Electronic Gaming Monthly
Encyclopedia
Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is a bimonthly American
video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis
. It focuses on video game news, coverage of industry events, and interviews with gaming figureheads, as well as editorial content and product reviews. Prior to the 2010 relaunch it exclusively covered console
hardware and software, but has since expanded its coverage to the PC and mobile gaming markets.
In 1994, EGM spawned EGM2
. EGM2 focused on expanded cheats and tricks (i.e. with maps and guides). The spin-off publication eventually became Expert Gamer
, and finally the defunct GameNOW
.
title Mega Man 2
as its cover story. The third issue infamously featured the then-obscure male model named Fabio
on the cover, representing the game Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
(he also appeared on that game's box art).
For most of EGM's life, the formula was typically as follows: following the "Letter from the Editor", the magazine began with the letters section, then by "Press Start", which included newsbits, previews of upcoming games, and developer interviews. This was then followed by their features for the month (including the cover story), then the review section. The issue ended with more light-hearted fare such as Seanbaby's "Rest of the Crap", Jeremy "Norm" Scott's "The Adventures of Hsu and Chan
" comic (which stopped appearing in EGM after August 2008 to continue on 1Up.com), and a transcript of a debate on a current topic, among others.
Until 2005, the magazine also had a cheats and tricks section named "Tricks of the Trade", originally ran by Terry "Trickman" Minnich and proceeded by David Hodgson in the early 2000s.
Issues from the early 1990s also featured heavy coverage on arcade games and international games (particularly from Japan and Europe), complete with full previews and hints and tricks, although this had been scaled back in recent years to a single page for the international section, with the Arcade Action section essentially defunct. Similarly, a more "general entertainment" section rounded out the magazine at this period of time as well, including reviews of comic books, movies, and gadgets.
As a promotional tool, a single issue of EGM would sometimes include multiple covers (examples are the South Park
issue, the Kingdom Hearts II
intro issue, the Xbox 360 preview issue, the 200th issue, the Gears of War
issue), and the Super Smash Bros. Brawl issue), mini-posters for then-current games with the newsstand issues, and occasional one-page extras such as alternate game box cover art slips and calendars for such titles as Jade Empire
and God of War.
Occasionally, the editors of the magazine left secret messages in their writing, deciphered by combining the first letters found in every sentence in a paragraph. For the most part, the messages were simple ones such as "EGM Rules", although rumor has it that the messages sometimes took pot-shots at their competitors and unfavored game companies. For a while during the later run, a picture of a chimpanzee
with yellow flowers in its hand was placed in one photo per issue. When one reader brought this up in a mail section, the editors sarcastically responded that he should "lay off the drugs". They had also embedded funny slogans or sayings in the last lines of fine print publishing info towards the end of the magazine.
From October 2004 to January 2005 (and including 2004's "Smarch" issue), the magazine included DVD
s with newsstand issues, for which fan feedback was mixed. Positive feedback was mostly received for having plenty of features and interesting bonus material, like a Seanbaby video diary of E3, clips of the top upcoming games, desktop wallpapers, MP3
s by game-inspired artists, and exclusive or rare episodes of internet phenom Red vs. Blue
. Many readers complained, however, about the associated price increase of newsstand issues including the DVDs, as well as not being available with subscriber issues. The latter point was also a consistent complaint about the mini-posters, although posters were included with subscriptions in more recent years.
The December 2006 issue introduced one of the biggest redesigns in the magazine's history, including new sections, expanded reviews, and more focus on the acronym of the magazine's title. This was the first issue redesign since June 2003. EGM said that the reason for the design shift was to keep more in line with the site layout of their once-owned website, 1up.com.
Publication of EGM was suspended on January 6, 2009, following the acquisition of the online element of the 1UP network by Hearst Corporation
. It was announced that the January 2009 issue would be the final issue of EGM.
On May 29, 2009, EGM founder Steve Harris announced that he has acquired print and online publishing rights for the magazine for relaunch in the second half of 2009. The "lost" February 2009 edition of EGM was the first issue released for the relaunch using a new digital publishing platform called ScreenPaper, and appeared in March 2010. The first new print issue of EGM, boasting the magazine's original logo and a dual Ryu/Ken cover highlighting "The Street Fighter Legacy" appeared in April 2010. The first digital issue of the magazine's weekly companion publication, EGMi, was released on April 27, 2010 and featured a Final Fantasy cover story. Since May 22, 2011, the EGM Digital App for iPad is available. The app newsstand contains EGMi for iPad.
), Al Manuel, Howard Grossman, Mark "Mo" Hain, Mike Vallas, Jason Streetz, Ken Badziak, Scott Augustyn, Chris Johnston, Che Chou, Dave Ruchala, Crispin Boyer, artist Jeremy "Norm" Scott, Shawn "Shawnimal" Smith, West Coast Editor Kelly Rickards, Kraig Kujawa, Dean Hager, Shane Bettenhousen, Jeremy Parish, and Mark Macdonald (who later went on to become director of Gamevideos.com before leaving Ziff-Davis). Writers who also served stints as editor-in chief include Ed Semrad, Joe Funk, John Davison, Dan Hsu
(aka "Shoe"), and James Mielke. In addition, writers of EGM's various sister publications - including GameNow
, Computer Gaming World
/Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine - would regularly contribute to EGM, and vice versa.
Personalities featured in the magazine included gossip columnist "Quartermann," (or Q-Man or The Q) originally penned by Steve Harris and assisted by Ed Semrad, Danyon Carpenter, Andrew Baran and Chris Johnston. Near the end of EGMs original run, Quartermann had been penned by former editorial director John Davison and executive editor Shane Bettenhausen. Many items from the column have indeed come to fruition (such as the impending announcement of a competing game console by Microsoft
, which eventually became the Xbox
), though many have not (Panzer Dragoon
sequel on the Dreamcast). Controversy followed the magazine in April 2000 when the column speculated on a port of Metal Gear Solid
(PS1
) for the Dreamcast, with many gaming news outlets (including international ones) taking this as fact and reporting it as their own, leading to a virtual scolding by the columnist a month after for this practice.
Another long-time personality is Seanbaby
, who penned the "Rest of the Crap" section found at the end of the magazine. The column reviewed poor-quality games or included more unorthodox columns and lists. Favorite targets included the "Barbie
" games, as well as games based on the TV show That's So Raven
, cosplay
ers, and those who frequent gaming tradeshow E3.
Perhaps the most infamous personality was "Sushi-X
", a pseudonym for a reviewer (and, at times, someone who had a mini-letters section) who was modeled after Taco-X of the multi-panel review team of the Japanese publication Famitsu
, which inspired EGMs own review style. A supporter of fighting games (Street Fighter
in particular) and detractor of RPGs and portable systems, Sushi-X was originally David Siller in the early years and then taken over by Ken Williams for almost a decade.
After Ken's departure the moniker was used by several people through the years until phased out by Ziff Davis as a "maturing" of the magazine; initially, the magazine did seem to have planned to have another fictional character, Elephant Sak (or E-Sak) which was the name of a character by the editors from the game WWF Attitude
created to take over Sushi-X. The magazine teased the audience with a highlighted silhouette of the character in the photo box as the next reviewer in the issues from the last half of 1999. This never came to fruition.
Late-term "mascots" for the magazine included a Space Invaders
alien, which acted as an anchor to any written work in the mag as well as symbolizing reactions from games from E3 ("Awesome", "Terrible", etc.). Additionally, there was also a robot handed out as a trophy for their yearly awards as well as an award named after Tobias Bruckner from Turok: Evolution
, which was given as dubious honors to the worst aspects of the past year in gaming.
EGMs return marked a largely new staff of contributors that saw founder Steve Harris serving in the role of Publisher and Editor-In-Chief, the positions he held when the magazine was launched in 1988. He is joined by Brady Fiechter as Senior Editor, Mark Bozon as Reviews Editor as well as Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Demian Linn, Aaron Thomas, Omri Petitte, Jasmine Maleficent Rea, and Brett Bates from Bitmob.com, and Ryan O'Donnell and Matt Chandronait of Area5.tv. Other past contributors like Sushi-X and Seanbaby also contributed to the reborn EGM.
Super Mario Bros.
topped the list; among the 200 games are ten starring Mario
, including four titles in the top twenty. Pac-Man
followed at number two, with Street Fighter II
, Tetris
, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 64
, Space Invaders
, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
, Grand Theft Auto III
and Pong
completing the top ten. Only four games from the 2000s are featured in the top fifty. The games are: Grand Theft Auto III
at #9 on the list, Halo: Combat Evolved
at #17, Phantasy Star Online
at #21 and Resident Evil 4
at #46.
In addition, they gave the game (or multiple games in the event of a tie, as with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
for Xbox and NCAA Football 2006) with the highest average score for that issue a "Game of the Month" award. If a "Game of the Month" title receives a port to another console, that version will be disqualified from that month's award, such as with Resident Evil 4
, which won the award for the Nintendo GameCube version and subsequently received the highest scores for the PlayStation 2 port months later, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
, which won the Platinum award for two separate versions of the game. Oddly enough, this rule should have disqualified the Xbox version of San Andreas from tying NCAA Football 2006 in the August 2005 issue, as the PlayStation 2 version had tied Halo 2
for the award in the Holiday 2004 issue.
In 2002, EGM has also begun giving games that earned unanimously bad scores a "Shame of the Month" award. As there isn't always such a game in each issue, this award is only given out when a game qualifies.
Originally, a team of four editors reviewed all the games. This process was eventually dropped in favor of a system that added more reviewers to the staff so that no one person reviewed all the games for the month.
Though the scores ranged from 0-10 on the previous numerical scale, the score of zero was almost never utilized, with notable exceptions being Mortal Kombat Advance, The Guy Game
, and Ping Pals
.
in November 2002. It was published by Editorial Televisa and is edited by a different staff. Sometimes the content was more focused to the Latin American gaming crowd (e.g. soccer
games were paid more attention than NASCAR
or American football
games), as well as the humor and other features. Sometimes it featured jokes among the Mexican community (much of this is credited to Daniel Avilés, former managing editor, who expands his particular humour on his blog and podcast) and sometimes supported the production with a poster. Adrián Carbajal “Carqui”, with a long experience in Mexican gaming magazines (prior to EGM en Español, he worked in now competitor publications Club Nintendo and Atomix), was the editor-in-chief through the entire run. There was a weekly official podcast called "Playtime!" hosted by the most of the editorial staff. EGM en Español has been cancelled as of December 2008 due to Ziff Davis Media's economical problems.
EGM was also published in Brazil
as EGM Brasil by Conrad Editora
since 2003. Since the last quarter of 2005, EGM Brasil was being published by Futuro Comunicação. With the suspension of U.S. sales of the EGM, the Brazilian EGM was rebranded to EGW (Entertainment + Game World).
In 2006 three other editions of EGM were published around the world. EGM Thailand
is published by Future Gamer Company Ltd., EGM Singapore
is published by MediaCorp Publishing and EGM Turkey
is published by Merkez Dergi.
, and the gamespot.com brand was shunted to the CNET Networks.
EGM Live* was a podcast, done every Monday by the editors (usually 4 at a time) of EGM on 1Up.com, usually moderated by managing editor Jennifer Tsao or reviews editor Greg Ford. The usual crew of the podcast included Shane Bettenhausen, Bryan "Fragile Eagle" Intihar, Crispin Boyer, Michael Donahoe (sometimes), and Dan Hsu
with Mike Cruz manning the soundboards. The podcast was available for download at 1UP.com
or the iTunes
music store.
Much like other podcasts on the 1UP network, the program could include discussion of various message board topics, an analysis of new games being reviewed, a mailbag section, a deeper look into the most recent issue of the magazine, or interviews with special guests such as Marcus Henderson and Ted Lange from Harmonix and Cliff Bleszinski
from Epic Games
.
EGM Live* also had a weekly trivia contest, which featured a randomly selected 1UP.com member who answered their question. There were generally three types of questions: an expository (eg., "Describe the ending of the arcade edition of Golden Axe
"), straight trivia question (eg., "At what specific time period did current editor-in-chief Dan Hsu take time off from EGM [to work at gaming site gamers.com]?"), and an essay question in which the editors selling the top 3 answers and debate on air as to who gets the prize (eg., "What would you like in a future edition of Ratchet and Clank?").
The "*" at the end of the name was to denote that the podcast was not actually "live" in the general media sense. This had become a bit of an in-joke amongst those behind the podcast. It was eventually changed to 1UPFM, another weekly Monday podcast where 1UP crew members Nick Suttner and Phil Kollar hosted the show, along with other 1UP members.
The FM stood for "Feature Mondays", but was jokingly referred to as "Fuck Mondays" on the first podcast.
Segments included Shelf Life, where they talked about the week's releases, Top 5, where they picked a subject and make a top five list of it, Backlog, where a few editors played a game they're ashamed they haven't finished for a month, Insert Disk, where they introduced a new staff member, and the Monday Feature (backwards, FM) where they had a discussion about a news story for the week. They also had a mailbag for people to write in to the podcast, similar to EGM Live*.
Both podcasts were usually recorded on Fridays and released Mondays or Tuesdays. The shows ran anywhere between 30 minutes and two hours (the latter usually absent 1UP podcast producer Andrew Pfister's restraining influence).
Another minor controversy began in regards to issue #201, dated March, 2006. Pages 60 and 61 contained a large image of a man sitting on a toilet, pants around his ankles, with his hands on his crotch, which was covered by a magazine featuring characters from the game Rumble Roses XX
. The simulated image of a man masturbating upset many people, and the magazine received many complaints for this graphic, not only because some thought it was in poor taste, but primarily because the issue's cover featured Disney characters Goofy
and Donald Duck
, as well as Square Enix
's character, Sora (all from Kingdom Hearts II
). Some parents felt they could easily be fooled into buying the magazine for their children because of the family-friendly characters and a lack of warning of the magazine's content. EGM defended itself by claiming that they were using the magazine as a "substitute parent" and defiantly showed the picture a second time.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis Inc. is an American publisher and Internet company. It was founded in 1927 in Chicago by William B. Ziff, Sr. and Bernard G. Davis. Throughout most of its history, it was a publisher of hobbyist magazines, often ones devoted to expensive, advertiser-rich hobbies such as cars,...
. It focuses on video game news, coverage of industry events, and interviews with gaming figureheads, as well as editorial content and product reviews. Prior to the 2010 relaunch it exclusively covered console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
hardware and software, but has since expanded its coverage to the PC and mobile gaming markets.
In 1994, EGM spawned EGM2
EGM2
EGM² was a United States-based video game magazine that was first published by Sendai Publishing from July 1994 to July 1998. There are 49 issues of EGM² in total. The magazine was a spin-off of the popular magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. Unlike EGM, however, EGM² lacked a reviews section and...
. EGM2 focused on expanded cheats and tricks (i.e. with maps and guides). The spin-off publication eventually became Expert Gamer
Expert Gamer
Expert Gamer was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff Davis from August 1998 to October 2001. There are 39 issues of Expert Gamer in total. The bulk of XG's content was video game strategy guides and cheat codes...
, and finally the defunct GameNOW
GameNOW
GameNOW was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff-Davis from November 2001 to January 2004. There are 27 issues of GameNOW in total. In addition to video game consoles like PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance, GameNOW also covered games for...
.
Content and History
The first issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly came out in the summer of 1989, featuring NESNes
-Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...
title Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2, known in Japan as , is a platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second installment in the original Mega Man series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, and in North America and PAL regions the following years. Mega Man 2...
as its cover story. The third issue infamously featured the then-obscure male model named Fabio
Fabio Lanzoni
Fabio Lanzoni ; born March 15, 1959), widely known simply as Fabio, is a famous international Italian fashion model, spokesperson and actor who appeared on the cover of hundreds of romance novels throughout the 1980s and 1990s....
on the cover, representing the game Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II is a platforming adventure video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by UK-based company Zippo Games for Rare. it was published by Acclaim and released in North America in December 1989 and in Europe on March 27, 1991. It is the sequel to...
(he also appeared on that game's box art).
For most of EGM's life, the formula was typically as follows: following the "Letter from the Editor", the magazine began with the letters section, then by "Press Start", which included newsbits, previews of upcoming games, and developer interviews. This was then followed by their features for the month (including the cover story), then the review section. The issue ended with more light-hearted fare such as Seanbaby's "Rest of the Crap", Jeremy "Norm" Scott's "The Adventures of Hsu and Chan
Hsu and Chan
Hsu and Chan is a comic strip created by Jeremy "Norm" Scott that appeared in the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly from October 1999 until the September 2008 issue. The strip has appeared at 1UP.com until September 30, 2009 when the blog ended and Norm promised to continue the comic at...
" comic (which stopped appearing in EGM after August 2008 to continue on 1Up.com), and a transcript of a debate on a current topic, among others.
Until 2005, the magazine also had a cheats and tricks section named "Tricks of the Trade", originally ran by Terry "Trickman" Minnich and proceeded by David Hodgson in the early 2000s.
Issues from the early 1990s also featured heavy coverage on arcade games and international games (particularly from Japan and Europe), complete with full previews and hints and tricks, although this had been scaled back in recent years to a single page for the international section, with the Arcade Action section essentially defunct. Similarly, a more "general entertainment" section rounded out the magazine at this period of time as well, including reviews of comic books, movies, and gadgets.
As a promotional tool, a single issue of EGM would sometimes include multiple covers (examples are the South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
issue, the Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II
is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
intro issue, the Xbox 360 preview issue, the 200th issue, the Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
issue), and the Super Smash Bros. Brawl issue), mini-posters for then-current games with the newsstand issues, and occasional one-page extras such as alternate game box cover art slips and calendars for such titles as Jade Empire
Jade Empire
Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by Canadian developer BioWare and first published in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios as a worldwide release for the Xbox. The later, two-disc Limited Edition contained extra content...
and God of War.
Occasionally, the editors of the magazine left secret messages in their writing, deciphered by combining the first letters found in every sentence in a paragraph. For the most part, the messages were simple ones such as "EGM Rules", although rumor has it that the messages sometimes took pot-shots at their competitors and unfavored game companies. For a while during the later run, a picture of a chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
with yellow flowers in its hand was placed in one photo per issue. When one reader brought this up in a mail section, the editors sarcastically responded that he should "lay off the drugs". They had also embedded funny slogans or sayings in the last lines of fine print publishing info towards the end of the magazine.
From October 2004 to January 2005 (and including 2004's "Smarch" issue), the magazine included DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s with newsstand issues, for which fan feedback was mixed. Positive feedback was mostly received for having plenty of features and interesting bonus material, like a Seanbaby video diary of E3, clips of the top upcoming games, desktop wallpapers, MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s by game-inspired artists, and exclusive or rare episodes of internet phenom Red vs. Blue
Red vs. Blue
Red vs. Blue, often abbreviated as RvB, is a set of related comic science fiction video series created by Rooster Teeth Productions and distributed through the Internet and on DVD...
. Many readers complained, however, about the associated price increase of newsstand issues including the DVDs, as well as not being available with subscriber issues. The latter point was also a consistent complaint about the mini-posters, although posters were included with subscriptions in more recent years.
The December 2006 issue introduced one of the biggest redesigns in the magazine's history, including new sections, expanded reviews, and more focus on the acronym of the magazine's title. This was the first issue redesign since June 2003. EGM said that the reason for the design shift was to keep more in line with the site layout of their once-owned website, 1up.com.
Publication of EGM was suspended on January 6, 2009, following the acquisition of the online element of the 1UP network by Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
. It was announced that the January 2009 issue would be the final issue of EGM.
On May 29, 2009, EGM founder Steve Harris announced that he has acquired print and online publishing rights for the magazine for relaunch in the second half of 2009. The "lost" February 2009 edition of EGM was the first issue released for the relaunch using a new digital publishing platform called ScreenPaper, and appeared in March 2010. The first new print issue of EGM, boasting the magazine's original logo and a dual Ryu/Ken cover highlighting "The Street Fighter Legacy" appeared in April 2010. The first digital issue of the magazine's weekly companion publication, EGMi, was released on April 27, 2010 and featured a Final Fantasy cover story. Since May 22, 2011, the EGM Digital App for iPad is available. The app newsstand contains EGMi for iPad.
Staff
Staff writers for the magazine have included founder Steve Harris, Martin Alessi, Ken Williams (as Sushi-X), "Trickman" John Minnich, Andrew "Cyber-Boy" Baran, Danyon Carpenter, Marc Camron (later Director of Operations), Mark "Candyman" LeFebvre, Todd Rogers, Mike Weigand a.k.a Major Mike (now Managing Editor at GameProGamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
), Al Manuel, Howard Grossman, Mark "Mo" Hain, Mike Vallas, Jason Streetz, Ken Badziak, Scott Augustyn, Chris Johnston, Che Chou, Dave Ruchala, Crispin Boyer, artist Jeremy "Norm" Scott, Shawn "Shawnimal" Smith, West Coast Editor Kelly Rickards, Kraig Kujawa, Dean Hager, Shane Bettenhousen, Jeremy Parish, and Mark Macdonald (who later went on to become director of Gamevideos.com before leaving Ziff-Davis). Writers who also served stints as editor-in chief include Ed Semrad, Joe Funk, John Davison, Dan Hsu
Dan Hsu
Dan "Shoe" Hsu is the former editorial director of the 1UP Network, as well as former editor-in-chief of the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, a position he held from 2001 to 2008. Hsu attended the University of Michigan. His nickname, "Shoe", refers to the pronunciation of his...
(aka "Shoe"), and James Mielke. In addition, writers of EGM's various sister publications - including GameNow
GameNOW
GameNOW was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff-Davis from November 2001 to January 2004. There are 27 issues of GameNOW in total. In addition to video game consoles like PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance, GameNOW also covered games for...
, Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
/Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine was a monthly computer game magazine published by Ziff Davis Media, licensing the Games for Windows brand from Microsoft Corporation. It was the successor to Computer Gaming World. The first issue was released in November 2006...
, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine - would regularly contribute to EGM, and vice versa.
Personalities featured in the magazine included gossip columnist "Quartermann," (or Q-Man or The Q) originally penned by Steve Harris and assisted by Ed Semrad, Danyon Carpenter, Andrew Baran and Chris Johnston. Near the end of EGMs original run, Quartermann had been penned by former editorial director John Davison and executive editor Shane Bettenhausen. Many items from the column have indeed come to fruition (such as the impending announcement of a competing game console by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, which eventually became the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
), though many have not (Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon
is a rail shooter video game released for the Sega Saturn in 1995; and later released on PC, PlayStation 2, and as a bonus in its sequel Panzer Dragoon Orta for Xbox...
sequel on the Dreamcast). Controversy followed the magazine in April 2000 when the column speculated on a port of Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid
is a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
(PS1
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
) for the Dreamcast, with many gaming news outlets (including international ones) taking this as fact and reporting it as their own, leading to a virtual scolding by the columnist a month after for this practice.
Another long-time personality is Seanbaby
Seanbaby
Sean Patrick Reiley , better known as Seanbaby, is an American writer best known for his comedy website and frequent contributions to video game media outlets Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1UP.com. He is also a regular contributor to the humor website Cracked.com...
, who penned the "Rest of the Crap" section found at the end of the magazine. The column reviewed poor-quality games or included more unorthodox columns and lists. Favorite targets included the "Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
" games, as well as games based on the TV show That's So Raven
That's So Raven
That's So Raven is an American cable television teen sitcom/fantasy series. The show premiered on the Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, and ended on November 10, 2007. The show spawned Disney Channel's first spin-off series: Cory in the House...
, cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
ers, and those who frequent gaming tradeshow E3.
Perhaps the most infamous personality was "Sushi-X
Sushi-X
Sushi-X was a popular character played by many Electronic Gaming Monthly and GameNOW editors. Making his first appearance in the eighth issue of EGM, the character went on to create a legacy based on his ninja garb, self-proclaimed love for fighting games—particularly Street Fighter II, disdain for...
", a pseudonym for a reviewer (and, at times, someone who had a mini-letters section) who was modeled after Taco-X of the multi-panel review team of the Japanese publication Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
, which inspired EGMs own review style. A supporter of fighting games (Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
in particular) and detractor of RPGs and portable systems, Sushi-X was originally David Siller in the early years and then taken over by Ken Williams for almost a decade.
After Ken's departure the moniker was used by several people through the years until phased out by Ziff Davis as a "maturing" of the magazine; initially, the magazine did seem to have planned to have another fictional character, Elephant Sak (or E-Sak) which was the name of a character by the editors from the game WWF Attitude
WWF Attitude
WWF Attitude is a professional wrestling video game based on the World Wrestling Federation released by Acclaim Entertainment in July 1999 for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. A slightly enhanced port of the game was later released for the Dreamcast, as well as a handheld version for the Game Boy...
created to take over Sushi-X. The magazine teased the audience with a highlighted silhouette of the character in the photo box as the next reviewer in the issues from the last half of 1999. This never came to fruition.
Late-term "mascots" for the magazine included a Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
alien, which acted as an anchor to any written work in the mag as well as symbolizing reactions from games from E3 ("Awesome", "Terrible", etc.). Additionally, there was also a robot handed out as a trophy for their yearly awards as well as an award named after Tobias Bruckner from Turok: Evolution
Turok: Evolution
Turok: EvoIution is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by Acclaim Entertainment, released for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance in 2002. A port for Microsoft Windows was released in 2003 for the European market...
, which was given as dubious honors to the worst aspects of the past year in gaming.
EGMs return marked a largely new staff of contributors that saw founder Steve Harris serving in the role of Publisher and Editor-In-Chief, the positions he held when the magazine was launched in 1988. He is joined by Brady Fiechter as Senior Editor, Mark Bozon as Reviews Editor as well as Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Demian Linn, Aaron Thomas, Omri Petitte, Jasmine Maleficent Rea, and Brett Bates from Bitmob.com, and Ryan O'Donnell and Matt Chandronait of Area5.tv. Other past contributors like Sushi-X and Seanbaby also contributed to the reborn EGM.
April Fool's Day
EGM has gained a reputation for its notorious April Fool's Day pranks, which often fool readers and cause them to send angry letters. Its most popular jokes have included:- 1992: The legendary Sheng LongSheng LongSheng Long is a character hoax related to the Street Fighter video game series, created by Electronic Gaming Monthly as an April Fool's gag in 1992. The joke, based upon a mistranslation that suggested the existence of a character named Sheng Long in the Capcom video game Street Fighter II,...
code for Street Fighter IIStreet Fighter IIis a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
in which players had to complete near-impossible tasks all the way through the final boss, M. BisonM. BisonM. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
: Once there, the player could neither touch nor be touched by the boss for ten rounds, but at the end of this period the character Sheng Long would jump into the screen, destroy M. Bison, then challenge the player. This is widely considered EGMs most infamous prank. - 1998: "All Bonds" cheat in GoldenEye 007
- 2000: The announcement of the new game system Giga IntellivisionIntellivisionThe Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
from MattelMattelMattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
, complete with "Sense Heightening Interactive Technology" (S-H-I-T), which was supposedly more powerful than the then-upcoming PlayStation 2's Emotion EngineEmotion EngineThe Emotion Engine is a CPU developed and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment and Toshiba for use in the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console, as well as early PlayStation 3 models sold in Japan and North America...
, complete with the tagline, "Feel it, Sony." Because the same issue came with the announcement of the mature-rated Conker's Bad Fur DayConker's Bad Fur DayConker's Bad Fur Day is an action-platform video game developed and published by Rare. It was released for the Nintendo 64 in 2001 and was Rare's last game published for the console. The game was in development for four years; it was originally intended for a young audience, but was redesigned and...
from Nintendo, additional controversy arose because many people believed that the Conker announcement was, in fact, the joke. - 2001: Issue included a small article in which the writers announced that Sega had found a warehouse full of old Sega Neptune consoles and was selling them on a website. The site referenced redirected to an online shopping site, where Internet users were greeted by an "April Fools!" after adding the product to the cart.
- 2002: Super Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. MeleeSuper Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
's "Unlock Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog (character), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
and TailsMiles "Tails" Prower, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....
" code, where players had to defeat twenty opponents in Cruel Melee mode. The prank went widely believed for months, to a point where rival magazine Nintendo PowerNintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
had to create a blurb to try and explain the origin of the rumor. It also ended in retribution for readers who wanted their favorite SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
characters duking it out with NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's characters, which would seem like a play on their rivalry back in the 1990s. After the prank was revealed, EGM held a contest where those who sent in videos of their Cruel Melee battles with over twenty KOs would win a copy of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. In the November 2006 issue (#209), an article named "the BIG ones" suggests Sonic will reappear as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, which turned out to be true more than a year latter. - 2003: The topless cheat for Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach VolleyballDead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyballis a beach volleyball game by Tecmo released in 2003 exclusively for the Xbox. The game is a departure from the rest of the Dead or Alive series which otherwise consists of fighting games and marks the first game in the series to have a Mature rating due to the very revealing swimsuits featured in...
in which players were supposed to go to a career mode and reset the game while, at the same time, play no beach volley ball, then return to the menu and, in the suit-selection menu, there would be a topless feature; this confused many people, some attempted it and sent several angry letters. - 2004: A small false preview for a Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
kart-racer that EGM claimed was one of the first games for the PlayStation PortablePlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. There was a small clue in the fake game-screen, it showed the lap times that the total time would add up to 4/1/04 which is the date for April Fools' Day. - 2005: EGM told readers if they preordered the upcoming realistic-looking Legend of Zelda game (which would eventually be called The Legend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princessis an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii video game consoles. It is the thirteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series...
) they would receive a copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakerThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakerThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, released as in Japan, is an action-adventure game and the tenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It was released for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 24, 2003, in Europe on May 2, 2003, and in Australia on...
with updated graphics equal to those of the new game, accompanied by a screenshot. Anime InsiderAnime InsiderAnime Insider was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment, consisting of news and entertainment pieces relating to the Japanese anime and manga subculture....
believed the prank and published a small article telling people about the supposed preorder deal in the video game section. - 2006: A report stating that Apple was making a portable gaming device called the iGame, as well as an idea that Apple will sell games for it.
- 2007: A preview for Mushroom Kingdom Hearts, a new game in the Kingdom Hearts series, exclusive to the WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. The game would star numerous Disney characters as well as exactly 41 characters from Nintendo properties such as MarioMariois a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, who would be a playable character. - 2008: A preview for LegoLegoLego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
HaloHalo (series)Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
. - 2011: A preview of a new game for the Call of DutyCall of DutyCall of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
series that would be set during the Revolutionary War and feature Muskets with '20 second reload time in between shots'.
The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time
As a celebration of their 200th printed issue, Electronic Gaming Monthly released their list of "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time." They ranked the games based on how much of an impact the titles originally had on arcade or consoles, rather than a compilation of games based upon how well they hold up today.Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
topped the list; among the 200 games are ten starring Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, including four titles in the top twenty. Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
followed at number two, with Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
, Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
, Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
, Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
and Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
completing the top ten. Only four games from the 2000s are featured in the top fifty. The games are: Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
at #9 on the list, Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
at #17, Phantasy Star Online
Phantasy Star Online
Phantasy Star Online is an online multiplayer action RPG title, originally released for the Dreamcast in 2000, bundled with a demo of Sonic Adventure 2. Another edition, entitled Phantasy Star Online ver.2, was released for Dreamcast the following year...
at #21 and Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
at #46.
Review philosophy/"The Review Crew"
EGMs current review scale is based on a letter grade system in which each game receives a grade based on its perceived quality. Games are reviewed by one member (originally a team of four until the year 2000, then a team of three, and finally knocked down to one in 2008), except for "the big games", which were reviewed by one of a pool of editors known as "The Review Crew." They each assign a grade to the game and write a few paragraphs about their opinion of the game. The magazine makes a strong stance that a grade of C is average. Towards the top of the scale, awards are given to games that average an B- or higher from the three individual grade: "Silver" awards for games averaging a grade of B- to B+; "Gold" awards for games averaging a grade of A- or A; and "Platinum" awards for games with three A+ grades. The current letter grade system replaced a long-standing 0-10 scale in the April 2008 issue. In that system, Silver went to a game with an average rating from 8 to 9, Gold to a game reviewed at 9 to 10, and Platinum to a game that received nothing but 10 ratings. Until 1998, as a matter of editorial policy, the reviewers rarely gave scores of 10, and never gave a Platinum Award. That policy changed when the reviewers gave Metal Gear Solid four 10 ratings in 1998, with an editorial announcing the shift.In addition, they gave the game (or multiple games in the event of a tie, as with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
for Xbox and NCAA Football 2006) with the highest average score for that issue a "Game of the Month" award. If a "Game of the Month" title receives a port to another console, that version will be disqualified from that month's award, such as with Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
, which won the award for the Nintendo GameCube version and subsequently received the highest scores for the PlayStation 2 port months later, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, often abbreviated as THPS2, is the second game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2000...
, which won the Platinum award for two separate versions of the game. Oddly enough, this rule should have disqualified the Xbox version of San Andreas from tying NCAA Football 2006 in the August 2005 issue, as the PlayStation 2 version had tied Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
for the award in the Holiday 2004 issue.
In 2002, EGM has also begun giving games that earned unanimously bad scores a "Shame of the Month" award. As there isn't always such a game in each issue, this award is only given out when a game qualifies.
Originally, a team of four editors reviewed all the games. This process was eventually dropped in favor of a system that added more reviewers to the staff so that no one person reviewed all the games for the month.
Though the scores ranged from 0-10 on the previous numerical scale, the score of zero was almost never utilized, with notable exceptions being Mortal Kombat Advance, The Guy Game
The Guy Game
The Guy Game is an adult video game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC platforms published in 2004 by Gathering of Developers and developed by now-defunct Top Heavy Studios . Presented in a trivia gameshow style supporting up to four players, it consists of about 1,000 questions spread out over 20...
, and Ping Pals
Ping Pals
Ping Pals is a chat/accessory program developed by WayForward Technologies and published by THQ for the Nintendo DS. It was released on December 8, 2004 in North America...
.
Gold/Silver/Platinum Awards
To accompany the old numerical scoring system were "awards" given to select titles. There have been many Silver and Gold awards given at EGM over the years, indicating a game got no less than an 8.0 or 9.0, respspectively, from all reviewers, but the prestigious "Platinum" award was much less common, indicating a game that received 10 from all reviewers. EGM only has 15 recorded Platinum-Award-winning games in its entire history. These games, in chronological order of when they were reviewed, are as follows:- Metal Gear SolidMetal Gear Solidis a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
(1998, PlayStation) - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimeThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeis an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
(1998, Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) - Soulcalibur (1999, Sega DreamcastSega DreamcastThe is a 128-bit video game console which was released by Sega in late 1998 in Japan and from September 1999 in other territories. It was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube.Dreamcast sales were...
) - Gran Turismo 2Gran Turismo 2is a driving simulator / racing game for the Sony PlayStation. Gran Turismo 2 was developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1999. The games serves as a sequel to Gran Turismo...
(1999, PlayStation) - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's MaskThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Maskis an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan on April 27, 2000, North America on October 26, 2000, and Europe on November 17, 2000. The game sold approximately 314,000 copies during its first...
(2000, Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, often abbreviated as THPS2, is the second game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2000...
(2000, PlayStation, Sega DreamcastSega DreamcastThe is a 128-bit video game console which was released by Sega in late 1998 in Japan and from September 1999 in other territories. It was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube.Dreamcast sales were...
)* - Gran Turismo 3: A-SpecGran Turismo 3: A-SpecGran Turismo 3: A-Spec is considered a critical and commercial success for Sony in Japan, Europe, and North America. The game is highly praised by game reviewers and players as one of the best racing games ever made. GT3 also received a Platinum Award from Electronic Gaming Monthly...
(2001, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
) - Halo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
(2001, XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
) - Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
(2002, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
) - Metroid PrimeMetroid PrimeMetroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...
(2002, Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
) - Halo 2Halo 2Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
(2004, XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
) ** - Grand Theft Auto: San AndreasGrand Theft Auto: San AndreasGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
(2004, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
) ** - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princessis an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii video game consoles. It is the thirteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series...
(2006, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
) - BioShockBioshockBioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...
(2007, Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
)
- Both the PlayStation and Dreamcast versions of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 earned 10-averages but are treated as one game in EGMs records as the Dreamcast version was only reviewed by a single reviewer whereas the PlayStation game was handled by the standard team of 3.
-
- Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas were both given the commendation in the same issue (December 2004), receiving the distinction of being the only two Platinum-rated games reviewed in the same issue.
Game of the Year
The magazine also has an annual Game of the Year (along with other standard awards such as best of the year in a given genre or a certain console or technical accomplishments), which are usually announced in the March issue. Game of the Year winners since the magazine's inception are:- 1989 - Ghouls n Ghosts (Sega GenesisSega Mega DriveThe Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
) - 1990 - StriderStrider (arcade game)Strider, released in Japan as is a 1989 side-scrolling platform game released for the CP System arcade hardware by Capcom. It became one of Capcom's early hits before Street Fighter II, revered for its innovative gameplay and multilingual voice clips during cutscenes .-Plot: Strider is set in a...
(Sega GenesisSega Mega DriveThe Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
) - 1991 - Sonic The HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)is a seminal 16-bit 1991 platform video game developed in Japan by Sega and published for the Sega Genesis. It is the first installment in Sega's flagship Sonic the Hedgehog video game series and the first title developed by Sonic Team. The game was released in 1991 in North America, Europe, and...
(Sega GenesisSega Mega DriveThe Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
) - 1992 - Street Fighter IIStreet Fighter IIis a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
(Super NESSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
) - 1993 - Samurai ShodownSamurai ShodownSamurai Shodown, known as in Japan, is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for their Neo Geo arcade and home platform. In contrast to other fighting games at the time which were set in modern times and focused primarily on hand-to-hand combat, Samurai Shodown is set in feudal-era Japan ...
(Neo GeoNeo Geo (console)The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
) - 1994 - Donkey Kong CountryDonkey Kong CountryDonkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer video game developed by Rare, featuring the character Donkey Kong. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Following an intense marketing campaign, the original SNES version sold over 8 million copies worldwide, making...
(Super NESSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
) - 1995 - Twisted MetalTwisted MetalTwisted Metal is a series of vehicular combat video games published by Sony Computer Entertainment, and developed by various companies during its tenure. The series began on the PlayStation in 1995 and currently features seven games, with an eighth installment currently in production...
(PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
) - 1996 - Super Mario 64Super Mario 64is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
(Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) - 1997 - GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) - 1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimeThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeis an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
(Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) - 1999 - Soulcalibur (Dreamcast)
- 2000 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, often abbreviated as THPS2, is the second game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2000...
(PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) - 2001 - Halo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
(XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
) - 2002 - Metroid PrimeMetroid PrimeMetroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...
(GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
) - 2003 - Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimePrince of Persia: The Sands of TimePrince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action-adventure computer and video game published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 21, 2003 and is a reboot of the landmark video game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989.The Sands of Time, developed internally at...
(PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
) - 2004 - Halo 2Halo 2Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
(XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
) - 2005 - Resident Evil 4Resident Evil 4Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
(GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, PS2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
) - 2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princessis an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii video game consoles. It is the thirteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series...
(WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
) - 2007 - BioShockBioshockBioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...
(Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PCPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
) - 2008 - Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
(PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
) - 2009 - Uncharted 2: Among ThievesUncharted 2: Among ThievesUncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action-adventure platform third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was first shown and announced on December 1, 2008...
(PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
) - 2010 - Red Dead Redemption (PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
)
International expansion
EGM en Español was released in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in November 2002. It was published by Editorial Televisa and is edited by a different staff. Sometimes the content was more focused to the Latin American gaming crowd (e.g. soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
games were paid more attention than NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
or American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games), as well as the humor and other features. Sometimes it featured jokes among the Mexican community (much of this is credited to Daniel Avilés, former managing editor, who expands his particular humour on his blog and podcast) and sometimes supported the production with a poster. Adrián Carbajal “Carqui”, with a long experience in Mexican gaming magazines (prior to EGM en Español, he worked in now competitor publications Club Nintendo and Atomix), was the editor-in-chief through the entire run. There was a weekly official podcast called "Playtime!" hosted by the most of the editorial staff. EGM en Español has been cancelled as of December 2008 due to Ziff Davis Media's economical problems.
EGM was also published in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
as EGM Brasil by Conrad Editora
Conrad Editora
Conrad Editora is a book publishing company in Brazil. Generally known as one of the most popular distributors of manga and manhwa in the Brazilian Portuguese language.-Manga:...
since 2003. Since the last quarter of 2005, EGM Brasil was being published by Futuro Comunicação. With the suspension of U.S. sales of the EGM, the Brazilian EGM was rebranded to EGW (Entertainment + Game World).
In 2006 three other editions of EGM were published around the world. EGM Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
is published by Future Gamer Company Ltd., EGM Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
is published by MediaCorp Publishing and EGM Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
is published by Merkez Dergi.
EGM online, EGM Live*, and 1UP FM
In 1995, EGMs first online website was nuke.com. It merged with gamespot.com in 1996 after Ziff-Davis purchased Sendai Media Group. In 2003, EGM created their current website, 1UP.com1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
, and the gamespot.com brand was shunted to the CNET Networks.
EGM Live* was a podcast, done every Monday by the editors (usually 4 at a time) of EGM on 1Up.com, usually moderated by managing editor Jennifer Tsao or reviews editor Greg Ford. The usual crew of the podcast included Shane Bettenhausen, Bryan "Fragile Eagle" Intihar, Crispin Boyer, Michael Donahoe (sometimes), and Dan Hsu
Dan Hsu
Dan "Shoe" Hsu is the former editorial director of the 1UP Network, as well as former editor-in-chief of the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, a position he held from 2001 to 2008. Hsu attended the University of Michigan. His nickname, "Shoe", refers to the pronunciation of his...
with Mike Cruz manning the soundboards. The podcast was available for download at 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
or the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
music store.
Much like other podcasts on the 1UP network, the program could include discussion of various message board topics, an analysis of new games being reviewed, a mailbag section, a deeper look into the most recent issue of the magazine, or interviews with special guests such as Marcus Henderson and Ted Lange from Harmonix and Cliff Bleszinski
Cliff Bleszinski
Clifford Michael "Cliff" Bleszinski is the design director for the game development company Epic Games in Cary, North Carolina. He is most famous for his continuing hand in the development of the Unreal franchise, especially 1999's Unreal Tournament, and the Gears of War franchise...
from Epic Games
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
.
EGM Live* also had a weekly trivia contest, which featured a randomly selected 1UP.com member who answered their question. There were generally three types of questions: an expository (eg., "Describe the ending of the arcade edition of Golden Axe
Golden Axe
Golden Axe is a side-scrolling beat 'em up and hack & slash arcade video game released in 1989 by Sega for the System 16-B arcade hardware. It is the first game in the Golden Axe series....
"), straight trivia question (eg., "At what specific time period did current editor-in-chief Dan Hsu take time off from EGM [to work at gaming site gamers.com]?"), and an essay question in which the editors selling the top 3 answers and debate on air as to who gets the prize (eg., "What would you like in a future edition of Ratchet and Clank?").
The "*" at the end of the name was to denote that the podcast was not actually "live" in the general media sense. This had become a bit of an in-joke amongst those behind the podcast. It was eventually changed to 1UPFM, another weekly Monday podcast where 1UP crew members Nick Suttner and Phil Kollar hosted the show, along with other 1UP members.
The FM stood for "Feature Mondays", but was jokingly referred to as "Fuck Mondays" on the first podcast.
Segments included Shelf Life, where they talked about the week's releases, Top 5, where they picked a subject and make a top five list of it, Backlog, where a few editors played a game they're ashamed they haven't finished for a month, Insert Disk, where they introduced a new staff member, and the Monday Feature (backwards, FM) where they had a discussion about a news story for the week. They also had a mailbag for people to write in to the podcast, similar to EGM Live*.
Both podcasts were usually recorded on Fridays and released Mondays or Tuesdays. The shows ran anywhere between 30 minutes and two hours (the latter usually absent 1UP podcast producer Andrew Pfister's restraining influence).
List of 1UPFM Backlogs
- Shadow of the ColossusShadow of the ColossusShadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as , is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in North America and Japan in October 2005 and PAL territories in February 2006...
- PsychonautsPsychonautsPsychonauts is a platform video game created by Tim Schafer, developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Majesco. The game was released on April 19, 2005, for the Xbox, April 26 for Microsoft Windows and June 21 for PlayStation 2. It was released on Steam on Oct 11, 2006, as an "Xbox...
- Indigo Prophecy
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of ChernobylS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of ChernobylS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a first-person shooter video game by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World, published in 2007.It features an alternate reality theme, where a second nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone in the near future and causes...
- Beyond Good & EvilBeyond Good & Evil (video game)Beyond Good & Evil is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ubisoft and released in late for the GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox platforms. The story follows the adventures of Jade, an investigative reporter and martial artist, who works with a resistance...
Controversies
Editor-in-chief Dan Hsu created a controversy in issue #199, where he ran an editorial which accused several of his competitors of selling article opportunities in exchange for advertising contracts. Much of the controversy arose from the fact that he did not give the names of any of the perpetrators, leading some to believe it was all a publicity stunt.Another minor controversy began in regards to issue #201, dated March, 2006. Pages 60 and 61 contained a large image of a man sitting on a toilet, pants around his ankles, with his hands on his crotch, which was covered by a magazine featuring characters from the game Rumble Roses XX
Rumble Roses XX
Rumble Roses XX is a female Wrestling game that was developed by YUKE's Future Media Creators and Konami for the Xbox 360 and is the sequel to the PlayStation 2 game, Rumble Roses...
. The simulated image of a man masturbating upset many people, and the magazine received many complaints for this graphic, not only because some thought it was in poor taste, but primarily because the issue's cover featured Disney characters Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
and Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
, as well as Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
's character, Sora (all from Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II
is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
). Some parents felt they could easily be fooled into buying the magazine for their children because of the family-friendly characters and a lack of warning of the magazine's content. EGM defended itself by claiming that they were using the magazine as a "substitute parent" and defiantly showed the picture a second time.
External links
- EGM Now Official site of the revised magazine.
- EGM on 1UP.com -– Former Ziff Davis site
- EGM México
- EGW Brasil
- EGM Turkey
- EGM Live*
- The greatest 200 videogames of their time