School voucher and GamePro: Difference between pages

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A '''school voucher''', also called an '''education voucher''', is a certificate issued by the government by which parents can pay for the [[education]] of their children at a [[School choice|school of their choice]], rather than the [[public school]] (UK [[state school]]) to which they are assigned.
{{Infobox Magazine
|title = GamePro Magazine
|image_file = Gp 07 02.jpg
|image_size = 160px
|editor = George Jones
|publisher = Bob Huseby
|frequency = Monthly
|category = [[Computing]], [[Video game|Gaming]], [[Computer magazine]]
|company = IDG Entertainment
|firstdate = April 1989
|country = [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]]
|language = English
|website = http://www.gamepro.com/<br/>http://www.games.net/<br/>http://www.GamerHelp.com<br/>http://www.GameDownloads.com<br/>http://www.GameProFamily.com<br/>http://www.idgentertainment.com/<br/>
|ISSN = 1042-8658
}}
'''''GamePro''''' is an [[United States|American]] [[video game magazine]] published monthly. The magazine was first established in [[Redwood City, California]] in 1989 by Pat Ferrell, his sister-in-law Leeanne McDermott, and the husband-wife design team of Michael and Lynne Kavish.


==History==
==History==
Lacking a sound distribution strategy after publishing the first issue, the founding management team sought a major publisher and found one with IDG Peterborough, a New Hampshire-based division of the global giant IDG. Led by a merger and acquisition team comprising IDG Peterborough President Roger Murphy and two other IDG executives, Jim McBrian and Roger Strukhoff, the magazine quickly became a fast-growing success. The later addition of John Rousseau as publisher and editor-in-chief Wes Nihei, as well as renowned artist Francis Mao, established ''GamePro'' as a large, profitable magazine worldwide.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
School vouchers were used in the 1960s after school integration by some Southern states in the U.S. as a method of perpetuating segregation. In a few instances, public schools were closed outright and vouchers were issued to parents. The vouchers, in many cases, were only good at privately segregated schools, known as segregation academies. <ref>[http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660226540,00.html Deseret Morning News | Do vouchers equal segregation?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


Over the years, the ''GamePro'' offices have moved from [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]] to [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] before arriving at their current location in downtown San Francisco.
Economist [[Milton Friedman]] argued for the modern concept of vouchers in the 1950s, stating they'd promote competition and improve schools. Vouchers have since been introduced in countries all over the world but are controversial as they reflect political and ideological splits as well as the role of unions in education.


The magazine was known for its editors using [[comic book]]-like [[avatar (virtual reality)|avatars]] and monikers when reviewing games. As of January 2004, however, ''GamePro'' has ceased to use the avatars due to a change in the overall design and layout of the magazine. Meanwhile, editorial voices carry over to the newly redesigned and highly active community on its sister publication, GamePro.com.
==Controversy==
===Proponents===
{{Chicago school (economics)}}
Proponents assert that voucher systems would promote [[free market]] competition among schools of all types, which would provide schools incentive to improve. Successful schools would attract students, while bad schools would be forced to reform or close. The goal of this system is to localize accountability as opposed to relying on government standards.


''GamePro'' was also known for is its ProTips, small pieces of gameplay advice used as screenshot captions. It also has a section known as Code Vault (formerly S.W.A.T.Pro), where [[cheat code|secret codes]] are posted. These particular features have since gone the way of the personas, and slowly disappeared. Though, ''Codevault'' exists in print format, sold as a quarterly cheats and strategy magazine on newsstands only.
Under non-voucher education systems citizens that currently pay for private schooling are still charged taxes that are used to fund public schools, arguably their cost for education is two-fold as they are funding both public and private schools simultaneously. Vouchers are designed to provide citizens freedom to spend their tax money as they choose for the type of school they want.<ref> ([http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/ResearchResources/])http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/ResearchResources</ref> This causes controversy as it puts public education in direct competition with private education, threatening to reduce public school funding if parents choose to withdraw their children in favor of a private school. Proponents argue that competition through [[free market]] [[capitalism]] would increase the quality of education for both private and public education sectors as it has for [[state universities]], manufacturing, energy, transportation, parcel postal ([[UPS]], [[FedEx]] vs. [[USPS]]) sectors of government that have historically been socialized and opened up to free market competition. <ref> ([http://www.fee.org/publications/the-freeman/article.asp?aid=2237)] http://www.fee.org/publications/the-freeman/article.asp?aid=2237([http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/713.shtml])http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/713.shtml</ref> <ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Express_Statutes</ref> Frequently, institutions are forced to operate at higher efficiencies when they are allowed to compete <ref> ([http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/UploadedFiles/ResearchResources/Competition-%20Hoxby.pdf])http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/UploadedFiles/ResearchResources/Competition-%20Hoxby.pdf </ref> and any loss of [[supply and demand]] for public institutions would be offset and equalized by the increased demand for private institutions. For example, if the demand for private schools increased, they would need to hire more teachers and staff to compensate for their increased growth, so any jobs lost from the public sector would be offset by jobs gained in the private sector.<ref> ([http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/friedman/downloadFile.do?id=284])http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/friedman/downloadFile.do?id=284 </ref>


There was also a [[television program|TV show]] called ''[[GamePro TV]]''. The show was hosted by [[J. D. Roth]] and Brennan Howard. The show was short lived due to competition with a similar program entitled ''Video Power''. Early in its lifespan the magazine also included comic-book pages about the adventures of a superhero named ''GamePro'' who was a video game player from the real world brought into a dimension where video games were real to save it from creatures called the Evil Darklings. In 2003, Joyride Studios produced limited-edition action figures of some of the ''GamePro'' editorial characters.
Proponents also note that school vouchers would allow for greater economic diversity by offering lower income students opportunities to attend previously unaffordable private schools. School voucher proponent and Nobel Prize winning economist [[Milton Friedman]] observed that the poor have an incentive to support school choice, as their children attend substandard schools, and would thus benefit most from alternative schools. [[Friedrich von Hayek]] explains:


''GamePro'' has appeared in several international editions, including Germany, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, and Greece. Some of these publications share the U.S. content, while others share only the name and logo and generate original material.
:''"As has been shown by Professor Milton Friedman (M. Friedman, The role of government in education,1955), it would now be entirely practicable to defray the costs of general education out of the public purse without maintaining government schools, by giving the parents vouchers covering the cost of education of each child which they could hand over to schools of their choice. It may still be desirable that government directly provide schools in a few isolated communities where the number of children is too small (and the average cost of education therefore too high) for privately run schools. But with respect to the great majority of the population, it would undoubtedly be possible to leave the organization and management of education entirely to private efforts, with the government providing merely the basic finance and ensuring a minimum standard for all schools where the vouchers could be spent."'' (F. A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty, section 24.3)


Early in 2006, IDG Entertainment began to change internally and shift operational focus from a "Print to Online" to "Online to Print" publishing mentality. The first steps; build a large online network of web sites and rebuild the editorial team. Enter: George Jones, industry veteran.
Other influential supporters include Newark Mayor [[Cory Booker]], Illinois business man and politician [[Jim Oberweis]]<ref>http://jeffberkowitz.blogspot.com/2005/03/school-choice-school-vouchers-mantra.html</ref>, South Carolina's current governor [[Mark Sanford]]<ref>http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/pub/6_2/news/2771-1.html</ref>, billionaire and American philanthropist [[John T. Walton]]<ref>http://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/06/godspeed_john_w.html</ref>, Former Mayor of Baltimore [[Kurt L. Schmoke]]<ref>http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cb_20.htm</ref>, Presidential Candidate [[John H. Cox]]<ref>http://jeffberkowitz.blogspot.com/2006/06/presidential-candidate-cox-on-tv-and.html</ref>, Presidential Candidate [[Mitt Romney]]<ref>http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=2075</ref>as well as Presidential candidate [[John McCain]] claim that, "School choice stimulates improvement and creates expanded opportunities for our children to get a quality education."<ref>http://mccain.senate.gov/press_office/view_article.cfm?id=587</ref>


August 2006, the GamePro online team spins off a new cheats site, GamerHelp.com. Shortly followed by a video game information aggregation site, Games.net and a dedicated gaming downloads site GameDownloads.com.
The [[Liberty and Democracy Party]] supports vouchers as a stepping-stone to abolishing public schools. LDP spokesman Shem Bennett said, "Initially some public schools would remain. But under the LDP’s plan, schools would slowly privatise and diversify as there’d be no need for government ownership."<ref>[http://www.ldp.org.au/federal/policies/pressReleases.html#1_Nov_07 Abolish Public Schools]. LDP press releases.</ref>


In February 2006, ''GamePro''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s online video channel, Games.net, launched a series of video-game related shows. The extensive online programming is geared towards an older and more mature audience.
The [http://www.friedmanfoundation.org Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice], founded by Milton and Rose Friedman in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes universal school vouchers and other forms of school choice. In defense of vouchers, it cites empirical research showing that students who were randomly assigned to receive vouchers had higher academic outcomes than students who applied for vouchers but lost a random lottery and didn’t receive them; and that vouchers improve academic outcomes at public schools, reduce racial segregation, deliver better services to special education students, and do not drain money from public schools.<ref>[http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/friedman/downloadFile.do?id=255 Forster, Greg. (2007) Monopoly Versus Markets]</ref>


Under the new leadership of George Jones, GamePro magazine undergoes a massive overhaul in the March 2007 issue. While losing some of the more dated elements of the magazine, the new arrangement focuses on five main insertions: HD game images, more reviews and previews per issue, GamePro.com community showcase, user contributions and insider news.
===Opponents===
Among the strongest critics are teacher unions,<ref>([http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/06/13/0613constitutionalamendments.html])([http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2000/aug00/psraug00.html])Teacher unions fight to stop vouchers</ref> most notably the [[National Education Association]] (the largest labor union in the USA) who has spent millions litigating and [[lobbying]] against vouchers for concern that it could erode educational standards, reduce funding, and ultimately cost public teachers their jobs as students leave public schools for private schools.<ref> ([http://www.nea.org/vouchers/index.html]) ([http://www.nea.org/app/search/performSearch.do?queryText=vouchers])List of NEA beliefs and legal fights against vouchers</ref> Critics of the voucher system note that it is possible to have a choice between different schools within the ''public'' school system without vouchers. One reason given for being allowed to choose private schools is the belief that private schools offer better education -- a belief disputed in a 2006 Dept. of Education study.<ref>([http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006461]) Dept. of Education</ref> This report concludes that average test scores for reading and mathematics, when adjusted for student and school characteristics, tend to be very similar among public schools and private schools although private schools do slightly better in both.
One argument against vouchers is that, given the limited budget for schools, a voucher system weakens public schools while at the same time not necessarily providing enough money for people to attend [[private school]]s. The opponents assert a tendency of the costs of tuition to rise along with its demand, which would compound the problem. However, that assumes there would not be an increase in supply.


“Leveraging the strengths of the print platform to maximize the experience for the reader” - George Jones, editorial Director
Some critics assert that a voucher is like a discount coupon for those who can already afford the full cost of a private school education. According to the [[National Conference of State Legislatures]], 76% of the money handed out for Arizona’s voucher program has gone to children already in private schools. <ref>{{cite book | last=Palast | first=Greg | title=Armed Madhouse (No Child's Behind Left) | url=http://www.gregpalast.com/no-childs-behind-left/ | publisher=Dutton Adult | year=2006 | isbn=0525949682}}</ref>


In 2008, the Gamepro staff and members rated S4NDM4N as the fugliest member on Gamepro.
In the U.S., some critics believe school vouchers are a violation of the [[United States Constitution]]'s [[establishment clause]], which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," as many voucher programs would allow children receiving vouchers to attend church-run schools. However, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in ''[[Zelman v. Simmons-Harris]]'' (2002) rejected this argument.


In September, it was found that DoubleUp and MKDrifter cheated on Gardevoir with HolyOne
Some economist critics point to the problem of "cream skimming," a variety of [[adverse selection]] in the educational market{{weasel-inline}}. With a greater pool of applicants, the private schools could be more selective over which students to admit, excluding those who do not belong to a preferred group (for instance, religion or ethnicity), those with disabilities such as [[autism]] or [[multiple sclerosis]], and those with disciplinary problems.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} By law, the public schools must accept any student. So that they would presumably end up with all students whom the private schools turn away for such reasons.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Gifted Children Left Behind |author=Susan Goodkin and David G. Gold |work=[[Washington Post]] |date=2007-08-27 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082600909.html |accessdate=2007-08-27}}</ref> This would likely further undermine the reputation and competitiveness of the public schools, leading to a [[virtuous circle and vicious circle|vicious circle]] that tends toward the total abolition of the public schools and perhaps the end of universal education. Although since the school would essentially become a business, just like any other business; discrimination by race, social class or religion would be illegal and thus force schools to claim that the student simply didn't meet their standards or more likely, simply avoid saying why they wouldn't take such a student thus allowing such abuses. Just as a medical doctor cannot reject a patient based on such discrimination neither could a school openly reject a prospective student. However, as in the case of health care, rejection on monetary terms would still exist, and this is likely to discriminate in a similar manner as economic theory would suggest.


==LamePro==
Other opponents in the U.S. object on different grounds. They believe that granting government money, even indirectly, to private and religious schools will inevitably lead to increased governmental control over non-government education, and possibly over the teachings of the sponsoring religious group (most often a church). Individuals who oppose vouchers on these grounds are often [[libertarian]]; most also call for the abolition of all state sponsorship of education, which they believe to be wrong in principle.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} The [[Alliance for the Separation of School & State]] opposes education vouchers on the grounds that "if vouchers become commonplace, private and religious schools will become more and more like public schools."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.honestedu.org/misc/vouchers.php|title=What about tax-funded vouchers, tax credits, and charter schools?|accessdate=2006-04-21}}</ref> Moreover, they suggest that if it is wrong in principle for the government to tax in order to fund public education, then one should not accept any portion of the ill-gotten money to fund private education.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.credenda.org/issues/10-3magistralis.php |title=Voucher Envy |author=[[N. D. Wilson|Nathan Wilson]] |journal=[[Credenda/Agenda]] |issue=3 |volume=10 |accessdate=2007-08-27 }}</ref>
Every April as an April Fools day prank, ''GamePro'' prints a 2-5 page satirical spoof of their magazine named LamePro, whose title is a play on ''GamePro''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s title. The spoof contains humorous prank game titles and fake news, similar to [[The Onion]]. It seems that no one is safe from the LamePro satirical arm, even themselves. Many other game magazines have been the butt of the joke of LamePro.


LamePro, however, is not without its own controversy. While some game magazines have taken LamePro as a chance to laugh at themselves and each other, other have been very offended at the types of jokes that it prints. In 2000, a spoof ad in the satire made reference to a then newer (and short-lived) game magazine called "Incite: Videogames". At an industry charity auction, Incite bid and won on advertising space within ''GamePro''; in the spirit of charity, ''GamePro'' agreed to advertise its own competition, even though it could be considered vaguely tasteless (a mailman delivering a copy of Incite to a female's door, with the legend "It must be that time of the month"). However, in the next LamePro, a fake ad for a magazine named "In spite" was used as bird-cage lining, with the white-background ad saying "You get what you pay for," making reference to the first Incite issue costing 99 cents on newsstands. The following month, Incite responded in their Letters To The Editor section, spouting off in their subwords "Get it, GamePROSE," and many supposed fans of their magazine defending them against the spoof ad. During the remainder of the magazine's 10-month lifespan, Incite ran the "GamePROSE" quote in every issue.
===Economics===
In general, education is a [[rivalrous]] good.<ref>Hammer, Jeffrey - [http://www1.worldbank.org/education/economicsed/tools/training/econ2/Hammer.htm Public Economics of Education]</ref> That means that only one person can enjoy each education spot.
Exceptions to this include some examples of the use of technology in education (educational resources) - such as Wikipedia. Since Wikipedia is a web site, its availability to use by a given student (or group) does not necessarily reduce its availability to another. But traditional classroom education does tend to be a [[rivalrous]] good.
If there are twenty places for students in a class and the quality of teaching isn't compromised, students can only be aggregated if only a limited number are taken. However, competition may ensure this problem is leviated through a free-market. Where demand exists (from the parents and students not able to attend existing private schools), new entrepreneurs are free to experiment with the result new schools opening to accommodate their demand. It is also an [[excludable good]], because someone could, theoretically, easily be prevented from attending classes offered. With such characteristics, education can be classified as a [[private good]], which are, according to [[economic theory]], usually better provided by the [[market]] than by the government. But education is a service that contains several [[positive externalities]], which is why the government chooses to fund it.


In 2005, another spoof ad had a similar effect, and also had an even greater controversy. The spoof was on account of gaming supersite [[IGN]]. Once again, on a white background, the ad showed a phony game site screenshot, with a logo similar to IGN's, spelling out "GNO.com" and the phrase "You can't spell ignorance without GNO." This sparked a letter to one of IGN's staff members who does a weekly feedback column on the site, and, in answering to one's e-mail concerning the spoof, mentioned humorlessly that ''GamePro'' wasn't mature at all for taking such a shot at IGN.
However, the importance of government funding for education does not imply that the government should run its own schools. In general, to [[subsidize]] a good, there are two broad choices: subsidize producers or subsidize consumers.


However, that wasn't the biggest concern in the 2005 edition. Just a few weeks after the issue hit newsstands, word came out that there was an actual site on the internet that had the address GNO.com. The site was actually an internet publishing site, and ''GamePro'' a few months later ran an apology in their letters section, saying that they had no prior knowledge about the site existing before the issue had been released. It is apparent that the two sides had made peace, as no civil suits of any kind were filed (it is unclear if such was even being planned).
For example, a producer food subsidy might have a government run store that distributes potatoes to every qualifying poor person. If the individual doesn't like potatoes, too bad. On the other hand, an example of a consumer food subsidy would be the federal [[food stamps]] program. Qualifying poor people get to choose (within limits) the food that they want and the government pays for it. With a consumer subsidy (food stamps), a poor person can buy more food and more of the food they want. Back in the arena of education, the government run school system is a producer subsidy while a school voucher would be a consumer subsidy. Because education is not perfectly rivalrous nor excludable (depending on school policies), this theory is debatable.


Lamepro has been seemily dropped altogether as of the April 2007 issue during the magazine redesign. No reason is currently given as to why the feature was dropped.
The rationality of the consumer is also arguable, as highest [[utility]] for the consumer may not be socially optimal. In theory, a consumer subsidy gives individuals power to choose what they want, which does not necessarily entail better education, but possibly grade inflation and shortcutting. However this may be a temporary problem since in a free-society the free flow of information will allow parents and students to evaluate which schools are performing well and those which are "cheating". As a result of the market, bad schools that engage in grade-inflation and other low quality schemes will readily and easily wither away. If consumers have the freedom to look up information on truly well-performing schools and those that merely cheat or have bad performance, these objections will have much weight. When such students enter the workforce their performance will theoretically be worse, causing ''lower'' efficiency in the long run. However, this argument rests on the assumption that purchasers of education are seeking a degree rather than knowledge. Moreover, even if degree-seeking is the primary motive of education, a degree from a rigorous and reputable school or program often holds more value than one from an institution known to be lax or lacking, and this provides motivation not to simply choose the easiest curriculum available. Presumably at the elementary and secondary levels, decisions (when choices are offered) will be made by parents of students. Of course, they may give some consideration to the desires of their sons and daughters. In post-secondary education, students typically decide for themselves between those schools that are both affordable and willing to accept them for admission, although perhaps relying partly on advice and funding from others such as parents.


==GamePro's main sections (as of April 2007)==
Many concerns or criticisms regarding school vouchers are not leveled strictly at their implementation, but rather are in favor of a significant degree of government regulation concerning how they are spent.
* '''Opening Shots/Parting Shot:''' Use of higher quality HD images and bigger, more detailed screen shots throughout the magazine. "Opening Shots", in particular, is a new screen grab gallery at front of the magazine, while "Parting Shot" is art of particular game showcased at the back of the magazine.
* '''Spawn Point:''' Front of magazine sections featuring First looks at new consumer electronics, DVD movie reviews and recommendations, Behind-the-scenes game news and insights, and Top game mods and tweaks. *Essentially the overhaul of what was formally known as Head2Head.
* '''The Hub:''' Complete section dedicated to the gamePro.com online community. Back of the magazine highlights of Reader reviews, comments, new Ask the Pros" Question of the month, community leaders profile highlights, featured forum threads and the new Head2Head: User feedback and letter of the month. Every week, the Hub gets a new Featured Member.
** '''Ask The Pros:''' Returns from the past in this new, Online version of user submitted question(online) and answered by the editor of relative expertise.
** '''Head2Head:''' User feedback and letter of the month return to new subsection in rear of each issue.
* '''Features:''' Any cover stories or featured games/issues that warrant a separate article would be told here.
* '''Previews (formerly known as "Short ProShots" and then "Sneak Previews"):''' A peek at games in development, telling of the projected release dates of games and what to expect out of them. When this column first appeared, it was in the back of the magazine, with only minscule information. In 1996, it was moved to the front of the magazine after the features. It was shortly after the rearranging in 1996 that ''GamePro'' started a new approach to the previews, labeling previews as either "First Look", where they first saw the game as only a movie and only have information on storyline and features in the game, and "Hands-On", where the editor providing the preview got to play a preview build (incomplete copy) of the game provided by the publisher in order to tell of any first impressions of how the game could be and describes any problems in the game that the publisher could fix before the final release. Also added for a short time in 1996 was a "percent complete bar" graphic that noted how far along the game was. This graphic was dropped in 1999 during the 10th Anniversary redesign.
* '''Reviews (known as "ProReviews"):''' The reviews format has changed over the years, but the basic format has stayed the same: One reviewer speaks for the entire ''GamePro'' group about a particular game. The magazine first started by giving each system its own section of reviews. Near the end of 2005, ''GamePro'' changed this to have one review for any game that would be released for more than one system, describing any differences one system may have over another with that particular game, and giving scores for both systems' versions of the game separately. During 2006, another aspect of the reviews debuted, called "Key Moment", in which the reviewer names one particuar instance or a stand out piece of the game to them that had made them make the decision they made in a short, one sentence description.


===Retired sections===
The argument that education is a private good is based on the failure to differentiate education from public education. Education refers merely to the teaching of individual students for their own benefit. Public education refers to the goal of educating the entire public for their own benefit and the benefit of society as a whole. Looked at from this point of view, public education is a public good. This interpretation is arrived at by looking at society as a whole as benefiting from the education (or suffering from the lack of education) of its citizens. Few people would argue that an uneducated citizenry is preferable to an educated one. Educated citizens are more likely to contribute to society and less likely to require social support. This benefit is neither excludable nor exhaustible. A better educated citizenry improves conditions in the entire society, and everyone in the society benefits from those improved conditions. Since markets tend not to produce public goods, the argument is that the government should provide public education.
* '''Games To Go:''' Reviews and previews of games for portable game systems.
* '''Sports Pages:''' Previews and reviews of sports games. When this section first debuted in 1993, each review and preview got its own "headline" to give the section a newspaper feel. This tactic was dropped in 1999 for the 10th Anniversary redesign. This section also was the first section to have the "multiplatform game review" tactic described above, in 2003.
* '''Role Players Realm:''' Reviews and previews of role playing games (RPGs).
* '''Code Vault (Formerly "S.W.A.T.", then "S.W.A.T. Pro"):''' Game cheats, codes, secrets, and easter eggs revealed. Both game companies and readers send in submissions for this section, with a random prize to the reader who sent in the best tip (usually a game). When this section first debuted as SWAT and then SWATPro, the SWAT stood for "Secret Weapons And Tactics". This feature's name was changed in 2002 to Code Vault, to match the name of ''GamePro''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s short-lived cheat-code spinoff magazine, although the change could also be credited to [[9/11]], as the December 2001 issue cover (which featured ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]'') featured the "GamePro" logo dressed in the American flag to commemorate the event, and the name was changed just one issue afterwards.
* '''Head-2-Head (formerly known as "The Mail"):''' A Letters To The Editor section that features responses to the letters, as well (although this doesn't mean that every letter published will have a response tagged after it). They began doing a "Letter Of The Month" special in 2004, with the winning letter's author winning a particular prize, different every so often. This section has also recently begun to feature a Reader Review from their website on a particular game as a way to entice other readers to visit their site and do the same. Throughout the magazine's lifespan, this section was in the front of the magazine. However, as of April 2007's redesign, the section has been moved to the back of the magazine.
* '''Buyers Beware:''' A consumer advocacy section in which readers send in complains about issues with defective and malfunctioning games, peripherals, systems, and the like. Currently, ''GamePro'' is the only publication to feature such a column. Every once in a while, the column steers away from its usual formula to feature an issue that is a current widespread issue. At times a representative of a game company directly answers a query in the section (although sometimes the editor may put his own reaction to the answer after if deemed necessary for various reasons). It's not uncommon for ''GamePro'' to slam a game company in this column for poor customer support if warranted, an area where the column seems to be highly unforgiving. This is also the only ''GamePro'' column to be authored by the same editor since its debut in 1994: The Watch Dog. This section has completely migrated onto Gamepro.com as of the April 2007 redesign, and has seemingly been dropped from the print magazine.
* '''ProNews:''' ''GamePro''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s news section. This section first appeared in the back of the magazine after the reviews, but found its way to the front of the magazine in 1996 to follow suit with other game magazines. This section has shape shifted over the years to include various "game watches", a random quote generation sidebar called "Static" that seemingly disappeared after 2003. GamePro Labs, which used to be a separate column, now appears as a part of this section.
* '''Hot At The Arcades:''' Previews and reviews of cabinet arcade games were featured. This section appeared regularly for about 5 years after the magazine debuted. The section still appears every now and again, but it has been absent for the most part since 1997 due to the steady decline of arcades in general. This section has at times been folded into the Pro news section.
* '''Overseas Prospects:''' Import games were featured and sometimes reviewed. This section is still in the magazine, but appears only rarely.
* '''Video Game Survival Guide:''' Originally titled "16-Bit Survival Guide" when the [[Super Nintendo]] and [[Sega Genesis]] were on the last year of their respective runs, to review those games that were still being released for the systems. This was changed to reflect other game systems that were nearing the end of their lives, namely the Atari Jaguar and Sega Dreamcast.
* '''Adventures of Gamepro:''' The Adventures of Gamepro was a comic strip run in the early issues of the magazine detailing the adventures of a superhero named after the magazine. He was a gamer drawn into the realm of videogames to fight off evil creatures taking over game after game called the Evil Darklings.


==Editorial characters==
Empirical proof for the model of public education as a public good is abundant. Private schools operating in the free market have restrictive admission policies. Practically no private firms provide public education. The few that do are actually publicly funded: students who transfer in from public schools pay their tuitions with vouchers. There are charitable foundations that send children to private schools, but they do not provide access for the public at large and are therefore not providing public education.
From the birth of the magazine until issue #230, the Gamepro staff went by monikers and never by their real names. When ''GamePro'' began, the magazine only had a limited amount of editors on staff, but the small start-up wanted to give the illusion that they were bigger. Therefore, they created character names, and each writer generated articles under mulitple nicknames. The monikers caught on and became a tradition, one that's continued to this day. Many of the names, according to ''GamePro'', are a play on the personalities, interests, and/or past jobs that the real person behind the persona has, and the editors choose their own name (while some they have admitted to being just "bad puns," such as Miss Spell and Bad Hare). After the first few years, most editors picked one name they liked and stuck with it.


Once an editor left ''GamePro'', the name was respectfully retired, although the magazine retained all copyrights to the character. The names were rarely if ever used again, unless that writer returned (as was the case with Boba Fatt and Manny LaMancha, both of whom contributed work as freelance writers after their original runs with the magazine).
==Implementations==
====Britain====
In Britain, The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] proposed a policy similar to Chile's during the 2005 general election. It was blamed by many for their subsequent defeat after being the subject of a negative election broadcast (similar to an "attack ad") by the winning [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]{{Fact|date=June 2007}}.


Many editor names have came and gone. However, there have been many names in the magazine's bylines that many longtime readers remember. Some of these names:
However, it has been pointed-out in the Economist (Jun 30th 2005 - Toddlers and taboos:
* Ahoy_and_Avast
What counts as heresy in schools is normal in nurseries) that a voucher system has already been unproblematically introduced in Britain for funding pre-school education: they argue it has been lower in costs, greater in efficiency and generative of less bureaucracy than state provision. In principle, this system might be extended to school age educational provision.
* Bro Buzz (Wes Nihei, the long-time Editor in Chief left the company in 2007. [http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=135368])
* Jonny K
* Mr. Marbles
* Tenacious Moses
* Long-Haired Offender
* Fart of War--Shawn Elliot, left to work at [[Electronic Gaming Monthly]], later moved to [[Computer Gaming World]] (Which became [[Games For Windows: The Official Magazine]]). Now a senior editor for [[1UP.com]].
* AgentMarmalade
* Rice Burner
* RebelPrincess
* Lunchbox
* Scary Larry (probably the most popular editor in ''GamePro''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s history and also the best-known because of his outspoken nature in writing reviews. He left the magazine in 1999 to have more time with his family)
* Earth Angel
* Tommy Glide
* Air Hendrix
* Major Mike (formerly of EGM)
* D-Pad Destroyer
* Four-Eyed Dragon
* Johnny Ballgame (now runs IGN.com's sports site, and also worked with the now defunct Incite game magazine. He was responsible for both negative responses to the Lamepro parodies of both Incite and IGN at the time they were first published.)
* The Rookie (later changed his name to The Enforcer; also left to write for Incite in 1999)
* Dan Elektro (also wrote under Bad Hare; he revealed his dual identities in forum posting upon leaving the magazine in 2004.)
* Vicious Sid
* Miss Spell (reviewed games on occasion, but mostly worked in the magazine's design department)
* Boba Fatt (never worked at the magazine full-time, but was a contracted freelance writer for several years)
* Slasher Quan (one of the few ''GamePro'' editors to have his persona moved to a different magazine; he kept it when he moved to Diehard [[Gamefan]]; online editor Syriel also kept his moniker intact when moving to Hardcore Gamer magazine.)
* Star Dingo
* Dr. Mario (Parminder Ressan, formerly of "[[Game Informer]]" magazine)
* Dr. Dave (David Winstead, who went on to Capcom to work with James Goddard on the Street Fighter II arcade series.)


In 2006, GamePro.com received a revamp, and in turn, another tradition was seemly dropped: That editors would not reveal their true names, as the editor bio sections of GamePro.com may show the editor's true name (seemly in the event that an editor chooses). Also, both in the magazine (in the "Ask The Pros" sidebar of "Head-2-Head") and on the site, a picture of the editor is shown, albeit in an interpolated rotoscoping style, and some editors, such as Major Mike and Bro Buzz, have still kept secret their true identity. The Watch Dog's identity is also kept secret, probably due to the column he maintains, Buyer's Beware, and the backlash one might receive for writing the column and the scathing criticisms of game company's customer support that the column is known for publishing.
===Chile===
In [[Chile]], there is an extensive voucher system in which the State pays private and municipal schools directly based on student assistance. This system covers nearly 90% of its students. While studying the private school system, however, Dr. Martin Carnoy of Stanford, Patrick J. McEwan and others have found that when controls for the student's background (parental income and education) are introduced, the difference in performance between public and private subsectors is not significant. Alejandra Mizala and Pilar Romaguera.(University of Chile) have found that there is greater variation within each subsector than between the two{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. Municipal Schools are more costly per student, in addition to the voucher they usually receive additional funds from the municipality itself, and also there is a regional investment program ([[FNDR]]) that provides funds for municipal schools.


Also, in 1994 and 1995, a total of four people who won The [[Blockbuster Video]] World Game Championships got to write reviews under their own personas for ''GamePro''; the 1994 winners got to write reviews for ''[[Super Punch-Out!! (Super NES)|Super Punch-Out!!]]'' (Dark Mark and Fred Dread) and the 1995 winners got to write reviews for the [[Sega Saturn]] version of ''[[Virtua Fighter]]''. The tournament went defunct after 1995.
===Europe===
In most European countries, education for all primary and secondary schools is fully subsidized. In some countries, parents are free to choose which school their child attends. Schools are often funded on a grant system based on the number of students on their rolls.


On issue #230, the GamePro editors had relinquished this practice and had begun to use the real names of the editors in the bylines. This has come with mixed reviews. While some commend GamePro for finally making a crucial move to be more "grown-up" (many of the criticisms of the magazine stemmed from the personas), others have cited that GamePro had eliminated one of the key elements of the magazine that made it unique among gamers.
====Ireland====
Most schools in Ireland are State-aided parish schools, established under diocesan patronage but with capital costs, teachers salaries and a per head fee paid to the school <ref>Irish Government Department of Education website''[http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?maincat=&pcategory=17216&ecategory=20658&sectionpage=12251&language=EN&link=link001&page=1&doc=18626]</ref>
. There is a recent trend towards multi-denominational schools established by parents, which are organised as limited companies without share capital. Parents and students are free to choose their own school. In the event of a school failing to attract students it immediately loses its per-head fee and over time loses its teaching posts- and teachers are moved to other schools which are attracting students. The system is perceived to have achieved very successful outcomes for most Irish children
<ref>OECD report on Irish Education''[http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/35/44/38574871.pdf]</ref>. The 1995-7 Rainbow Coalition (which contained parties of the centre and the left) introduced free third-level education to primary degree level. Critics of the latter development charge that it has not increased the number of students from economically deprived backgrounds attending university. However, studies have shown that the removal of tuition fees at third level, has increased the number of students overall and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This concurs with evidence from the UK of a decrease in attendance numbers after the introduction of fees.


The personas are still somewhat active on the magazine's website for the last persona characters that were made prior to the change (called "GamerTags" on the site), mostly for their blogs and the forums.
====Sweden====
{{See|Education in Sweden}}
In [[Sweden]], the conservative government that held office in 1991-1994 introduced a voucher system at primary and secondary school level, enabling free choice among public and independent schools (''friskolor'') in the community. The system gained such immediate popularity that the succeeding [[Swedish Social Democratic Party|Social Democratic]] government found it impossible to revert the reform although they have always held strongly negative views on "private" schools. The only major change the new Social Democratic government was able to institute after 1994 was to prohibit extra fees beyond the value of the voucher - this measure was designed to counteract [[social segregation]] in the private schools. Overall, public support has remained strong - segregation has not increased, and various educational models have been able to establish themselves on a broader basis (most notably, the independent [[Montessori]] schools have also influenced the educational model of the public schools).


==Rating scale==
In 2006, 7% of Swedish primary school students and 13% of secondary school students attended private schools.
Reviewed games are usually rated with 1.0 – 5.0 stars with fractions of 0.25. No game has ever received less than 1 star. Five graphical stars are shown, some hollow, some full filled, and sometimes one partially filled based on a fractional rating. These graphical stars are often accompanied by a cartoon gamer's head with an exaggerated expression based on the number of stars. Several games that have received 5 star ratings have subsequently featured the graphical stars with cartoon head on their boxes.

====The Netherlands====
In [[the Netherlands]], the government funds [[Special school (Netherlands)|"bijzondere" ("special") schools]], which are run by independent non-profit boards, on the condition that they charge no more tuition than public schools do and otherwise abide by practically the same rules as public schools. Parents are free to choose any public or special school for their children, although in some urban areas, such as Amsterdam, admissions procedures do exist. Many, but not all, special schools are religious in nature. The system arose in the early 1900s after a prolonged battle (the "[[school feud]]") between religious and secular political parties, and is considered a political [[third rail (metaphor)|third rail]] even today. The emergence of Islamic schools is putting the issue back into the spotlight, though. Any voucher proposals in The Netherlands, and countries with similar systems such as [[Belgium]], are complicated by the historical school feud reality.

===Hong Kong===
A voucher system for 3 to 6 years olds attending non-profit making [[kindergarten]] will be implemented in [[Hong Kong]] starting 2007. Each child will get HK$13000 pa. The $13000 subsidy will be separated into two parts. $10000 is used to subsidize the school fee and the remaining $3000 is used for kindergarten teachers to pursue further education and obtain a certificate in Education. Also, there are some restrictions on the voucher system. Parents can only choose those non-profit making with yearly fee less than $24000. It is hoped by the government that by the year of 2011-2012, all kindergarten teachers can obtain a certificate in Education and the government will adjust the subsidy amount to $16000 for each students and all of the money is for the school fee subsidy.

[[Milton Friedman]] criticised the system, saying "I do not believe that <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Chief Executive of Hong Kong|CE]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> Mr. Tsang's proposal is properly structured". He said that the whole point of a voucher system is to provide a competitive market place, therefore, it shouldn't be limited to non-profit kindergartens. <!--source: ming pao news
2006 11 13-->

After protests by parents with children enrolled in for profit kindergartens, the program was extended to children in for- profit kindergartens, but only for children enrolled in or before September 2007. The government will also provide up to HK$30000 subsidy to for profit kindergartens wanting to convert to non profit.

===United States===

In the 1980s, the Reagan administration pushed for vouchers, as did the current Bush administration in the initial education-reform proposals leading up to the [[No Child Left Behind Act]]. So far, voucher programs have persisted only in about half a dozen states and districts; most are offered to students in low-income families, low performing schools, or special-education programs.

The city of [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] led the way in 1990 and now has nearly 15,000 students using vouchers. The 2006-2007 school year will mark the first time in Milwaukee that more than $100 million will be paid in vouchers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=533306|title=Vouchers to Pass $100 Million Mark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov. 21, 2006|accessdate=2006-11-21}}</ref> Twenty-six percent of Milwaukee students will receive public funding to attend schools outside the traditional Milwaukee Public School system. In fact, if the voucher program alone were considered a school district, it would mark the sixth-largest district in Wisconsin. [[St. Anthony Catholic School]], located on Milwaukee's south side, boasts 966 voucher students, meaning that it very likely receives more public money for general school support of a parochial elementary or high school than any before it in American history. Under the current state formula for paying school vouchers, however, Milwaukee residents pay more in property taxes for voucher students than for students attending public schools. This imbalance has received considerable criticism, and is the subject of 2007 legislative proposals designed to alter the formula.

The school voucher question in the United States has also received a considerable amount of judicial review in the early 2000s.

A program launched in the city of [[Cleveland]] in 1995 and authorized by the state of [[Ohio]] was challenged in court on the grounds that it violated both the federal constitutional principle of separation of church and state and the guarantee of religious liberty in the [[Ohio Constitution]]. These claims were rejected by the [[Ohio Supreme Court]], but the federal claims were upheld by [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio|the local federal district court]] and by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|Sixth Circuit appeals court]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edreform.com/school_choice/supreme_court_ruling.htm|title=Legal Summary of U.S. Supreme Court decision in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 436 U.S.|accessdate=2006-04-21}}</ref> The fact that nearly all of the families using vouchers attended Catholic schools in the Cleveland area was cited in the decisions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/06/27/scotus.school.vouchers/|accessdate=2006-04-21|title=Supreme Court affirms school voucher program|first=Terry|last=Friden|date=[[July 27]] [[2002]]}}</ref> In a 2002 ruling in the case ''[[Zelman v. Simmons-Harris]]'', the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled in a 5-4 vote that the Ohio program was constitutional. The justices cited the private choice made by the parents and affirmed that the ultimate purpose (improving elementary education) was secular.

In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court struck down legislation known as the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), which would have implemented a system of school vouchers in Florida.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5159138|accessdate=2006-04-21|title=Court Throws Out Florida School Voucher Program}}</ref> The court ruled that the OSP violated article IX, section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution: "Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2006/sc04-2323.pdf|accessdate=2006-11-01|title=Florida Supreme Court Official Opinion: SC04-2323 – John Ellis “Jeb” Bush, Etc., Et Al. v. Ruth D. Holmes, Et Al.}}</ref>

Political support for school vouchers in the United States is mixed. On the left/right spectrum, conservatives are more likely to support vouchers. Some state legislatures have enacted voucher laws. As of 2006, the federal government operates the largest voucher program, for evacuees from the region affected by [[Hurricane Katrina]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

Some public opinion surveys show that support for vouchers has increased in the last few years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pollingreport.com/educatio.htm#Private|title=Polling Report.com|accessdate=2006-07-21}}</ref> although just how much is debatable. Majorities seem to favor improving existing schools over providing vouchers, yet as many as 40% of those surveyed admit that they don't know enough to form an opinion or don't understand the system of school vouchers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publicagenda.org/citizen/issueguides/education/publicview/redflags|title=Public Agenda Online, "Red Flags on Education: Lack of Knowledge About Vouchers."|accessdate=2008-07-25}}</ref>

In November 2000, a voucher system proposed by [[Tim Draper]] was placed on the [[California]] ballot as Proposition 38. It was unusual among school voucher proposals in that it required neither [[accreditation]] on the part of schools accepting vouchers, nor proof of need on the part of families applying for them; neither did it have any requirement that schools accept vouchers as payment-in-full, nor any other provision to guarantee a reduction in the real cost of private school tuition. The measure was defeated by a final percentage tally of 70.6 to 29.4.

A state-wide universal school voucher system providing a maximum tuition subsidy of $3000 was passed in Utah in 2007, but voters repealed it in a statewide referendum before it took effect.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695225580,00.html|title="Vouchers Killed"|accessdate=2007-11-03}}</ref>

In [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]] the privately funded [[Extra Mile Education Foundation]] has had very positive results with using private donations to pay the tuition for low income African-American children to attend private Catholic schools. No tax money is used for the vouchers. Most of the students who are enrolled in the program are non-Catholic. 70% of the students come from families whose income is low enough to qualify for free or reduced priced lunches. Of the students who graduate from the program (i.e., from 8th grade), not a single student has ever failed 9th grade, and 96% of the students graduate from high school within 4 years.<ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07028/757451-53.stm</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
*{{cite web|url=http://www.nea.org/vouchers/vouchervotes.html|title=Voters Repeatedly Reject Vouchers, National Education Association|accessdate=2006-04-21}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.honestedu.org/misc/vouchers.php|title=What about tax-funded vouchers, tax credits and charter schools? Alliance for the Separation of School & State|accessdate=2006-04-21}}
*{{cite book|first=Joseph E|last=Stiglitz|title=Economics of the Public Sector|publisher=Stanford University|edition=3rd|id=ISBN 0-393-96651-8}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/research/journals/wbro/obsfeb97/pdf/artcle~6.pdf|title=West, Edwin G. "Education Vouchers in Principle and Practice: A Survey" The World Bank Research Observer, February 1997}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.gamepro.com/ The official ''GamePro'' website]
*[http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=16856 The Ten Principles of School Choice] The Heartland Institute.
* [http://www.magweasel.com/wiki/GamePro Magweasel entry on ''GamePro'']
* [http://www.nea.org/vouchers/index.html National Education Association, School Vouchers] (NEA's position)
* [http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/01/column_game_mag_weaseling_if_i_1.php GameSetWatch column on ''GamePro'']
* [http://www.adl.org/vouchers/vouchers_main.asp School Vouchers: The Wrong Choice for Public Education] (The Anti-Defamation League's position)
* [http://www.gamepro.fr/ The official French ''GamePro'' website]
* [http://www.nsba.org/site/page_nestedcats.asp?TRACKID=&VID=1&CID=88&DID=220 Voucher Strategy Center] The National School Boards Association provides information including the legal and educational arguments against vouchers, as well as state-by-state data on the status of voucher legislation.
* [http://libertymagazine.org/article/view/216 Peabody, Michael. "The Lure of School Vouchers," Liberty Magazine, July/August 2000.] Argues that acceptance of vouchers would introduce governmental regulation of parochial school curriculum.
* [http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/thin-ice "On Thin Ice: How Advocates and Opponents Could Misread the Public's Views on Vouchers and Charter Schools," Public Agenda, 1999] Public opinion study that concluded most Americans did not understand the voucher concept, even in communities that already had such programs.
* [http://www.friedmanfoundation.org The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice] has substantial information on school choice.
* [http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-023.html Milton Friedman, "Public Schools: Make Them Private," 1995]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRUMmTs0ZA] 20/20 Report on the American public school system
* [http://www.gregpalast.com/no-childs-behind-left/] The Great School Voucher Hoax - article on the "discount coupon" effect of school vouchers.
* [http://faircompare.googlepages.com/home faircompare, "What's up with Utah Referendum 1?," 2007]


[[Category:Alternative education]]
[[Category:American magazines]]
[[Category:Education issues]]
[[Category:Monthly magazines]]
[[Category:Publications established in 1989]]
[[Category:Video game magazines]]


[[de:GamePro]]
[[el:Εκπαιδευτικό κουπόνι]]
[[es:Cheque escolar]]
[[fr:GamePro]]
[[no:GamePro]]
[[fr:Chèque éducation]]
[[fi:GamePro]]
[[he:שוברי חינוך]]
[[nl:Leerrechten]]
[[tr:GamePro]]
[[ja:教育バウチャー]]
[[pl:Bon oświatowy]]
[[sv:Skolpeng]]
[[zh:學券制]]

Revision as of 02:07, 14 October 2008

GamePro Magazine
File:Gp 07 02.jpg
EditorGeorge Jones
CategoriesComputing, Gaming, Computer magazine
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherBob Huseby
First issueApril 1989
CompanyIDG Entertainment
CountryUnited States, Canada, Australia
LanguageEnglish
Websitehttp://www.gamepro.com/
http://www.games.net/
http://www.GamerHelp.com
http://www.GameDownloads.com
http://www.GameProFamily.com
http://www.idgentertainment.com/
ISSN1042-8658

GamePro is an American video game magazine published monthly. The magazine was first established in Redwood City, California in 1989 by Pat Ferrell, his sister-in-law Leeanne McDermott, and the husband-wife design team of Michael and Lynne Kavish.

History

Lacking a sound distribution strategy after publishing the first issue, the founding management team sought a major publisher and found one with IDG Peterborough, a New Hampshire-based division of the global giant IDG. Led by a merger and acquisition team comprising IDG Peterborough President Roger Murphy and two other IDG executives, Jim McBrian and Roger Strukhoff, the magazine quickly became a fast-growing success. The later addition of John Rousseau as publisher and editor-in-chief Wes Nihei, as well as renowned artist Francis Mao, established GamePro as a large, profitable magazine worldwide.[citation needed]

Over the years, the GamePro offices have moved from San Mateo to San Francisco and Oakland before arriving at their current location in downtown San Francisco.

The magazine was known for its editors using comic book-like avatars and monikers when reviewing games. As of January 2004, however, GamePro has ceased to use the avatars due to a change in the overall design and layout of the magazine. Meanwhile, editorial voices carry over to the newly redesigned and highly active community on its sister publication, GamePro.com.

GamePro was also known for is its ProTips, small pieces of gameplay advice used as screenshot captions. It also has a section known as Code Vault (formerly S.W.A.T.Pro), where secret codes are posted. These particular features have since gone the way of the personas, and slowly disappeared. Though, Codevault exists in print format, sold as a quarterly cheats and strategy magazine on newsstands only.

There was also a TV show called GamePro TV. The show was hosted by J. D. Roth and Brennan Howard. The show was short lived due to competition with a similar program entitled Video Power. Early in its lifespan the magazine also included comic-book pages about the adventures of a superhero named GamePro who was a video game player from the real world brought into a dimension where video games were real to save it from creatures called the Evil Darklings. In 2003, Joyride Studios produced limited-edition action figures of some of the GamePro editorial characters.

GamePro has appeared in several international editions, including Germany, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, and Greece. Some of these publications share the U.S. content, while others share only the name and logo and generate original material.

Early in 2006, IDG Entertainment began to change internally and shift operational focus from a "Print to Online" to "Online to Print" publishing mentality. The first steps; build a large online network of web sites and rebuild the editorial team. Enter: George Jones, industry veteran.

August 2006, the GamePro online team spins off a new cheats site, GamerHelp.com. Shortly followed by a video game information aggregation site, Games.net and a dedicated gaming downloads site GameDownloads.com.

In February 2006, GamePro's online video channel, Games.net, launched a series of video-game related shows. The extensive online programming is geared towards an older and more mature audience.

Under the new leadership of George Jones, GamePro magazine undergoes a massive overhaul in the March 2007 issue. While losing some of the more dated elements of the magazine, the new arrangement focuses on five main insertions: HD game images, more reviews and previews per issue, GamePro.com community showcase, user contributions and insider news.

“Leveraging the strengths of the print platform to maximize the experience for the reader” - George Jones, editorial Director

In 2008, the Gamepro staff and members rated S4NDM4N as the fugliest member on Gamepro.

In September, it was found that DoubleUp and MKDrifter cheated on Gardevoir with HolyOne

LamePro

Every April as an April Fools day prank, GamePro prints a 2-5 page satirical spoof of their magazine named LamePro, whose title is a play on GamePro's title. The spoof contains humorous prank game titles and fake news, similar to The Onion. It seems that no one is safe from the LamePro satirical arm, even themselves. Many other game magazines have been the butt of the joke of LamePro.

LamePro, however, is not without its own controversy. While some game magazines have taken LamePro as a chance to laugh at themselves and each other, other have been very offended at the types of jokes that it prints. In 2000, a spoof ad in the satire made reference to a then newer (and short-lived) game magazine called "Incite: Videogames". At an industry charity auction, Incite bid and won on advertising space within GamePro; in the spirit of charity, GamePro agreed to advertise its own competition, even though it could be considered vaguely tasteless (a mailman delivering a copy of Incite to a female's door, with the legend "It must be that time of the month"). However, in the next LamePro, a fake ad for a magazine named "In spite" was used as bird-cage lining, with the white-background ad saying "You get what you pay for," making reference to the first Incite issue costing 99 cents on newsstands. The following month, Incite responded in their Letters To The Editor section, spouting off in their subwords "Get it, GamePROSE," and many supposed fans of their magazine defending them against the spoof ad. During the remainder of the magazine's 10-month lifespan, Incite ran the "GamePROSE" quote in every issue.

In 2005, another spoof ad had a similar effect, and also had an even greater controversy. The spoof was on account of gaming supersite IGN. Once again, on a white background, the ad showed a phony game site screenshot, with a logo similar to IGN's, spelling out "GNO.com" and the phrase "You can't spell ignorance without GNO." This sparked a letter to one of IGN's staff members who does a weekly feedback column on the site, and, in answering to one's e-mail concerning the spoof, mentioned humorlessly that GamePro wasn't mature at all for taking such a shot at IGN.

However, that wasn't the biggest concern in the 2005 edition. Just a few weeks after the issue hit newsstands, word came out that there was an actual site on the internet that had the address GNO.com. The site was actually an internet publishing site, and GamePro a few months later ran an apology in their letters section, saying that they had no prior knowledge about the site existing before the issue had been released. It is apparent that the two sides had made peace, as no civil suits of any kind were filed (it is unclear if such was even being planned).

Lamepro has been seemily dropped altogether as of the April 2007 issue during the magazine redesign. No reason is currently given as to why the feature was dropped.

GamePro's main sections (as of April 2007)

  • Opening Shots/Parting Shot: Use of higher quality HD images and bigger, more detailed screen shots throughout the magazine. "Opening Shots", in particular, is a new screen grab gallery at front of the magazine, while "Parting Shot" is art of particular game showcased at the back of the magazine.
  • Spawn Point: Front of magazine sections featuring First looks at new consumer electronics, DVD movie reviews and recommendations, Behind-the-scenes game news and insights, and Top game mods and tweaks. *Essentially the overhaul of what was formally known as Head2Head.
  • The Hub: Complete section dedicated to the gamePro.com online community. Back of the magazine highlights of Reader reviews, comments, new Ask the Pros" Question of the month, community leaders profile highlights, featured forum threads and the new Head2Head: User feedback and letter of the month. Every week, the Hub gets a new Featured Member.
    • Ask The Pros: Returns from the past in this new, Online version of user submitted question(online) and answered by the editor of relative expertise.
    • Head2Head: User feedback and letter of the month return to new subsection in rear of each issue.
  • Features: Any cover stories or featured games/issues that warrant a separate article would be told here.
  • Previews (formerly known as "Short ProShots" and then "Sneak Previews"): A peek at games in development, telling of the projected release dates of games and what to expect out of them. When this column first appeared, it was in the back of the magazine, with only minscule information. In 1996, it was moved to the front of the magazine after the features. It was shortly after the rearranging in 1996 that GamePro started a new approach to the previews, labeling previews as either "First Look", where they first saw the game as only a movie and only have information on storyline and features in the game, and "Hands-On", where the editor providing the preview got to play a preview build (incomplete copy) of the game provided by the publisher in order to tell of any first impressions of how the game could be and describes any problems in the game that the publisher could fix before the final release. Also added for a short time in 1996 was a "percent complete bar" graphic that noted how far along the game was. This graphic was dropped in 1999 during the 10th Anniversary redesign.
  • Reviews (known as "ProReviews"): The reviews format has changed over the years, but the basic format has stayed the same: One reviewer speaks for the entire GamePro group about a particular game. The magazine first started by giving each system its own section of reviews. Near the end of 2005, GamePro changed this to have one review for any game that would be released for more than one system, describing any differences one system may have over another with that particular game, and giving scores for both systems' versions of the game separately. During 2006, another aspect of the reviews debuted, called "Key Moment", in which the reviewer names one particuar instance or a stand out piece of the game to them that had made them make the decision they made in a short, one sentence description.

Retired sections

  • Games To Go: Reviews and previews of games for portable game systems.
  • Sports Pages: Previews and reviews of sports games. When this section first debuted in 1993, each review and preview got its own "headline" to give the section a newspaper feel. This tactic was dropped in 1999 for the 10th Anniversary redesign. This section also was the first section to have the "multiplatform game review" tactic described above, in 2003.
  • Role Players Realm: Reviews and previews of role playing games (RPGs).
  • Code Vault (Formerly "S.W.A.T.", then "S.W.A.T. Pro"): Game cheats, codes, secrets, and easter eggs revealed. Both game companies and readers send in submissions for this section, with a random prize to the reader who sent in the best tip (usually a game). When this section first debuted as SWAT and then SWATPro, the SWAT stood for "Secret Weapons And Tactics". This feature's name was changed in 2002 to Code Vault, to match the name of GamePro's short-lived cheat-code spinoff magazine, although the change could also be credited to 9/11, as the December 2001 issue cover (which featured Luigi's Mansion) featured the "GamePro" logo dressed in the American flag to commemorate the event, and the name was changed just one issue afterwards.
  • Head-2-Head (formerly known as "The Mail"): A Letters To The Editor section that features responses to the letters, as well (although this doesn't mean that every letter published will have a response tagged after it). They began doing a "Letter Of The Month" special in 2004, with the winning letter's author winning a particular prize, different every so often. This section has also recently begun to feature a Reader Review from their website on a particular game as a way to entice other readers to visit their site and do the same. Throughout the magazine's lifespan, this section was in the front of the magazine. However, as of April 2007's redesign, the section has been moved to the back of the magazine.
  • Buyers Beware: A consumer advocacy section in which readers send in complains about issues with defective and malfunctioning games, peripherals, systems, and the like. Currently, GamePro is the only publication to feature such a column. Every once in a while, the column steers away from its usual formula to feature an issue that is a current widespread issue. At times a representative of a game company directly answers a query in the section (although sometimes the editor may put his own reaction to the answer after if deemed necessary for various reasons). It's not uncommon for GamePro to slam a game company in this column for poor customer support if warranted, an area where the column seems to be highly unforgiving. This is also the only GamePro column to be authored by the same editor since its debut in 1994: The Watch Dog. This section has completely migrated onto Gamepro.com as of the April 2007 redesign, and has seemingly been dropped from the print magazine.
  • ProNews: GamePro's news section. This section first appeared in the back of the magazine after the reviews, but found its way to the front of the magazine in 1996 to follow suit with other game magazines. This section has shape shifted over the years to include various "game watches", a random quote generation sidebar called "Static" that seemingly disappeared after 2003. GamePro Labs, which used to be a separate column, now appears as a part of this section.
  • Hot At The Arcades: Previews and reviews of cabinet arcade games were featured. This section appeared regularly for about 5 years after the magazine debuted. The section still appears every now and again, but it has been absent for the most part since 1997 due to the steady decline of arcades in general. This section has at times been folded into the Pro news section.
  • Overseas Prospects: Import games were featured and sometimes reviewed. This section is still in the magazine, but appears only rarely.
  • Video Game Survival Guide: Originally titled "16-Bit Survival Guide" when the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were on the last year of their respective runs, to review those games that were still being released for the systems. This was changed to reflect other game systems that were nearing the end of their lives, namely the Atari Jaguar and Sega Dreamcast.
  • Adventures of Gamepro: The Adventures of Gamepro was a comic strip run in the early issues of the magazine detailing the adventures of a superhero named after the magazine. He was a gamer drawn into the realm of videogames to fight off evil creatures taking over game after game called the Evil Darklings.

Editorial characters

From the birth of the magazine until issue #230, the Gamepro staff went by monikers and never by their real names. When GamePro began, the magazine only had a limited amount of editors on staff, but the small start-up wanted to give the illusion that they were bigger. Therefore, they created character names, and each writer generated articles under mulitple nicknames. The monikers caught on and became a tradition, one that's continued to this day. Many of the names, according to GamePro, are a play on the personalities, interests, and/or past jobs that the real person behind the persona has, and the editors choose their own name (while some they have admitted to being just "bad puns," such as Miss Spell and Bad Hare). After the first few years, most editors picked one name they liked and stuck with it.

Once an editor left GamePro, the name was respectfully retired, although the magazine retained all copyrights to the character. The names were rarely if ever used again, unless that writer returned (as was the case with Boba Fatt and Manny LaMancha, both of whom contributed work as freelance writers after their original runs with the magazine).

Many editor names have came and gone. However, there have been many names in the magazine's bylines that many longtime readers remember. Some of these names:

  • Ahoy_and_Avast
  • Bro Buzz (Wes Nihei, the long-time Editor in Chief left the company in 2007. [1])
  • Jonny K
  • Mr. Marbles
  • Tenacious Moses
  • Long-Haired Offender
  • Fart of War--Shawn Elliot, left to work at Electronic Gaming Monthly, later moved to Computer Gaming World (Which became Games For Windows: The Official Magazine). Now a senior editor for 1UP.com.
  • AgentMarmalade
  • Rice Burner
  • RebelPrincess
  • Lunchbox
  • Scary Larry (probably the most popular editor in GamePro's history and also the best-known because of his outspoken nature in writing reviews. He left the magazine in 1999 to have more time with his family)
  • Earth Angel
  • Tommy Glide
  • Air Hendrix
  • Major Mike (formerly of EGM)
  • D-Pad Destroyer
  • Four-Eyed Dragon
  • Johnny Ballgame (now runs IGN.com's sports site, and also worked with the now defunct Incite game magazine. He was responsible for both negative responses to the Lamepro parodies of both Incite and IGN at the time they were first published.)
  • The Rookie (later changed his name to The Enforcer; also left to write for Incite in 1999)
  • Dan Elektro (also wrote under Bad Hare; he revealed his dual identities in forum posting upon leaving the magazine in 2004.)
  • Vicious Sid
  • Miss Spell (reviewed games on occasion, but mostly worked in the magazine's design department)
  • Boba Fatt (never worked at the magazine full-time, but was a contracted freelance writer for several years)
  • Slasher Quan (one of the few GamePro editors to have his persona moved to a different magazine; he kept it when he moved to Diehard Gamefan; online editor Syriel also kept his moniker intact when moving to Hardcore Gamer magazine.)
  • Star Dingo
  • Dr. Mario (Parminder Ressan, formerly of "Game Informer" magazine)
  • Dr. Dave (David Winstead, who went on to Capcom to work with James Goddard on the Street Fighter II arcade series.)

In 2006, GamePro.com received a revamp, and in turn, another tradition was seemly dropped: That editors would not reveal their true names, as the editor bio sections of GamePro.com may show the editor's true name (seemly in the event that an editor chooses). Also, both in the magazine (in the "Ask The Pros" sidebar of "Head-2-Head") and on the site, a picture of the editor is shown, albeit in an interpolated rotoscoping style, and some editors, such as Major Mike and Bro Buzz, have still kept secret their true identity. The Watch Dog's identity is also kept secret, probably due to the column he maintains, Buyer's Beware, and the backlash one might receive for writing the column and the scathing criticisms of game company's customer support that the column is known for publishing.

Also, in 1994 and 1995, a total of four people who won The Blockbuster Video World Game Championships got to write reviews under their own personas for GamePro; the 1994 winners got to write reviews for Super Punch-Out!! (Dark Mark and Fred Dread) and the 1995 winners got to write reviews for the Sega Saturn version of Virtua Fighter. The tournament went defunct after 1995.

On issue #230, the GamePro editors had relinquished this practice and had begun to use the real names of the editors in the bylines. This has come with mixed reviews. While some commend GamePro for finally making a crucial move to be more "grown-up" (many of the criticisms of the magazine stemmed from the personas), others have cited that GamePro had eliminated one of the key elements of the magazine that made it unique among gamers.

The personas are still somewhat active on the magazine's website for the last persona characters that were made prior to the change (called "GamerTags" on the site), mostly for their blogs and the forums.

Rating scale

Reviewed games are usually rated with 1.0 – 5.0 stars with fractions of 0.25. No game has ever received less than 1 star. Five graphical stars are shown, some hollow, some full filled, and sometimes one partially filled based on a fractional rating. These graphical stars are often accompanied by a cartoon gamer's head with an exaggerated expression based on the number of stars. Several games that have received 5 star ratings have subsequently featured the graphical stars with cartoon head on their boxes.

External links

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