So who on here collects classic video game magazines?

[Anthony1]

I for one, am not a collector of video games, I just love to play the damn things, but I do collect video game mags.

I actually had a huge collection of classic video game magazines about 7 years ago. But me and the wife were cleaning out the Garage, and she convinced me to get rid of them.

At the time, I thought I would never read them again. I wasn't a retro gamer back then. I was only playing the latest and greatest, and I didn't think I would need the mags again, and they took up so much damn space. My wife thought they were very childish and I actually kindof agreed at the time that they were. I did keep all my Next Generations. I thought I kept all my Die Hard Game Fan's. But I've never recovered those old GameFans. I had to start over from freaking scratch.


The good news is that I was able to get a large portion of the GameFan's back. The bad news is that I need a ton more.

Anyways, the mags that I collect are:

1. Die Hard GameFan - The greatest video game mag of all time, especially the early years. Very good coverage of the transition to the 32 bit era. The early PS1 era and Saturn era.

2. Next Generation - Actually, I don't collect this anymore. I have every issue. Well, every issue except that special one that was at a e3 show. It had a picture of a Zelda N64 cartridge on the cover.

3. Game Players - I actually don't have very many Game Players right now. I did back in the day, but now I'm starting over, and I don't have many. I don't see them on Ebay very often at all.

4. Video Games & Computer Entertainment - This is another mag that I've had to start over with. I don't have very many issues. I never see this on Ebay.

5. EGM - I have recovered many of my old EGM's. But I still need the first 20 issues.

6. GamePro - Missing some of the pre 1992 issues.


Those are the main mags that I collect. I'm always checking Ebay. But rarely do I find much luck in getting ones that I need. Or they are way overpriced and have too high of shipping. Other than GameFan, I won't pay high prices for mags.

I actually prefer to pay less than $2 per issue shipped. I usually buy a large quantity of mags, and I end up getting them for less than $2 each. So I don't win alot of Ebay auctions, because usually the shipping is way high.

[ManciGames]

I for one, am not a collector of video games, I just love to play the damn things, but I do collect video game mags.

I've got a few that I've collected over the years. By far, I've got the most of EGM. Started with #1 and have all up through current, except for a few from about '95 to '96 and maybe 1 or 2 from pre-issue #20.

Also have the following:

Next Gen / Next Generation - From issue 3, on.
GMR - All
Play - From about Issue 3, on.

I used to have some others, but got rid of them a long time ago (and have not regreted it). Thinking of scrapping GMR and Play... What to do, what to do?

I have also tried to grab a few issues through eBay. I do usually find some, but the bad thing is that I usually end up with doubles in the lot to get a few that I need. Oh well...

[Promophile]

Nintendo Power and EGM are the only ones I collect, just because I liked their quality.

[Anthony1]

I could never get into Nintendo power. It just seemed like it was targeted to 10 year olds.

Plus it was written by Nintendo, and I didn't feel like the reviews were worth a damn. Then seemed to focus more on their own games than 3rd parties.


EGM wasted alot of damn space with their previews. There previews were nothing more than what you could read on the back of the freaking box of the game. No insight whatsoever. Not how the game is coming along, or how it looks or how it plays so far. Just total wasted space in my opinion. Of course, tons of video game mags were like that.

[NE146]

I don't really 'collect'.. I just never throw away. I have a pretty good collection of pre-1984 mags like Video Games, Electronic Games, Joystik, Vidiot, etc.

I also have every issue of EGM and their offshoots since I started buying them from the beginning. I am probably missing a couple of issues of them when they were called Electronic Game Player though but I'm not sure since even they don't really talk about that phase of their history all that much.

I used to have every Die Hard Gamefan with the exception of their early fanzine issues, but they got lost in a typhoon not all that long ago

[Kepone]

My collection of AtariAge magazines is ruined.

My fault. I never got a binder to put them in or nothing. Gonna have to start anew someday.

[Promophile]

I could never get into Nintendo power. It just seemed like it was targeted to 10 year olds.

Plus it was written by Nintendo, and I didn't feel like the reviews were worth a damn. Then seemed to focus more on their own games than 3rd parties.


EGM wasted alot of damn space with their previews. There previews were nothing more than what you could read on the back of the freaking box of the game. No insight whatsoever. Not how the game is coming along, or how it looks or how it plays so far. Just total wasted space in my opinion. Of course, tons of video game mags were like that.

During the 16 bit era I lived in Italy. The mail order ads from "chips n bits" in EGM is what got me lots of SNES gems, like Harvest Moon, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 3, ect. I had REALLY good taste for a 10 year old, so the magazine previews had to have been pretty good. As for Nintendo Power, yea it does seem like its targeted at 10 year olds, because, well, it was. It still had pretty good quality.

[Anthony1]

you know what's weird? There doesn't really seem to be any game magazines that were around in 1987 and 1988. Alot of them started in 1989 and 1990 and 1991.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

If I still had eyeteeth, I'd give them for a complete set of the original Katz-Kunkel-Worley-era Electronic Games magazine.

Alas, I gave at the office. The dentist's office.

Electronic Fun With Computers & Games and Joystik would be cool too. So I'm definitely envying NE146 here.

I do have a pristine collection of Classic Gamer Magazine though! Dunno how that happened.

[Jibbajaba]

I guess I collect old Nintendo Power mags from the NES days. I had a few in my closet, and then I bought a large lot of them on eBay. I grab them whenever I see them in the wild, but that isnt very often. I don;t so much "collect" them as I just have a blast reading them. Takes me back to the good old days.

Chris

[NE146]

you know what's weird? There doesn't really seem to be any game magazines that were around in 1987 and 1988.

Sure there was.. EGM! EGM started in 1988.

Again though, at the time they were called EGP or Electronic Game Player

[norkusa]

I don't actively seek out video game magazines to collect but when I buy them, they stay in my collection and I never get rid of them. Still have most of the mags I bought when I was a kid too...Game Players, Gamepro, Nintendo Power, Video Games & Computer Entertainment. Got allot of the early EGM's too, including issue #2 with the Fabio cover.

[Push Upstairs]

My siggy says it all.

I am trying to collect the EGM magazines from the 16-bit era. Sadly, I can't really find the issues I need and i'm kinda poor at the moment.


I wouldnt mind finding or reading any of those EGP magazines, but i doubt they go for a decent price.


My best find (magazine wise) was a premier issue of Gamepro in near mint condition on Ebay for $5. But it has no Genesis stuff in it *AT ALL*

[Anthony1]

you know what's weird? There doesn't really seem to be any game magazines that were around in 1987 and 1988.

Sure there was.. EGM! EGM started in 1988.

Again though, at the time they were called EGP or Electronic Game Player

Yeah, but they only had a few issues in 1988.

There wasn't any really major video game mag doing business in 1987 and 1988, in terms of 12 monthly issues. Things really didn't get going again, until 1989. Then a bunch of mags sprang up.

[Anthony1]

My siggy says it all.

I am trying to collect the EGM magazines from the 16-bit era. Sadly, I can't really find the issues I need and i'm kinda poor at the moment.

I might have some doubles from that time period. I have to go check my stack of doubles again. I'll let you know.

[Iron Draggon]

Well I'm still trying to SELL all of my old EGM's, from 1993-1999 complete set!

Also alot of random issues from 2000-2002 nearly complete set of those too!

PM me if interested!

[NE146]

you know what's weird? There doesn't really seem to be any game magazines that were around in 1987 and 1988.

Sure there was.. EGM! EGM started in 1988.

Again though, at the time they were called EGP or Electronic Game Player

Yeah, but they only had a few issues in 1988.

There wasn't any really major video game mag doing business in 1987 and 1988, in terms of 12 monthly issues. Things really didn't get going again, until 1989. Then a bunch of mags sprang up.

Well you figure... shortly after the crash and the death of the 5200 & Colecovision, etc., what consoles were really around and prominent in the U.S. during those times? Home console video games were dormant and all the mags (that had tried to switch their focus to "personal computing") had pretty much petered out. It wasn't until the NES/Famicom & SMS started gaining steam in the U.S. that mags started coming out of the woodwork again.. and of course when was that.. about 1988

[hydr0x]

yeah of course i do collect game mags, i've enough of the following mags to call it a collection (some of them i have complete runs of)

1) ODM UK
2) ODM Germany
3) Club Nintendo Germany
4) 100% Nintendo Total Germany
5) Fun Vision Germany
5) GamesTM Germany
currently running mags:
6) Maniac Germany
7) GamePro Germany (totally different from yours)
8) GEE Germany

i've got a lot of these too, but i'm not going after them:

1) N-Zone Germany
2) OPM Germany
3) Playzone Germany

i've only got a few of these, but i want to get more:

1) Video Games Germany
2) Mega Fun Germany
3) Powerplay Germany
4) Super Play UK
5) MCV GamesMarkt Germany
6) GameFront Germany

i've also got a lot of mags where i only got one issue of, like Club Nintendo Netherlands, Konsolen Szene Germany (ONLY featuring backup units), Cube Magazine, Power Unlimited Netherlands and many many more

[digitalpress]

You probably would have guessed this, but I have tons of gaming magazines. I didn't specifically set out to collect them, but I do subscribe to just about everything gaming related and always have. I have a complete collection of the original Electronic Games magazine as well as Computer Fun, Blip, Vidiot, and almost all of Joystik and Videogames Illustrated. I probably have a complete collection of Nintendo Power and certainly of GameFan as well since I subscribed to it after picking up the first issue in a shop.

Packrats.

If they've got a videogame collection, I can almost guarantee they've got a videogame magazine collection too.

[PhoeniX]

I love my magazine collection. Having mags is a great way round out a collection (video game books aren't a bad idea either). They are a great resource for information about release dates, and about games that were never released.

I collect,
-Nintendo Power, I have every issue, it looks so nice on a shelf
-Official Dreamcast Magazine, there is something both sad and comforting about a completed magazine
-EGM, I just got into this and only have the last year and half... so far