The lovely folks at UK outlet The Guardian recently ranked the best British video game magazines of all time, which was wonderful to see – but when it comes to old video game magazines, the same titles tend to get referenced.
Mean Machines, CVG, EGM, Total!, Super Play, GameFan, you know the score. This is, of course, great, and those are all certified ‘bangers’ in the annals of publishing history – but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Back in the '80s and '90s, newsstand shelves all over the world were positively bursting with video game magazines. We had a wide selection of multi-format publications as well as mags which focused either on a particular platform holder or went even more specific and just covered a single system.
So, let’s take a moment to pour one out for all the magazines that fly under the radar and have escaped our collective memory. In no particular order, then, here are ten forgotten gaming magazines worth remembering.
CU Amiga (1983-1998)
Commodore User was published in one form or another between 1983 and 1998, but it’s the early 90s iteration - when it was known as CU Amiga - which I know and remember.
Because for a very brief and specific moment in time they had some of the best screenshots, writing and layout in the business. I don’t know how they sourced their screenshots, but they’re razor-sharp and clear. A genuine delight – and a real anomaly at the time.
One problem - I owned a Commodore 64. So, while CU Amiga was the gold standard for UK computer game coverage circa 1990, the games I was playing at home looked nothing like the screenshots in the magazine.
EGM2 (1994 - 1998)
Everyone remembers Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM). It was so popular the publishers were able to launch a spin-of magazine that dropped the reviews and focused exclusively on upcoming releases - EGM2.
This was possible because console gaming in the mid-90s was completely unhinged, with new systems being released every other month. It was glorious, and chaotic, and completely unsustainable.
Also, there was no real internet, so EGM2 was required reading for those paying attention.
Go! (1992 - ????)
With the Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear, Nintendo Game Boy and PC Engine Turbo Express all competing for market share, handhelds represented a significant slice of the gaming market in the early '90s.
Looking to capitalise on that popularity, EMAP launched a handheld gaming supplement bundled with CVG magazine. And it was ‘fine’. Nothing fancy, but at least you could keep track of all those Game Boy games flooding the market.
30 years after the fact, no one seems to remember any of this. And a world in which four rival handhelds are competing for your attention feels like some sort of alternative timeline. A better one at that.
Video Games and Computer Entertainment / VG&CE (1988-1993)
VG&CE doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Maybe because the editorial team looked like a bunch of middle-aged data analysts with thick moustaches and big ‘dad energy’. That may be a harsh characterisation, but it goes to the heart of VG&CE’s appeal - and its ultimate downfall.
Ostensibly a multi-format magazine about home computers and video games, VG&CE was staffed by seasoned veterans who wanted to dig deeper and deliver ‘think pieces’ about the state of the industry.
While this helped to separate the magazine from the more hyperbolic EGM and GamePro, it didn’t do much for sales. Still, it makes old copies of VG&CE a treasure trove of early 90s gaming insights.
Compute! (1979-1994)
This was one of the first gaming magazines I ever read, so I’m probably biased, but I grew to love Compute!’s very earnest mix of computer game coverage, productivity reviews (a new spreadsheet program!) and ads for AT/XT IBM compatibles in the back pages - yours for just $2,000 USD ( $5,000 adjusted for inflation).
The magazine ran across three decades, but it’s the late '80s / early '90s era that’s really interesting, as it provides a fascinating counterpoint to the micro-computer dominance of the UK gaming media.
Also, great ads for long forgotten PC games.
Raze (1990-1991)
Raze magazine was a mess. It looks like every single section has been outsourced to a different person, and no one is talking to each other. Which means the tone, layout, and coverage switches wildly from page-to-page.
I interviewed the man responsible, Richard Monteiro, and he confirmed that the whole magazine was basically outsourced to different freelance writers and agencies scattered throughout the UK. Yeah, it’s a bit shambolic – but then so was the video game industry in the early '90s.
Turbo Force (1992-1993)
Publishers in the US favoured multi-format gaming magazines. More consoles = more readers = more ads = more revenue.
So, when a single-format title came along, it was usually bankrolled by the console manufacturer itself, which is exactly what happened with Turbo Force.
More marketing Hail Mary than legit magazine, Turbo Force was a last-ditch-effort to breathe life into the failing TurboGrafx-16 and its CD add-on.
The fact that only 4 issues were produced during a two-year run, and all the ads were from the console's local distribution arm, tells you everything you need to know about the PC Engine's failed attempts to crack the global market.
Cube (2001 - 2005)
I bought all my copies of Cube in the bargain bin for pennies – which is not dissimilar to how I bought all my GameCube games.
Clearly, the system had some issues cutting through in the early 2000s era of ‘urban slum gaming’. Or, to borrow a line from the legendary Sega site UK:Resistance, “We want to play in a HAPPY PRETEND LAND, not a shit version of an American slum full of mixed-race gangsters wearing licensed sportswear!”
That being said, my original copies of Mario Superstar Baseball, Paper Mario and Wario World are now worth a small fortune. There’s probably a lesson to be learnt somewhere in all that.
Electronic Games (1992 - 1995)
Electronic Games is the first dedicated video game magazine published in the US. It made its debut in 1981 and ran until 1985. But we’re not talking about that magazine – we’re talking about its relaunched early '90s edition.
Like its forefather, the magazine was helmed by industry alumni Bill Kunkel, Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley. By this point, the trio had been kicking around the industry for some 15 years and felt that video and computer games deserved a more nuanced, adult-contemporary magazine.
I mostly bought it for the fanzine column that Arnie Katz wrote, back when that was a whole thing.
Arcade (1998 - 2000)
Lager. Lager. Lager. And video games. And ‘birds’. (Yes, we're aware there's some crossover with this entry and The Guardian's list, but we feel that Arcade remains a forgotten gem regardless).
Arcade marks the video game industry’s transition from the bedroom to the high street. Its stylish layout and high-end aesthetic capture the spirit of the era – one that hasn’t aged particularly well with the benefit of hindsight.
But we’re talking New Labour, Girl Power, economic prosperity, and a brief moment in time when the future seemed assured, and the possibilities were endless. It wouldn’t last. And neither did the magazine, closing up shop after two years.