Missing Magazine: PC Games

[marktrade]

Not to be confused with PCGames, which despite also being published by IDG was published much earlier than PC Games. The publisher's notes spell them differently and they were published in different years, so it only makes sense to treat them as different magazines.

PC Games started in June 1996 and was published monthly until sometime in 1999. I don't now when exactly the last issue was, but PC Games was purchased by Imagine Publishing in March 1999 and shutdown and I know that an April 1999 issue exists because I have it.

So it's basically a question of when exactly the last issue was. Should be simple to add to the database.

Edit: Okay, Areala confirms it. That's a total of 35 issues published monthly from June 1996 to April 1999.

Here's the full list.

01 Jun 96

02 Jul 96

03 Aug 96

04 Sep 96

05 Oct 96

06 Nov 96

07 Dec 96

08 Jan 97

09 Feb 97

10 Mar 97

11 Apr 97

12 May 97

13 Jun 97

14 Jul 97

15 Aug 97

16 Sep 97

17 Oct 97

18 Nov 97

19 Dec 97

20 Jan 98

21 Feb 98

22 Mar 98

23 Apr 98

24 May 98

25 Jun 98

26 Jul 98

27 Aug 98

28 Sep 98

29 Oct 98

30 Nov 98

31 Dec 98

32 Jan 99

33 Feb 99

34 Mar 99

35 Apr 99

Edited March 22, 2016 by marktrade

[kitsunebi]

It's awesome how there were two magazines with such an uncreative name. Just think, if only PC Games had been more successful, they could have launched an empire of magazines crossing the gaming spectrum:

Playstation Games

Saturn Games

Nintendo 64 Games

and the very short lived magazine that no one remembers, Game.com Games

It could have been amazing.

[marktrade]

PCGames started out as a buyer's guide spun off from PC Resource magazine, so it wasn't really its own brand when it started. But I guess since no one else was using the name, it stuck.

When Electronic Entertainment changed its name to PC Entertainment, it was only a few months before they changed it to PC Games, probably as a nod to their roots. Actually I think you have the first issue of PC Games (June 1996). Maybe it makes reference to PCGames in the editor's column?

[Areala]

April 1999 is the final issue of PC Games (Giants: Citizen Kabuto on the cover) before it was absorbed into PC Gamer. It's also the only time I've ever been mentioned by name in a gaming magazine, so I was both honored and saddened that it was the last issue printed.

*huggles*
Areala

[kitsunebi]

PCGames started out as a buyer's guide spun off from PC Resource magazine, so it wasn't really its own brand when it started. But I guess since no one else was using the name, it stuck.

When Electronic Entertainment changed its name to PC Entertainment, it was only a few months before they changed it to PC Games, probably as a nod to their roots. Actually I think you have the first issue of PC Games (June 1996). Maybe it makes reference to PCGames in the editor's column?

You're right - here's the relevant parts:

A little less than three years ago, I joined a small magazine called PC Games. Our goal was to change the magazine into something new: a multiplatform games and multimedia magazine called Electronic Entertainment.

...

That's why this issue marks the return of the PC Games name.

...

Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed our transitional moniker, PC Entertainment, on the last five issues.

Interesting that he made no distinction regarding the space or lack thereof between PC and Games.

[marktrade]

The space might simply be a legal technicality so two periodicals from the same publisher aren't registered with the same name.

Areala, when I get home from work I'll look for it!

Edited March 15, 2016 by marktrade

[Areala]

The space might simply be a legal technicality so two periodicals from the same publisher aren't registered with the same name.

Areala, when I get home from work I'll look for it!

I'll help you out some...it's not in a letter column.

*huggles*

Areala

[marktrade]

I'll help you out some...it's not in a letter column.

Hey, I found you!

[Areala]

Hey, I found you!

Where did you find me?

*huggles*

Areala

[marktrade]

Where did you find me?

I was reading through the whole magazine and when I got to that page, I thought, "that's something Areala would do—and do very well."

[marktrade]

Original post updated with verified and complete list!

[pcgames]

I actually joined to post regarding PC Games magazine. I was surprised that it was not on the list of magazines. Even weirder, I have a zip file from retromags with a scan of an entire issue of PC Games. In fact, this zip file is what led me to even discovering retromags... Anyone have any idea how this zip exists without any mention of it anywhere on the site?

[Areala]

I actually joined to post regarding PC Games magazine. I was surprised that it was not on the list of magazines. Even weirder, I have a zip file from retromags with a scan of an entire issue of PC Games. In fact, this zip file is what led me to even discovering retromags... Anyone have any idea how this zip exists without any mention of it anywhere on the site?

Yes, actually.

That file was part of the site prior to its redesign. Before the database system we have now, the downloads section was much more chaotic, and we really had no way of tracking what we had vs. what we didn't in an easily-identifiable way. Phillyman's goal with the current system is to make that much easier to handle in addition to providing a massive resource for researchers interested in game magazine history. Because of that, the database only contains records for magazines where we had a definitive start and end date and (ideally) a month-by-month breakdown on when each issue was published. PC Games was one of those publications where we didn't have that information due to some confusion about when it actually started, so Phillyman had no database entry for it.

It's not the only magazine like this either. I scanned a couple issues of Sync magazine and an issue of a ZX Sinclair newsletter a few years ago, but they're not in the database either because we don't have an entry for them yet. They were available before, but not currently; eventually they'll show up.

*huggles*

Areala

[marktrade]

Well, we have the complete info now. Let's make it happen! I'll scan some issues in the next two or three weeks.

[kitsunebi]

Where did you find me?

*huggles*

Areala

I don't want to sound like a creeper, but although I ignored this at the time (not having access to the issue of PC Games in question), I was just recently reading through a bunch of ancient threads in the forum and came across some information which, one quick google search later, led to an actual photo of you (albeit a pretty old one). This got me curious and I searched for myself using particularly specific keywords. The only image I could find via google images was a facebook profile pic I haven't used for a couple of years. And it was tiny. Such is my presence in the world of the internet lol.

[Areala]

I don't want to sound like a creeper, but although I ignored this at the time (not having access to the issue of PC Games in question), I was just recently reading through a bunch of ancient threads in the forum and came across some information which, one quick google search later, led to an actual photo of you (albeit a pretty old one). This got me curious and I searched for myself using particularly specific keywords. The only image I could find via google images was a facebook profile pic I haven't used for a couple of years. And it was tiny. Such is my presence in the world of the internet lol.

I'm not surprised. I was fairly heavily involved in the Tomb Raider fan community back in the late 90's, and if it's the pic I think it is, from the wikiraider entry, it's the one I always used when people wanted a profile image for a website or whatnot. What's funny is that there's a woman with my name who lives in Texas and does stand-up comedy and writes about music, so a Google search for my name turns up way, way more stuff about her than about me.

*huggles*

Areala

[kitsunebi]

Yeah, this one was definitely you, albeit a while ago.

[RetroDefense]

Added to the magazine dbase!

 

https://www.retromags.com/magazines/category/usa/pc-games/

 

No download or publication sections yet.  Hopefully soon.  

[pcgames]

It's happening!