Retro|Spective 205: Gaming Magazines

[Neon Ignition]

Whilst a generation of gamers sink countless hours into watching poorly produced Youtuber videos made by fake, eclectic teens and twenties people who have little to no credibility to their toxically titled 'influencer' status - a horde of older gamers occasionally ponder back to the prior era when the focus was on gaming websites and forums. An even more longstanding base of gamers thinks further back than that though - back to the era of the...


Gaming Magazines


Few of these still exist in today's market and those that do are typically over priced shadows of themselves, fighting for survival in a market where their reviews and news are out of date before they even leave their editors screens. That isn't how it used to be though, magazines would fill out a newsagents racks as titles competed for buyers attention. Kids would stand in shops flicking through the pages to see what new cheats would be revealed, to see the screenshots of upcoming major titles and to read industry rumours and news - many regularly turning out to have no basis in reality... okay, so that bit hasn't changed much.

But as has been said, the printers graveyard is now nearly full. Most are gone now from shops and the internet. It's time to delve into our memories once more...


1981 - CVG: Computer and Video Games Magazine
Whilst CVG wasn't the very first in existence, it was the first in the UK and would go on to become one of the most recognised and long standing names on the market. It's November 1981 paved the way for monthly games magazines in their known form, leading with Space Invaders and taking gamers all the way through to the releases of October 2004 when the last issue rolled off the line and the attempt was made to fully transition the business to its online gaming website, the site lasting until 2015 when its owners shut it down to prioritise their other multiformat outlet Gamesradar. An attempt was made in 2008 to launch a premium bi-monthly magazine spin-off called CVG Presents though this shuttered after one year. Today, its only enduring element is the long running Golden Joystick Awards that continues on having been swept under Gamesradars banner.









Where you a CVG kid?

[QualityChimp]

Oh yeah, definitely!

I remember seeing Jaz Rignall at a stand at E3 in London when I was about 11 and it was hard comprehending the person in the magazine was stood before me!

Of those pics, I'm from the earlier era, moving to Mean Machines afterwards as I was more into consoles over PC/Spectrum/Amstrad and so on.

C&VG was a gaming bible in school days, with the reviews being really influential in what we played as kids.

I must dig out a couple of issues to remind myself of what was in it.

It ran to 2004 and I remember getting a later issue after about a decade away and there's a section with really cheap paper that served quite well for the cheats section and it seemed a bit puerile, but I liked that it had some personality.

Yeah, great mag. THE mag until the spinoffs.

[Asura]

Yep, I loved CVG. I got it from around the time of the Saturn launch. EMAP were spread a bit thin back then; CVG, MAXIMUM and Sega Saturn Magazine had many of the same staff and they were a bit cheeky, sometimes re-using content in each others' magazines, presumably to make their deadlines.

But CVG had an exuberance to it. This was a big deal back then, in the 90s, when exuberance was seen as the height of uncool. They absolutely loved videogames and were unashamedly positive about them, even if they were reviewing a bad game it was rare they threw something under the bus on a whim.

Loved the "FreePlay" section in the middle of the mag that was printed like a Yellow Pages.

EDIT: Looking at the archive I got it from around 173 to 209.

[fuse]

Think CVG is one of the magazines that I stuck with the longest, mostly because it was such a stalwart of the scene. The multi-format angle also allowed that continuity, whereas others ended up having to regroup and reinvent with each passing generation. Had a few older issues handed down to me, but I think I started buying it myself from around the I got my SNES - I'm sure others will certainly remember the Final Fight cover I'm thinking of - and stopping... well, definitely well after those three covers you've shared. Feel like that particular later era though - with their ratings out of 5, big, bold, colourful, and enthusiastic coverage - was a particular high note.

Also look at you all talking about FreePlay (great content, printed on bog roll) - what about 'GO!'

[wakka]

I used to read CVG, for sure. I would've been reading it in the later era - that Lara issue definitely looks like one I might have actually owned. Really fun, enthusiastic, readable mag. Interesting that even in that Lara issue from '97, they're touting 'Retro' as something they cover...retro in those days was so recent that's like us talking about PS4 games as retro

Technology had advanced so quickly back then though, of course.

[Nu-Eclipse]

EMAP were spread a bit thin back then; CVG, MAXIMUM and Sega Saturn Magazine had many of the same staff and they were a bit cheeky, sometimes re-using content in each others' magazines, presumably to make their deadlines.

MAXIMUM was literally just Gary Harrod and Rich Leadbetter on their own. It is staggering that it had the quality that it did with a two-man team! You're also wrong in that MAXIMUM definitely didn't reuse content from other EMAP mags - Gary and Rich went above and beyond to source high-quality images that often weren't available anywhere else, especially when it came to covering arcade games in-depth. When you take into account what was done just to produce it, it's no surprise that it didn't last long. At least a decade ahead of its time.

As for CVG, I started properly reading it around the time of the 8/16-bit console eras, with arcade gaming still prominent and the original grey import scene (Neo•Geo, PCE, etc.) starting to kick off. Pretty much the first gaming magazine that I properly brought, alongside the US magazine EGM.

[teddymeow]

Late 90s CVG was god-tier!!

Issue 175 holds fond memories for me as I bought it before a long family car journey to see relatives in Wales.

Bright orange cover, Felicia from DarkStalkers sat in the centre. Mario 64, Tekken 2, NiGHTS, Quake, Ultimate MK3!!!

I miss those days.

[cutmymilk]

I had a sub to CVG when Official Saturn magazine ended and they moved my subscription over to it, I think giving me 2 for every one owed.

It was really fun and modern. I remember it had a newspaper of sorts in the middle, maybe for tips and guides if memory serves.

[dataDave]

Outside of Mean Machines and late 90s CVG I've never paid any attention to reviews.

[Asura]

MAXIMUM was literally just Gary Harrod and Rich Leadbetter on their own. It is staggering that it had the quality that it did with a two-man team! You're also wrong in that MAXIMUM definitely didn't reuse content from other EMAP mags - Gary and Rich went above and beyond to source high-quality images that often weren't available anywhere else, especially when it came to covering arcade games in-depth. When you take into account what was done just to produce it, it's no surprise that it didn't last long. At least a decade ahead of its time.

I'll totally walk back on that for MAXIMUM, in that case. I must be remembering cross-over between Sega Saturn Magazine and CVG.

[DeathAdder]

Loved CVG in the very early 90s. I’m sure it came with a pullout mini magazine called Go, which covered portables (Lynx, Game Gear, Game Boy and PC Engine). There was even a letters page where they encouraged (portable) console warring.

[Neon Ignition]

Maximum was such a gut punch when it closed so fast, out of the gate it became a go to and set a bar that I'm not even sure was ever entirely met elsewhere in later years.

I did put a lot of coin toward CVG though, that and using the site as well. Despite not always owning every format I preferred magazines that covered them all as the single format ones leant too hard into fanfaring. CVG had just the right tone and style and I think it was some years until I began to tune out as they redesigned to try and bolster sales but it killed its layout and vibe.

[Neon Ignition]

1984 - Crash
Dedicated to the ZX Spectrum, Crash ran for seven years with its peak coming in 1986 when it became the countries highest selling computer magazine. Focusing mostly on games, the magazine became notable for its visual appearance but as the hardware grew older and more rivals appeared the magazine faced the same hurdles as many other platform based publications, how to remain relevant - especially when rivals were also offering demos on the cover as well. The magazine finally wrapped up in 1991 though the publisher made a final failed effort in 1992 as well. Since then it's remained a notable magazine name from publications past and crowd funding efforts have seen some specials and minor revival attempts over the past few years.











Crash or Burn?

[Nu-Eclipse]

Maximum was such a gut punch when it closed so fast, out of the gate it became a go to and set a bar that I'm not even sure was ever entirely met elsewhere in later years.

MAXIMUM discontinuing was definitely a bitter disappointment, but it clearly wasn't sustainable and ultimately (sadly) didn't sell enough copies to justify the resources that it used up. In hindsight, I tend to think that it would've been better off being a quarterly instead of a monthly but again I just feel like that in itself is wishful thinking - there was simply nothing else like it in the mid 1990s.

Maybe EDGE in its prime years got near the quality of MAXIMUM but it could obviously be argued that it was an entirely different magazine with its focus on the industry at large.

[teddymeow]

Late 90s CVG was god-tier!!

Issue 175 holds fond memories for me as I bought it before a long family car journey to see relatives in Wales.

Bright orange cover, Felicia from DarkStalkers sat in the centre. Mario 64, Tekken 2, NiGHTS, Quake, Ultimate MK3!!!

I miss those days.

Managed to find a completed scan copy of this online. Blimey, did the memories start flooding back as I browsed the first few pages!!