Creole Ned
10-22-2006, 02:02 PM
On this FileFront page (http://cgw.filefront.com/) you will find free PDF downloads of the first 100 issues of Computer Gaming World magazine.
CGW started back in 1981 when home computers were not the ubiquitous devices you see today. The popular hardware was the Apple II series, the 8-bit Ataris (400 and 800) and a little machine put out by Commodore called the VIC-20.
I remember leafing through and then buying some of those earliest issues (long gone, alas) when all I had were video game consoles like the (then numero uno) Atari 2600 and (my thumbs still hurt) Intellivision. I officially got on the computer bandwagon in 1982 with an Atari 400, which I viewed as a game console with a membrane keyboard. CGW was a good fit since it viewed the 400 the same way.
Why is this, after 25 years, the end of an era? Because after the current issue (Alan Wake cover), Computer Gaming World is changing its name to Games For Windows: The Official Magazine. Catchy, yes? Jeff Green, the editor, has assured readers that only the title is changing and that Microsoft will have a hands-off attitude when it comes to game coverage and reviews. Time will tell, I suppose. And the name change pretty much guarantees better distribution, something the magazine could benefit from if its scarcity around these parts is anything close to typical.
But it still makes me nostalgic for what once was. I remember around 1994/1995 when computer gaming really started to come into its own. We were just starting to see 3D acceleration, there were tons of games released across many genres, it was a time of excitement and growth for our little virtual hobby. CGW's holiday issues (November/December) were coming in at around 450 pages, with dozens of pages of previews for upcoming games. Compare that to today when the November issue is a scant 116 pages. Granted, most of the 450 pages back then were ads but I actually liked the ads!
Today, magazines are being forced to re-invent themselves as news and reviews are not only plentiful on the Internet, they are available within days of a game's release and often months before the magazines can cover them. Heck, my home page is http://www.gametab.com/, a site that collects the headlines from multiple game sites, for maximum effificiency for checking out said news and reviews.
CGW has tried to shake things up a bit -- dropping its star system for reviews ("I don't see stars. How will I know if the game is good? I don't want to have to, you know, read.") but it remains to be seen where magazines will end up over the next few years.
Anyway, that's my little ramble as I look back on the days when computers were connected to a power outlet and maybe, if you were lucky, a 300 baud modem to a local BBS, when your gaming news (and reviews and hints and previews) came through a monthly magazine whose contents were to be savored time and again until the next issue, when you went into a gaming store (and it wasn't a franchise outlet) and oggled new games you had never even heard of before.
So cheers to CGW for lasting 25 years, boo to the stagnation of current PC gaming (look at a typical sales chart - ugh) and here's a cautious hope that GFW: TOM (LOL WTF?) will continue to be a decent magazine and not just a shill for that fancy new "Games for Windows" logo.
I do give Mr. Green credit for signing his posts on Quarter to Three as "DirectJeff 10.0" and "Jeff for Windows" right after the news broke, though. :)
CGW started back in 1981 when home computers were not the ubiquitous devices you see today. The popular hardware was the Apple II series, the 8-bit Ataris (400 and 800) and a little machine put out by Commodore called the VIC-20.
I remember leafing through and then buying some of those earliest issues (long gone, alas) when all I had were video game consoles like the (then numero uno) Atari 2600 and (my thumbs still hurt) Intellivision. I officially got on the computer bandwagon in 1982 with an Atari 400, which I viewed as a game console with a membrane keyboard. CGW was a good fit since it viewed the 400 the same way.
Why is this, after 25 years, the end of an era? Because after the current issue (Alan Wake cover), Computer Gaming World is changing its name to Games For Windows: The Official Magazine. Catchy, yes? Jeff Green, the editor, has assured readers that only the title is changing and that Microsoft will have a hands-off attitude when it comes to game coverage and reviews. Time will tell, I suppose. And the name change pretty much guarantees better distribution, something the magazine could benefit from if its scarcity around these parts is anything close to typical.
But it still makes me nostalgic for what once was. I remember around 1994/1995 when computer gaming really started to come into its own. We were just starting to see 3D acceleration, there were tons of games released across many genres, it was a time of excitement and growth for our little virtual hobby. CGW's holiday issues (November/December) were coming in at around 450 pages, with dozens of pages of previews for upcoming games. Compare that to today when the November issue is a scant 116 pages. Granted, most of the 450 pages back then were ads but I actually liked the ads!
Today, magazines are being forced to re-invent themselves as news and reviews are not only plentiful on the Internet, they are available within days of a game's release and often months before the magazines can cover them. Heck, my home page is http://www.gametab.com/, a site that collects the headlines from multiple game sites, for maximum effificiency for checking out said news and reviews.
CGW has tried to shake things up a bit -- dropping its star system for reviews ("I don't see stars. How will I know if the game is good? I don't want to have to, you know, read.") but it remains to be seen where magazines will end up over the next few years.
Anyway, that's my little ramble as I look back on the days when computers were connected to a power outlet and maybe, if you were lucky, a 300 baud modem to a local BBS, when your gaming news (and reviews and hints and previews) came through a monthly magazine whose contents were to be savored time and again until the next issue, when you went into a gaming store (and it wasn't a franchise outlet) and oggled new games you had never even heard of before.
So cheers to CGW for lasting 25 years, boo to the stagnation of current PC gaming (look at a typical sales chart - ugh) and here's a cautious hope that GFW: TOM (LOL WTF?) will continue to be a decent magazine and not just a shill for that fancy new "Games for Windows" logo.
I do give Mr. Green credit for signing his posts on Quarter to Three as "DirectJeff 10.0" and "Jeff for Windows" right after the news broke, though. :)