Old game magazines and great quotes.

[Gamereviewgod]

So, I'm reading through a bunch of GamePro's I bought at a grage sale. Not terribly old, 95-98 is pretty much all here though. Anyway, these are great reads simply for some of the great quotes. For instance, here is a segment from an interview with the Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami, talking about the first game, before it was released:

GP: Will there ever be a sequel?

Mikami: "We hope people enjoy Resident Evil. If the first game does well and there is much demand, we'll consider doing a sequel."

If he only knew...

Then another issue has an early preview of Halo for the PC:

"Halo has a chance at greatness, but it will to have more variety to conquer Quake."

If they only knew....

[zmeston]

So, I'm reading through a bunch of GamePro's I bought at a grage sale. Not terribly old, 95-98 is pretty much all here though. Anyway, these are great reads simply for some of the great quotes. For instance, here is a segment from an interview with the Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami, talking about the first game, before it was released:

GP: Will there ever be a sequel?

Mikami: "We hope people enjoy Resident Evil. If the first game does well and there is much demand, we'll consider doing a sequel."

If he only knew...

Then another issue has an early preview of Halo for the PC:

"Halo has a chance at greatness, but it will to have more variety to conquer Quake."

If they only knew....

The first one's not a great quote; since when has a developer NOT considered doing a sequel? I've read variations of that quote in countless interviews.

The second one is a so-so quote, although since it's a very early preview (before Bungie was acquired by Microsoft and Halo transmogrified into an Xbox title), it's reasonable to assume that the version GamePro looked at really did need more variety to compete with Quake.

When I think great quotes, I think of this:

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die." -- Mel Brooks

Or, to stick within the topic:

"Sega is my friend, but I'd still have to say that Saturn is a pooch. It's a mess inside, and no one in the industry is impressed with the technology in the Saturn." -- Sam Tramiel

Of course, considering you're looking through a stack of GamePros, those probably ARE the best quotes to be had.

Any issue of Next Generation can be counted on for great quotes, thanks to the great interviews. I've been looking for that infamous Kelly Flock interview online; does anyone know if it's been transcribed and posted?

-- Z.

[den68]

hmmm, that's good advice. I'll have to make sure I pick up the next issue of Next Generation.

-- lowly GamePro reader

[AB Positive]

EGM May '93, in the "Express News" section

SEGA: 1993 AND BEYOND

Sega2 and SegaCD2:

"They were primarily developed for Europe and Japan. Right now I don't see them coming to America"

the only good quote in this article, I thought it was cute that they saw no chance of a different Genny or CD coming out there, and proceed to make TWO revisions.


NEW 32 BIT GAME SYSTEM

The FM-Towns computer company has introduced a new smaller version of their system called the "Marty"...


I remember seeing the Marty and going "Damn that would be neat to have!". Looking back, I probably might have liked it, but it's no PSX or Saturn.



Gaming gossip has a hell of a quote here. If this game came out, someone tell me what it is, because it's great.

"For the worst license of the year (or decade for that matter) how about "Federal Express"? I won't embarrass the company that has plunked down the bucks for this title, but man is that a stupid license."


.... Federal Express the Game? Ziggity-WHAT?

and for a blast from the past, here's the "Reader's Top Ten" from that month:

1) SF2 - SNES
2) Sonic 2 - Genny
3) Mortal Kombat - Genny
4) Contra 3 - SNES
5) Desert Strike - Genny
6) Axelay - SNES
7) Night Trap - Sega CD (bwa ha ha...)
8) TMNT 4 - SNES
9) Streets of Rage 2 - Genny
10) Mortal Kombat - SNES


-AG

[zmeston]

hmmm, that's good advice. I'll have to make sure I pick up the next issue of Next Generation.

-- lowly GamePro reader

Let me understand this: you're defending GamePro?! Wow. Even in the unfortunate American-edited half of its life, Next Generation was an exponentially better read than GamePro, with its cutesy cartoons and psilly pseudonyms. I hated Game Fan's cartoons and pseudos as well, but at least there was passion behind their wretched writing.

-- Z.

[Kid Fenris]

hmmm, that's good advice. I'll have to make sure I pick up the next issue of Next Generation.

-- lowly GamePro reader

Let me understand this: you're defending GamePro?! Wow. Even in the unfortunate American-edited half of its life, Next Generation was an exponentially better read than GamePro, with its cutesy cartoons and psilly pseudonyms. I hated Game Fan's cartoons and pseudos as well, but at least there was passion behind their wretched writing.

-- Z.

I must point out that, despite the weak prose of its early years, GameFan's writing was not entirely "wretched." Casey "Takuhi" Loe penned some excellent reviews, and something interesting would occasionally rise from the crazed diatribes of Nick "Rox" Des Barres. Heck, even Dan "Knightmare" Jevons and Michael "Substance D" Hobbs were getting pretty good when the old GameFan went down around the end of 1997. As for Dave "I Can't Write A Review Without Gushing Uncontrollably" Halverson, well . . .

You know, I didn't mind GameFan's cartoony alter egos, since the magazine usually told you who was who. With GamePro, the reviewers had no distinct personalities, and you never knew whether "Scarry Larry" was the same guy as "Sir Gutley Hamshead" or not. Besides, GamePro always stuffed their print full of stupid puns.

In this day and age, it's kind of fun to check out old GamePro issues just for the nostalgia kick, but I'm glad that I was reading EGM and Nintendo Power when I was a kid, and GameFan and Next Generation when I was a teenager.

[zmeston]

I must point out that, despite the weak prose of its early years, GameFan's writing was not entirely "wretched." Casey "Takuhi" Loe penned some excellent reviews, and something interesting would occasionally rise from the crazed diatribes of Nick "Rox" Des Barres. Heck, even Dan "Knightmare" Jevons and Michael "Substance D" Hobbs were getting pretty good when the old GameFan went down around the end of 1997. As for Dave "I Can't Write A Review Without Gushing Uncontrollably" Halverson, well . . .

Again, I respected the passion of GameFan's crew -- Loe, Jevons, Stratton, and others ended up in the game biz for a reason -- but I never cared for their writing. If anything, I preferred the earlier issues, which had the worst writing and the most passion. I'll re-read my issues, though, to see if my attitude needs adjusting; perhaps I'll better appreciate them in hindsight (and without thinking of them as the competition, which of course they were at the time).


In this day and age, it's kind of fun to check out old GamePro issues just for the nostalgia kick, but I'm glad that I was reading EGM and Nintendo Power when I was a kid, and GameFan and Next Generation when I was a teenager.

I think what screwed me up is that I was reading British Amiga magazines as a teenager, so I've always judged American pubs by an impossibly high standard. Amiga Format, Amiga Power, and The One were all literate, hilarious, and informative at the same time. Quite a few Brit-mag veterans have come to the States, Jevons among them, but all of them have had to dumb themselves down for the American market.

-- Z.

[Daniel Thomas]

Kid Ferris may not realize this, but the GamePro writing guidelines actually make mention of all the stupid puns. "Heavy alliteration and witty word play" was how it was described. Ugh. The pay was nice; too bad it wasn't worth the effort (for me, at least)

I always loved the early EGM years, but looking back, I realize how shoddy the writing was. Exclamation points after each sentence!!! But they really knew the games. And Z wasn't spoiled by Amiga mags. It's not his fault the US magazines only sell to teenage boys looking for cheat codes. Doggone cheat codes -- in my day we beat games the old-fashioned way, dagnabbit.

[den68]

den68 wrote:
hmmm, that's good advice. I'll have to make sure I pick up the next issue of Next Generation.

-- lowly GamePro reader


Let me understand this: you're defending GamePro?! Wow. Even in the unfortunate American-edited half of its life, Next Generation was an exponentially better read than GamePro, with its cutesy cartoons and psilly pseudonyms. I hated Game Fan's cartoons and pseudos as well, but at least there was passion behind their wretched writing.

-- Z.




actually I was just making a smart ass reply to a post that struck me as a tad snobby.

specifically:




The first one's not a great quote; since when has a developer NOT considered doing a sequel? I've read variations of that quote in countless interviews.

The second one is a so-so quote, although since it's a very early preview (before Bungie was acquired by Microsoft and Halo transmogrified into an Xbox title), it's reasonable to assume that the version GamePro looked at really did need more variety to compete with Quake.

Of course, considering you're looking through a stack of GamePros, those probably ARE the best quotes to be had.

[zmeston]

actually I was just making a smart ass reply to a post that struck me as a tad snobby.

I apologize for any perceived snobbishness. I just don't think GamePro is a source of intelligent or thought-provoking editorial.

-- Z.

[den68]

then I apologize for percieving snobbiness where none was intended.

[Daniel Thomas]

actually I was just making a smart ass reply to a post that struck me as a tad snobby.

I apologize for any perceived snobbishness. I just don't think GamePro is a source of intelligent or thought-provoking editorial.

-- Z.

Was it ever supposed to be? Seriously, who was GamePro's target audience? The 8-12 set? It's a glorified toy catalogue.