Gaming Mag Circulation Numbers May Not Mean That Much

The regular Game Mag Weasling column at the blog GameSetWatch usually runs down the contents of publications that recently hit the newsstands. This week, blogger Kevin Gifford tackles the thorny subject of falling subscriptions as they apply to game magazines. He references a discussion of falling subscriptions in the magazine publishing industry at large, which notes that a metric just as important as real subscribers is the number of readers-per-copy. Re-reading among friends and the appearance of a magazine in a doctor's office is another important factor to consider in a magazine's success.
"Game Informer's [readers-per-copy] audience is 'only' about 68% larger than EGM's, despite having over four times the paid circulation. If you put enough credence to the numbers, it means that GameStop is spending a lot of money printing, mailing, and distributing those two million-odd copies of GI each month, yet not being as efficient in attracting an audience with those printed copies as EGM and GamePro is."

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../10/29/2123220

Actually I thought Game Stop did a pretty good job promoting the Game Informer magazines. Even I got suckered in because if I bought the subscription off them at the store I got a free EB Edge card that gives 10% off in used games and more trade in value. I guess it depends on the local retailers and how they are trying to promote the magazine.