EGM Subscribers Now Getting Maxim, Parental Fallout Ensues

You know, it won't matter if the average age of a gamer ends up being 45 years of age...the mainstream public will still view it as a child's hobby. It's the one stereotype that may never die.

If you didn't know, Electronic Gaming Monthly is no more; the magazine has been defunct for a little while now. But in order to appease subscribers who paid for their year, it seems the company has been shipping them new copies of Maxim. In looking at the targeted demographic for both magazines in question, and considering the average age of a gamer is well over 30 these days, most rational humans wouldn't think much of this transition. But in an age where sex is viewed as being more damaging than violence, the story just had to break about 12-year-old Jake O'Donnell from Boston receiving the vulgar magazine and running into the house to show his mommy. Now, of course, there will be exceptions to the rule; a boy that age probably shouldn't be leafing through Maxim. But at the same time, we have this suspicion that the vast majority of all former EGM subscribers are old enough to be Maxim subscribers.

We still don't like t he fact that the mother couldn't cancel this subscription, though. After trying to contact the publisher, the August issue of Maxim still arrived at their front doorstep, addressed to little Jake. But has anyone even briefly considered that some of the imagery in EGM for "M"-rated games might be pretty damn adult-oriented? Well, of course not. That's not the way the mainstream public thinks; they think we're still bouncing around with Mario, and that's vastly preferable to any "bouncing" going on in Maxim. In the end, we don't condone the selling of any questionable material to minors and we don't think Jake's mother overreacted, but the entire story promotes the stereotype that all gaming is still for kids, and we hate that.

...the fact that we used a Maxim photo of Eliza Dushku, the lovely girl who just recently had good things to say about gamers and gaming, doesn't mean anything. Really.

8/10/2009 Ben Dutka

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Comments (37 posts)

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Deleted User []
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 11:18:48 AM
Reply

so glad i i don't have EGM any more i gave that up 3 years ago

2 up, 0 down

Thrill Kill
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 11:20:07 AM
Reply

nice, why would he show his mom...bad move

9 up, 1 down

Wage SLAVES
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 4:20:31 PM

Damn, kids are getting stupid. I'd of stashed it...

7 up, 2 down

TEG3SH
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 11:37:15 AM
Reply

this girl is wicked hot

6 up, 1 down

Byakko2009
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 11:42:03 AM
Reply

If EGM was cheap to subscribe to, this is so much win. The kid made a bad move though. But man, Maxim isn't Playboy, it's just half-naked hot chicks. Poor kid, his mom is probably overprotective. Still, at 12 he should have hit puberty unless his mom is feeding him 100% organic foods or something. Anyway you're suppose to HIDE the magazine from her, and show her you're better than that Wii she purchased for your birthday.

7 up, 2 down

ThePearlJamer
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 2:06:08 PM

If I was a 12 year old boy and got a playboy I would run and go show my dad, then we would hi-five...

9 up, 1 down

Naga
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 11:53:39 AM
Reply

Fool he should be lucky for getting Maxim

3 up, 2 down

Highlander
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 11:57:35 AM
Reply

Nice article, you struck a good balance. I especially liked the use of the word vulgar. It's the perfect word for Maxim since it's not known for featuring actual nudity, although scantily clad, and occasional implied nudity is definitely within their realm. However vulgar - as in common, coarse, unrefined, and perhaps of questionable taste or morals, is the perfect word.

It is kind of odd to replace a magazine about gaming, with a "lads mag" as they'd say in the UK. Maxim is a lads mag, it's not a 'mens magazine' nor is it top-shelf stuff with a plain brown wrapper, but then neither is it for 12 year olds, though I can think of worse options for a 12 year old boy. But really, why choose that as a replacement for EGM, it's a completely different genre. Despite the older demographics that gamin now serves, gaming covers all age ranges, and EGM covered that span. Maxim is far more targeted at the 18-30 single male market. It's just an odd choice as a substitute.

9 up, 3 down

Highlander
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 3:12:05 PM

Yes! I get thumbs down for saying that Maxim isn't porn! I love it!

<rolls eyes>

Last edited by Highlander on 8/10/2009 3:14:02 PM

9 up, 1 down

TEG3SH
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 @ 2:50:03 AM

i know?? there are ppl outhere who are devoted to downvote ppl. what can u do

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 @ 9:55:28 AM

Indeed. Well, all I can do is point out the oddness of their actions and protest a little by using an ever racier version of KOS-MOS for my avatar. ;)

1 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 @ 12:56:44 AM

As far as I'm concerned Maxim is only for minors and guys who have wives that won't let them get playboy...

0 up, 0 down

camaro300zx
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 12:07:10 PM
Reply

I heard that EGM is on the rebound and is trying to re-start the mag.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 12:16:53 PM
Reply

What a goon, if I got Maxim at twelve it woulda gone under my mattress.

Of course, when I was 12 you couldn't see the same kind of sexiness just by turning on the television any time of the day.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 8/10/2009 12:19:26 PM

9 up, 2 down

Highlander
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 12:39:35 PM

I grew up in the UK. When I was 12, the three main daily tabloid news papers features a topless picture on page 3, the infamous "Page 3 Girl". As far as I can tell, it did me no harm. Except for the fact that I tend to like the sight of bare breasts, although that could be something to do with being a heterosexual male with a pulse. But I digress, the point I'm making is that Maxim is pretty tame stuff when compared to tabloid newspapers in some countries.

As for TV and a comparison thre, once again in the UK when I was 12, bare breasts were hardly rare on TV, they just didn't happen until after 9pm when it was suggested that kids should be in bed. Parents were responsible back then. Besides, Maxim is really no worse than Benny Hill, or Baywatch (Babewatch?). I don't remember seeing actual nudity in the US edition of Maxim, ever. I may be wrong, as I haven't looked at an issue recently, but I don't remember seeing anything any more dangerous than the stereotypical Baywatch slow motion sequences of life guard babes running along a beach.

6 up, 2 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 4:55:57 PM

yeah, the puritanical streak still runs through America, thankfully it wasn't long until we got Skinemax on cable so I was all good until I could grow up a bit :)

4 up, 1 down

Highlander
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 11:19:18 PM

Indeed, I feel a rebellious need to have a new, more riske avatar image....

1 up, 0 down

BeezleDrop
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 12:17:49 PM
Reply

Maxim has been, and will continue to be worthless. Period. I never liked the mag's because they never showed any yum yum's just barely clothed girls, well that was when it first came out. Grew out of that rubbish now, I could have sworn I still see a few EGM magazines on the shelves of my local B&N.

1 up, 3 down

Hezzron
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 12:48:57 PM
Reply

Could you imagine what you might get if you were already subbed to EGM AND Maxim?

2 up, 2 down

ThePearlJamer
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 2:08:14 PM

Maybe you could trade both in for a subscription to playboy lol

4 up, 2 down

Alienange
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 1:42:44 PM
Reply

This is redonkulous. First of all, that mother should have taken a closer look at the EGM mags she signed her son up for. Maxim happens to be a perfect replacement. Don't get all hot and bothered now!

Last edited by Alienange on 8/10/2009 1:43:01 PM

5 up, 2 down

NULL
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 2:00:34 PM
Reply

All gaming magazines inthe UK have stuff better (or worse for females) in the back pages then Nuns Monthly aka. Maxim.

1 up, 2 down

cowboy828
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 2:16:36 PM
Reply

they say on front of the first magazine how to get your money back I had to do it when my EGM Mag was canceled and I got maxim.

2 up, 0 down

BTNwarrior
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 2:36:46 PM
Reply

I don't know about what you said about older gamers being the main consumer of gaming magazines, because when I was a kid I was subscribed to multiple magazines because that was the only way to get info on what games where good. But when I got older I started using the internet to find this information and magazines became useless to me.

3 up, 0 down

Grown_Gamer
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 3:13:22 PM
Reply

I'm willing to bet that this kid has all kinds of M-rated games, but a Maxim Magazine is cause for outrage?

7 up, 2 down

dlte
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 7:07:58 PM

The article said he had a wii

2 up, 0 down

ThePearlJamer
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 3:17:58 PM
Reply

I don't see how this is a negetive thing...

4 up, 2 down

tes37
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 5:45:18 PM

It shouldn't be, unless she was the inspiration for Pink Floyd's "Mother" from the Wall.

1 up, 1 down

ThePearlJamer
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 9:14:35 PM

Great album and movie...need to catch up on it again...

1 up, 0 down

ThePearlJamer
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 3:17:59 PM
Reply

I don't see how this is a negetive thing...

0 up, 2 down

Mr Bitey
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 3:27:59 PM
Reply

My girlfriend had a subscription to EGM, so she has been receiving Maxim. I figured I would do her a favor and volunteer to take them off of her hands.

Maxim is a fantastic magazine btw. It's well written, clever, funny, and sexy! It's right up my ally. ;)

4 up, 3 down

kreate
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 3:30:20 PM
Reply

im not disagreeing with anything here.
but when i play ps home, most of everyone are between the age of
16-29. at least, thats what they tell me.

does older males not play ps home? or do they congregate themselves into groups and not socialize with the younger ones?

Last edited by kreate on 8/10/2009 3:30:45 PM

3 up, 1 down

oldmike
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 @ 10:21:21 PM

most older gamer dont have time to sit and chat in home
i tryed it and all it is to me are kids trying to
hit on any thing that looks like a lady

1 up, 0 down

Victor321
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 4:10:24 PM
Reply

I really think there was a hidden motive behind that picture, and the strong argument presented in the article.

Lol =D

0 up, 0 down

THEVERDIN
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 8:46:41 PM
Reply

Well I feel for the Mother cause the same thing happen to me. Got this worthless mag and can't cancel it.

2 up, 2 down

MadKatBebop
Monday, August 10, 2009 @ 9:51:48 PM
Reply

The least he could have done was sold it. When I was about 12 years old my uncle subscribed to playboy and used our address(so he would not get caught by his wife)and he did this without telling my mom, and I thought if she saw it she would think I did it so I sold it to some friends of mine for $25 per mag(until I got caught, turns out I would have been In less trouble if I just told her I got a mag I did not sign up for, so I don't blame the kid for telling his mom)

Last edited by MadKatBebop on 8/10/2009 9:52:56 PM

1 up, 0 down

Watcher
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 @ 9:59:51 AM
Reply

Maxim Vulgar? I see more skin walking down the street in NYC on a hot day than I see in Maxim, and that's no exaggeration.

2 up, 0 down

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