A few months ago we wrote up some reviews for GamEX magazine. I thought that PSICOM stopped printing the mag, but apparently that's not true, because I found the latest issue in Power Books in SM Megamall yesterday:
Earlier I posted about the latest issue of Playground Magazine with the Pinoyxbox community feature. That said, I thought both magazines were quite good, with GamEX getting props for the layout and game pictures, while Playground getting props for the game articles. Both magazines are out in newsstands now, and they're quite affordable (below PHP 100 for each magazine, compared to international game magazines like EGM which cost more than PHP 500 sometimes!). Reading them is a great way to stay in touch with the local gaming scene. While the scene in the Philippines isn't as big or advanced as it is in first world countries, there is interest in console games and I think a good number of people in the Philippines do enjoy this past time a lot. The focus on local magazines is usually MMORPGs but I think it's hard to blame these mags for it; I think MMORPGs are the only games that have official support in the Philippines from their respective developers. Personally I no longer play MMORPGs because they require so much grind, but at the same time I think that those games are the Philippines' "foot-in-the-door", when it comes to the gaming industry. They're a start for gamers in this country, and maybe they'll inspire some players to pursue careers in the gaming industry (or inspire them to do something and help bring some degree of official support from other game companies).