Computer Gaming World
Encyclopedia
Computer Gaming World (CGW) 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
(SSI), Dan(i) Bunten (Ozark Software), and Chris Crawford
. As well, early covers were not always directly related to the magazine's contents, but rather featured work by artist Tim Finkas. In 1986, CGW increased its publication cycle to 9 times a year, and the editorial staff included well-known writers such as Scorpia, Charles Ardai
, and M. Evan Brooks.
In late 1987, CGW introduced a quarterly newsletter called Computer Game Forum (CGF), which was published during the off-months of CGW. The focus of the newsletter was game design, game hints and scenarios, and game development. The newsletter never really took off and only two issues were published (Fall 1987 and Winter 1987) before it was cancelled. Many of the columns which debuted in CGF, such as Scorpion's Tale and The Rumor Bag, were incorporated into CGW, which went monthly in 1988.
The magazine went through significant expansion starting in 1991, with growing page counts reaching 196 pages by its 100th issue, in November 1992. During that same year, Johnny Wilson became Editor-In-Chief, although Russell Sipe remained as Publisher. In 1993, Sipe sold the magazine to Ziff Davis
. Sipe continued on as Publisher until 1995. The magazine kept growing through the 1990s, with the December 1997 issue weighing in at 500 pages. In 1999, Wilson left the magazine and George Jones became Editor-In-Chief, at a time when print magazines were struggling with the growing popularity of the Internet. Jones' time at the head of the magazine was largely undistinguished, and he was replaced by Jeff Green in 2002.
On August 2, 2006, Ziff Davis and Microsoft jointly announced that Computer Gaming World would be replaced with Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
. The final CGW-labeled issue was November 2006, for a total of 268 published editions.
Simultaneously with the release of the final CGW issue, Ziff Davis announced the availability of the CGW Archive. The Archive features complete copies of the first 100 issues of CGW, as well as the 2 CGF issues, for a total of 7438 pages covering 11 years of gaming. The Archive was created by Stephane Racle, of the Computer Gaming World Museum, and is available in PDF format
. Every issue was processed through Optical Character Recognition
, which enabled the creation of a 3+ million word master index. Although Ziff Davis has taken its CGW Archive site offline, the magazines can be downloaded from the Computer Gaming World Museum.
On April 8, 2008, 1UP Network announced the print edition of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine had ceased, and that all content will be moved online.
. While console games
are occasionally touched on, these are primarily the territory of CGW's sister magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly
.
In 2006, two of the most popular features were "Greenspeak", a final-page column written by Editor-In-Chief Jeff Green, and "Tom vs. Bruce" a unique, "duelling-diaries" piece in which writers Tom Chick
and Bruce Geryk logged their gameplay experience as each tried to best the other at a given game. "Tom vs. Bruce" sometimes featured a guest appearance by Erik Wolpaw
, formerly of Old Man Murray
.
For many years, CGW never assigned scores to reviews, preferring to let readers rate their favorite games through a monthly poll. Scores were finally introduced in 1994. However, beginning in April 2006, Computer Gaming World stopped assigning quantifiable scores to its reviews. In May of the same year, CGW changed the name of its review section to Viewpoint, and began evaluating games on a more diverse combination of factors than a game's content. Elements considered include the communities' reaction to a game, developers' continued support through patches and whether a game's online component continues to grow.
The reviews were formerly based on a simple five-star structure, with five stars marking a truly outstanding game, and one star signalling virtual worthlessness. On very rare occasions, immensely abysmal games have been reviewed: Postal²
by Robert Coffey, Mistmare
by Jeff Green, and Dungeon Lords
by Denice Cook, three games which "...form an unholy trinity of the only games in CGW history to receive zero-star reviews."
. It should be noted, however, that magazine circulation numbers are highly subjective, despite the seemingly straightforward connection between publication and distribution.
for Best Professional Adventure Gaming Magazine of 1987.
in Fall of 2006. The new magazine replaced CGW as part of Microsoft's Games for Windows initiative. In their press release, Ziff Davis indicated that much of Computer Gaming Worlds's core content and staff will be transferred to the new magazine. Because of these announcements, Ziff Davis' actions appeared more on the order of a rebranding of CGW, rather than an actual cancellation.
See also Games for Windows
for developing information about the new Microsoft magazine and marketing campaign.
CGW/GFW ended its 27-year run on April 8, 2008.
At the GFW Radio Penny Arcade Expo
reunion, Jeff Green claimed that the deal with Microsoft allowed CGW/GFW to continue operating, and that if it had not occurred Ziff Davis would have shut down CGW.
Joel Billings
Joel Billings is an American computer game designer. He is the founder of the game company SSI. He was also the company's president.-Career:Billings started SSI in 1979 just after finishing college, with a $1000 initial investment. The first product was Computer Bismarck, which he co-wrote...
(SSI), Dan(i) Bunten (Ozark Software), and Chris Crawford
Chris Crawford (game designer)
Christopher Crawford is a computer game designer and writer noted for creating a number of important games in the 1980s, founding The Journal of Computer Game Design, and organizing the Computer Game Developers' Conference.- Biography :...
. As well, early covers were not always directly related to the magazine's contents, but rather featured work by artist Tim Finkas. In 1986, CGW increased its publication cycle to 9 times a year, and the editorial staff included well-known writers such as Scorpia, Charles Ardai
Charles Ardai
Charles Ardai is an entrepreneur, writer, editor, and television producer. He is best known as founder and CEO of Juno, an Internet company, and founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels.-Biography:...
, and M. Evan Brooks.
In late 1987, CGW introduced a quarterly newsletter called Computer Game Forum (CGF), which was published during the off-months of CGW. The focus of the newsletter was game design, game hints and scenarios, and game development. The newsletter never really took off and only two issues were published (Fall 1987 and Winter 1987) before it was cancelled. Many of the columns which debuted in CGF, such as Scorpion's Tale and The Rumor Bag, were incorporated into CGW, which went monthly in 1988.
The magazine went through significant expansion starting in 1991, with growing page counts reaching 196 pages by its 100th issue, in November 1992. During that same year, Johnny Wilson became Editor-In-Chief, although Russell Sipe remained as Publisher. In 1993, Sipe sold the magazine to 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,...
. Sipe continued on as Publisher until 1995. The magazine kept growing through the 1990s, with the December 1997 issue weighing in at 500 pages. In 1999, Wilson left the magazine and George Jones became Editor-In-Chief, at a time when print magazines were struggling with the growing popularity of the Internet. Jones' time at the head of the magazine was largely undistinguished, and he was replaced by Jeff Green in 2002.
On August 2, 2006, Ziff Davis and Microsoft jointly announced that Computer Gaming World would be replaced with 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...
. The final CGW-labeled issue was November 2006, for a total of 268 published editions.
Simultaneously with the release of the final CGW issue, Ziff Davis announced the availability of the CGW Archive. The Archive features complete copies of the first 100 issues of CGW, as well as the 2 CGF issues, for a total of 7438 pages covering 11 years of gaming. The Archive was created by Stephane Racle, of the Computer Gaming World Museum, and is available in PDF format
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
. Every issue was processed through Optical Character Recognition
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
, which enabled the creation of a 3+ million word master index. Although Ziff Davis has taken its CGW Archive site offline, the magazines can be downloaded from the Computer Gaming World Museum.
On April 8, 2008, 1UP Network announced the print edition of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine had ceased, and that all content will be moved online.
Content
CGW featured reviews, previews, news, features, letters, strategy, and columns dealing with computer gamesComputer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
. While console games
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...
are occasionally touched on, these are primarily the territory of CGW's sister magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly 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...
.
In 2006, two of the most popular features were "Greenspeak", a final-page column written by Editor-In-Chief Jeff Green, and "Tom vs. Bruce" a unique, "duelling-diaries" piece in which writers Tom Chick
Tom Chick
Tom W. Chick is an American television and movie actor, and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's lover Gil in the US version of The Office, and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in The West Wing. As a writer, Tom has contributed to many current and past video game...
and Bruce Geryk logged their gameplay experience as each tried to best the other at a given game. "Tom vs. Bruce" sometimes featured a guest appearance by Erik Wolpaw
Erik Wolpaw
Erik Wolpaw is an American videogame writer. Erik along with Chet Faliszek were the two writers behind the now-defunct Old Man Murray video game commentary web site. As of 2011, he works for Valve Software in Seattle...
, formerly of Old Man Murray
Old Man Murray
Old Man Murray was a UGO Networks computer game commentary and reviews site, known for its highly irreverent and satiric tone. It was written and edited by Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw. Old Man Murray was critical of games that received strong reviews elsewhere, most notably the King's Quest...
.
For many years, CGW never assigned scores to reviews, preferring to let readers rate their favorite games through a monthly poll. Scores were finally introduced in 1994. However, beginning in April 2006, Computer Gaming World stopped assigning quantifiable scores to its reviews. In May of the same year, CGW changed the name of its review section to Viewpoint, and began evaluating games on a more diverse combination of factors than a game's content. Elements considered include the communities' reaction to a game, developers' continued support through patches and whether a game's online component continues to grow.
The reviews were formerly based on a simple five-star structure, with five stars marking a truly outstanding game, and one star signalling virtual worthlessness. On very rare occasions, immensely abysmal games have been reviewed: Postal²
Postal²
Postal 2 is a first-person shooter video game by Running with Scissors, and it is the sequel to the 1997 game Postal. Both are intentionally highly controversial due to high levels of violence and stereotyping. Unlike its predecessor, Postal 2 is played completely in first-person based on the...
by Robert Coffey, Mistmare
Mistmare
Mistmare is a 2003 action role-playing game from Arxel Tribe set in alternate medieval Europe. It follows the adventures of a member of Inquisition who is trying to stop the spread of deadly magical fog that haunts the land. The game is known for its various bugs and hard difficulty. It was one of...
by Jeff Green, and Dungeon Lords
Dungeon Lords
Dungeon Lords is a real time fantasy Computer role-playing game developed by David W. Bradley of Heuristic Park, published by DreamCatcher Games and Typhoon Games, and released in 2005. It includes quests, personal missions, skills and special abilities for customizing the character hero from a...
by Denice Cook, three games which "...form an unholy trinity of the only games in CGW history to receive zero-star reviews."
Circulation
According to MDS Computer Gaming World had a circulation of slightly above 300,000 as of 2006. In this regard, it was slightly behind industry arch-rival PC GamerPC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
. It should be noted, however, that magazine circulation numbers are highly subjective, despite the seemingly straightforward connection between publication and distribution.
Awards
In 1988, CGW won the Origins AwardOrigins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Professional Adventure Gaming Magazine of 1987.
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
On August 2, 2006, Ziff Davis Media issued a press release detailing their plans to halt circulation of Computer Gaming World. As part of a joint-venture project with Microsoft, Ziff Davis launched a new magazine dubbed Games for Windows: The Official MagazineGames 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...
in Fall of 2006. The new magazine replaced CGW as part of Microsoft's Games for Windows initiative. In their press release, Ziff Davis indicated that much of Computer Gaming Worlds's core content and staff will be transferred to the new magazine. Because of these announcements, Ziff Davis' actions appeared more on the order of a rebranding of CGW, rather than an actual cancellation.
See also Games for Windows
Games for Windows
Games for Windows is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of Windows Vista. The brand represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way...
for developing information about the new Microsoft magazine and marketing campaign.
CGW/GFW ended its 27-year run on April 8, 2008.
At the GFW Radio Penny Arcade Expo
Penny Arcade Expo
The Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
reunion, Jeff Green claimed that the deal with Microsoft allowed CGW/GFW to continue operating, and that if it had not occurred Ziff Davis would have shut down CGW.
External links
- The Computer Gaming World Museum - dedicated to the preservation and presentation of all items related to the early years of the first magazine specifically dedicated to computer games.
- CGW on the 1UP Network