinball
Some know it for the classic, old-timey sounds of the bells, whistles, and poppers clunking away underneath gleaming shatter-resistant glass while the scoreboard rolls and clunks away with each bumper hit. Children of the 80s and 90s know the game as a theatrical light show filled with pulsating music, bright dot-matrix displays, and an almost rave-like atmosphere of attention-grabbing multi-ball glory. But whichever version you subscribe to, the game remains the same.
Pinball is the original arcade game, far predating modern video game culture and in many ways laying the foundation for what would come, including all the social stigmas and generational rifts that often arrive with dominant forms of entertainment. For years, pinball has entertained people of all stripes. The inherent simplicity of the game’s structure – two flippers and a steel ball – hide what is one of the most deceptively deep concepts in all forms of amusement.
The simplicity of pinball invites anyone to play. Few can truly claim to understand the nuances of the game, and with the slight degree of randomness that any game of pinball throws in, no one can truly claim to master it. But unlike other games of balls and physics like pool, pinball is rapidly paced. You don’t get time to set up your shot… you have to save it, fight for it, and hope you can toss the ball into a position to earn a chance to slow the game down enough to go for the big one.
Pinball is in many ways the bastard child of several other games, crammed into one massive, flashy unified concept, but that’s why we love it. Pinball is unique. There’s truly nothing else like it out there, and that alone is why it has survived countless decades, and the rise and fall of the many empires that dominated it.
Continue reading this article for free in:
Each month, subscribers receive two issues filled with the most insightful reporting, from gaming’s best authors in a print-like presentation for tablets, free from the distraction of advertising.
At just $2.99 monthly, subscribers to The Industry receive a significant discount from the list price of $4.99 per issue.
Best of all, you can read this entire issue for free right now by signing up for a free trial. If you’re still not sold, you can cancel your subscription at no charge.
Still not sure if you want to try us out? Issue 001 is available for free and doesn’t even require a trial. Just download the app and you’re ready to go.
The Industry is available for all iPad and Kindle Fire devices. The links below will have you a tap away from our latest issue. We hope you’ll give us a chance to win you over with some of the best content available for gaming enthusiasts and professionals alike.
Issue 002: Traffic Jam
“More than 300 shoppers from at least three states suffered biting winds and cold for up to five hours Sunday…‘The grandchildren want them, what can I say?’ said Clayton LaClair of Stoddard…About two-thirds of the people in line…went home empty-handed.”
So wrote the Victoria Advocate on November 27, 1983. The article refers to Cabbage Patch Kids, the short supply of which caused riots at stores across the United States full of customers trampling each other for the right to overpay for one of the dolls.
Cabbage Patch Kids were simply the first target of what has become a long-standing tradition of global consumerism: stampede over anyone and anything to assure that whatever Coveted Thing it may be will be ours.
Precisely such a scenario began on March 5th and continued for days following, as the rampage of throngs of unrelenting customers resulted in unimaginable carnage, wiping away hundreds of thousands of villagers and townsfolk and leveling entire metropolises.
I am, of course, talking about SimCity.
Players crushed through the virtual doorways of game servers in order to stake their claim in the new, interconnected world of SimCity. And who could blame them? The last Maxis-developed entry in the beloved franchise dates back to 2003, when SimCity 4 was released. Largely positive reviews from journalists able to explore the game prior to its launch only served to further whet the appetites of fans in the days leading up to its release.
Continue reading this article in:
Each month, subscribers receive two issues filled with the most insightful reporting, from gaming’s best authors in a print-like presentation for tablets, free from the distraction of advertising.
At just $2.99 monthly, subscribers to The Industry receive a significant discount from the list price of $4.99 per issue.
Best of all, you can read this entire issue for free right now by signing up for a free trial. If you’re still not sold, you can cancel your subscription at no charge.
The Industry is available for all iPad and Kindle Fire devices. The links below will have you a tap away from our latest issue. We hope you’ll give us a chance to win you over with some of the best content available for gaming enthusiasts and professionals alike.
