Mean Machines
Encyclopedia
Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom
. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.
(CVG) was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers like the Commodore 64
, ZX Spectrum
, Amstrad CPC
and newly-emerging 16-bit computers (the Atari ST
and Commodore Amiga). However, the popularity of 8-bit computers was fading, the new generation of computers were expensive, and it quickly became apparent that CVG needed a new angle to help maintain its appeal to gamers. Julian Rignall
built upon an idea first conceived by C+VG contributor Tony Takoushi and launched a consoles-oriented section of the magazine called Mean Machines. The inaugural section was featured in the October 1987 issue of the magazine and largely covered games on 8-bit games systems like the Nintendo Entertainment System
and Sega
's Master System. More importantly, however, it included features on newly-emerging Japanese-only videogame systems such as the NEC
and PC Engine. These new machines piqued the interest of gamers across Britain.
Over the ensuing months, CVG increased its coverage of consoles and even started off an exclusive 'Mean Machines Megaclub'. At the same time, a new import gaming marketplace started to emerge fuelled by hardcore gamers' demand for these new consoles. Small retailers across Britain began importing consoles and games directly from Japan, modified them for the UK market and sold them at a premium.
Rignall and newly-hired designer Gary Harrod spent two weeks figuring out the design and the editorial tone and style, and the results of their endeavours was Mean Machines Issue Zero - a 16-page test version of the magazine that was used to elicit feedback from potential advertisers and readers. Only ten of these magazines were created, although a mini version was reprinted and given away free with Issue 15 of the magazine.
The first issue covered the Sega Mega Drive
, Sega Master System
, Nintendo Entertainment System
, Game Boy
and Amstrad GX4000
consoles. However, within a few months the Amstrad
was taken off the market due to poor sales, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
took its place amongst the main focus line-up, making MM, in review terms at least, a Sega and Nintendo only magazine. Although these consoles were the main focus of the magazine, space was also given to other, niche machines like the NeoGeo
and PC Engine.
Following the lead of parent magazine CVG, Mean Machines covered both domestic and imported releases, meaning that the magazine could review titles that were months away from UK release. At the time, import gaming was much more popular than it is now (increased territory lockouts and swifter UK release dates have made import gaming a relatively niche pastime today), but it was still a brave choice to cater for import gamers by focusing on games that were still months away from being officially released in the United Kingdom.
As the UK video games market grew and matured, Sega
and Nintendo
emerged as the two dominant manufacturers. EMAP split the magazine in two, creating Mean Machines Sega and the officially-endorsed Nintendo Magazine System.
After a record-breaking launch, monthly sales of NMS settled down to a level just below the original Mean Machines at its peak, and the circulation of MMS began to decline, a situation not helped when, at the end of 1993, EMAP Images launched the officially-endorsed Sega Magazine, which cannibalized sales of its own independent Sega publication.
The magazine soldiered on until the 32-bit era, when it eventually was incorporated into Official Sega Saturn Magazine
(along with EMAP's official Sega Magazine). Nintendo Magazine System became Nintendo Official Magazine , and survived into the 21st century until the official Nintendo licence was recently won by Future Publishing
. The last Mean Machines magazine was Mean Machines PlayStation and it was only Mean Machines in name - the original Mean Machines staff had long since moved on. This soon folded as it simply couldn't compete with the massive success of Official PlayStation Magazine.
(Editor), Gary Harrod (Designer), Richard Leadbetter (Staff Writer), Radion Automatic (Staff Writer), Oz Browne (Designer), Matt Regan (Staff Writer), Angus Swan (Staff Writer), Paul Glancey (Contributor), Rob Bright (Staff Writer)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.
Origins
In the late 1980s Computer and Video GamesComputer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
(CVG) was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers like the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
and newly-emerging 16-bit computers (the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Commodore Amiga). However, the popularity of 8-bit computers was fading, the new generation of computers were expensive, and it quickly became apparent that CVG needed a new angle to help maintain its appeal to gamers. Julian Rignall
Julian Rignall
Julian "Muppet" Rignall is a longterm publishing veteran with experience launching and managing numerous video game magazines and websites...
built upon an idea first conceived by C+VG contributor Tony Takoushi and launched a consoles-oriented section of the magazine called Mean Machines. The inaugural section was featured in the October 1987 issue of the magazine and largely covered games on 8-bit games systems like the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and Sega
Sega
, 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...
's Master System. More importantly, however, it included features on newly-emerging Japanese-only videogame systems such as the NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
and PC Engine. These new machines piqued the interest of gamers across Britain.
Over the ensuing months, CVG increased its coverage of consoles and even started off an exclusive 'Mean Machines Megaclub'. At the same time, a new import gaming marketplace started to emerge fuelled by hardcore gamers' demand for these new consoles. Small retailers across Britain began importing consoles and games directly from Japan, modified them for the UK market and sold them at a premium.
Rignall and newly-hired designer Gary Harrod spent two weeks figuring out the design and the editorial tone and style, and the results of their endeavours was Mean Machines Issue Zero - a 16-page test version of the magazine that was used to elicit feedback from potential advertisers and readers. Only ten of these magazines were created, although a mini version was reprinted and given away free with Issue 15 of the magazine.
Sega Mega Drive
The 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...
, Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
, Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and Amstrad GX4000
Amstrad GX4000
The GX4000 was Amstrad's short-lived attempt to enter the games console market. The console was released in Europe in 1990 and was based on the still-popular CPC technology. The GX4000 was actually a modified CPC 6128 Plus computer...
consoles. However, within a few months the Amstrad
Amstrad
Amstrad is a British electronics company, now wholly owned by BSkyB. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky Digital interactive boxes....
was taken off the market due to poor sales, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The 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...
took its place amongst the main focus line-up, making MM, in review terms at least, a Sega and Nintendo only magazine. Although these consoles were the main focus of the magazine, space was also given to other, niche machines like the NeoGeo
Neo 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...
and PC Engine.
Following the lead of parent magazine CVG, Mean Machines covered both domestic and imported releases, meaning that the magazine could review titles that were months away from UK release. At the time, import gaming was much more popular than it is now (increased territory lockouts and swifter UK release dates have made import gaming a relatively niche pastime today), but it was still a brave choice to cater for import gamers by focusing on games that were still months away from being officially released in the United Kingdom.
Mean Machines Sega and Nintendo Magazine System
andAs the UK video games market grew and matured, Sega
Sega
, 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...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is 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....
emerged as the two dominant manufacturers. EMAP split the magazine in two, creating Mean Machines Sega and the officially-endorsed Nintendo Magazine System.
After a record-breaking launch, monthly sales of NMS settled down to a level just below the original Mean Machines at its peak, and the circulation of MMS began to decline, a situation not helped when, at the end of 1993, EMAP Images launched the officially-endorsed Sega Magazine, which cannibalized sales of its own independent Sega publication.
The magazine soldiered on until the 32-bit era, when it eventually was incorporated into Official Sega Saturn Magazine
Sega Saturn Magazine
Sega Saturn Magazine was a monthly UK magazine dedicated to the Sega Saturn. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and as such some issues included a demo CD created by Sega, called Sega Flash, which included playable games and game footage...
(along with EMAP's official Sega Magazine). Nintendo Magazine System became Nintendo Official Magazine , and survived into the 21st century until the official Nintendo licence was recently won by Future Publishing
Future Publishing
Future plc is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography. Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers...
. The last Mean Machines magazine was Mean Machines PlayStation and it was only Mean Machines in name - the original Mean Machines staff had long since moved on. This soon folded as it simply couldn't compete with the massive success of Official PlayStation Magazine.
Key Staff Members
Julian RignallJulian Rignall
Julian "Muppet" Rignall is a longterm publishing veteran with experience launching and managing numerous video game magazines and websites...
(Editor), Gary Harrod (Designer), Richard Leadbetter (Staff Writer), Radion Automatic (Staff Writer), Oz Browne (Designer), Matt Regan (Staff Writer), Angus Swan (Staff Writer), Paul Glancey (Contributor), Rob Bright (Staff Writer)
See also
- Video game journalism
- MagazineMagazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
- Computer and video game industryComputer and video game industryThe video game industry is the economic sector involved with the development, marketing and sales of video games...
- Video game
- ComputerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
- ComputingComputingComputing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...