Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine shut down earlier this year, leaving many disappointed fans. It’s what has happened to subscribers in the wake of the magazine’s death, however, that is problematic.

Several readers wrote in to complain about the switch. Ally wrote:

I have been a reader of Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine for about ten years; it’s been my favorite video game magazine since I was 12. My husband and I got a subscription late last year, but EGM went bankrupt last January. I was disappointed because we would no longer be getting the magazine that we both loved, but we called the rest of the subscription a loss and forgot about it.

Yesterday, I got the latest issue of Maxim in the mail. My husband brought it to me, perplexed, and I must say that I was as confused as he was. The magazine was in my name. I thought that maybe a friend was playing a joke on me. I got the May issue of Maxim today, along with a note that read:

“Welcome to Maxim!
This note is to inform you that Electronic Gaming Monthly has ceased publishing with the January 2009 issue. The balance of your paid subscription will be fulfilled with Maxim. If you are already a subscriber to Maxim, the balance of your Electronic Gaming Monthly subscription will be added to your existing Maxim subscription.”

They also provided an address for me to contact them for a pro-rated refund.

The fact that my subscription to EGM was replaced with Maxim disturbs me. I know from the letters section of EGM that many of their readers were kids, and I hope that the same thing didn’t happen to them. This could also be upsetting for some women who find this magazine waiting in the mail for their husbands, especially since the first issue sent didn’t come with an explanation. I didn’t want Maxim, and there were other electronics-related magazines associated with EGM that they could have sent instead, not something completely different. It bothers me that they think that EGM and Maxim are the same thing.

Why not send a letter out asking subscribers if they’d rather have a refund or subscription to another magazine? Let’s hope this was an error on someone’s part, not an attempt at a brilliant marketing ploy.

EGM Subscribers Getting Maxim As Replacement [Kotaku]
Electronic Gaming Monthly shutting down [Gamespot]

(Photo: steventom)

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