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- This article is about the magazine EGM, or Electronic Gaming Monthly. For the type of meeting, see Extraordinary General Meeting.
Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is a United States-based video game magazine published by Ziff-Davis as part of the 1UP Network that releases 12 issues a year (and an occasional extra "13th" issue for the Holiday season, also known as the "Smarch" issue, a reference to an episode of The Simpsons). It concentrates on news regarding current video game consoles (including, at the moment, the Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 as well as portable systems such as the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Recently added to the lineup was the new Xbox 360, in addition to reviews and previews for the games released on these consoles.)
Staff
Notable writers for the magazine, past and present, include founder Steve Harris, Ed Semrad, Martin Alessi, Ken Williams (Sushi-X) all who made up the original Review Crew, Terry "Trickman" Minnich, Danyon Carpenter, Mike Weigand a.k.a Major Mike (now Managing Editor at GamePro), Al Manuel, Andrew Baran, Howard Grossman, Mike Vallas, current Editor-in-Chief (since 2001) Dan Hsu, artist Jeremy "Norm" Scott, Jennifer Tsao, Shawn Smith, Crispin Boyer, John Ricciardi, John Davison, Notable personalities include "Quartermann" originally penned by Steve Harris, Seanbaby and the infamous "Sushi-X", a pseudonym which was modeled after Taco-X of the multi-panel review in Famitsu magazine in Japan which inspired the Review Crew to begin with. 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. Long live Sushi-X!Magazine content
The first issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly came out in the summer of 1989. The third issue famously featured Fabio on the cover for the game Wizards & Warriors II.
Computer games are occasionally mentioned, although they are the territory of EGM's sister publication, Computer Gaming World, and cell phone games have recently seen coverage as well.
Extra content
Throughout much of its publication, the magazine has included mini-posters for then current games with newsstand issues, as well as occasional one-page extras such as alternate game box cover art slips and calendars. From October 2004 to January 2005 (and including 2004's "Smarch" issue), the magazine included DVD's with newsstand issues, which gained both positive and negative feedback. Positive feedback was mostly received for having plenty of features and interesting Bonus Material, like a Seanbaby video diary of E3, and exclusive or rare episodes of Red vs Blue, but negative feedback was also received for increasing the price of newsstand issues including the DVDs, as well as not being available with subscriber issues (this last point is also a consistent complaint about the mini-posters).April Fool's
EGM is also notorious for its April Fool's pranks. They are often hit-and-miss; after claiming a 'nude cheat' for Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (The 'cheat' caused quite a commotion, and was even sold over the internet by some people through the bidding website eBay. Ironically, hackers were able to create a "patch" for the game that allowed for "nude" bathing suits to be worn by game characters, but the patch could only be applied to unauthorized copied versions of the game.), many readers sent threatening letters to EGM. They also get bragging rights over other magazines for more successful pranks. Their most popular jokes have included:
- 1992 Sheng Long code for Street Fighter II
- 1998 "All Bonds" cheat in GoldenEye 007
- 2002 Super Smash Bros. Melee 'Unlock Sonic and Tails' code, where players had to defeat 20 opponents in 'Cruel Melee' mode. (This is easily the most notorious and widely-believed hoax. Many people still think it's true)
- 2004 Competing kart racers would be released for the PSP, one based on the books and one based on the movies, featuring characters from The Lord of the Rings
The 2002 prank went widely believed for months, to a point where rival magazine Nintendo Power 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 Sega characters duking it out with Nintendo'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 20 KOs would win a copy of Battle.
In 2005 prank EGM told readers if they preordered Twilight Princess (at that time it was not known as Twilight Princess so they just used a generic title) they would receive a copy of The Wind Waker with updated graphics equal to those of the new game.
The 2006 prank appears to be a story that states that Apple is making a portable gaming device called the iGame, unfortunately, this one wasn't as successful as it's predecessor. *.
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.The list includes, in ascending order:
International expansion
EGM was also published in Brazil as EGM Brasil by Conrad Editora since 2003. Since the last quarter of 2005, EGM Brasil is being published by Futuro Comunicação, a new company founded by André Forastieri, one of Conrad Editora's former owners. The magazine has gathered a strong user base along the years, featuring (or having featured) pseudo-famous gaming journalists such as Pablo Miyazawa, Fabio Santana, Rodrigo Guerra, Orlando Ortiz, Renato Bueno, Eric Araki, Gustavo Petró, Eduardo Trivella, Ronny Marinoto and many others in its staff.EGM was released in Mexico in November of 2002. It's published by Editorial Televisa and is edited by a different staff. Sometimes the content is more focused to the Latin American gaming crowd (i.e. soccer games had more attention than NASCAR or Football games), as well as the humor and other features. Sometimes it features good jokes among the Mexican community and supports the production with a poster insert every month.
Starting in 2006, EGM will strategically launch its magazine in the Philippines as EGM Philippines, catering towards local gamers and the Filipino culture/society.
External links
Official
- EGM on 1UP.com -– Official Website
- EGM Brasil
- EGM Philippines
Others
Computer and video game magazines | United States magazines | 1989 establishments | Monthly magazines
"Electronic Gaming Monthly"