The Games Machine (April 1990)

in #retrogaming14 days ago


Cover of the April 1990 issue of The Games Machine


The Games Machine was a relatively short-lived gaming magazine published in the U.K. It covered both console and computer games though it was only published from 1987 to 1990. In particular, it had a lot of coverage of the Amiga and Atari ST. The April 1990 issue includes:

Regulars

  • Boot-Up! - The latest news and preview: Mont Mole, Ninja Spirits, Wipe Out, Stormlord II, Dragon Strike, Frontline, World Cup Soccer '90, Enigma Variations, and much more.

  • Konnichi Wa To You - A look at some of the latest and upcoming software releases in Japan, including Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (Super Grafx), Genpeitomaden, Super Volleyball (PC Engine), Paranoia (PC Engine CD-ROM), Final Zone 2 (PC Engine CD-ROM), Sokoban World, Handy PC Engine (called the PC Engine GT upon release), and more.


Table of Contents from the April 1990 issue of The Games Machine


Game Special

  • The Epic Epic - A 3D space game that was originally to be called Goldrunner 3-D.

  • Oh Yes It Can! - Previews of some potentially impressive new games including Anarchy (Atari ST), Firestorm (Atari ST), and Witchcraft (Amiga).


Table of Contents from the April 1990 issue of The Games Machine (continued)


Features

  • Super Grafx - A look at NEC's follow-up to the TurboGrafx-16 / Turbo Duo. Sadly, it never made much impact, especially outside of Japan.

  • Digitizing - A review of Vidichrome, an upgrade package that expands the Rombo digitizing package for the Amiga to full color.

  • Behind the Scenes - A look at how artwork in created for The Games Machine using a Macintosh and Adobe Illustrator '88.

  • Shooting Stars - A guide to becoming a pop star with the help of a personal computer.

Interaction

  • Win A Jacket! - Win a leather jacket in this Monty Mole themed contest.

  • Playing Tips - Tips, tricks and cheats for Strider (Atari ST, C64), Operation Thunderbolt (C64, Amiga), Mega Man (Nintendo), It Came From The Desert (Amiga), Future Wars, Space Harrier (PC Engine), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghosts 'N' Goblins (Nintendo), and more.


Back cover of the April 1990 issue of The Games Machine


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I have never heard of this magazine. That Batman/Robocop ad looks stylistic as all get out in so many good ways. They don't do advertising like that anymore, shoot probably not beyond 1992 or 1993 as the mascot craze picked up so everything had to be "in your face bright colors". Not much style, not like that ad anyhow.

The U.K. had a pretty impressive number of video game magazines. They must be (or have been) avid periodical readers to support so many publications.

I used to help with a gaming publication preservation group called Out of Print Archive. They have permission to release these mags to the public. Last I checked they had quite a few up. I mainly helped to bring on USA based publications.

Unfortunately, Halverson (Gamefan) and Harris (EGM) were not as interested in "giving back" to the gaming community. We archived the first issue of Gamefan before they ended the agreement for no apparent reason. EGM, we did several pages for a test for them and were told abruptly they were taking the project "in house".

This was all back in 2009 to 2012.

So far the only thing accomplished is both have discontinued print magazines and Gamefan has completely folded, again.

It seems EGM is now making that free magazine for Walmart, Game Center but that hasn't been around in years here locally and their website shows updates stopped in December 2022.