Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia (Update: Loads of PDFs now on Archive.org)

I got rid of the vast majority of my ONM collection which I regret as I would have liked instead to take off the front covers and create an album of them. It'd still give something to flick through and be interesting as a record of what was front cover worthy each month, but it would take up a lot less space!

Checking for any scan projects that are missing issues is definitely a great shout

Cheeky Devlin wrote:

Lotus wrote:I've been sorting through a load of old boxes and such recently, trying to have a bit of a clear out, and I keep finding stashes of old gaming magazines.

What do people do with them? I'm reluctant to throw them away/recycle them, but I'm unlikely to ever sit down and read them. I've got loads of N64/NGC magazines, and then various issues of OPM, Play, ONM, etc.

Tempted to start a topic about where people store this gooseberry fool, whether it's games, old consoles, peripherals, or magazines. I feel like the space they take up could be better used.

Rather than chucking them I would try to find a magazine scanning project online to see if you've got anything they're missing. I've been trying to find a complete set of N64 online (scans, not to buy) and there are some that are just not out there (At least not publicly).

Or you can sell them. There's definitely a market for old mags.

I'm big into preservation for the pre-digital era stuff as so much of it just gets chucked in the recycling.

Absolutely this. It's gaming history. Contact a computer museum, there's several all over the UK

http://www.outofprintarchive.com/magazi ... ue_UK.html

I've been going for a full set of the first issues of every PS1 magazine ever released. I've got 13 out of 24 of them so far; there may be more than 24, but I'm pretty sure I've exhausted all avenues to find out which ones exist (I mean, for god's sake, if I can discover the existence of "PlayStation Magic" then surely I've found them all). Also as a fun aside, all "issue zero" magazines, of which I believe there are 5...I have 3 of them.

Anybody done anything similar? More interesting, varied and rewarding than a full set of a single magazine.

Oh and for those of you that might be interested, there's a blog covering every issue of the Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine - https://ops2chronology.blogspot.com/?m=1

They've covered 50 issues so far. They mentioned my Official UK PlayStation Magazine blog from 2009 as inspiration in their introduction post, I'm glad they've been more dedicated than my shameful covering of only 8 out of 108 issues

Was interesting going through that. I’ve always had very mixed feelings towards OPS2. First 25 issues were excellent; 26-33 were decent; 34-39 were truly diabolical and to this day remain the low point of the entire license; 40 and 41 briefly reverted to pre-34 mode, while also reinstating proper length previews again for the first time since 25; 42 all the way through to 89 was very hit and miss depending on the month (in 2005 I remember they ran a PlayStation Plus magazine-esque Spy article in which they rated some tits, as if the writer(s) were desperately looking for a job at Nuts); and 90-100 was more targeted towards kids and the past. It had a noticeable production downgrade at that point as OPM had been brought back, but at least it wasn’t an embarrassment by any means. Ideal if you were coming to the PS2 late and didn’t know what to buy.

It’s not the only magazine to have changes in tone and design (C&VG also springs to mind) but it was certainly one of the most drastic in the history of gaming mags.

Considering the enormous user-base of PS2 and that the internet revolution hadn’t quite yet taken hold by that point, the fact OPS2 came nowhere close to being the sales juggernaut of OPM has to be considered a disappointment.

Had OPS2 died at issue 25 it’d probably be as fondly remembered as Official Dreamcast and ARCADE magazines, which only ran for 22 and 24 issues respectively. As it is, returning to OPS2 circa 2003-2005 with the societal changes that have since taken place only shows up its boorishness even more than it did at the time. Not that it didn’t have any redeeming qualities, as it still had that all important demo disc, and the introduction of those EDGE-style covers in 2004 has become industry standard ever since.

Thanks for sharing that blog to the PS2 magazines. I loved the PS2 at the time but only dabbled with PSW - the PS2 magazines are a bit of a hole in my memory. I grew up on N64, NGC and the unofficial Dreamcast magazine, but none of the PS2 magazines stuck. Would love to pick up a full collection of Official PS2 Magazine one day, but this is the next best thing - thanks!

Shadow wrote:Do you actually want copies of the mags?

Not sure on running years, but I have complete sets of Saturn Power, Official Saturn Mag & Official Dreamcast Mag in the loft.

I also have every EDGE and GamesTM, but they're not retro and complete sets are probably really easy to come by.

That is a wonderful arsenal! While I respect the offer of copies, it appears that you have some precious and historical items in your hands, notably Saturn and Dreamcast mags.