December 5th 2011 was the day that GamePro Magazine officially called it quits. Their November issue currently on newsstands will be the last one published.





The story from Industry Gamers (Source) paints a bleak picture of GamePro's struggle to remain an active publication. In July of 2011 GamePro had shifted its focus to become a quarterly publication as opposed to the standard monthly publication that it had been. Even with this change, a loss of ad revenue persisted at GamePro and staff layoffs were already underway.





Many of us of a certain age will remember GamePro Magazine as the powerhouse of the video game world. In a time before the widespread access to the internet, GamePro Magazine was one of the few trusted and entertaining sources for news and information on video games. I myself can fondly remember looking forward to going to the local supermarket with my mother and spending the whole time at the magazine counter reading over the current edition of GamePro.





The magazine came into existence in 1989 and was published from its headquarters in San Francisco. GamePro was well known for having its reviewers use cartoon like avatars and monikers when reviewing various games. These characters lent well to the youth friendly tone of the magazine and on one occasion had a limited series of action figures produced.

A major part of GamePro Magazine itself was the inclusion of its ProTip section showing tips and tricks captioned under various in game screenshots. The term ProTip itself has become a part of the modern day lexicon used when providing tips on varous subjects. The CodeVault was another section where codes and cheats were posted for the popular games of the time.





GamePro made its way online with its own website in 1996 bridging the gap between print and online media. The success of the publication led to the creation of its very own syndicated television program GamePro TV hosted by television personality J.D. Roth. The show itself lasted for a total of two seasons.

Enjoy a full episode below:

ProTip: Magento is pronounced Mag-Net-O

The loss of GamePro Magazine does not come as that much of a surprise. Print media in general has been taking a constant beating over that past several years from online media. The access to information on an almost instant basis has regulated most magazines a thing of the past. GamePro itself has not entirely disappeared just yet. Popular Magazine PC World will be hosting the GamePro editorial content and visitors to GamePro online will be redirected to PCWorld online.





Now if you'll excuse me I need to go and pull out my old copies of GamePro and relive a little of my youth.