There aren't many surviving video game magazines today, but miraculously, some new ones pop up every so often, and they've evolved into seriously premium products.
One such example is A Profound Waste of Time, a gaming journal crowdfunded by readers, and its sixth issue is currently accepting pledges on Kickstarter.
This one may be of particular interest to PlayStation fans, as the leading feature in the new issue hones in on Astro Bot.
A big interview with Nicolas Doucet is the main attraction, speaking about "how his studio, Team Asobi, channels the wonder of early cinema into a new language of play, one built on clarity, rhythm, and joyfulness" as well as PlayStation's 30th anniversary.
The issue features original (and very cute) artwork on its cover, with a lenticular layer on the special edition that allows Astro to emote as you turn the mag in your hands.
It's a beautiful object, and full of other interesting features too, including interviews with Team Ninja president Fumihiko Yasuda and Giant Squid's Matt Nava.
If you're interested, you can back the new issue on Kickstarter. A pledge of £25 (~$33) gets you the standard version, while the special edition requires a pledge of £45 (~$59). The estimated delivery is December 2026.
Again, A Profound Waste of Time's issues are made to be quality products, and typically contain nearly 200 pages full of original work, hence the price tag.
Will you be snagging a copy? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 5
Nope. It's finally time to admit I have a problem. The first step is admitting it. Now, I just need to find a rehabilitation center. I can't keep buying Astrobot merch, it's a serious problem.
Wait when does the Astro controller statue come out?
Maybe one of these journalists who interviews him will finally ask where's sweet tooth is?
I would love to snatch a copy since i love reading & collecting gaming magz. But the released date is still far away...
Fair to see such a magazine but I'd take that title literally, and their team is probably fair but I saw more imagination and creativity in Media Molecule or past Japan Studios teams then I did Asobi sorry. They did fair but their games just didn't hit me the same way the others did.
Not nostalgia, I don't do nostaglia, I mean quality or how they executed ideas, just didn't' interest me at all to want to play them.
Echoes of the End by an Icelandic team or AA Japanese devs (barely many Indies, in the puzzle/adventure genres they are great, in other genres I might as well give up their ideas are so weak and infuriating it makes me never want to fund them ever as they will keep not putting their potential into it and make safe nostalgic games, so why would I want to fund nostalgia when I want them to put their spin not learn nothing but copy and paste or 'can't do things to cover up their skill levels, they make weak games and think it's ok, it's not, coming from someone that has bought fair games or shovelware and seeing things in them, but when they are 'that' safe that's when I hate them not when it's clear what angles they tried and are coming along well, doing their thing is good, too much reference material is not a good thing, but that's hard to communicate if people are 0 or 100 and why even bother explaining that) or other AAA/AA from around the world in the past, impressed me more in old games on old consoles with fine to awkward controls and I still had more fun with their level design/movesets then I did anything modern gen or even studios like Asobi that do show what's possible but just aren't interesting to me. Astro is a great IP but I've never really enjoyed what they made.
Devs deserve any interviews to explain what they do, people are interested, but I'd rather hear what others have to say personally.
Even the Namco interview I saw from another outlet I was like yep typical nonsense and saying nothing.
Sure a head staff member will say that but I wasn't impressed.
Actual devs 'sometimes' can say more, it varies of course but even then sometimes it comes off as 'we have passion' but I'm like I'm not seeing it. Oh your passion is this way, and I'm like yeah pass. As sometimes people make similar things to others and I'm like oh, well that's disappointing if the execution is the same and not really that exciting in how they showed it in games, in OSTs in anything it's all just samey and I just find them boring. It's why I can find people boring why I go my own path is because of how repetitive people can be.
It's like when I see a Mario game, some of them are really good in their execution of things, and other times I'm like yeah ok whatever. Or when I see the other Mario universe character games and their different movesets I'm happy to see it, I don't have to care about the character I care about movesets/level design, gameplay, a character can have no personality and I will still play it, when I see boring execution of Mario sports games, platformers, whatever. I have no interest in any of them other then a few, but if their execution is pulled back which many of them are these days how lazy some are in ideas then yeah I'm going to call them out on it.
Part 2:
I don't care how each person's elves/dwarves are, they are still that and still boring then more original designs & execution of roles the characters have of fantasy creatures is my point. Not literally, creatively how they apply them. How a reference is or how an original creation is. Something even Indies mess up and are too 'passionate' and apply them in the most disappointing ways.
How they use their pattern, how they present it in an interesting way or dramatic if they can. IF. They offer them interestingly for tropes/trends, sure but I haven't seen that, so that's why I get disappointed.
It varies what they make, what execution. I don't give praise like candy, I give it when I think it deserves it.
I'm not that interested in such an interview as I'll keep getting disappointed by what they have to say & where their passion is an so on. I wasn't impressed by their results so far. They won't always speak in PR but to me it might as well be with how some present their products and leadership or passion.
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