Before there was an internet, there was print journalism. There still is, but if advertisers and moneyholders have their way, that might not be true for much longer. If you grew up when we did, there's a good chance you spent many an afternoon waiting by the mailbox for the latest on the world of gaming, because back then, it was the only way you were going to get it.
Tonight we take a look back at some of our favorite gaming publications from yesteryear. Where'd they go? Didn't they used to be ... I dunno, awesomer? How come Nester never got his own game? All this and more on a delightfully early episode of RetroforceGO! Hit the comments and tell us about your own memories, and leave us a question or two -- related or otherwise.
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Contest:
4:20 PM on 02.03.2009
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- Gamefan
- Next Generation
- ... and how much you love Dale North again
Also, EGM's coverage of Metal Gear Solid, especially the walkthrough, was a highlight for me.
The maps of all the levels. I loved staring at the maps of games I didn't own (or was waiting to buy) and move my eyes over the stage map like I was playing the game.
I also liked getting maps for games I already owned and seeing different secrets and paths. Donkey Kong Country 3 got a huge map months after it came out, showing hidden Banana Bird Caves which allowed you to save the Mother Banana Bird and get the secret ending. Who knew there was a whole chunk of the map hidden away?
Non wall of text form: Do you feel that we know to much about games now, and the mystery that led to rumors like Sheng Long taking hold is now dead, and missed?
Also:
The new Nintendo Power are dicks, agree or disagree?
I've got a couple retro gaming mags!
The TV show that accompanied it however is very note worth and CLASSIC. I mean where else would the great astronomer Sir Patrick Moore give out tips on Zelda on a weekly basis. And insult and humiliate old skool games magazine editor Dave Perry on a weekly basis. i fucking love that show. *cries*
After Gamefan died, I really got into Gamer's Republic but it died very quickly.
How long until gaming magazines are a thing of the past?
Nevertheless they were so usefull back then, how in the hell could've I figured out Metroid's maze by myself!
What was your favorite thing about Nintendo Power?
Nintendo Fun Club Zelda Issue!
Since EGM sadly left, I have no more gaming mags coming in. Anyone know of a good magazine still around that I can get a subscription to?
Random side question: If you had the opportunity to make one change to your favourite retro game, what would it be and why?
Yay for early podcasts! And coffee!
And Street Fighter!
Also, do you remember the advertisements in gaming magazines being really... gross? I remember lots of bulging eyes, melty pizza, lolling tongues, and outrageous badditude. If gaming ads were scratch and sniff, I feel like they'd smell like locker room and fritos.
What was your favorite Nintendo Power cover?
I blame enthusiast blogs (dtoid, joystiq, kotaku) and emerging internet media (gametrailers, etc). Just like video killed the radio star.
There is no value add in print media anymore for gaming. I can't read a video trailer, I can read a game demo, and printing 50 images in a magazine of "hot game Y" is insane, I can get tens of thousands of reviews online within a day of release and have the scores aggregated for me in seconds.
The last hope for gaming print media is features. Magazines like Edge, RetroGamer, and Game Developer are the last good gaming magazines (with niche appeal) that are more feature focused.
That said I had subscriptions to (at some point in time) Nintendo Power, CGW, EGM, Amiga World, VideoGames and Computer Entertainment, Game Fan, PC Gamer (before it changed in 1996), PCXL, Next Gen, Game Developer, Video and Arcade Games, Hi-Res, Atari Age
Me too.
When you guys read Nintendo Power, did you have a favorite Howard and Nester comic?
The one about Tetris is pretty awesome. It had plenty of strategies for different situations you would run into in the game.
i dont think i would of ever discovered Phantasy Star, if i didn't bother borrowing magazines from the grocery store when my mom was not looking....
YEAH I KNOW THATS BAD! LEAVE ME ALONE...
Speaking of UK Magazines it would be awesome if you guys could get Jim Sterling on or something. Just I don't you guys would have much to say about UK mags and they are a totally different thing to US ones, they had their own feel back in the early 90's and even to this day still feel very different to US ones.
For me being an Aussie we had our own mags and this is the one I grew up on
Ahh good old Nintendo Maagzine System, I still have issue 1 around somewhere cover still intact with its awesome Super Mario Land 2 cover.
:(
Those were the days.
I subscribed to NP from the 100th issue through the rest of the 64's lifespan, and reading it was almost as good as actually going out and playing the games I didn't bother to buy or rent. In fact, it was probably better than playing a lot of those games, because a lot of them sucked, but reading a walkthrough was actually pretty entertaining. You don't have to deal with shitty camera angles and collision detection when you look at maps and screenshots.
Truthfully, the place where I got most of my new game info back in the 16 bit era was Disney Adventures, which I had a subscription to and was actually a pretty good mag back then. The game section was all of 2 pages in most issues but I remember it fondly. Of course, they never really had reviews, so they made games like Rise Of The Robots seem awesome.
Blah blah text. I remember a friend showing me GamePro's "LamePro" April Fools section and being quite amused. It was the "Bubbles The Bubonic Frog 2" cover story, the game that introduced his pal, Snails!
I miss the crazy, non-streamlined design of old mags. There were some great backgrounds and borders/margins in the old Nintendo Power.
I wanted to do games journalism because it was an idea that seemed like heaven - get paid to play games to death, then deploy your opinion (well) in print. Alas, those days are nearly over, what a shame.
Games mags ive loved and subscribed too:
SUPER PLAY (just the best, covered anime too)
TOTAL
CVG
EDGE
NGC/N-Gamer
My question is for Chad, the adorable Collette and Topher, as they all work for Dtoid....and especially Chad and Collette, who are the most journalistic of the RFG gang. So: did you always harbour a desire to get into games journalism? For how long, and what magazines or writers inspired you in the first place? And did you have this cherubic image of an office overloaded with games and consoles, and just pure heaven basically?
Plus, last weeks show was frickin SWEEEEET!!!!
Also, do you all agree that Nintendo Power had the most awesome old commercials?
Here's my question: Did any of you ever get your score into Nintendo Power's top scores lists (NES Achievers)?
I know you guys once talked about experiencing gaming slumps, (QUESTION PART)did any of you experience a gaming magazine slump where you almost religiously read or subscribed to a magazine and just stopped? if so why? and what magazine?
ANYWAY, yeah I was a Nintendo Power subscriber for 5 years, and when I moved to go to college I THREW ALL MY MAGAZINES AWAY IN THE GARBAGE! ;_;
I also used to tape every single poster to my walls, no matter what game it was.
Have any of you guys had a simliar experience or have you kept all your magazines since then? Also, have any of you guys gotten any letters published in any gaming mags? I've been in a few...
I know I rented some shit games (especially in the N64 era) based off the word of this magazine.
But I know did the same for a lot of great games (SNES era) I would have otherwise never tried.
I remember thinking Earthbound looked horrible when I was a kid because the graphics weren't good (compared to DKC, also I didn't understand art style)
But based off the world of Nintendo Power, I tried it, loved it and bought it.
….But then sold my SNES and all my games to buy a N64 because they said the N64 was fucking great, and I was disappointed time and time again, with a few exceptions.
I'm still pissed off that I did that and I blame/love them for doing what they do.
Bastards...
I had gotten the first Nintendo Power, and I remember so much of that first issue. The cover is implanted in my brain forever.
Q: Has anyone else every killed a magazine?
I feel very bad about what I did to EGM :(
And seriously, I need my 2 hours shows back ;) You started singing on the last one, might as well have gone on for 30 more minutes ;)
Do you think that the majority of gamers' gripe regarding GI is merited, or do you think people dislike it because it's popular?
Additionally, you mentioned a former Dtoider got a job there, so they can't be totally evil? Care to weigh in on this?
Now for a question totally unrelated to the short story.
Have you ever sent in a letters to the editors of any of the gaming mags? Envelope art? If so, was anything ever published?
Question: Is there any way for gaming magazines to reformat to survive? With FAQ's for advice, blogs and gaming sites for news, etc., what role can magazines fill to remain relevant? More features (retrospectives, interviews, etc.)? More "humour"? Or are gaming magazines on a downward spiral, with a worse position than most other print media because of the natural connection the genre has with the internet?