A year ago I had the privilege of meeting Nelson Calvinho and the remaining jorunalists of Hype!, as they left behind years of work on Mega Score (1) while embarking on a new venture. Along with other readers - some of which would later become the founders of No Continues – we watched as the new project gave its first steps, all the while aware that it was unlike anything else we had ever seen on the market. From its professionalism and design to rigourous and unbiased journalism, everything seemed to point towards its success.

But while it garned considerable acceptance by the public, the super project was canceled ten issues after its inaugural one, leaving a tremendous void in the field of videogame journalism in Portugal. No Continues managed to contact the magazine’s former director to ask him on his perspective surrounding Hype’s cancellation. In the following interview, Nelson Calvinho talks about Hype!, future projects and of videogame journalism in Portugal. The following does not represent Hype! or the MyGames network, and are solely his opinions.

Link: Portuguese Version | Versão em Português

No Continues: Hype! seemed like a winner. A remarkable group of journalists, a wider array of contents, a bold design, an attempt to draw in the casual gamers without forgetting the more seasoned ones… What are your thoughts on this outcome?

Nelson Calvinho: It’s a closure that obviously saddens the staff involved but also, I believe, our readership, especially the subscribers; and of course, all the members of the industry – publishers, distributors, national studios, whether they are focused in videogames or digital lifestyle and pop culture in general - that saw in Hype! a different, innovative, mature and bold way of communicating with people. In spite of having our share of responsibility, the truth is that this outcome is not and never was in our hands.

In Hype!’s place now stands a void which I don’t believe possible to replace in terms of written press. And now also remains a market monopolized by a single group – something which does not benefit neither the industry nor the gamers.

No Continues: In the United Kingdom, a well established magazine like Edge sells an average of 35k copies a month, in a market six times larger than ours. Considering the peculiarities of the Portuguese market, is it an exaggeration to look at Hype!’s monthly 7k sales as a sign of success?

Nelson Calvinho: In terms of sales, Hype! came to an end as the second most successful videogame magazine in Portugal, and in a strained market as well: the international crisis that afects Portuguese consumers helps precipitate a migration towards free content (online or otherwise). On one hand, Hype! could never rely on the aggressive marketing campaign that it deserved and that had been promised to us, which is why it never managed to position itself in a way that it could meet the demands of its readership – I’m talking about cover pricing policy and covermounts, or magazine accessibility in newsstands, for instance. On the other, the obstacles that the whole MyGames project had to deal with – in terms of press, online and television mediums – certainly had a negative impact on its success.

Hype!’s innovative positioning also made it harder to establish itself in the market – and this deserved to be much better explained to gamers, in particular those who never had the mind to read videogame magazines, because they never found one they could identify themselves with. There were several issues we came across, but even in this unfavorable scenario we managed to sell seven thousand copies on a monthly basis. Is it a sign of success? No, because our objectives were much more ambitious. But it is a sign that, with the right conditions, Hype! would certainly have a place in this market.

Those 7k Hype! readers were not enough for the objectives we had laid out for ourselves, but they are 7k readers we are proud to have convinced to join us in our venture. Putting the whole business angle aside, seven thousand readers are a reason to be proud as much as fifteen or twenty five thousand readers would have been, the latter being the amount we achieved with Mega Score. But at the end of the day, it’s the numbers that count. We were told that Hype!’s biggest problem was that it had “too much quality”. Would that be why Hype! and Edge don’t sell more than their competition? I’ll leave that answer up to whoever wants to answer it.

But Blitz was a dying project that eventually became the new Blitz (2), a case study of remarkable success. What changed? Other than its quality, it also benefited from an intelligent and consistent marketing plan…

No Continues: Many casual gamers are simply not interested in videogames enough to the point of investing on a specialized magazine. Do you think that they may have glossed over the project, or that it may have in way influenced Hype!’s sales? Or that, on the other hand, you’ve managed to reach them?

Nelson Calvinho: Well, first we’d have to figure out what kind of audience fits into the so-called “casual gamers” demographic. But I’m assuming we’re talking about families, and people who like videogames but do not have the time nor the interest to play them all the time.

I think there are many “casual” gamers who are interested in videogames enough to the point where they want to be informed. But no one ever created a magazine for them. Hype! could have very well been that magazine. As for the rest, I’ve already mentioned this before: if we want to reach a new audience, we have to be able to tell them “hey, here’s a new magazine, with a new style, a new maturity, that’s going to please you”. That’s done with marketing, not just dropping off copies in a newsstand, hoping people will find the magazine out for themselves, amidst all other magazines on offer. Especially after all the negative backlash caused by the TV show (3)… So yes, I believe they may have glossed over the project. Even so we received tens of reader comments where they confessed to buying a videogame magazine for the first time, and this included older readers as well letters from the feminine audience.

No Continues: If you knew this would happen, would you have changed anything concerning the direction of the project?

Nelson Calvinho: I had a feeling this might happen, but I did not felt the need to change the editorial direction of the project, because I’ve always trusted the editors were on a right path that would lead us to success. I may seem pedantic by saying this, or sound like I’m shirking away from responsibilities, but there is no reason to state otherwise: with the conditions I had, the editors have done the finest work ever done about videogames journalism in Portugal. And in the editors I include the international correspondents as well. Just a little while ago, I received emails from both Brians (Brian Crecente and Brian Ashcroft), João (Diniz Sanches) and Kieron (Gillen) giving support to our project and praising Hype!’s qualities.

Some people told us we “could not have said” what we did in our streaming pseudo-conference (4), and that I would be a laughing matter to some segments of the industry. As you know, standing up to your convictions in Portugal is seen as ridiculous.

No Continues: Would you accept an invitation to another gaming-related publication, solo or even with the same team? Even if you didn’t, do you still plan on keeping active part in the videogame market?

Nelson Calvinho: It depends on the publication - and by the way, are we just talking written press or online press as well? After all I’ve defended over the years, it would sit badly for me to join certain projects with a focus or direction which I do not identify myself with - and notice that I’m not questioning the quality or integrity of the people who are part of said projects.

If I plan on keeping active in the videogame market? Videogames are a medium that fascinates me. They are the future. I’ve been writing and defending the medium for almost 20 years. If I did it, it was naturally for a “love of the cause”. But in Portugal, there are very few opportunities in this area. On one hand, I feel the industry is a little fed up with me, and on the other, I could also use a break. But you never know. In the meantime I’ll try to maintain a connection to videogames through ultimonivel.blogspot.com (5)

No Continues: Have you kept in touch with the rest of the team? Is any of them considering other videogame-related projects?

Nelson Calvinho: The project has ended but we’re not unemployed (yet!). Right now I’m still in the office with Jorge (Vieira) and Rui (Guerreiro D’Ângela). The others are on vacation. I don’t know what their plans are. I do know that, when one has responsibilities, family and bills to pay, the priority is to get a job regardless of the area.

No Continues: How do you feel about Mega Score and Hype!’s legacy? The communities, the readership, and everything else that’s come into fruition due to your work…

Nelson Calvinho: I feel great pride and responsibility for knowing many people grew up reading us over the years - those who were 15 years old when they were reading Mega Score are 28 years old today - they probably have a career, are married and have children! It’s a long time. There are many people, and it’s a lot of responsibility. We’re proud to have treated everyone as adults, of helping look at videogames in a different manner, even if just a little – and even if both the editors and the readership were never in full agreement. I enjoy looking back and think of the communities, such as the various incarnations of the Mega Score forums, and to believe those were spaces where videogame discussion was different and better than in other forums.

And one thing’s for certain: Mega Score, for its pioneering role, and Hype!, for the revolutionary approach it presented, have been the publications with the most impact and influence, in journalistic terms, in Portugal. And that’s also due to the contribution of others in the past: José Antunes, António Eduardo Marques, and several other editors and journalists who took part in the projects. Not every magazine in Portugal can pride themselves of having such a close relationship with their readers like Mega Score and Hype! did.

The idea is that the readers and us, journalists, have grown and evolved together - thanks to diversity and mutual respect.

No Continues: What do you think of videogame journalism in Portugal? Do you believe the market was not ready for your vision and that it’s still very orthodox, or that in spite of everything there’s still much that can be done new? Considering the negative experiences you’ve underwent, would you advise anyone to get into the business?

Nelson Calvinho: I think videogame publications made in Portugal are well above the worldwide average, in all levels - in editorials, in offers, in design. I look at Spanish and French publications and they creep me out with a lack of evolution, with monotonous and stilted design, language and overall approach.

The Portuguese market has always been extremely competitive. Unfortunately, it’s a small market, which does not allow a larger and more desirable human resource interchangeability among publications, and leaves journalists in a fragile position. They only have two or three content-producing companies and that’s it. In online terms, there are also very interesting projects: PTGamers is as good as most international gaming portals; rumblepack.wordpress.com has a daring, provocative, refreshing approach. Communities like InsertCoin/Ene3 are also important. Let’s see how it pans out for No Continues :-)

(The rest of the No Continues team were unavailable to comment this last part as they were fixated on Nelson’s manly gaze)

As for the market not being ready for Hype!: I think it was, but all the problems I’ve brought up previously, plus the fact that the magazine was only published for ten issues, render any statement into pure speculation or personal perspective. The truth is we’ll never know if the market was ready for Hype!. At least seven thousand readers were.

Oh, and I don’t find Hype! to be less orthodox. Videogame magazines are generally the ones which are less orthodox when compared to magazines in other segments, such as those in the music and cinema industry. Videogame magazines remain hostage to a Peter Pan syndrome: videogames have evolved, have matured, have reached new audiences, but the magazines are still eternally adolescent. Have they changed much in the past 20 years? They stimulate this kind of single-minded and very immature tecnocratic mindset - things like GameRankings and Metacritics only fuel the fire. “If the GameRankings average is of 86%, how DARE they have a different opinion?!??!“. I’ve been the victim of this twisted logic both from readers and publishers.

I believe the industry is not giving a damn to specialized press because they have already given a step forward and realized that it’s not thanks to the specialized press that they will improve anything. Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Sony, they’re all way ahead of the specialized press and of the so-called hardcore gamers who demand innovation but think exactly like they did 20 years ago. Satoru Iwata said, in an interview for TIME magazine, that if they ever payed attention to what gamers think and want, they would have never developed the Wii or the DS, but a more powerful GameCube instead.

No Continues: There’s been more and more talk about the industry’s maturing. Do you believe this will inevitably reflect in journalism, including our own, giving birth to new ways of thinking about videogames?

Nelson Calvinho: I believe the evolution of videogames won’t (necessarily) come from the specialized press, but from people with different backgrounds, with a broader set of interests, that you can easily find in a more generalist press – this doesn’t mean they are not as hardcore as any other gamer, of course. It’s the example of people like Kieron Gillen. As the industry grows and seduces new kinds of gamers, and as more people understand that videogames are no longer just a kid’s thing, more people will want to talk about videogames as well as approaching them with a new kind of discourse. Youngsters that feel the need to talk about videogames on the internet today in an irreverent and independent way will also help create a new, and more interesting kind of specialized journalism.

Above all, it’s necessary to understand that better journalism is born out of more diverse interests (we can’t understand modern videogames without being interested in cinema, digital culture, lifestyle and pop culture in general) and opinions. If journalism is symptomatic of democracy, how can the intolerance to diversity and the tribalism you recurrently see in gamer communities help in any way? Come out of the ghetto and feel the sun! We need more of the kind of creative and out of the box thinking that Satoru Itawa defends.

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(1) – Mega Score was the magazine where Hype!’s editors previously worked together. As the journalists kept trickling away from it in its final days, we suspected something might be going on, until a couple of months later, some of us we were invited to a focus group where we were given the chance to see how their new project would be like. Random bit of trivia many don’t know about: the first name they came up for the project was FIRE!, which not many of us liked at the time :-)

(2) – Blitz was a popular music newspaper that ran from 1984 to 2002, at which point it resurfaced as a magazine. In terms of popularity and influence it’s the equivalent of the New Musical Express or Melody Maker in the United Kingdom, at least in terms of audience and of a longstanding print run.

(3) – The MyGames network, being a multiplatform approach to gaming, was not only responsible for the Hype! Magazine and an online portal, but it also had a periodic TV show. The show was not very well received among fans. Reasons may vary, but the primary criticism concerned the choice of show host, which fell on an entertainer of sorts who seemed more adept at miserably trying to crack jokes than discussing videogames. While the show was intended to be more casual and easy-going to appeal to all possible audiences and to a point makes the choice of host understandable, it nonetheless spawned several situations where the audience was laughing at the host and not with him, such as an episode where the host went to do some live reporting and asked a random passerby “Do you play PC or PlayStation?“, as if those were the two only gaming platforms in existence. Still, the program is scheduled to continue, now hosted by someone else entirely.

(4) – Members of the staff improvised a streaming video conference explaining the reasons behind the magazine’s cancellation, which, much like the ambitious project, was also unheard of in Portugal.

(5) – “Ultimonivel” or “último nível”, which can be translated as “last” or “final level”, is Nelson Calvinho’s personal blog (in Portuguese).