You know who you are, you technology-interested, anime-watching, videogame-playing, techtoy-loving boys and girls – and I know what you read. And I want you to read more. So I give you the Geek's Guide to Magazines: a literature guide for the true geek.
For the gamers amongst you, a clear option would be to choose a magazine for the specific platform you're interested in – be that PCGamer, PSM, Official Nintendo Magazine or Official Xbox Magazine. Yet be warned: while you do get exclusive interviews and previews, make sure you fully read the content of a review before making a decision about a purchase. Usually the scores are skewed to a higher value, especially in 'official' magazines, so make sure you take that into account.
For someone who wants to read a videogaming magazine with a more mature demographic, I would suggest multiformat magazines such as GamesTM and Edge. They usually have some very well written articles. Edge, in particular, is possibly the videogame industry's most influential and important magazine so if you're interested in videogames, give it a look. It usually gives a balanced opinion and its features and articles are some of the best I've ever read, videogame-related or otherwise. It also features some excellent interviews, which are a great read for anyone interested in the people behind the games they play.
As for technology, an obvious choice would be Wired. It takes itself seriously, even if others don't. To its credit, it offers a good array of interviews, product splashes and general techo-paraphernalia, and covers every possible and imaginable (albeit sometimes extremely boring) business and consumer computer market. Unfortunately it is also littered with advertisements, to the point of making it difficult to read. Altogether it comes across a little too self-conscious and a touch too smug to be de-rigueur for the more fashionable geeks out there.
What is a pity is that there really isn't much to read about anime and manga out there, other than manga itself. Granted, if you look around in one of the bigger WH Smiths there is bound to be some anime literature available, but there really isn't a major magazine to which one can subscribe. Occasionally magazines do features or anime editions, such as SFX's anime special last month, and 3D World's Japanese animation cover this month. However, though sporadic, these publications are often done very well, with some excellent written articles and reviews.Of course, there's also the source which all geeks visit regularly, the ultimate source of information – the internet. There's a ton of literature available on the web with weekly, daily or even hourly updates, especially with the development of the blog as an information medium. There are many, many gaming sites on the internet – Kotaku, Techcrunch, Joystiq, Geekspeak, Engadget – with up-to-date news, as well as articles and interviews. It's extremely important for any geek to truly keep up to date with what's going on, especially since geek news moves quickly. These sites will help you stay in touch with your geekiness on the go.
What is intriguing is how mainstream geeky topics, such as technology, anime, and videogaming, have become in the media. Time demonstrated with this year's person of the year – 'You' – the increasing influence of social networking such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, last.fm, and others. It should come as no surprise then that Time, and other magazines, are becoming more and more geeky by the day. Increasing interest in geekiness combined with the increasing influence of individual geeks, is touching the wider literary world.
Ultimately, no matter what type of geek you are, whether you're interested in Technology, Videogames, Anime or otherwise, there's plenty of good literature out there to read. So put on your spectacles and put down that joystick and read.