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

Unless my folks have thrown them away, I left a huge pile of PC Gamer mags at the family home. From 95 up until around 99 I think.

If they're still there I might have to go about scanning them in at some point.

Also plenty of fond memories of standing in WH Smiths just reading the mags in the shop and not every actually buying one! :lol:

Mags going through a rebrand or style change was always an interesting moment - changing their logo and page layouts etc. I always wondered whether this actually gained them any readers or whether it put more people off! :lol:

Cheeky Devlin wrote:
suzzopher wrote:My podcast has loads of episodes with interviews with the people behind a lot of the mags from our youth. Steve Jarret, Andy Dyer, Jaz Rignall etc

Linky please.

Grew up on Total so Jarret and Dyer were the magazine personalities I got to know well.

Enjoyed listening to that Steve Jarratt interview, especially T3, EDGE and Official PlayStation launches.

And of all the reviews you’d expect to be problematic, Total NBA ‘96 (issue 3) certainly wouldn’t have been one of them. I’ve no idea if it was actually any good in reality though. There was an extremely brief mention of it in issue 100 (“why?”) as if to say ‘wtf was this doing on the cover?’ I guess now we know!

This Article about the unique pleasures of video game magazines that I wrote for Eurogamer previously seems relevant to this topic! Posting in case of interest to anyone here.

It also prompted the cited Jes Bickham (previously of N64/NGC) to get in touch which was really lovely and would have completely blown my teenage mind

Another thing about videogames magazines for me is that I was far more likely to see something I didn't know or had any intention of reading about, and therefore developed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of a system, whereas today and online I tend to focus more on what I know or believe I am already interested in, everything else just falling to the wayside. I'm not sure that in-depth coverage even exists any more.

Before all the information would come to you, whether that was through a magazine, demo disc or compiled VHS/DVD, whereas now you've got to go to it. And you can't go to it if you don't even know about it is in the first place.

NickSCFC

KK wrote:Another thing about videogames magazines for me is that I was far more likely to see something I didn't know or had any intention of reading about, and therefore developed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of a system, whereas today and online I tend to focus more on what I know or believe I am already interested in, everything else just falling to the wayside. I'm not sure that in-depth coverage even exists any more.

Before all the information would come to you, whether that was through a magazine, demo disc or compiled VHS/DVD, whereas now you've got to go to it. And you can't go to it if you don't even know about it in the first place.

There's been quite a few articles about this.

Apparently people are using personalised services more and more (think Google News, Netflix, Spotify...) which is resulting in pop culture becoming less universal and more segregated.

I still have most of my collection from the early 90's through to early 2000's. Its made up primarily by Commodore Format, Amiga Power, Zero, Super Play and Arcade. I have exceptional taste.

I do love dipping in to one every now and then and being whisked back in time, a time when Special Reserve offers were all you could think about, together with whether you would rather have a T shirt and Binder, Free game or a Zip Stick with your imaginary annual subscription to a magazine that you could never afford.

I remember ordering gunstar heroes from special reserve when at school, and it taking what seemed an age to arrive. When it did though I was the envy of my mates and the only person who had that game for the rest of school. I got so many quality swaps out of it, with some offering entire consoles to swap for it for a week.

Wow, i don't think i actually ever got anything from it (Special Reserve), i just loved it conceptually. I might have gotten a free DDR mat for PS1 from them in the late 90's. Not sure what the promotion would have been though.
DDR mat is still boxed and unused. Obviously.

Anywhere i can download the last 20 or so editions of cvg? I got a few emails printed, but cannot find them in any of the archives currently available. I managed to keep my edge and dreamcast magazines, but chucked away cvg and gamesmaster years back!

NickSCFC

Ad7 wrote:I remember ordering gunstar heroes from special reserve when at school, and it taking what seemed an age to arrive. When it did though I was the envy of my mates and the only person who had that game for the rest of school. I got so many quality swaps out of it, with some offering entire consoles to swap for it for a week.

I traded a toy cowboy gun for about 8 NES games with a kid in the year above me under the pretense that it fired pellets.

A week later I took one hell of a beating but he never got those NES games back.

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

Favourite classic games magazines? (Pick 3)

Who is online

Affiliates