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

Anything to do with games at all.

Favourite classic games magazines? (Pick 3)

CVG (1981 - 2004)
20
9%
EDGE (1993 -)
29
13%
ARCADE (1998 - 2000)
18
8%
GamesMaster (1993 -)
15
7%
GamePro/SEGAPro (1991 - ???)
0
No votes
GameZone/SegaZone (??? - ???)
1
0%
TOTAL! (1992 - 1996)
6
3%
Total Control (1999 - ???)
1
0%
MAXIMUM (1995 - 1996)
2
1%
ACE (1987 - 1992)
4
2%
Mean Machines/Mean Machines SEGA/Mean Machines PlayStation (1991 - 1996)
9
4%
PC Zone (1993 - 2010)
5
2%
Nintendo Magazine System/Nintendo Official Magazine (1992 - 2006)
17
8%
Official UK PlayStation Magazine (1995 - 2004)
19
9%
SEGA Magazine/Sega Saturn Official Magazine (1994 - 1998)
11
5%
Dreamcast Official Magazine (1999 - 2002)
6
3%
Super Play/N64 Magazine/NGC Magazine (1992 - 2004)
40
18%
MEGA (1992 - 1994)
0
No votes
Amiga Format/Commodore Format (1989 - 2000)
11
5%
Zzap! 64 (1985 - 1992)
5
2%
 
Total votes: 219
jawafour
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by jawafour » Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:44 pm

..a quick Google and here's a talk-through of issue 1 of Games-X. I'd forgotten about the crazy marking-out-of-twenty bit!



What I liked about virtually all older mags was that the screenshots were produced by the mag. In most modern mags I'm sure that they must get given screenshots by the publisher's marketing team; they all look the same and seem to be edited versions rather than actual in-game shots.

Gemini73

PostRe: Which are your favourite retro games magazines? HELP NEE
by Gemini73 » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:11 pm

TheTurnipKing wrote:You have neither "Your Sinclair" or "Amiga Power"? Therefore, your poll is invalid.


+1

Oh, and Arcade was a great mag.

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melatonin
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by melatonin » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:13 pm

Hey, I have every single issue (bar one) of Arcade that are about to go in the bin. If anyone wants them, they're free to collect from Coventry.

Some of the early issues have a few pages torn because I was a strawberry floating idiot when I was fourteen, but I'd say 99% of the entire collection is in perfect nick.

Hit me up if you want them. Pictures available if necessary.

Venom wrote:Say what you want but if this Halo TV series is a BIG BUDGET Game of Thrones style series with Spielberg directly producing this could be a Band of Brothers in space.
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Dowbocop
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by Dowbocop » Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:43 am

I have every issue of Official Dreamcast Magazine back at my dad's house (except the ones towards the end when they went bi-monthly and my subscription got changed to Gamesmaster). Apart from being a really good read, the silky matt feel of the cover was amazing :datass:

Anyone know a good place to sell them or how much to expect? I'm decluttering and could part with them for a decent price :shifty:

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Victor Mildew
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by Victor Mildew » Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:44 am

£10 for the lot i'd imagine. It'll cost more to send I should think.

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kazanova_Frankenstein
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by kazanova_Frankenstein » Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:45 pm

jawafour wrote:..a quick Google and here's a talk-through of issue 1 of Games-X. I'd forgotten about the crazy marking-out-of-twenty bit!



What I liked about virtually all older mags was that the screenshots were produced by the mag. In most modern mags I'm sure that they must get given screenshots by the publisher's marketing team; they all look the same and seem to be edited versions rather than actual in-game shots.


Top work sir. My favorite issue/ one I remember most fondly is the issue comparing all the handheld ("let's here it for the boy" was the strapline if I recall correctly).
Happy memories.

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KK
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by KK » Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:56 pm

Issue 100 of Official PlayStation Magazine with disc is up on ebay starting at £3.99:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Official-Play ... 20cbb1b751

Includes a retrospective look at all the covers (bar 1, which they mixed up with a special edition) & interviews with all the past editors.

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jawafour
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by jawafour » Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:10 pm

KKLEIN wrote:Official PlayStation Magazine


Aahh, OPM. Of the 108 issues, the best were the initial 20 and the last 20. The earlier ones were great, with the launch of exciting classics and the move into "3D" gaming; whilst by the end of its lifetime the mag had taken on an almost Amiga Power-type vibe, with wonderful anarchy and enjoyably strange articles to make up for the incredibly poor new games available. Good memories!

Last edited by jawafour on Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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KK
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by KK » Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:26 pm

Apart from a really awful patch in 2003, I think the whole Official PlayStation Magazine license over the years has been extremely good. In the 90s no PlayStation mag even came close to it.

OPS2 started out incredibly strongly, as did OPS3 as it isn't called. They nailed that to such an extent they haven't even tampered with the formula after 75 issues.

Probably about 10 or so really dodgy reviews, but compared to the majority, that's not a bad old record all things considered.

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gamerforever
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by gamerforever » Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:12 am

Really would love scans of the last 50 or so CVGs. I got 3 letters printed in them and stupidly disposed of my whole collection about 5 years ago now. Anyone?

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KK
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by KK » Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:57 pm

Image

Was reading back on some of the earlier copies of PSM2 magazine tonight. Forgotten just how good it was. Revealing Linux for PS2 in issue 10 with "Annie Linux". So many awful and brilliant jokes/captions filling almost every page. Tons of personality. Slagging stuff off left and right. The team/reader dynamic being at the forefront of practically everything, kind of like how you get stupid photoshops and puns galore on message boards such as this. Real reminder of how PSM3, particularly in its final year sharing its content with Xbox World, was a completely different magazine from those first 3 chaotic and outlandish years of PSM2. Shame there isn't anything like it any more really, but then there hasn't been for ages. PSM2 didn't fall into the trap, well not often, of 'lairy ladism' or gratuitous attempts at being a poor man's Loaded with semi naked & censored nudity plastered everywhere. Well, there was the poorly conceived Jakki Degg competition (which OPS2 copied years later with a Playboy model), but anyway...

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NickSCFC

PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by NickSCFC » Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:07 pm

It was ridiculous how OPM turned into a lad's mag around 2004, ridiculous amounts of sleazy hotline advertisements, and I think every other issue had WWE on the cover. By the looks of things they're back to their best now though.

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KK
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgi
by KK » Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:16 pm

OPS2 did have some outstanding covers though, and their features had some bold and imaginative designs. Which makes it even more of shame the rest of it was so awful. As bad as it became though, it was still better than all the other PlayStation 2 magazines from 2004 onwards.

New OPM is excellent, though I do think it's about time for a design change. And the website needs sorting out.

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NickSCFC

PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia
by NickSCFC » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:03 pm

Found a new website with PDFs available

https://archive.org/details/gamemagazin ... Sorter&and[]=firstTitle:O

Currently downloading Official Dreamcast magazines I've not seen in 2 decades (feels)

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Victor Mildew
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia
by Victor Mildew » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:34 pm

NickSCFC wrote:Found a new website with PDFs available

https://archive.org/details/gamemagazin ... Sorter&and[]=firstTitle:O

Currently downloading Official Dreamcast magazines I've not seen in 2 decades (feels)


oh good lord, my first ever mean machines sega is in there :wub:

Hexx wrote:Ad7 is older and balder than I thought.
NickSCFC

PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia
by NickSCFC » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:39 pm

Ad7 wrote:
NickSCFC wrote:Found a new website with PDFs available

https://archive.org/details/gamemagazin ... Sorter&and[]=firstTitle:O

Currently downloading Official Dreamcast magazines I've not seen in 2 decades (feels)


oh good lord, my first ever mean machines sega is in there :wub:


Yeah I spotted a couple of them I've not seen in 25 years (including the Daytona and Mortal Kombat 3 issues) along with other mags like NOM and Official PlayStation that I've not seen before.

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Victor Mildew
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia
by Victor Mildew » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:43 pm

My chest hurt looking through that issue. So many feels.

The special reserve ad!

Hexx wrote:Ad7 is older and balder than I thought.
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gamerforever
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia
by gamerforever » Tue Jun 04, 2019 8:02 pm

This is great, i really need some old cvg issues as i chucked them all out a few years back and there were a few issues i got my letters/ emails printed.

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Preezy
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PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia
by Preezy » Tue Jun 04, 2019 8:07 pm

I'm on my phone so can't link but if anyone is interested there's a great YouTube channel called Classic Gaming Quarterly, he often does hour-long specials where he reads through retro magazines, it's amazing :wub:

NickSCFC

PostRe: Classic gaming magazines - Scans, downloads and nostalgia
by NickSCFC » Tue Jun 04, 2019 8:11 pm

gamerforever wrote:This is great, i really need some old cvg issues as i chucked them all out a few years back and there were a few issues i got my letters/ emails printed.


I always binned them after reading, it was only a few years ago that I started to get nostalgic about my teen years and really started to regret it.

Sat here reading some early Dreamcast magazines on my tablet and having memories of winter 1999 coming back :wub:


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