RECOMMENDED READING

THE MAGAZINES THAT DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES FROM THE PACK

LAUNCH YEAR

1981

The first name in UK videogames magazines didn’t just succeed by being the first magazine to market. As the decade went on the magazine kept itself relevant by adapting its format, with a bigger focus on reviews as the years went on, and eventually creating demand for consoles with import coverage.

LAUNCH YEAR

1984

Newsfield’s first big success in games magazines was driven by its youthful staff, who shared the readership’s enthusiasm for the games they were covering. The magazine’s team was keen to use real screenshots and positioned it as a buyer’s guide, focusing on reviews and tips over type-ins.

LAUNCH YEAR

1985

Realising that Commodore gamers would probably enjoy a magazine with a similar approach to Crash, Newsfield launched this sister title. Writers such as Gary Penn and Julian Rignall soon became familiar names to the magazine’s readers, and regularly beat them in gaming challenges.

LAUNCH YEAR

1985

Yes, we’re choosing a Future title here – but let’s be honest, there’s a reason that it ran for ages. If you had Alan Sugar’s machine, this was the right title to go for, especially when the Christmas issue included a cover tape. Later on, those tapes would became staple of the computer magazine market.

LAUNCH YEAR

1987

This multiformat magazine was trying to be a bit different from the competition, with a broader outlook on computer entertainment and a tone that aimed at an older teen audience. For some reason, it scored games out of 1,000 rather than the more common scales, which we always liked.