Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!hubdub!ain1496e From: AIN1496E@merrimack.edu (David E. Sheafer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Atari magazines ( was Re: What's wrong with the AMY? ) Message-ID: <11898@merrimack.edu> Date: 14 Nov 89 21:51:21 GMT References: <5440077@hplsla.HP.COM> <23991@cup.portal.com> <46d59652.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM> Distribution: na Organization: Merrimack College, No. Andover, MA Lines: 71 In article <46d59652.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM>, rehrauer@apollo.HP.COM (Steve Rehrauer) writes: > In article <23991@cup.portal.com> Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com writes: >>Maybe you're easily satisfied with the three or four Atari magazines that >>are left in the market... unfortunately, you've got to cross ANALOG and >>ST-LOG off your list, since Atari Corp's capricious treatment of the US >>marketplace has forced ANALOG out of business after many years of trying to >>support Atari. > > I don't think you can really blame Atari for ANALOG's problems. (I thought > someone recently said here that they've simply gone to a "one title, mostly > ST-oriented" magazine. I don't think they're dead, are they?) I talked to > the people at ANALOG several times when they were based out this'a'way a few > years ago, and they seemed rather, well, disinterested in growing or taking > any risks at all. > > Tom Hudson, who was technical editor at ANALOG for some time, wrote a good > deal of DEGAS while there (I was told). I was given the impression that Tom > had tried to interest ANALOG in promoting DEGAS. They weren't interested, > Tom left, and DEGAS quickly went on to become a best-seller for Batteries > Included (who has since folded, true -- but at the time the ST market looked > a lot brighter). > > The editors at ANALOG also pointed to the START/ANTIC software line with > great derision, saying that "people have tried to interest us in this sort > of thing, but ANALOG won't do it" (I suppose because of the questionable > morality of reviewing your own wares, and I must admit I think START has an > abysmal record on that score). Well, laugh -- but I'm sure ANTIC makes > money doing so, and promotes their magazine with every software sale. It > needn't have been handled as badly at ANALOG. > > One day they mentioned that Optimized Systems Software was "shopping around > for a buyer for their ST product-line", and had (they said) "contacted us". > At the time, Personal Pascal was selling at least middling well. You guessed > it -- "not interested". > > Who knows -- perhaps they did the prudent thing every time. I suppose it's > easy for me to say they should've taken more risks when it wasn't MY $$$ > at stake. And none of the magazines can do much about the crappy U.S. ST > market, I know. But I can't imagine "getting ahead" without taking a few > gambles. They were nice people, but they seemed more interested in going > to Star Trek conventions & talking SF than in the future of their magazine. > Just my opinion, and based on happenings in the 1986-87 time-frame. I've no > idea what ANALOG is doing these days, though I wish them well. I was sad to > see them move out of Worcester. > >>The point is, magazine publishing is NOT an altruistic profession.. Atari >>Corp is playing with people's lives and livelihoods with their game playing. >>Who can afford to support a company like Atari when it becomes a decision >>between blindly supporting Atari, or eating..? > > Well, ANTIC has begun moving into the Amiga market, but I don't see them > dropping Atari coverage ( don't know whether to :-( or to :-). ANTIC is > SOOOOO obscenely gung-ho Atari! that I took everything I read therein with > large salt-blocks (the kind farmers put out for their cattle) anyway. > My own favorite U.S. ST magazine (never read any from Europe) was CURRENT > NOTES; the "newsletter" from a Virginia-based Atari user's group (WAACE?). > Much more objectivity than START/ANTIC/ANALOG, I thought. It wasn't easy > to find around here, though. > > I wonder; do people revile T.I. for the failure of the 99/4 to grab the home > market? Or Exidy for the Sorcerer? Or Kodak for the disc-camera? Someday, > I'll bet someone does a thesis of market-psychology with the Atari ST as a > case-study... > > -- >>>"Aaiiyeeee! Death from above!"<< | Steve Rehrauer, rehrauer@apollo.hp.com > "Flee, lest we be trod upon!" | The Apollo Computer Division of H.P. Just wanted to let you know that Analog/stlog is not going to publish after the december issue, they have decided to cease publication, it really is to bad as the new dual format was done nicely