Controversy

Without a doubt the most controversial thing published in GameFix has been Dave Wood's review column. Almost every letter or comment we've received concerning the magazine has contained either great praise or vehement condemnation of Mr. Wood's opinions. It probably comes as no surprise that we at GPG expected this reaction. And, truth-be-told, we are glad of it.

Whatever else he may be, Dave is the most talked-about game reviewer out there. We couldn't ask for more than that. To the great joy of some, and the great dismay of others, we will continue to publish Dave's work.

The Games

Looking back over the games, issue two's Crisis 2000 remains the clear classic of the group, with Bombs Away! running a close second. Thapsos & A1exandria, Chicken of the Sea, and Winceby were each very good, but none have received the kind of response that Crisi's 2000 and BombsAway! have. We count ourselves lucky to have scored twice in six issues with such good games. They are proof positive that the GameFix format can work exceedingly well. Once again, I'm happy to prove the detractors of "minigames" wrong.

Scheduling

When we originally planned GameFix, one of our chief concerns with the magazine was maintaining a monthly schedule. If we've learned anything thus far, it's that it doesn't take much to screw things up. The printer fiasco with issue two was indeed a difficult setback to recover from in terms of timeliness. Our initial thoughts of just sending out issue #3 two weeks after issue #2 were shot down rather quickly by retailers, because they didn't want two different issues on their shelves so close together.

Then we tried to upgrade our publishing software. Unfortunately, the package turned out to be more bug-ridden than the local junk-yard dog -- more unexpected delays. Fortunately, the effects can be counted in days rather than months or years. That, however, is no excuse, and we will continue our effort to be on time every month - but not at the expense of quality.

The Fiscal Horizon

We are just seeing our income begin to equal our expenses, which is ahead of schedule for a new magazine. At the time of this writing, the circulation of GameFix is roughly 2400 copies. This is substantially below where we want to be, and slightly less than where we thought we would be by this time. Nevertheless, the magazine continues to grow steadily. At this point we believe the primary concern is letting people know we exist. Response to our fliers and ads has been very positive. Once people know about us, they buy the magazine.

One significant hurdle has been getting a merchant account. This account allows us to accept credit cards for purchases. The process took four months, and several less-thanpleasant phone calls to various bank managers. Once installed, however, credit card purchases have easily accounted for half our sales.

A Question of Style

Many have expressed concern for the "direction" of GameFix magazine. I haven't cared to address this issue in the past, because frankly I consider it somewhat nebulous. Some have criticized GameFix as "S&T lite" (a comment that could easily be taken as a compliment these days), while others have expressed great satisfaction with the editorial content. Still, Alan Emrich has convinced me (with the aid of a sizable mallet) to clarify how I see the content of GameFix shaping up.

The first half of the magazine will contain my editorial, Tim Kutta's Battle Briefs, and the article accompanying the game. The only change that will occur here is that Battle Briefs will evolve into a current events column exclusively. In this way will stand apart from FYI in S&T or "Short Rounds" in Command. The second half of the magazine will be dedicated to game-related topics. These will include scenarios and variants for GPG games, interviews with industry noteworthies, industry news, other gaming-related articles (in the vein of issue three's "Zen of Wargaming"), and Dave Wood's 'The Armchair Gamer." Of course, any and all of these things are subject to change at the whim of the editor (who can still be influenced by truly sage advice!).

One aspiration that I can put to rest is the desire of some to see GameFix grow in size, with more pages and bigger games. Quite simply, it's not going to happen. Regardless of how successful the magazine becomes, it will always be 32 pages and contain a small game with eight pages of rules. The compact size of GameFix is its trademark, and it will not change.

Price is another matter. For some time I've believed that paper gaming has become far too expensive a hobby. Provided that the circulation of GameFix grows to an acceptable level, we do intend to lower the cover price. We at GPG prefer to make GameFix grow in value rather than price. (Bet you thought I was going to moan about inflation and all that, huh?!)

Others have expressed interest in what future projects GPG will launch. The truth is there is a master plan of follow-on products. Each is supposed to grow out of the success of its predecessor. Once GameFix can support the launch of a new venture, it will be done. Stay tuned to see what happens!

Attitude

I hope this answers reader concerns about the future of GameFix. Above all else, GPG wants its reputation to rest on the quality of its products. Be it a boxed game or magazine, we want people to associate our name with products that are instantly playable, and fun and that meet the highest standards. It's a big promise and a bigger challenge, but we sincerely believe that if we cannot deliver the goods, we do not deserve your business.