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Thread: What video game magazines existed in 1987 & 1988?

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    Default What video game magazines existed in 1987 & 1988?

    It seems that a number of video game magazines made their debut in 1989. You had Game Players, Video Games and Computer Entertainment, GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly.

    So what video game magazines existed in say 1987 and 1988?

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    Pretzel (Level 4) rolenta's Avatar
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    Default Re: What video game magazines existed in 1987 & 1988?

    Quote Originally Posted by Anthony1
    It seems that a number of video game magazines made their debut in 1989. You had Game Players, Video Games and Computer Entertainment, GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly.

    So what video game magazines existed in say 1987 and 1988?
    Video Games and Computer Entertainment began with the December 1988 issue.

    Other than that there was an excellent newsletter called Videogame Update. It began in late 1981. With the April 1984 issue it changed its name to Computer Entertainer and then stuck around until July 1990.
    Leonard Herman
    The Game Scholar
    Publisher of Historical Videogame Books
    http://www.rolentapress.com
    Phoenix 4 coming in 2014

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    You also had " Game Player's Strategy Guide to Nintendo Games"
    SO not the Drama.

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    I'm sure you already know that Nintendo Power premiered in July/August of '88.
    "And remember ladies: if it ain't tight, it ain't right!"

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    Wow, so prior to July/August of 1988, there really weren't any big time video gaming magazines?

    Pretty amazing.

    I mean I know that there were some back in the Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision days, but I guess when the market crashed all the mags must have crashed along with them. And the mags didn't really start back up until mid to late 1988 and 1989 it seems.

    So the NES was a big time hit for two and a half years without any "real" magazine coverage.

    I guess part of the reason that all those mags starting showing up around 1989 was the impending launch of the TurboGrafx-16 and Sega Genesis. That along with the NES being at it's peak.

    The reason that I asked about this is because I collect video game magazines now, and I was wondering how far back I should go with my collection. I'm not going to go back any further than I am, because I don't have a huge connection to the Atari generation. I mean I had an Atari and that was my first system ever, but I was only 7 or 8 years old during that time, and I wasn't even close to being any kind of "hardcore" gamer. I was just a little kid that would play some Atari games with my Dad and Brother. So I don't really feel that I need to go back into that time period.

    I'm focusing on getting every issue of Die Hard GameFan (1993), EGM (1989), VG & CE (1988), Game Players (1989), Game Pro (1989), Next-Generation (1995) and Gamer's Republic (1998). There are also a few other magazines that I get some issues of, like EGM 2 and some other ones, but those are the main ones that I'm collection.

    I was just curious if there was any "major" video game mags out in say 1987 or 1988 that I didn't know about.

    Apparently the answer is no.

    Thanks for the replys guys.

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    There is one major magazine that was around before 1989. It was Electronic Game Player. This one is issue 4 from Sept./Oct 1988...



    "EGP" changed their name shortly afterward to become yes.... Electronic Gaming Monthly.

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    The German mag Powerplay/Happy Computer had console gamereviews as early as 1986 and maybe even 1985.
    Wii: 8285 8147 1575 6278

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    In the UK we had "Computer & Video Games Magazine" or "C&VG" as it's more commonly reffered to the first issue of this still running Monthly games magazine was released in November 1981 it covered all formats so would have had console game coverage pretty much as they were coming out later in it's life.

    Someone has scans of the issue up here:-
    http://www.64apocalypse.com/images/cvg/magintro.htm

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    You guys might be interested in visiting Phaze's Classic Videogame Magazine Museum. Mostly it seems to be stuff from the early 80's (Electronic Games, etc.).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Anthony1
    So the NES was a big time hit for two and a half years without any "real" magazine coverage.
    No, but there was this prior to Nintendo Power:



    The Nintendo Fun Club News totaled 7 issues during 1987-88. Not 'real' but worth mentioning.
    RIP bargora, you will be greatly missed.That is how we do things on Giedion Prime.

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    Quote Originally Posted by NE146
    There is one major magazine that was around before 1989. It was Electronic Game Player. This one is issue 4 from Sept./Oct 1988...


    "EGP" changed their name shortly afterward to become yes.... Electronic Gaming Monthly.


    Wow, I had no idea! So how many issues of Electronic Game Player exist?

    Very interesting indeed.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) rolenta's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NE146
    "EGP" changed their name shortly afterward to become yes.... Electronic Gaming Monthly
    That's debatable. The current issue of EGM states: "Prior to EGM, founder Steve Harris tested the waters with black-and-white fanzine Electronic Game Player in 1988. "


    Quote Originally Posted by Anthony1
    So how many issues of Electronic Game Player exist?
    I believe 4:
    Mar-Apr 1988
    May-Jun 1988
    Jul-Aug 1988
    Sep-Oct 1988
    Leonard Herman
    The Game Scholar
    Publisher of Historical Videogame Books
    http://www.rolentapress.com
    Phoenix 4 coming in 2014

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    Quote Originally Posted by rolenta
    Quote Originally Posted by NE146
    "EGP" changed their name shortly afterward to become yes.... Electronic Gaming Monthly
    That's debatable. The current issue of EGM states: "Prior to EGM, founder Steve Harris tested the waters with black-and-white fanzine Electronic Game Player in 1988. "
    Yeah it is debatable.. I read that too and it puzzles me why they said that. Actually in EGM'S first retrospective, they didn't mention EGP at all. Then on a later issue (the one with the poster) they did mention it, but just as a sidenote and using those words you quoted above.

    Here's my thoughts: I've always wondered why EGM seems to discount or downplay their initial incarnation as nothing but a "b&w fanzine" when really it had the exact same quality and content as the earliest issues of EGM. When comparing the two issues, They both have Quarterman's Gaming Gossip, they both have a "direct hit" game review system... (EGM would later change this to the Review Crew, but again, the early EGM's DID have the same EGP format). And more telling, the entire format, layouts, typeface.. everything is pretty much the same! And of course they have the same staff.. Ed Semrad, and Steve, etc.

    I can scan this issue of EGP and a very early issue of EGM... and they have so many similarities, it's just really hard to doubt they are not one continuance of the same magazine with a different name. If you compare an early EGM with the above EGP, you can't say which one is a fanzine vs. which one is a "magazine". Heck you pretty much wouldn't be able to tell which is which unless you looked at the cover.

    So yeah, although they may deny it, backoffice politics and corporate identities notwithstanding, from this particular fan's vantage point, EGP WAS EGM. The magazine went on without a hitch and stamped on the new name of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" and continued it's evolution from there.


    Quote Originally Posted by Anthony1
    So how many issues of Electronic Game Player exist?
    Not sure.. that's the only issue I have However at the back of the magazine there are "pictures" of what look like earlier covers.. I can scan this later if you wish. Perhaps those were the b&w Fanzines they talked about? Or merely protos of the mag? Or maybe their mock covers. I really don't know. I do know the cover of the one I have says Issue #4.. and the next issues I bought after that were EGM. I'll have to double check however. I might have an EGP "buyers guide" or maybe it's EGM.. I'm not sure. I'll have to go home to check :P

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