How long did VG & CE have their run, and what happened?

[Anthony1]

A good number of gamers consider Video Games & Computer Entertainment to be one of the finest video game magazines for it's time. It typically gets ranked in the top 5 of best gaming magazines of all time. Yet, it seemed to live a somewhat quiet existence, not being a extremely popular purchase at the Magazine rack. I don't think they had a ton of subscribers either. It's too bad really. It was clearly different from all the other video game mags out there.

The original name for the mag was Video Games & Computer Entertainment (VG & CE), but in September of 1993 they dropped the "and Computer Entertainment" part and started going by the name of "Video Games - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine". It also seemed that around that time, alot of the founders of the magazine were no longer involved. Anybody have any links to any stories about the History of Video Games & Computer Entertainment? I've tried to do searches on Google, but I haven't really come up with anything.

What issue is the very fist issue of VG & CE? What was the very last issue for Video Games - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine?

[rolenta]

What issue is the very first issue of VG & CE? What was the very last issue for Video Games - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine?

The first issue was dated 12/88. The last issue was dated 8/93. In 9/93 it was renamed simply VideoGames and that magazine lasted until 8/96.

In Spring 1994, Flynt Publications, which published VideoGames, came out with a second videogame magazine called Tips & Tricks. That magazine is still around today.

To learn more about the early videogame magazines, check out Bill Kunkel's book Confessions of the Game Doctor from Rolenta Press (http://www.rolentapress.com).

[Mattiekrome]

This used to be my mag of choice back in the day before EGM (and sometimes Gamepro) took over... I still have a hella stack of em laying around somewhere.

[Anthony1]

What issue is the very first issue of VG & CE? What was the very last issue for Video Games - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine?

The first issue was dated 12/88. The last issue was dated 8/93. In 9/93 it was renamed simply VideoGames




So you basically consider the mag from 9/93 on to be almost a totally different magazine? At the time I was reading them, I thought they just went through a dramatic style change, but I didn't know it was basically a completely different magazine.

[gamenthusiast]

Here is an added bit of information: Their last issue was September 1996 which had Independance Day on the cover.

[Gamereviewgod]

Wasn't this a spin-off/re-naming from Player's Strategy Guide to [system] Games? It always had the same feel, and I lined my magazine racks so that they go together. I get the sudden feeling that I screwed up

[zmweasel]

As Lenny says, there's some info about the start of VG&CE in Bill Kunkel's new book, which you must buy if you haven't already.

I freelanced for VG&CE from late 1990 to probably six months before the end, when Frank "Curse of Death" O'Connor chopped me out of the editorial loop.

It was a very popular mag in the first few years of its run, but when circulation started going down, the '93 makeover took place, with editor-in-chief Andy Eddy--still in the biz after all these years, including a mobile-gaming column for Tips & Tricks--being replaced by Chris Gore.

When Gore left for the greener pastures of Digital Pictures, which folded just after he got there, O'Connor came in and soon delivered the death blow. I vaguely recall that O'Connor also headed a very short-lived LFP magazine named Ultimate Gamer or somesuch, but Lenny would know more about that.

VG&CE was easily the most intelligent gaming mag of the late '80s and early '90s, competing as it was against EGM (which predated GameFan as the first typo-riddled full-color fanzine) and GamePro (an unabashed kiddie magazine back then).

-- Z.

[YoshiM]

I loved VG&CE. Great articles, intelligent reviews (even after they started using scores, they didn't at first which was awesome IMO), comprehensive tips and strategy guide....I can go on and on. The only magazine today that comes close IMO is Play.


I kick myself every so often because I improperly stored my healthy collection of VG&CEs in the shed which caused then to get moisture damage. Argh! I've been able to snag some from other DP members, eBay or what I've found scanned online.

ZM and Len: thanks for the reminder on Bill Kunkel's book. I definitely have to check it out.

[DreamTR]

A few words of note: Ultimate Gamer lasted a whopping 6 issues. LFP had a whole "video game line" at one point with magazines, but low circulation prevented any of that. Jim Loftus, who became Executive Editor of Tips & Tricks for some time afterwards was involved with Ultimate Gamer in a large scale IIRC.

Tips & Tricks was actually a spin-off from the Easter Egg section of Video Games Magazine. It became a monthly publication after 4 issues I believe, and Chris Bieniek, who freelanced for VG&CE, and worked on Video Games, is still the Editor-in-Chief today after 130+ issues.

[Anthony1]

Is there a list online somewhere that shows every issue of VG & CE that was released? I'm trying to figure out which issues I'm missing.

[fennec fox]

Is there a list online somewhere that shows every issue of VG & CE that was released? I'm trying to figure out which issues I'm missing.

http://www.magweasel.com/wiki/VideoGames_and_Computer_Entertainment