Anyone have any Next Generation CDs?

[marktrade]

As many of you know I'm working to complete Retromags' collection of Next Generation magazine scans and will be done soon, but I'd like to complete the CD collection as well. Next Generation was published with a disc edition starting with issue 23 and ending with the last disc on issue 41. I have most of them and would like to upload them all to one page on The Internet Archive where they can be downloaded in one torrent, possibly with all the magazine scans as well.

I am missing issues:

25

36

Retromags doesn't host discs, and I may be alone here in finding them important and interesting, but we can still talk about how to preserve them and where to find them.

Edited February 1, 2016 by marktrade

[Areala]

I may have one or two among my collection of demos and mag discs. I will see.

*huggles*

Areala

[aloram]

I don't have any, but I'd be very interested in checking them out. Same goes for the Game Players discs, though those might have come only with Ultra Game Players, I'm not sure.

[Areala]

I just checked through my demo/mag disc collection, and I don't have any from Next Generation. I've got a number of PlayStation Underground discs, a whole slew of PC Games and PC Gamer CDs from the 90's, a couple of Dreamcast samplers, and a couple of other sampler/demo discs for the PS1.

No Next Generation though. Boo. :(

*huggles*
Areala

[marktrade]

I just checked through my demo/mag disc collection, and I don't have any from Next Generation. I've got a number of PlayStation Underground discs, a whole slew of PC Games and PC Gamer CDs from the 90's, a couple of Dreamcast samplers, and a couple of other sampler/demo discs for the PS1.

No Next Generation though. Boo. :(

*huggles*

Areala

That's okay. I might ask for your help with those PC Games and PC Gamer CDs at some point.

Thanks for checking!

[marktrade]

I acquired issue 32 so I've updated the original post. Only missing 25, 36, and 41 now.

[marktrade]

41 is already on archive.org? How do I miss these things…

Okay, that just leaves 25 and 36.

[marktrade]

Here you go—all my Next Generation CDs.

https://archive.org/details/NEXTGenerationDiscs

I do actually have an issue 36 CD but I can't get a good rip from it. I even brought it to a video rental store that has a disc cleaning machine and had them clean it. Still no good. But I ripped what I could and uploaded it anyway, still being mindful I need to get a good rip later.

Unfortunately I do not have any of the CD covers.

[RetroDefense]

Wait - NG began including CDs with issue 23!?

Everything I knew about the world is wrong.

I always thought they began including their own discs with issue 26. Huh.

Issue 25 included the Sega Saturn compatible Christmas Nights Into Dreams Sampler disc. It wouldn't surprise me if this superseded their usual CD.

[RetroDefense]

Next Generation, you sneaky bastards.

I compared my non-CD editions of issues 24 and 25 against the CD-edition scans here at RetroMags. With each, the text on page three varies between editions. Not via a sticker or insert or whatever but the text printed on the actual bound page. The CD editions would hype the bundled disc and the non-CD editions acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

I'm betting issue 23 sports Page Three differences as well. The CD-edition clearly hypes the disc. I've misplaced my non-CD edition copy (grumble) but I'm 99% sure the text is different.

With issue 26, NG began including a "Next Generation Disc Contents" page in both editions. Page three matches between editions and probably continues to do so through issue 41. Or not, as RetroMags' #26 scan isn't a disc edition. #doh

So there ya go. Two (probably three) NG content variants hidden in plain sight. Nothing incredibly substantial or anything - like, say, EGM's subscription-only bonuses - but interesting.

If anyone is interested I can scan the variant pages eventually. Perhaps not to archival standards - I don't want to debind my NG collection - but for comparison's sake.

"Useless Video Game Magazine Trivia for $100, Alex!"

Edited June 9, 2016 by RetroDefense

[marktrade]

I'd be interested in those scans, RetroDefense. I'll be on the lookout for another copy of issue 23 but I'd be interested if you or anyone else finds a copy of the non-CD issue as well. I'd also like to check the misprint on page 42, which contains duplicated text in the special on RAM (the main body text duplicated from page 39).

Did anyone see "The Big Sleep" with Humphrey Bogart when he goes into that book store front and grills the lady behind the counter about a Ben-Hur 1860 "with duplications?" I feel I'm turning into him.

[RetroDefense]

I'd be interested in those scans, RetroDefense. I'll be on the lookout for another copy of issue 23 but I'd be interested if you or anyone else finds a copy of the non-CD issue as well. I'd also like to check the misprint on page 42, which contains duplicated text in the special on RAM (the main body text duplicated from page 39).

My issue of 23 is around here somewhere - just temporarily lost in a recent move. I misplaced it as I had recently pulled the issue from my boxed collection, checking the misprint when it was brought up in another discussion (UPC codes, I think). Turns out the UPC difference didn't indicate a running correction with page 42 - the misprint is still there - but likely corresponds to the altered page 3 text between the disc and non-disc editions.

A third UPC also exists - so there's a chance - but I imagine it would have been easier to print a correction in a later issue instead.

[marktrade]

I never did find a correction.

[geng]

Thanks for checking

[RetroDefense]

I never did find a correction.

Maybe in the letters section? If I remember, NG liked to make corrections if someone called 'em out via a letter. The correction would have required lots of page real estate though.

They may have issued a correction via their website. In which case, it's likely long gone.

Maybe the article was printed - correctly - in Edge sometime?

I haven't forgotten about those scans - trying to find my issue #23 so I can post everything together. No luck thus far - I'm sure it'll be in the last place I look - so I'll scan the other issues soon and get back to #23 eventually.

[marktrade]

I checked the letters section of the next four issues and nothing.

Good idea to check Edge, though. I haven't tried that yet.

[RetroDefense]

Finally got around to scanning the standard edition pages.  Here are some side-by-side scans - marktrade's disc edition scans on the left, mine on the right.

 

(FYI, image quality is not up to archive standards - these are heavily compressed, reduced in size, and in the case of my pages, not de-bound.  These are intended for comparison only.)

 

Issue 23:

 

 

Issue 24:

 

 

Issue 25:

 

 

With issue 26, it looks as if NG began including a disc contents page in both editions.  Until then, the standard edition never really indicated a disc edition existed.  And I had no idea as my local bookstore only carried the standard editions.  

 

The disc edition of issue 23 sort of explains this - it sounds like the disc underwent a trial period for a while so they probably weren't ready to actively promote it - but issue 25 does mention the Christmas Nights disc in its review, in both editions.

 

I remember this as odd when originally reading it years ago.  I eventually resorted to Ebay for the sampler disc.

[RetroDefense]

On 6/22/2016 at 7:02 PM, marktrade said:

Good idea to check Edge, though. I haven't tried that yet.

@marktrade, Edge (UK) #36 (September 1996) printed the article.  And you'll be happy to hear they did so correctly, with the missing content.

That said, the UK version of the article doesn't match the US version word-for-word - it was edited for UK readers - but it's probably 95% identical.  If not more.

[kitsunebi]

1 hour ago, RetroDefense said:

@marktrade,

Hasn't logged in here in 6 months or updated his patreon in 4 months.

Pretty sure he's "given up the life" and is lying back on a beach someplace, sipping margaritas and using all the free time he's got since he stopped scanning to finally learn French like he always wanted to.