ISSUE: 20Content
PRIMARY SYSTEMS COVERAGE THIS ISSUE
-
Sega Saturn
-
Sega Genesis
-
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
-
PC - PC CD-ROM
-
Macintosh
-
Sony Playstation
-
M2 (never released)
-
Nintendo 64
-
arcade
---
(The following is loosely based on this issue's table of contents, with select issue excerpts included. Magazine accurate text formatting (lower case headers, etc) purposefully retained. (Notes) and bullet lists are added for clarity.)
(Chris Crawford's 'The way games ought to be...' column returns this issue, now found in the news section.)
talking
Nintendo, Sega, and Sony under one roof
In a Next Generation exclusive, interviews with the U.S. heads of all three console powerhouses are merged to provide a rare look how three different people can only agree to disagree. It will probably get us in trouble, but hey - they can't sue. Can they? (seven pages; composite interview based on individual interviews of Sony's Jim Whims and Andrew House, Sega's Tom Kalinske, and Nintendo's Howard Lincoln)
breaking
News
(Original news articles along with regular, recurring news features; one page each unless noted. While original news stories regularly included related sidebars, unrelated sidebars would often be used to fill space as well - these are noted.)
Sega and Sony prepare for Nintendo 64
How can 32-bit compete with 64-bit? Drastic price cuts, Internet add-ons, and aggresive (sic) marketing are Sega's and Sony's answers. (1.5 pages; includes 'Nintendo's 64DD revealed' sidebar)
M2: Matsushita breaks its silence
Too good to be true? "unconfirmed reports" from Japan fan the fires of hype. (approx. 1/2 page)
Intel prepares to enhance Pentium
The world's biggest chip manufacturer is ready to make PC games faster. (1/2 page)
E3: Nintendo rekindles Mario's Magic
LA's Electronic Entertainment Expo proves to be the focal point of the game world. (two pages; includes 'Game Boy relaunched' (Game Boy Pocket) sidebar)
Nintendo's Yamauchi speaks out
The most powerful man in the world of videogames speaks out in Japan. (1/2 page)
(Recurring news features; one page each unless noted:)
Crib sheet (sidebar; 'everything gamers should know, but probably forgot;' 'No. 2 Nolan Bushnell')
i wish... (1/4th page; featuring Next Generation editor Neil West)
Gadget (1/2 page; 'cool new gizmos and thingies;' featured:)
-
Mach V 166 (PC)
-
PlayStation Analog Stick (PS accessory)
Stop press (sidebar; 'late-breaking news;' headlines:)
-
Datel Launches PlayStation Disk Drive
-
Sid Meier Leaves Microprose
-
VR Pac-Man To Hit Arcades
Datastream (sidebar; numbers related news/trivia)
The way games ought to be...
Hi-octane game theory by Chris Crawford ('Dreams, stories, and games;' commentary by Chris Crawford)
Joyriding
Gaming on the Internet. ('Will Sega Saturn's NetLink succeed, or "do a 32X"?; online gaming news by Bernard Yee)
Arcadia
All the latest coin-op and arcade news. (arcade news by Marcus Webb)
In the studio (1/2 page; games in development; Maxis, SNK, LucasArts, Williams, Sega, The Tetris Company)
movers & shakers
The business news that affects the games you play. (business news by Christian Svensson)
Generator
The issues affecting the way games are made. ('Battle of the bits - Is 64 always better than 32?;' behind-the-scenes by George Zachary)
Datebook (1/2 page; calendar of events)
ng special
Super Mario 64: The ultimate preview
If there was any doubt of Shigeru Miyamoto's genius, Super Mario 64 dispels it. Next Generation received exclusive access to Nintendo 64's killer app, and here for you are the results. Killer shots and information that only Next Generation could deliver. (eleven pages, including one page Shigeru Miyamoto interview)
ng hardware
10 reason why Nintendo 64 will succeed (and 20 why it could fail)
It's unlikely, but Nintendo 64 has some serious flaws that may doom it to failure. In this controversial report, Next Generation explains why having the best games and the best technology doesn't guarantee success for the world's largest videogame company. (eight pages)
ng software
Alphas (game previews, one page each unless noted:)
(Next Generation's game previews often varied in scope and size. Smaller previews were usually traditional in presentation, while larger previews often incorporated developer commentary. The largest previews were typically presented as a themed article (focusing on a development studio, accessory, etc) previewing one or more titles and were often accompanied by an interview (noted).)
-
Super Mario 64 (N64; eleven pages; this is the same article billed as a 'ng special' in this issue's TOC (see description above))
-
NovaLogic (PC; two page company overview with focus on Armored Fist 2 preview)
-
John Madden Football (PS/Sat/PC; two pages)
-
Pilotwings 64 (N64; four pages)
-
Destruction Derby 2 (PS)
-
Wipeout XL (PS)
-
Shining Sword (PS; two pages)
-
Soviet Strike (PS/Sat; two pages)
-
Ballblazer Champions (PS)
-
Montezuma's Return (PCCD)
-
Thunder Truck Rally (PS; two pages)
rating
Finals
(While all video game magazines make the occasional slip, NEXT Generation's game review section was especially notorious and/or exceptional for reviewing games never formally released in North America, or were instead eventually released under a different title. In some cases an import title would be reviewed with the domestic release also reviewed in a later issue. Japanese import reviews are noted when known. Reviews were usually 1/8th to 1/4th page in length, though this varied wildly and length was never pre-determined - one page reviews would see print on rare occasions. Higher rated and/or spotlighted games would usually receive more page real estate than lower rated.)
PlayStation
-
Killing Zone
-
Tekken 2
-
Jumping Flash! 2
-
Top Gun
Saturn
-
Alone in the Dark
-
Golden Axe: The Duel
-
NHL Powerplay '96
-
Shellshock
PC
-
Conquest of the New World
-
Dinotopia
-
EarthSiege 2
-
Duke Nukem 3D
-
Fantasy General
-
Icebreaker
-
Silent Thunder: A-10 Tank Killer II
-
Star Trek: Klingon
-
Strife
-
VR Soccer
Macintosh
-
X-Wing
SNES
-
Olympic Summer Games
Genesis
-
Time Killers
Arcade
-
Midnight Run
-
Run and Gun II
-
War Gods
32-bit gamer's guide (review score reference guide; one page)
corresponding
Letters
Never mind the fawning, here's the only game mag letters page that actually answers tough questions. (reader mail; two pages)
PRIMARY SYSTEMS COVERAGE THIS ISSUE
- Sega Saturn
- Sega Genesis
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- PC - PC CD-ROM
- Macintosh
- Sony Playstation
- M2 (never released)
- Nintendo 64
- arcade
---
(The following is loosely based on this issue's table of contents, with select issue excerpts included. Magazine accurate text formatting (lower case headers, etc) purposefully retained. (Notes) and bullet lists are added for clarity.)
(Chris Crawford's 'The way games ought to be...' column returns this issue, now found in the news section.)
talking
Nintendo, Sega, and Sony under one roof
In a Next Generation exclusive, interviews with the U.S. heads of all three console powerhouses are merged to provide a rare look how three different people can only agree to disagree. It will probably get us in trouble, but hey - they can't sue. Can they? (seven pages; composite interview based on individual interviews of Sony's Jim Whims and Andrew House, Sega's Tom Kalinske, and Nintendo's Howard Lincoln)
breaking
News
(Original news articles along with regular, recurring news features; one page each unless noted. While original news stories regularly included related sidebars, unrelated sidebars would often be used to fill space as well - these are noted.)
Sega and Sony prepare for Nintendo 64
How can 32-bit compete with 64-bit? Drastic price cuts, Internet add-ons, and aggresive (sic) marketing are Sega's and Sony's answers. (1.5 pages; includes 'Nintendo's 64DD revealed' sidebar)
M2: Matsushita breaks its silence
Too good to be true? "unconfirmed reports" from Japan fan the fires of hype. (approx. 1/2 page)
Intel prepares to enhance Pentium
The world's biggest chip manufacturer is ready to make PC games faster. (1/2 page)
E3: Nintendo rekindles Mario's Magic
LA's Electronic Entertainment Expo proves to be the focal point of the game world. (two pages; includes 'Game Boy relaunched' (Game Boy Pocket) sidebar)
Nintendo's Yamauchi speaks out
The most powerful man in the world of videogames speaks out in Japan. (1/2 page)
(Recurring news features; one page each unless noted:)
Crib sheet (sidebar; 'everything gamers should know, but probably forgot;' 'No. 2 Nolan Bushnell')
i wish... (1/4th page; featuring Next Generation editor Neil West)
Gadget (1/2 page; 'cool new gizmos and thingies;' featured:)
- Mach V 166 (PC)
- PlayStation Analog Stick (PS accessory)
Stop press (sidebar; 'late-breaking news;' headlines:)
- Datel Launches PlayStation Disk Drive
- Sid Meier Leaves Microprose
- VR Pac-Man To Hit Arcades
Datastream (sidebar; numbers related news/trivia)
The way games ought to be...
Hi-octane game theory by Chris Crawford ('Dreams, stories, and games;' commentary by Chris Crawford)
Joyriding
Gaming on the Internet. ('Will Sega Saturn's NetLink succeed, or "do a 32X"?; online gaming news by Bernard Yee)
Arcadia
All the latest coin-op and arcade news. (arcade news by Marcus Webb)
In the studio (1/2 page; games in development; Maxis, SNK, LucasArts, Williams, Sega, The Tetris Company)
movers & shakers
The business news that affects the games you play. (business news by Christian Svensson)
Generator
The issues affecting the way games are made. ('Battle of the bits - Is 64 always better than 32?;' behind-the-scenes by George Zachary)
Datebook (1/2 page; calendar of events)
ng special
Super Mario 64: The ultimate preview
If there was any doubt of Shigeru Miyamoto's genius, Super Mario 64 dispels it. Next Generation received exclusive access to Nintendo 64's killer app, and here for you are the results. Killer shots and information that only Next Generation could deliver. (eleven pages, including one page Shigeru Miyamoto interview)
ng hardware
10 reason why Nintendo 64 will succeed (and 20 why it could fail)
It's unlikely, but Nintendo 64 has some serious flaws that may doom it to failure. In this controversial report, Next Generation explains why having the best games and the best technology doesn't guarantee success for the world's largest videogame company. (eight pages)
ng software
Alphas (game previews, one page each unless noted:)
(Next Generation's game previews often varied in scope and size. Smaller previews were usually traditional in presentation, while larger previews often incorporated developer commentary. The largest previews were typically presented as a themed article (focusing on a development studio, accessory, etc) previewing one or more titles and were often accompanied by an interview (noted).)
- Super Mario 64 (N64; eleven pages; this is the same article billed as a 'ng special' in this issue's TOC (see description above))
- NovaLogic (PC; two page company overview with focus on Armored Fist 2 preview)
- John Madden Football (PS/Sat/PC; two pages)
- Pilotwings 64 (N64; four pages)
- Destruction Derby 2 (PS)
- Wipeout XL (PS)
- Shining Sword (PS; two pages)
- Soviet Strike (PS/Sat; two pages)
- Ballblazer Champions (PS)
- Montezuma's Return (PCCD)
- Thunder Truck Rally (PS; two pages)
rating
Finals
(While all video game magazines make the occasional slip, NEXT Generation's game review section was especially notorious and/or exceptional for reviewing games never formally released in North America, or were instead eventually released under a different title. In some cases an import title would be reviewed with the domestic release also reviewed in a later issue. Japanese import reviews are noted when known. Reviews were usually 1/8th to 1/4th page in length, though this varied wildly and length was never pre-determined - one page reviews would see print on rare occasions. Higher rated and/or spotlighted games would usually receive more page real estate than lower rated.)
PlayStation
- Killing Zone
- Tekken 2
- Jumping Flash! 2
- Top Gun
Saturn
- Alone in the Dark
- Golden Axe: The Duel
- NHL Powerplay '96
- Shellshock
PC
- Conquest of the New World
- Dinotopia
- EarthSiege 2
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Fantasy General
- Icebreaker
- Silent Thunder: A-10 Tank Killer II
- Star Trek: Klingon
- Strife
- VR Soccer
Macintosh
- X-Wing
SNES
- Olympic Summer Games
Genesis
- Time Killers
Arcade
- Midnight Run
- Run and Gun II
- War Gods
32-bit gamer's guide (review score reference guide; one page)
corresponding
Letters
Never mind the fawning, here's the only game mag letters page that actually answers tough questions. (reader mail; two pages)
-
1
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