Whats your favorite classic video game magazine?

[Areala]

Ohhhhhh, okay. No, I haven't gone too deep into the archives so that helps things to make a lot more sense. Well belated congratulations on your wedding then! Boobs FTW!!!

When did PSM actually end? Did you follow it that long? I never really followed system-specific magazines after that so I don't know exactly what happened next but as far as I could tell the magazine folder and then a different one (simply called Playstation, or Playstation Magazine) eventually showed up in its place. I'm probably wrong about the details.

Thank you! Coming up on two years on June 27th, but we've been together since college, so it was nice to finally be able to make it official. Boobs, indeed, FTW!

I didn't follow it up until the end, but according to the database here, PSM's final issue was #110 from May of '06. At least one the editors from PSM (Bill Donohue) went on to work on PlayStation, but it wasn't spun off from PSM as far as I know. Chris Slate moved over to Nintendo Power as their Editor-in-Chief in the post-PSM world, moved to Mac Life when Nintendo Power ended its run, and after that I've no idea.

*huggles*

Areala

[miketheratguy]

Thank you! Coming up on two years on June 27th, but we've been together since college, so it was nice to finally be able to make it official. Boobs, indeed, FTW!

I didn't follow it up until the end, but according to the database here, PSM's final issue was #110 from May of '06. At least one the editors from PSM (Bill Donohue) went on to work on PlayStation, but it wasn't spun off from PSM as far as I know. Chris Slate moved over to Nintendo Power as their Editor-in-Chief in the post-PSM world, moved to Mac Life when Nintendo Power ended its run, and after that I've no idea.

*huggles*

Areala

Oh wow, that's cool. Indiana legalized gay marriage before the countrywide law last summer? I could never remember which states were cool with it and which ones weren't. My nearby home state of Wisconsin didn't allow it at least as of 2006 (that's when my girlfriend and I voted for it, but the yays were slightly outweighed by the nays) but that was about the last that I knew before it was legally recognized everywhere.

Chris Slate moved to Nintendo Power? Oh wow, that almost makes me wish that I'd picked the magazine back up in the 2000s. Bill Donahue too - I remember him being at, I think, Game Player's back in the mid 90s (where he worked with the other Chris, Chris Gore). Good times.

[shadefaster]

Mine would have to be Nintendo Power and that's mostly because I'm bias towards Nintendo but they had very cool looking images in it along with secret info on games.

[MetalJuggalo]

Wow guys i didnt think my thread would get so many replies thanks guys!(Seriously this helps me see which magazines are good to read and check out in addition to good old fashioned curiosity and experimentation) Also based on what you guys said ill probably go check out the PSM mags that are on here, as for Diehard Gamefan I too would like to check it out, but eh if the guys themselves said not to, hey what can you do.. but again... Thanks guys

[Areala]

Wow guys i didnt think my thread would get so many replies thanks guys!(Seriously this helps me see which magazines are good to read and check out in addition to good old fashioned curiosity and experimentation) Also based on what you guys said ill probably go check out the PSM mags that are on here, as for Diehard Gamefan I too would like to check it out, but eh if the guys themselves said not to, hey what can you do.. but again... Thanks guys

Thanks for the fun topic and trip down memory lane!

*huggles*

Areala

[shadefaster]

Maybe Gamepro, i just like the variety and entertainment it gives.

[shadefaster]

Easy EGM. It had all the coverage I wanted at the perfect time, the dawn of the 16 bit generation. Lasted all the way to last generation. And I guess is still technically going.

Defiantly a good magazine, read a bit of it.

[Magazine]

I loved Game Players. I still remember Bill and his undead lizard warriors.

[Anthony1]

Gamefan.

Only wish they had started earlier. Just imagine if that magazine started in 1989 instead of very late 1992. Missed out on some golden years.

Next-Generation was my mag for the mid to late 90's.

GameFan and Next-Gen were my two favorites during the mid 90's.

Early 90's was all about EGM and GamePro. EGM was normally much better. In the mid 90's, I think EGM kinda went downhill though. Or maybe it was just it didn't seem as good cause I like GameFan and Next-Gen more by that time. Video Games & Computer Entertainment was hit and miss because I didn't own a computer and it was hard to root for them when they were wasting all those pages on computer games, lol...

Game Players was good in it's 2nd run in 1994, 1995 and 1996 and stuff. Had good personality. So many great mags during the 90's

[jay]

Nintendo Power is my favorite by far. The first issue I ever purchased was #3, and I was hooked on them for many years. We didn't have much money growing up, so my parents purchasing a new game for me was rare. Having the subscription to Nintendo Power, and having it delivered to our mailbox was almost as good as getting a new game. I also enjoyed Game Player's and EGM, a friend of mine always bought those and I remember borrowing them to read.

[kitsunebi]

Having the subscription to Nintendo Power, and having it delivered to our mailbox was almost as good as getting a new game.

Actually, I'd argue it might have been better. Unable to afford buying my own games as a kid, I had long barren stretches of new-gamelessness between birthdays and Xmas, during which time I would thumb through my Nintendo Power and Game Player's issues, fantasizing about the games within. Years later when I actually had a chance to play them all via emulation, I realized how most of them weren't nearly as entertaining as they had been in my imagination.

[miketheratguy]

Nintendo Power is my favorite by far. The first issue I ever purchased was #3, and I was hooked on them for many years. We didn't have much money growing up, so my parents purchasing a new game for me was rare. Having the subscription to Nintendo Power, and having it delivered to our mailbox was almost as good as getting a new game. I also enjoyed Game Player's and EGM, a friend of mine always bought those and I remember borrowing them to read.

Actually, I'd argue it might have been better. Unable to afford buying my own games as a kid, I had long barren stretches of new-gamelessness between birthdays and Xmas, during which time I would thumb through my Nintendo Power and Game Player's issues, fantasizing about the games within. Years later when I actually had a chance to play them all via emulation, I realized how most of them weren't nearly as entertaining as they had been in my imagination.

Do you guys have specific issues of NP that stood out as particularly exciting to get in the mail? Those days when you'd just been WAITING and WAITING to get your magazine, looking out the window for the postal worker or maybe running to the mailbox after getting off the bus after school, only to be startled with giddy anticipation when you saw that the new issue was there? It was like Christmas and absolutely nothing else mattered for the next hour. Your day, your week, and in some cases your whole month was made.

I can think of three specific issues of Nintendo Power that had this magical effect on me as a kid:

* Mar / Apr 1989 (Ninja Gaiden). My first issue of Nintendo Power ever, at least after the promotional issue 1 that I got as a member of the Nintendo Fun Club. I'd subscribed right away but for some reason there was a delay - probably due to unexpected demand - and waited several long, long months wondering when I'd ever get my magazine. It was both exciting and horrible to see new issues in the hands of my friends, meekly asking if I could see them, only to have to go home and desperately await the day that the same issue would arrive in my own mailbox. And it never did...until the magazine's fifth issue. I happened to be spending the last day of a week-long stay at my older sister's, due to my parents being out of town for a funeral, and when they arrived to pick me up they surprised me with my first issue of Nintendo Power, a bag of Mcdonalds, and a trip to the local game store where I would go on to rent Monster Party. I don't think that I would have been able to describe my level of bliss.

* Sep / Oct 1990 (Maniac Mansion). First there was the little blip of a preview near the end of the Mar / Apr or May / Jun issue which casually mentioned that my favorite computer game EVER, Maniac Mansion, was suddenly about to hit the NES. And just like that, the Jul / Aug issue announced that the game would be getting extensive coverage next. For some reason the nearby stores often got their issues before I did, so when I happened to be checking out Kay-Bee Toys (remember that place?) at the end of the summer I did a double-take when I saw Nintendo Power, with an outstanding clay diorama of Maniac Mansion on the cover, looking back at me from a little standee near the registers. I grabbed a copy and found a nearby aisle with adequate shelf space where I sat myself down and pored over that glorious issue for a good hour. This time my own copy of the magazine came pretty quickly and I got it only a few days later.

* January 1991 (Mega Man 3). I was in 6th grade around Christmas of 1990 when I saw one of my fellow classmates with a copy of this issue. The only game that came close to exciting me as much as Maniac Mansion did at that time was Mega Man 3, and to see it get a mammoth amount of coverage in NP - capped by a beautifully colorful cover - sent me into withdrawals as I waited what felt like an especially long time to get my own copy (there must have been some kind of error going on at the time - the next issue, the equally colorful and exciting Startropics issue, was late for me by almost a month).

Honorable mentions: November 1991, because Final Fantasy II, and my free copy of Dragon Warrior, because obvious.

[kitsunebi]

Do you guys have specific issues of NP that stood out as particularly exciting to get in the mail?

Yeah, your first issue is always special. Mine wasn't until issue 8, with Duck Tales on the cover. Those were the bimonthly days, so you had two full months to pore over every screenshot in the mag. I would usually manage to scrounge up enough money to order a back issue during that period, so I would get a new issue one month and a back issue the next to lessen the pain of waiting. By the time I had all the back issues, NP had gone monthly, so problem solved.

Early SNES coverage was also exciting. The rest of the issue is completely forgettable, but I seem to remember poring over the back of the poster that came with NP 26 (with Robin Hood Prince of Thieves on the cover). The poster featured screenshots of a bunch of SNES games, which that at that point hadn't been released in the US. Basically, at the first mention of the SNES, I stopped spending any money, and all allowance/lawn mowing/birthday money went into my SNES Fund. I saved for nearly a year and only managed half of the $200 price, but my parents ended up buying it for me for Xmas to reward my industriousness, allowing me to use my saved money to get a couple of games.

[miketheratguy]

Yeah, your first issue is always special. Mine wasn't until issue 8, with Duck Tales on the cover. Those were the bimonthly days, so you had two full months to pore over every screenshot in the mag. I would usually manage to scrounge up enough money to order a back issue during that period, so I would get a new issue one month and a back issue the next to lessen the pain of waiting. By the time I had all the back issues, NP had gone monthly, so problem solved.

Early SNES coverage was also exciting. The rest of the issue is completely forgettable, but I seem to remember poring over the back of the poster that came with NP 26 (with Robin Hood Prince of Thieves on the cover). The poster featured screenshots of a bunch of SNES games, which that at that point hadn't been released in the US. Basically, at the first mention of the SNES, I stopped spending any money, and all allowance/lawn mowing/birthday money went into my SNES Fund. I saved for nearly a year and only managed half of the $200 price, but my parents ended up buying it for me for Xmas to reward my industriousness, allowing me to use my saved money to get a couple of games.

Great story, I always like hearing about someone else who, as a kid, went the lawnmowing / odd job route to earn their way to a video game or video game console. I did the same thing for the aforementioned Final Fantasy II.

The Ducktales issue was another good one, I have some great summertime memories of that. While I don't remember the SNES poster that you described, I do remember how exciting the SNES preview coverage was. That's another reason why the FFII issue was so special to me: It wasn't just covering a game that I had insane anticipation for, it was one of the very first SNES games that the magazine spent a lot of time talking about.

Can you remember what those first couple of games that you bought were?

[kitsunebi]

Can you remember what those first couple of games that you bought were?

Of course. Final Fight and Actraiser. And of course Mario World which came with the system.

I love the god-sim part of Actraiser. I can't believe they left it out of the sequel - it was the best part!!?

[jay]

Do you guys have specific issues of NP that stood out as particularly exciting to get in the mail? Those days when you'd just been WAITING and WAITING to get your magazine, looking out the window for the postal worker or maybe running to the mailbox after getting off the bus after school, only to be startled with giddy anticipation when you saw that the new issue was there? It was like Christmas and absolutely nothing else mattered for the next hour. Your day, your week, and in some cases your whole month was made.

I one issue that stands out for me is July/August '89 (issue 7) That particular issue had previewed so many great games, which ended up being some of my favorite NES games ever. Games like Mega Man II, Dragon Warrior, Faxanadu, Ducktales, Strider, and of course the first part of the Super Mario Bros 2 inside out tip book was a great addition to this issue.

[miketheratguy]

Of course. Final Fight and Actraiser. And of course Mario World which came with the system.

I love the god-sim part of Actraiser. I can't believe they left it out of the sequel - it was the best part!!?

Ah, Mario World and Actraiser. Two classic games (and I agree, the sim section of the game was the best part and served to enhance the action sections that surrounded them). Final Fight was well done for what it was but I was deeply disappointed that it was only single-player (and didn't feature Guy, my favorite character!).

[kitsunebi]

Final Fight was well done for what it was but I was deeply disappointed that it was only single-player (and didn't feature Guy, my favorite character!).

I almost never went to arcades, so the SNES version was the only one I knew. Thanks to my ignorance, I never knew I had been cheated out of a two-player mode and didn't even know Guy existed till years later. I was mostly pleased with it at the time because I was blown away by the giant detailed character sprites. As the graphical shine wore off, so did the game's appeal. Still, it entertained me for a while and I don't regret buying it (wish I could say that for every game I owned...)

[miketheratguy]

I almost never went to arcades, so the SNES version was the only one I knew. Thanks to my ignorance, I never knew I had been cheated out of a two-player mode and didn't even know Guy existed till years later. I was mostly pleased with it at the time because I was blown away by the giant detailed character sprites. As the graphical shine wore off, so did the game's appeal. Still, it entertained me for a while and I don't regret buying it (wish I could say that for every game I owned...)

Oh it was a fantastic game when judged against what was available on consoles at the time. To go from something like Double Dragon to Final Fight was an amazing leap, and the game was a great SNES launch title because it clearly communicated the kind of power the new system had. But yeah if you rented it and ran home excitedly to play it with your buddy (as I did) the initial waves of confusion and disappointment at the lack of a two-player mode were pretty strong.

The Sega CD version made up for it, it was pretty much arcade perfect to what I remember.

[Sean697]

The Sega CD version was very close to arcade perfect. It didn't have the color pallete of the arcade so colors were not quite as good. And it had a new improved soundtrack streaming off the CD. But other than that yes it was arcade perfect.

[Areala]

The Sega CD version was very close to arcade perfect. It didn't have the color pallete of the arcade so colors were not quite as good. And it had a new improved soundtrack streaming off the CD. But other than that yes it was arcade perfect.

Agreed. There's no real arcade perfect port of the first Final Fight, but the Sega CD version is as close as you can get.

*huggles*

Areala

[miketheratguy]

Yeah Sega's old consoles always did have a problem with washed-out colors for some reason. Still, I found that the game replicated the arcade experience about as well as one could have hoped for back in the day. And the soundtrack was awesome.

If I may:

Turn the bass really high and this thing really kicks. And dig that rad 1980s guitar solo at 1:12.

[Gorbash]

I think I might be a little older - my memories are not so much pre Nintendo Power as pre Nintendo. While I have a soft spot for Video Games (with the twin reviewers of Jim Clark and E. C. Meade) and d Videogaming Illustrated, my favourite would have to be Joystik, even with that glorious 80's design aesthetic. It was the first magazine I found that treated video games as something that weren't just for kids.

[Sean697]

I think I might be a little older - my memories are not so much pre Nintendo Power as pre Nintendo. While I have a soft spot for Video Games (with the twin reviewers of Jim Clark and E. C. Meade) and d Videogaming Illustrated, my favourite would have to be Joystik, even with that glorious 80's design aesthetic. It was the first magazine I found that treated video games as something that weren't just for kids.

Joystick had some pretty amazing layouts. I wish I would have read more of them, I've only ever seen a few issues.

[RobertDuncan]

I will buck the trend and say I was never a huge fan of EGM. I liked it enough to buy it in the summer when I could find it and at around Christmas because they were absolutely massive, but I wasn't a huge fan of the format of their magazine. I was a GamePro kid, and liked their format better. They were more in depth with reviews and previews, even if they didn't preview as many games. For me it was just a more fun magazine overall. So much so that I would read it from cover to cover, including about games I would never get to play.

I never liked Nintendo Power growing up. I did like it when Future took over the magazine from Nintendo. But the 90s format of the magazine did not do anything for me.

I've read nintendo power and I wholeheartedly agree they seem pretty boring to me. Their covers were either hit or miss,they're reviews seemed way to passive aggresive heck it seems you'd have to read between the lines to get the jiff of things it almost seems like they were scared of losing exclusive content from game companies. I did like their prizes and added gimmicks like iron on donkey kong shirt stickers though. I didn't read egm so can't judge them but I did like game pros later issues they were fun to read and the covers weren't to shabby,the prizes were cool and the staff humor were awesome especially their history changing April fools day articles like mk issue. UK retromag is good readings and another mag that to me is underrated are game informers they're not to shabby.