What are some of the most influential video game publications and/or social networking websites?

I agree with everyone that usual suspects like IGN and Gamespot are always default sites to visit for anything video-game related. Going off of what Damon was pointing out that the video-game audience are usually very engaged and knowledgable- they usually enjoy comparing and dissecting games on forums.

Most people who are more engaged in the games they play and enjoy talking on forums. These guys earn credibility by being frequenters on forums and will have more influence on whatever they say, so try to bring up your game in a forum and them to engage.I would recommend going on to any type of video-game forum to try to generate some buzz. There are forums like the Gamespot forum (http://www.gamespot.com/forums/index.html) or any other video game forum you can find on google with lots of people (http://www.video-game-forums.com/).

Also there are a few niche blogs and sites that are relatively new but gaining momentum because they capture and match the intensity of the video-game audience. Here are two you should check out: http://www.slidetoplay.com or http://www.destructoid.com.

As for social networking websites, I would agree with John that Facebook should be a big focus of yours. Also check out Youtube if you haven't yet. Create an account for you or your company and put up some demo plays of the game. Plus there are a bunch of video-game reviewers that have big followings that you can try to get a collaboration with to generate more buzz.

Also there is G4tv, http://g4tv.com/. Although they are a TV channel, they have a cult following and have a great online presence. If you can somehow get your game on there, you will get some great buzz.

That's all from me. Good luck, sir.

Arif is right on with his recommendations! IGN and Game Pro were my "go to" as a youth looking dominate whatever game came my way. Also to find out about new releases, game reviews, trade show information, or even fellow gamers input on what was hot at the time. If I ever ran into a roadblock killing zombies, shooting aliens, or creating world and civilizations, I would be on the computer in a heart beat soaking up every available bit of info and content.

In terms of the social networking aspect, these sites have had strong forum interaction for years and are great ways for developers and studios to get feedback, bounce ideas or test the waters.

I would also say that the option on Facebook to "Like" different items has proven really effective for marketing to fans. Along with status updates from friends, you can also get the latest news on your favorite game design studio, events focused around the industy, giveaways or contests from your favorite gaming pub, or up to the minute info on a game and the hype surrounding it, before it is released. As a personal fan of games such as Halo, Resident Evil and Call of Duty, I would click the "like" button on their FB pages before you could say the phrase "head shot!"

For the gaming media, I'd take a look at IGN, Gamespot, Gamepro and Toucharcade. The last covers iPhone/iPad gaming so definitely worth a look for your purposes. I believe Game Informer is worthwhile on the print side of things.

Marketing to the gamer audience is a pretty interesting challenge as they are extremely engaged and knowledgeable. Just something to keep in mind.

I grew up using/reading Nintendo Power. It has been around for at least 20 years; staying power has to mean something. As Arif mentions, there is targeted media based on platform; Nintendo Power clearly falls into that category.

Regardless of the market they are in, they have always been a big/influential name in the gaming community. Whether or not your game can be repped in Nintendo Power is unknown to me, but at the very least you can get some ideas from their layouts and presentation to use as a basis of comparison.

By nature, gaming is a visual experience. Nintendo Power has done a great job capitalizing on this idea; screenshots, character paintings, user submitted art, etc. When considering your audience, you should look to publications that allow you to be light on words and big on the visual experience.

I know there is sometimes crossover between gamers and collectors/pop culture enthusiasts, and you may find help reaching out to publications and conventions that cater to them as well. Wizard Magazine (http://www.wizardworld.com/) used to have lots of game advertisements, and any of the conventions listed here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gaming_conventions) would provide an audience. The heavy hitter in this group is the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) hosted by the Entertainment Software Association (http://www.theesa.com/) in Los Angeles each Summer. Hope this helps!

All previous advice is solid and it this enthusiasm for the past that has fueled a huge emergence of nostalgia manifesting in the form of video game reviews, theme music, and game play clips.

A few individuals have been very successful on YouTube satisfying this demand:

Angry Video Game Nerd
http://www.youtube.com/user/JamesNintendoNerd *warning, extremely vulgar*
You should take note of his 200 million+ views.
Here's a sample, he reviewed Metal Gear on NES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHyTzPtEAhk

Irate Gamer
http://www.youtube.com/user/irategamer
He use to do more classic reviews like above but since has become more of a current game reviewer/reporter. Take note of his 63 million+ views.
Here he is reporting on the new NBA Jam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8adaTMn6yE

Classic Game Room
http://www.youtube.com/user/inecomcompany 157 million+ views
These guys do old and new reviews / news.

The fact that Double Dragon theme music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3c2xbYWKY0 can get over 44 thousand views and Mortal Kombat 2: The Pit II/The Wasteland song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phfEAL2ApHk can get 30 thousand views, or a video showing every fatality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrFfLyRniuQ can get 600 thousand views - says something.

Personally, I don't think think this method of gaming media delivery has hit its peak and I believe it can be evolved into something more widely consumed/available.

Hope that helps!
-Matt

Kotaku.com has a very large reader population and is also covered by their sister sites (Gizmodo and Lifehacker).

Reddit.com has a great community that will help in promotions (and their traffic tripled in 2010).

Otherwise you can always create a Facebook fan page and ask friends/employees to promote it.

I agree with Arif with IGN.com is definitely huge. Another site that is very useful is Machinima.com, which is the next generation video entertainment network for video gamers, providing comprehensive gaming-focused editorial and community programming to the hard-to-reach core 18 – 34 year old male demographic.

I think all the references that have been posted here are good. The one thing that needs to be understood is that the mobile and flash platforms have changed the world of online gaming. Gaming is no longer restricted to console or intensive CPU gaming (hardcore gaming), but it now has spread to mobile and browser/Flash based as well.

Only the console and hardcore gamers are going to visit something like reddit.com/r/gaming, IGN.com, or G4TV.com because those are the games that will convince them whether or not their investment is worth it. Also, events like E3 and Blizzcon are huge conventions that show new and future releases that a lot of these sites post updates from them real-time.

The mobile or flash gamer is going to stick to their Facebook news feeds, word of mouth, and what's popular in their app store. There's a lot of mobile gaming posts on TechCrunch.com, but those are more for market research and milestones instead of consumer news. Minecraft was created by one guy, but it somehow became a huge hit considering it's simple interface. The creator never really did anything but release it to the Facebook store. Finding the most popular games and tracking their individual blogs may be the way to go for these types of games.

If you really are looking for traditional magazine publications, then PC Gamer or Gamepro are probably two of the biggest.

Other online sites not already mentioned are 1up.com or gamespy.com

If you're able to create any buzz around your game, then your own forums will be among the most heavily visited of any site as gamers will first complain about the release date then compare play notes.

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/ It's more of a platform... but there is a large community. They have from 1.5 million to 3.5 million users online and playing games on their platform. See the stats section: http://store.steampowered.com/stats/