Flux

FLUX is a magazine devoted to console and arcade video games, in addition to music, comics and other youth-oriented topics. It was a magazine aimed squarely at the Beavis and Butt-Head generation, and while the majority of its space was devoted to games, it also boasted a variety of male teen-oriented features and humor bits.

FLUX is also the name of a currently-running UK culture magazine and a student publication at the University of Oregon.

History

FLUX was launched in 1994 by Harris Publications, a large specialty-title producer whose major hits include XXL and Revolver. The idea for the magazine likely stemmed from Harris' previous success with SLAM, a 500,000-circulation title which combined NBA coverage with pieces on hip-hop culture. Distribution was primarily through newsstands, and a wealth of veteran game writers contributed to it, including Dan Amrich, Chris Hudak, and Zach Meston.

The basic structure of FLUX is not unfamiliar to game-mag fans. Each issue kicks off with a news section (Static), then devotes the brunt of its pages to large, multi-page features on topics in games, movies, comics, or other bits of "hardcore" popular culture. Reviews of games, comics, and music releases take up the rear, and each issue usually has at least one game strategy guide or cheats compilation.

Although the topic-mix approach worked for SLAM, the strategy didn't work quite as well for FLUX, as the fanbase for video games, comics, and music are (for the most part) mutually exclusive. This also played into the minds of advertisers, who had trouble deciding if FLUX was a game magazine or not, and the title never broke 100 pages before shuttering in 1996.