SynthMilk

Maths aren't my strong suit. I'm fine with smaller numbers, like the number of decent Jaguar games. But once ya get into double digits I'm out.

So the joke is that stereograms are lame and anyone expecting the ad to actually contain a stereogram is equally lame? Well, I haven't felt this insulted since Atari questioned my ability to "connect the dot."

Did this 2-page Secret of Evermore ad actually "work" for anybody? https://www.retromags.com/rmg_fs/gallery_imgs/monthly_2024_03/large.SecretofEvermore(April1995).jpg.92313b816b4eb7a58d544b01102e6d66.jpg Based on the instructions, I've always assumed it was supposed to have a Magic Eye-type effect; but any instance of it that I've ever come across seems to be missing the uh "magical" layer. Printing mistake? User error? Help me out here.

You might want to check out the annual EGM Buyer's Guide standalone issues. The 1999 guide appears to be the first (possibly only -- I don't have later editions) to include Top 10 rankings per console (though not limited to 1998 releases). Earlier editions have per console game of the year awards as well as an overall game of the year award and some awards given out for the best title in specific genres, and some technical categories (e.g., best sound effects). They also reprint Review Crew scores for each console's library, but these tables don't list the game's release year or what issue it was reviewed in, so I don't find them very helpful. Gamefan's 1994 Buyer's Guide (Vol 2 issue 12) collected viewpoint scores for the best games of '94 in each genre on each console. Pretty nice format for seeing how the top games of that year stacked up against each other. They probably felt it was redundant to have an end-of-year buyer's guide and an awards special in the January issue as (AFAIK) we don't get the Buyer's Guide in subsequent years — just the MEGAWARDS which are more like the awards section in the EGM Buyer's Guides (just a category winner and maybe some honourable mentions). As Areala suggests, the console-specific mags (PSM, Sega Saturn Magazine) are probably the way to go for per-console Top 10 lists.

Thanks for the info! I wasn't aware that some magazines used polybags just for the subscribers and then lo and behold a gaming magazine I picked up on eBay arrived the other day in its original bag with "2nd Class Mail" printed on it. When I started the topic I was mainly thinking of the bags with copious amounts of hype text obscuring the actual cover design ("Collector's Issue!", "Free Trading Card Inside", etc.) that would typically be used to pack in supplemental print items, discs, and third party marketing material. Looking back on it, it seems like America Online discs were offsetting rising print costs for the whole magazine industry (at least the tech/nerd adjacent ones I was interested in) from about '96 onward. lol Interesting to learn that some magazines in the early/mid 80s were also occasionally bagged up from the printer.

I'll drink to that! I'm a print addict myself. Just finishing up year one of three in a graphic design program and hoping to specialize in print. Thirty year career in the industry sounds amazing — congrats!

A complete set? Wow. For someone who never encountered one at the newsstand and wasn't anywhere near a GameStop or Funcoland, what's the case for GameInformer? Why take it over the field of all other gaming mags in what was (at one time) a pretty saturated and competitive market? The cover designs and interior layouts of the last few years are very attractive, but they were already the last man standing at the point. Scanning through listings of older/90s issues, it doesn't seem like graphic design was its forte (that flipped MK logo cracks me up every time); so was it the writing? Exclusives? What was the identity of the magazine? Not hating at all, it's just that the couple eulogies I've come across seem to speak more to the death of gaming magazines as a whole and don't go into any detail about what set gameinformer apart.

Did Japanese gaming mags ever fall in with the polybag trend? Seems like every western publication went that route at least occasionally in the mid-90s, but I can't recall ever seeing a bagged (by the publisher) Japanese gaming mag. Were all those "perfect attack" mini strategy guides I see floating around on eBay originally glued into the issue (PC Engine Fan, MegaDrive Fan, etc.)?

Great advice, Kitsunebi! I'm going to assume the info re polybags extends beyond the low quality bags the magazines were originally shipped in and also applies to current polypropylene storage bags like the BCW brand ones on Amazon. I bought some "archival-grade" mylar sleeves from Bags Unlimited a while ago but wasn't super happy with them. They're very stiff and some of the thicker mags that would fit easily into a same-sized polybag would cause the side seams of the mylar bag to split (can't recall if I got the 2 mil or 4 mil version -- the 2 mil ones might fare a bit better in this regard). The seams are also kinda rough looking/feeling. Especially after inserting a magazine you're very aware that the bag was assembled from two separate pieces. I can see how these issues wouldn't be a big deal with comic books given the more standardized page count/thickness, but with the 90s gaming mag sizes varying so much (even within the same publication), it's a bit frustrating that the more flexible (and significantly cheaper) polypropylene bags don't get the job done preservation-wise.

Got curious about this the other day when I came across a few eBay listings for early 90s EGMs that were still sealed in their original bags. Any idea which issue and/or publication kicked off the polybag trend? Also curious whether people tended to hold onto the bags to safely store the mini strategy guides, trading cards and AOL discs they contained, or if you just tore it off and tossed it away as soon as you got home.

I eventually snagged a copy of the Tomb Raider edition of Station and, to my surprise, it's more than just a special edition cover: it's actually a complete reboot of the magazine with the kind of thought and care put into its design and content that really should've been there on the first attempt. I quite like it and wish they had made more of them. Not sure it had enough edge/innovation to stand out from the horde of other PS1-exclusive mags that already had some traction, but this one comes across as a nicely polished product for what is basically an issue 1.5.

Thanks, Kitsunebi! I'm not too familiar with the early Famitsu volumes, but I think you're probably right in that Nintendo didn't see much of a need for an "official" publication when there were already some very good options available. Maybe 64/Nintendo Dream -- if it is in fact an official Nintendo mag -- was launched in response to Famitsu covering the other fifth generation consoles and Nintendo needing a platform to control the message around the N64 and its struggles in that region. I'd always kind of written off Nintendo Power as "state media", since the few I picked up were from the N64 era and pretty weak compared to its multi-console competitors, but you've piqued my interest in the early ones.

For most of the 90s I think they were using the RGB capture card method described above. I'm definitely not an expert, but it does appear that not all magazines were modding their consoles for RGB output and were instead just grabbing composite video screenshots (maybe S-Video?). There is a very noticeable gap in quality between the screenshots in early issues of Next Generation and those in Gamefan from the same time period. Maybe some of this was down to the photoshop/cleanup skills of the respective staff. If anybody on here was doing this kind of work (for gaming mags) in the 90s, I'd love to hear about it. Like what kind of cleanup was actually required? I always assumed what we saw in magazines was basically how it looked straight off the capture device.

Started collecting 90s gaming mags again during COVID after having discarded my beloved Gamefans in the early 00s. EBay and Retromags has opened my eyes to so many more publications than I ever had access to at the newsstand. Some very knowledgeable people on this forum, so its a great place to learn and ask questions.

I recently picked up a few issues of MegaDrive Fan and Beep! MegaDrive and was blown away by the quality. I'm still in the early stages of learning kanji, so not able to read them yet, but just enjoying soaking up some nice graphic design, including bespoke illustrations for level maps, race tracks, character stats, etc. Got me curious about whether there was a Nintendo Power equivalent in Japan, and while I'm aware of a few Japanese Nintendo-exclusive mags (Marukatsu Famicom, Famimaga, 64Dream/NintendoDream) I don't think any of those was an official Nintendo publication in the way that Nintendo Power was for NoA. Google says 64Dream/NintendoDream is the Japanese equivalent, but from what I've read it wasn't owned by Nintendo and only began publication with the arrival of the N64; so it kinda missed out on the brand's home console heyday (at least in Japan). Am I overlooking something? Seems strange given the popularity of Nintendo Power in the US, that the Japanese HQ wouldn't want to have their own official publication. Any insights appreciated!

One I picked up recently that impressed me is Gamefan's Night Warriors (Saturn) guide. Really high quality production for a perfect bound paperback with tons of concept art/character sketches, a character tier list sourced (with permission) from Gamest and attractive layouts. Haven't used it as an actual guide yet, but visually it holds its own against the Japanese fighting game guides of its era (in other words lightyears beyond Prima and Brady).

MK logo's flipped the wrong way? Wonder what the hell happened there.

This was my first and only issue of Gamer's Republic. Picked it up at a bookstore and wrongly assumed, based on the title, that it was a British/Euro mag. Was definitely surprised to see Dave Halverson as EIC -- I'm asking myself 'Did E. Storm move to the UK?' lol. Scooped it up for the Sonic Adventure and Shenmue coverage. Enjoyed the issue overall, but my gaming mag obsession was definitely winding down by this point.

Gamefan vol 7 issue 3 from the same month (March 1999) has a 9-page Sonic Adventure cover story. No idea which mag would've got the scoop on this one, but I'd assume (outside of Japan at least) that everyone was NDA'd prior their respective March '99 issue.

90s EDGE/Next Generation definitely fits the bill for video game industry and technology journalism -- I love going back and reading their features with the benefit of hindsight -- but their actual game criticism was every bit as superficial as the reviews you'd find in the adolescent-targeted mags (e.g., GamePro, EGM). Of all the 90s gaming mags, EDGE/NextGen had by far the strongest bias toward games that pushed technological limits for graphics/presentation (as one would expect given their name), while appreciation of the more subtle aspects of game design was almost entirely absent. The game reviews are hilarious, just the number of bona fide classics (usually 2D, sprite-based) that get middling to poor review scores for no other reason than they don't fit the EDGE/NextGen narrative of polygons-over-everything. You also have to make it past the snarky, superior tone of the writing (typically anonymous) that, again, stems from the magazine's edict to be an authority on the future of gaming. The features, particularly the interviews and 1000ft industry perspective stuff, are still pretty enjoyable to read. Just steer clear of the reviews.

My favourite was always Gamefan. Loved the game coverage and those sexy-as-hell layouts, and found the reviews to be very reliable once you worked out which reviewer(s) your own tastes most closely aligned with. Like most of these magazines, the earliest issues are pretty rough; but from the end of volume one until about the end of volume five, it's a pretty incredible monthly love letter to video games. ECM era, while not quite reaching the same heights as the Halverson/ Nick Des Barres/Casey Loe issues, still sits well above the competition for me. For feature articles and state-of-the-industry stuff, Next Generation was my fave. Lost interest in gaming after the entirely-too-soon death of the Dreamcast, so can't really comment on 2000s mags.

Cartoonist Kayfabe did an episode on it: Awesome channel, btw. CK does commentaries on Wizard magazine, which might be appealing to some people here, and a ton of other comic-related content.

I'd love to see scans of Casey Loe's Next Generation fanzine.

Based on the dozen or so EGMs I've got from 92-94, I'd say this level of insight is very much on brand for Uncle Eddy. Outside of whatever surface-level opinions could be squeezed into those tiny 'Review Crew' segments, it's nothing but back-of-the-box reviews that might as well have been written by the developer. 95% plot summary; 5% commentary on a game's length/difficulty; grab a few screenshots from the first two stages and call it a day.

It's almost certainly an exaggeration, but maybe that figure is loosely based on the number of dev kits that went out. I'm half remembering a story in EDGE or possibly the Ars Technica interview with Andy Gavin that said these kits were relatively easy to obtain from 3DO.