Game Informer (Magazine)

Game informer magazine: For video game enthusiasts. (2010, October). Eden Prairie, MN: Sunrise Publications.

Interest Level: Ages 12 to Adult
Genre: Serial (Periodical, Newspaper, Magazine, etc.)
Subjects/Themes: Magazine, Video Games, Reviews

Content: Game Informer Magazine is published on a monthly basis.  The magazine contains a variety of current information related to the video game industry.  Such information includes video game reviews, news releases, interviews with industry professionals, and editorials.  Advertisements for video games and game systems are found throughout the magazine. 

Personal Thoughts: At first glance I thought that this magazine was mostly directed towards an adult audience due to the small print and large amount of information found in each of the articles.  But this particular magazine is shelved in the young adult area of my library and so I decided to take a closer look.  While the articles are very in-dept and require the reader to posess a good vocabulary, there is still a lot of information that would interest a tween or teen.  The large variety of graphics and screenshots from games encourage all ages to browse through the magazine in search of an item of interest.  Tweens and teens looking through this magazine may very well skip over a large number of the in-dept articles and simply focus on those that discuss upcoming games that they have a particular interest in. 

For parents worried about adult content in video games, this magazine or their website might be a good resource to get more details before allowing a child to purchase a game.  The magazine itself does not use profane language in its articles but there are some photos depicting video game violence.  I did not feel that there was any overly sexual graphics included in this issue, but I would suggest that parents browse through each issue as that could change from issue to isssue and as the definition of what is too graphic should be a personal decision that you base on your child.        

Company Website: Game Informer