35 years ago this month, EMAP launched Mean Machines, the UK's first dedicated multiformat console magazine.

It's no exaggeration to say that, had this publication not existed, you wouldn't be reading this site (so yes, you have someone to blame).

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Founded back in 1988, Electronic Gaming Monthly (or 'EGM' to its friends) was one of the world's most famous video game magazines.

From its first full issue in 1989 to its closure in 2014, EGM covered all of the important events in the world of video gaming, charting the NES's dominance to the arrival of 16-bit successors and the 32-bit wave that pushed the industry forward in the 1990s.

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The Sharp X68000 home computer was home to some amazing titles, but it remains something of an obscurity outside of Japan, as it was never released globally.

One of the more notable titles in its library is Nemesis '90 Kai, a remake of the 1987 MSX game Nemesis 2 / Gradius 2, which predates the 1988 arcade release, Gradius II: Gofer's Ambition / Vulcan Venture.

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Forgotten Worlds, a fanzine about video game magazines, has just launched its sixth issue – and it will be of particular interest to long-standing Sega fans.

Editor and occasional Time Extension contributor Mikolai Napieralski has managed to secure some pretty notable interviews for this issue, including the likes of Steve Merrett (Mean Machines Sega), Paul Glancey (CVG, MegaTech), Brian "Since Spacies" Costelloe (MegaZone), Dean Mortlock (Sega Power), Gary Cutlack (UK: Resistance, Official Sega Saturn Magazine) and even former Sega of America marketing boss Al Nilsen.

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The Video Game History Foundation has announced today that it has acquired the rights to the historic US magazine Computer Entertainer, and is making the entire magazine free for anyone to read or use.

Computer Entertainer was a magazine published between 1982-1990, and is significant for a few different reasons, such as being the first women-owned and operated game magazine and the only North American console-focused magazine to survive the entirety of the infamous 1980’s games industry crash in the States.

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If you've ever attended a retro gaming event in the UK, there's an excellent chance you'll have seen Marc Jowett hosting a stand under his SegaMags banner.

While SegaMags began as a means of celebrating classic magazines online, Jowett branched out into reselling these same publications at events, and has more recently taken on selling items from publishers like Bitmap Books.

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We recently reported on the fact that Supercell – famous for its smartphone games – had teamed up with a bunch of former EMAP journalists to create Super Cellphone Gamer, a promotional magazine based on the legendary Mean Machines, one of the UK's best-selling multi-format publications, which first launched back in 1990.

It's no exaggeration to say that I owe my career to Mean Machines and the people who made it; the magazine was a tremendous influence on me as a young gamer, and effectively shaped my gaming tastes at a very early age – as was no doubt the case with thousands of other British kids.

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UK gamers of a certain age will no doubt fondly recall EMAP's Mean Machines magazine. First published in 1990 after being a console-focused section in CVG, the mag would often sell hundreds of thousands of copies each month and ran for 24 issues before being split into Mean Machines Sega and Nintendo Magazine System.

Some of the core team behind the mag have joined forces with Supercell and Sega to produce Super Cellphone Gamer, an "online magazine" which is also being produced as a physical publication in very limited quantities, seemingly for promotion only.

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Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic at present, and not always for positive reasons.

While the relentless march of technology is giving us AI-based solutions for scientific and medical breakthroughs, the arrival of 'Generative AI'—where AI text, audio, video and image models hoover up human-made content and spit out strikingly similar content in a matter of seconds—presents a rather less appealing future; one where human creativity is all but abandoned in favour of 'copy-paste' slop, much of which is based on art that has been cloned without the permission of the original creator.

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While most of the gaming world is getting all hot under the collar about the Switch 2, it's always nice to be reminded of Nintendo's past glories, and the 3DS certainly ranks as one of those.

Back when the company's Wii U home console was struggling for its life, this dual-screen handheld effectively kept Nintendo relevant and is home to some of the best games of the past few decades. It's also the only Nintendo console with StreetPass, a feature we really wish had been incorporated into the Switch.

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35 years ago this October, British publisher EMAP launched Mean Machines magazine, a console-focused spin-off of CVG, its leading multiformat monthly.

Spawned from the CVG 'Mean Machines' section created by Tony Takoushi in 1987, the magazine would become one of the most commercially successful of its era. It lasted 24 issues before the decision was made to split the magazine into Mean Machines Sega and Nintendo Magazine System. A few years later, Mean Machines PlayStation would be the final publication to use the name.

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Tue 28th Jan 2025

If you live in the UK, then chances are you're familiar with the high-street retailer WH Smith.

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Last year, we were gifted ON, a video game-focused tome from Hybrid Publications, penned by some of the biggest and brightest names in the game media business.

That fine publication is getting a second volume, with features on topics as varied as PlayStation, '90s horror titles, Pokémon, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Zelda and music games.

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As we've noted before on this site, print media is having a moment right now—however, we're not talking about magazines on the newsstands here, but fan-made publications created by enthusiasts.

If you're a fan of grassroots media, then you might want to take a look at the second volume of Yokoi Kids. This fanzine is focused on Nintendo's million-selling monochrome portable, and spawned from a game-playing collective of the same name, established in 2017.

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Zzap!64 is considered to be one of the most iconic video game publications in British history, and launched the careers of people like Jaz Rignall, Gary Penn and Ciarán Brennan.

What you might not know is that the magazine spawned an Italian version—known simply as Zzap!—which ran for 73 issues from May 1986 to December 1992.

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Former Your Sinclair and Amiga Power staffer Jonathan Nash has passed away, we're sad to report.

Nash's work will be instantly familiar to readers of those magazines. Like so many publications of the late '80s and early '90s, the personality and humour of the writers really shone through, and Nash's brand of comedy has resonated with fans across the decades.

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Don't worry – you're not suffering from déjà vu. If you feel like you've read this before, it's because we're republishing some of our favourite features from the past year as part of our Best of 2024 celebrations. If this is new to you, then enjoy reading it for the first time! This piece was originally published on June 10th, 2024.

The lovely folks at UK outlet

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Update #1 : Well, there you have it! The Electronic Gaming Monthly Compendium has already managed to smash its initial Kickstarter goal of $35,000, raising over $130,000 in less than 24 hours. As of right now, it is currently on $215,995, with 27 days left to go before the end of the campaign.

What this means, for those who have backed it, is that the campaign has already managed to accomplish several of its stretch goals. Now, for instance, the book will be expanded in size to 9 inches x 12 inches, will come with an additional ribbon bookmark to keep your spot, and will contain a bunch of additional pages. These pages will include features on the 1000 greatest video games of all time and the most shameful games/ hardware to ever grace the pages of the magazine, as well as a Hsu & Chan comic, and expanded coverage of both licensed games and popular franchises (to be voted on by backers).

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We've been spoilt for choice when it comes to long-form video game discussion recently. We've got Lost in Cult's Lock-On and The Console Chronicles (the latter of which was a collaboration with this very site), as well as APWOT, a long-running periodical which takes deep dives into video game culture. Then there are the likes of Bitmap Books and ROM, both of which produce lavish coffee table tomes packed with information and artwork.

Adding yet another voice to this mix might seem like a daunting prospect, but when you look at the crack team assembled by Hybrid Publications for the debut volume of ON, then you realise that it's a venture that is almost assured of success.

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We've been fans of the "new age" video game fanzine Forgotten Worlds ever since its inception, and we're pleased to report that its fourth issue is shaping up to be very special indeed.

Currently on Kickstarter, Forgotten Worlds #4 "takes a deep dive into five classic magazines from the golden era of print" by speaking exclusively to some of the most famous names of '90s video game journalism, including Julian 'Jaz' Rignall (Mean Machines, CVG), Richard Leadbetter (CVG, Maximum), Wil Overton (Super Play) and Dan 'Shoe' Hsu (EGM).

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Generations, a new premium magazine from some of the talent behind and Switch Player, hits Kickstarter today, with the goal of celebrating every gaming generation from 1972 to today.

The magazine is the work of GameBound, which is a new magazine and premium print publisher that includes the involvement of Paul Murphy (Gamebook Color, Switch Player Magazine) and Andrew J. Dickinson (the former Editor-in-Chief of and current Editor-In-Chief of Debug Magazine). It is being designed in collaboration with DayOne and will feature illustrations from Sean O'Brien.

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Last week gave us the not-at-all-pleasant news that Game Informer – a magazine that has been running for 33 years – has been shuttered by its parent company, GameStop.

The news was broken with a rather lifeless statement on social media, which was followed up by a message from the magazine's freshly laid-off staff – which was then deleted, along with the Twitter account.

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Last week gave us the shocking news that Game Informer – one of the most popular video game magazines in the world – was being closed down by its parent company, GameStop.

The mag's 13 staff were immediately let go, and the next issue – which was apparently close to being complete, was canned. The closure was conformed on the official Game Informer Twitter account in a statement which curiously read like it was formulated in a GameStop boardroom.

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The GameStop-owned magazine Game Informer – which began life back in August 1991 as FuncoLand's in-house newsletter – has abruptly been closed down, signally the continued decline of print media.

"After 33 thrilling years of bringing you the latest news, reviews, and insights from the ever-evolving world of gaming, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Game Informer," says the statement issued by the publication.

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There is always time for another Legend of Zelda. And, for certain, any new Legend of Zelda always needs time to appreciate. Well, for the first time, genuinely coming soon, we’ll spend the whole time on a new adventure in the company of 'HRH' Zelda herself.

Princess Zelda’s starring role is momentous news, catching everyone by surprise. The game still has a lot to prove, even when this is Nintendo, but after scrutinising the trailer (along with 5.3 million other fans), I am now counting the days.

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