RetroDefense

Thanks for the scan, @Ethereal Dragonz!

I'm definitely interested in those, @Terry93D. I have most of what you listed but had no idea Pat made Fantazine available digitally at some point. Btw, I remember Jess mentioning he had edited/censored some of his digital releases. Thought I'd mention it for anyone wondering why portions of Concept or P:I or Blitz appear missing.

Issue #2 (5-1-2000; Spring 2000)

Thanks for the post, and a belated welcome to RetroMags! The last issue I'm aware of is issue 20 but I haven't confirmed if this is the final. And we've yet to track down the cover for issue 18 either. (I might spend some time digging a bit - haven't researched this zine for a couple years or so.) Sorry we can't be of much help at the moment - this magazine is surprisingly elusive for whatever reason. We have a running discussion about Pocket Games magazine if you'd like to help out or have any other questions.

More details have been announced - kicks off August 28th.

@marktrade, Edge (UK) #36 (September 1996) printed the article. And you'll be happy to hear they did so correctly, with the missing content. That said, the UK version of the article doesn't match the US version word-for-word - it was edited for UK readers - but it's probably 95% identical. If not more.

Shout Factory is planning to marathon stream Starcade - an 80s game show - via Twitch sometime this August. Loved this show as a kid. Back then - living in a rural area - there were no arcades nearby. No news stand either, so no video game magazines. Starcade was essentially my window into the arcade gaming scene - I'd tune in and watch every episode I could.

I'm glad it turned out so well. Yeah, this first season played out more like an OVA rather than something episodic. Didn't make it any less entertaining though - definitely recommended for Castlevania fans.

Anyone here a fan of the UK's 80s-era Crash magazine? If so, you may be interested in the current Kickstarter. They're looking to get the band back together, as it were, to produce issue 99.

This - in some ways - reminds me of Defunct Games' Countdown lists. If you like to track and correlate magazine review scores, be sure to check out their content sometime. And they may appreciate access to your Google doc as a reference once it's completed. Good luck with your project!

Yeah, a museum collection makes for very limited access - to be sure - but I appreciate The Strong deciding to archive these publications as part of video game history. The video game fanzine bubble burst quickly after the Internet went mainstream but I'll always appreciate those 90s-era print 'zines. Lots of work and love went into those things. When @Terry93D originally began compiling this list via the Digital Press forums, someone posted about a major preservation effort underway, spearheaded by Digital Press itself. I don't think it ever went anywhere, though. I may do some digging and see if anything ever came of it. I've toyed with the idea of digitally preserving and sharing my own collection - which sits at around 180 issues or so - but I always find myself having reservations. Digitally preserving history documented by paid, professional adults is one thing, but 90s fanzines were written primarily by minors. I'd probably be more comfortable with a case-by-case approach as situations vary. I know one former fan-ed who has granted permission for scans to be shared. I know another who has requested certain content not be. One former fan-ed is actively looking for his old issues long since lost. Another fan-ed - Sean Pettibone of In Between the Lines - passed away at a young age, and frankly, is one of the primary drivers as to why I'd like to see fanzines preserved. His 'zine was exceptional and deserves to be appreciated. 'Course, all this assumes the fan-ed would have the final word in having a 'zine preserved and shared, despite most fanzines containing content from numerous contributors. Don't know - I'm on the fence. Open to opinions.

Found this the other day and thought I'd share - Chris Kohler has donated his fanzine collection of 350 issues to The Strong. If the name rings familiar, you'll find Chris listed as the editor of Video Zone in the fanzine list above. He eventually parlayed this into a profession with Wired and now Kotaku. (Several fanzine editors went on to obtain careers in video game journalism or development, actually - Satoshi Tajiri (of Game Freak and Pokemon fame) probably being the most notable.) The interview is an interesting read for anyone curious as to the video game fanzine culture of the early 90s. And for some old-timers like myself, even a little nostalgic.