British-American video game magazine
PC Gamer
is a
magazine
and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to
PC gaming
and published monthly by
Future plc
. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling
PC games
magazines in their respective countries.
[1]
[2]
The magazine features news on developments in the
video game industry
, previews of new games, and reviews of the latest popular PC games, along with other features relating to hardware,
mods
, "classic" games and various other topics.
PC Gamer
and parent Future began digital
PC Gaming Show
at
E3 2015
.
[3]
Review system
[
edit
]
PC Gamer
reviews are written by the magazine's editors and freelance writers, and rate games on a percent scale. In August 2023,
Baldur's Gate 3
became the first game to receive a rating of 97% in the UK edition.
[4]
Prior to this, no game was awarded more than 96% by the UK edition (
Kerbal Space Program
,
Civilization II
,
Half-Life
,
Half-Life 2
,
Minecraft
,
Spelunky
and
Quake II
). In the US edition, no game has yet received a rating higher than 98% (
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
,
Half-Life 2
, and
Crysis
).
[5]
In the UK edition, the lowest numerical score was 2%, awarded to The
4th Golden Satellite Awards
for Interactive Media
Winner
Big Brother 1
. The sequel,
Big Brother 2
, was given an even lower score of
N/A
%,
[
citation needed
]
the review explaining that "[
PC Gamer
] put as much effort into reviewing it as they did in making the game". In issue 255, August 2013, the score of 2% was matched by the review of the re-released
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
, originally given 3% when it first launched. In the US edition, the lowest score awarded was 4%, given to
Mad Dog McCree
, unseating the previously lowest-rated game,
Skydive!
, given 5%.
[5]
Editions
[
edit
]
There are two main editions of
PC Gamer
, a British version and an American version, both are published by
Future plc
. Founded in the United Kingdom in
November 1993
, the American sister version was launched a few months later in
June 1994
.
[1]
There are also numerous local editions that mainly use the materials of one of the two editions, typically the British one, including a
Malaysian
(discontinued in December 2011) and
Russian
edition (discontinued in December 2008). The
Swedish
edition, though rooted in its UK counterpart, has grown to be more independent, largely due to the immense popularity of PC games compared to
console games
in Sweden, and now produces most of its own material. An Australian edition was published monthly by Perth-based
Conspiracy Publishing
since
August 1998
, but it appears to have been discontinued in mid-late 2004. A
Spanish
edition titled "
PC Juegos y Jugadores
" also existed, but closed in 2007.
[6]
Both American and British magazines are published thirteen times per year (twice in December),
[1]
although there are sometimes variations.
PC Gamer
UK
[
edit
]
PC Gamer (UK)
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/82/PC_Gamer_UK_January_2019_cover.jpg/220px-PC_Gamer_UK_January_2019_cover.jpg) Cover of
PC Gamer
UK #326 (January 2019)
|
Editor
| Phil Savage
|
---|
Former editors
| Former Editors
1993?1994 Matt Bielby
1994?1995
Gary Whitta
1995?1996
Jonathan Davies
1996?1999 Jim Flynn
1999?2000 James Ashton
2000?2003 Matt Pierce
2003?2006 Mark Donald
2006?2009 Ross Atherton
2009?2012 Tim Edwards
2012?2013 Graham Smith
2013?2017 Samuel Roberts
[7]
[8]
[9]
|
---|
Staff writers
| Staff writers
Tim Edwards
Graham Smith
Tony Ellis
Craig Pearson
Tom Francis
Richard Cobbett
Jon Hicks
Jim Rossignol
John Walker
Alec Meer
Matt Avery
Chris Buxton
Andy Butcher
Michael Gapper
Kieron Gillen
Mike Channell
Tim Stone
Adam Oxford
Quintin Smith
Duncan Harris
Drew Northcott
David Lyttleton
Chris Thursten
Tom Senior
Marsh Davies
Andy Kelly
Joe Donnelly
|
---|
Categories
| Games magazine
|
---|
Frequency
| Every four weeks, 13 per year
|
---|
Circulation
| 19,125 print 2,929 digital
22,054 total (Jan ? Dec 2013)
[10]
21,272 print 3,241 digital
24,513 total (Jan ? Dec 2012)
[11]
23,652 print 379 digital
24,031 total (Jan ? Dec 2011)
[12]
25,019 (Jan ? Dec 2010)
[13]
26,487 (Jan ? Dec 2009)
[14]
32,619 (Jan ? Dec 2008)
[15]
38,654
ABC
(July ? Dec 2007)
[16]
|
---|
Publisher
| Richard Keith
|
---|
First issue
| December 1993
; 30 years ago
(
1993-12
)
[1]
|
---|
Company
| Future plc
|
---|
Country
| United Kingdom
|
---|
Based in
| Bath, Somerset
|
---|
Language
| British English
|
---|
Website
| www
.pcgamer
.com
/uk
/
|
---|
Magazine
[
edit
]
The British edition of
PC Gamer
has been in constant monthly publication since 1993. Subscribers get a special edition of the magazine with no headlines on the front cover (only the masthead and
BBFC
rating).
[17]
Almost exclusively devoted to PC games, the magazine has a reputation for giving in-depth reviews.
[18]
The magazine originally shipped with an accompanying 3.5-inch (89 mm) floppy disc. A CD
demo
disc (labelled
CD Gamer
) was released alongside the floppy disk edition from issue 11 onwards with the first CD Gamer containing all the content from the previous 10 issues' floppy discs. The single CD was later expanded to two CDs.
[
citation needed
]
An edition with a 9 GB DVD known as
DVD Gamer
ran alongside the 2CD edition for a couple of years, until production of the CD Gamer edition ceased as of issue 162. The UK Edition then only came with a single double-sided DVD. In August 2011, the UK magazine announced it was to be discontinuing the disk as of issue 232, and replacing it with more pages of content within the magazine and exclusive free gifts.
[19]
Regular features
[
edit
]
The magazine has many regular features which make up each edition of the magazine. These include sections called ´
Eyewitness
´, ´
Previews
´, ´
Send
´, where letters from the readers are spread over 2 two-page spreads, at least one special feature, which reports on gaming related issues such as the effect of PC gaming on the environment, a review section which reviews the latest released PC games and re-reviews titles that have been released on budget and ´
Extra Life
´ which reports on modding games and gaming culture and revisiting old games.
There is also a ´
Systems
´ section, which reviews and recommends hardware such as video cards and monitors. The back page of the magazine is entitled ´
It's All Over
´ and usually consists of game related artwork such as a version of
Dali's
The Persistence of Memory
featuring items from
Portal
.
[20]
For a time, one of the magazine's features, ´
Gamer Snap
´, where amusing pictures sent in by readers were printed in the magazine, however the feature was discontinued and replaced with a
Guess the Game
where readers sent in drawings of memorable scenes in video games drawn in
Microsoft Paint
.
[
citation needed
]
Forum and blog
[
edit
]
The
PC Gamer
blog was started to coincide with the transfer of the
PC Gamer
UK site to become part of the Computer and Video Games network which incorporates all of Future plc's gaming magazines. The move brought some controversy, with many long-standing members of the forum leaving due to the new forum's cramped spacing, advertising and slow loading times. The introduction of a blog was seen as one of the redeeming features of the switch. The blog has since been regularly updated with contributions from many of the magazine's staff. The topics discussed range from the controversy over violent video games, to the benefits of buying a PC over a console.
In 2010, PC Gamer re-launched their website and blog by bringing together the online communities of both the US and UK magazines into one website.
[21]
As a result, the PC Gamer blog now has contributions from both the US and UK magazines, all hosted at the new website along with the forums for both magazines.
Podcast
[
edit
]
The
PC Gamer
UK podcast started on 4 May 2007 and ran 93 episodes until its final episode, which was released on 5 July 2013. It had a rotating cast made up of members of the staff including Chris Thursten, Tom Senior, Graham Smith, Tom Francis, and Marsh Davies. The podcast was formerly hosted by Ross Atherton until his departure in June 2009 and then by Tim Edwards until his departure in 2012. The host position varied between Chris Thursten and Graham Smith from week to week. Previously monthly, the podcast was recorded every
fortnight
. Participants discussed the games they had been playing and news from the industry, and answered questions submitted via
Twitter
.
[
citation needed
]
The podcast began again in March 2016 with a new episode being released weekly.
[22]
PC Gamer
US
[
edit
]
PC Gamer (US)
Editor in Chief
| Evan Lahti
|
---|
Former editors
| 1994?1996 Matt Firme
1996 Dan Bennett
1996?2000
Gary Whitta
2000?2004 Rob Smith
2004?2005 Dan Morris
2005?2007 Greg Vederman
2007?2009 Kristen Salvatore
2009 Gary Steinman
2009?2013 Logan Decker
2014? Evan Lahti
|
---|
Categories
| Games magazine
|
---|
Frequency
| Monthly
|
---|
Publisher
| Ace St. Germain
|
---|
First issue
| May/June 1994
; 30 years ago
(
1994-06
)
|
---|
Company
| Future US
|
---|
Country
| United States
|
---|
Language
| American English
|
---|
Website
| www
.pcgamer
.com
|
---|
Magazine
[
edit
]
The American edition of
PC Gamer
launched in 1994.
In 1999, Future US, then known as Imagine Media, purchased the rival magazine
PC Games
and merged its staff into the magazine.
[23]
Demo disk
[
edit
]
Similarly to the British edition, the magazine shipped with a
demo disk
, though diskless versions were available. The CDs were replaced by DVDs in the American edition on a month-to-month basis.
[
citation needed
]
When PC games with
full motion video
(FMV) sequences were popular in the mid-to-late 1990s,
PC Gamer's
CD-ROM included elaborate FMV sequences featuring one of their editors. To access the features of the CD, including the demos,
patches
and reviews, the user had to navigate a 'basement', which played very much like classic PC games such as
Myst
. It was in this game sequence that the magazine's mascot, Coconut Monkey, was introduced just as the editor was leaving the magazine, marking the transition from the FMV demo CDs to the more contemporary menu driven demo CDs that were subsequently used.
[
citation needed
]
The cover disc of the July 1998 issue of the Slovenian, Swedish, and UK editions of
PC Gamer
were infected with the Marburg virus,
[24]
[25]
which
CNN Money
stated caused the malware to become a "widespread threat".
[26]
In the September 2011 edition of
PC Gamer
, it was announced that they would be dropping the demo disk altogether and concentrating on improving the quality of the magazine instead with a promise of a larger magazine printed on a heavier paper stock. The usual demo disk content would be made available online.
[27]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"PC Gamer"
. Future plc.
Archived
from the original on 25 September 2011
. Retrieved
27 September
2007
.
- ^
"PC Gamer Press Kit"
(PDF)
. Future plc. 12 February 2007. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 11 October 2007
. Retrieved
27 September
2007
.
- ^
Farokhmanesh, Megan (1 May 2015).
"PC gaming is getting its own press conference at E3 2015"
.
Polygon
. Retrieved
29 June
2023
.
- ^
Savage, Phil (16 August 2023).
"Baldur's Gate 3 is PC Gamer's highest scoring game in 16 years. Here's why"
.
PC Gamer
. Retrieved
17 August
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"PC game reviews - PC Gamer"
.
Pcgamer
.
- ^
ManicMiner (17 December 2007).
"PC Juegos y Jugadores: otra revista de videojuegos que cierra"
.
Vidaextra
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
14 January
2022
.
- ^
"PC GAMER UK Podcast #68 - Weirdly Positive"
. Future plc.
Archived
from the original on 20 May 2013
. Retrieved
29 May
2012
.
- ^
Donald, Mark (December 2003). "A Word from the Ed".
PC Gamer UK
. p. 7.
- ^
Donald, Mark; Atherton, Ross (October 2006). "All Change".
PC Gamer UK
. p. 5.
- ^
"Standard Certificate of Circulation - PC Gamer"
(PDF)
.
ABC
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 23 December 2014
. Retrieved
20 September
2014
.
- ^
"Standard Certificate of Circulation - PC Gamer"
(PDF)
.
ABC
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 23 December 2014
. Retrieved
20 September
2014
.
- ^
"Standard Certificate of Circulation - PC Gamer"
(PDF)
.
ABC
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 23 December 2014
. Retrieved
20 September
2014
.
- ^
"Standard Certificate of Circulation - PC Gamer"
(PDF)
.
ABC
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 23 December 2014
. Retrieved
20 September
2014
.
- ^
"Standard Certificate of Circulation - PC Gamer"
(PDF)
.
ABC
. 11 February 2010. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 29 September 2011
. Retrieved
16 February
2010
.
- ^
"Standard Certificate of Circulation - PC Gamer"
(PDF)
.
ABC
. 12 February 2009. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 29 September 2011
. Retrieved
18 March
2009
.
- ^
Audience Figures: Games | Future Advertising
Archived
13 November 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
, PCG 188, page 5
- ^
Gamer, P. C. (14 December 2018).
"PC Gamer UK January issue: Atlas"
.
PC Gamer
. Retrieved
19 December
2018
.
- ^
Armstrong, Rebecca (11 July 2005).
"Fingers on the buttons"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 11 November 2012
. Retrieved
18 October
2007
.
- ^
"PC Gamer Video Blog - The Making of Issue 232"
. PCGamer.com. 23 August 2011.
Archived
from the original on 24 September 2011
. Retrieved
29 August
2011
.
- ^
PC gamer UK February edition Issue 184
. Future plc. 2008. pp. 5?130.
- ^
"Future launches PCGamer.com ? new online home for global PC gaming authority ≪ Future PLC"
. Futureplc.com. 14 June 2010.
Archived
from the original on 25 December 2010
. Retrieved
19 December
2010
.
- ^
"Episode 1: Tom Clancy's the Podcast | PC Gamer UK Podcast"
. 11 March 2016.
Archived
from the original on 14 October 2016
. Retrieved
28 September
2016
.
- ^
Fost, Dan (20 May 1999).
"Gaming Magazines Dig in for Showdown in S.F."
San Francisco Chronicle
.
Archived
from the original on 7 January 2008
. Retrieved
18 October
2007
.
Three months ago, Imagine bought IDG's PC Games and folded it into PC Gamer
- ^
"Anti-CIH-pating the Future"
.
Virus Bulletin
. Virus Bulletin Ltd. August 1998. p. 2.
- ^
"Marburg Follow-up"
.
Virus Bulletin
. Virus Bulletin Ltd. August 1998. p. 3.
- ^
"Buggy WarGames"
. New York, United States:
CNN Money
. 13 August 1998.
Archived
from the original on 6 December 2002.
- ^
PC Gamer (US), September 2011
External links
[
edit
]
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Magazines
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Websites
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Acquisitions
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