Editor | Tony Mott |
---|---|
Deputy editor | Chris Schilling |
Art director | Warren Brown |
Operations editor | Miriam McDonald |
Categories | Computer and video games |
Frequency | Monthly |
Circulation | Unavailable from 2015 [1] 18,082 (Jan – Dec 2014) [2] 20,485 (Jan – Dec 2013) [3] 25,571 (Jan – Dec 2012) [4] |
Publisher | Future Publishing |
First issue | October 1993 |
Company | Future plc |
Country | United Kingdom |
Based in | Bath, UK |
Language | English |
Website | www |
ISSN | 1350-1593 |
Edge is a multi-format video game magazine published by Future plc. It is a UK-based magazine and publishes 13 issues annually. The magazine was launched by Steve Jarratt. It has also released foreign editions in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
The magazine was launched in October 1993 by Steve Jarratt, a long-time video games journalist who has launched several other magazines for Future.
The artwork for the cover of the magazine's 100th issue was specially provided by Shigeru Miyamoto. The 200th issue was released in March 2009 with 200 different covers, each commemorating a single game; 199 variants were in general circulation, and one was exclusive to subscribers. [5] Only 200 magazines were printed with each cover, sufficient to more than satisfy Edge's circulation of 28,898. [6]
In October 2003, the then-editor of Edge, João Diniz-Sanches, left the magazine along with deputy editor David McCarthy and other staff writers. [7] After the walkout, the editorship of Edge passed back to Tony Mott, who had been editor prior to Diniz-Sanches. The only team member to remain was Margaret Robertson, who in 2006 replaced Mott as editor. [8] In May 2007, Robertson stepped down as editor and was replaced by Tony Mott, taking over as editor for the third time. [9] Alex Wiltshire was the magazine's editor from May 2012 to March 2013, [10] [11] followed by Nathan Brown. Jen Simpkins took over the editor's role from Nathan Brown in April 2020. [12]
Between 1995 and 2002, some of the content from the UK edition of Edge was published in the United States as Next Generation . In 2007, Future's US subsidiary, Future US began re-publishing selected recent Edge features on the Next Generation website; [13] [14] the Edge website and blog were subsequently incorporated into the NextGen site. [15] In July 2008, the whole site was rebranded under the Edge title, as that was the senior of the two brands. [16] [17] In May 2014 it was reported that Future intended to close the websites of Edge, Computer and Video Games and their other videogame publications; [18] in December 2014, it was confirmed that the C&VG website would close and its content would instead be published at GamesRadar, [19] and in January 2015, it was announced that the same would happen to the Edge website. [20] Between 2015 and 2018, Edge articles were occasionally republished on Kotaku UK . [21] [22]
Edge has been redesigned three times since the magazine launched. The first redesign occurred in 1999; the second in 2004; and the third in 2011. The first redesign altered the magazine's dimensions to be wider than the original shape. The latest design changes the magazine's physical dimensions for the second time, and introduces a higher quality of paper stock than was previously used.
Each issue includes a "Making-of" article on a particular game, usually including an interview with one of the original developers. [23] Issue 143 introduced the "Time Extend" series of retrospective articles. Like the "making-of" series, each focuses on a single game and, with the benefit of hindsight, gives an in-depth examination of its most interesting or innovative attributes. [24]
"Codeshop" examines more technical subjects such as 3D modelling programs or physics middleware, while "Studio Profile" and "University Profile" are single-page summaries ("like Top Trumps, but for game dev") of particular developers or publishers, and game-related courses at higher education institutions.
Although an overall list of contributors is printed in each issue's indicia, the magazine typically has not used bylines to credit individual writers to specific reviews and articles, instead only referring to the anonymous Edge as a whole. Since 2014, some contributed features are credited with a byline. The magazine's regular columnists have been consistently credited throughout the magazine's run. The current columnists are James Leach, Clint Hocking and Tadhg Kelly. In addition, several columnists appear toward the beginning of the magazine to talk about the game industry as a whole, rather than focusing on specific game design topics. They are Trigger Happy author Steven Poole, [25] Leigh Alexander, and Brian Howe, whose parody article section "You're Playing It Wrong" began with the new redesign.
Previous columnists have included Paul Rose ("Mr Biffo", the founder of Digitiser ), Toshihiro Nagoshi of Sega's Amusement Vision, author Tim Guest (whose column on MMOs preceded the publication of his book Second Lives), N'Gai Croal, and game developer Jeff Minter. In addition, numerous columns were published anonymously under the pseudonym "RedEye", and several Japanese writers contributed to a regular feature called "Something About Japan".
James Hutchinson's comic strip Crashlander was featured in Edge between issues 143 and 193. [26]
Edge scores games on a ten-point scale, from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 10, with five as ostensibly the average rating. For much of the magazine's run, the magazine's review policy stated that the scores broadly correspond to one of the following "sentiments":
However, with issue 143 the scoring system was changed to a simple list of "10 = ten, 9 = nine..." and so on, a tongue-in-cheek reference to people who read too much into review scores. [27] It was almost three years before Edge gave a game a rating of ten out of ten, and to date the score has been given to twenty-four games:
Rank | Series | Number of 10/10 scores | Developer(s) | Timescale |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Super Mario | 4 | Nintendo EAD/EPD | 1996–2017 |
The Legend of Zelda | 1998–2023 | |||
2 | Bayonetta | 2 | PlatinumGames | 2009–2014 |
Grand Theft Auto | Rockstar North | 2008–2013 | ||
Half-Life (inc. The Orange Box ) | Valve | 2004–2007 | ||
Halo | Bungie | 2001–2007 |
In contrast, only two titles have received a one-out-of-ten rating, Kabuki Warriors [48] and FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction . [49]
In a December 2002 retro gaming special, Edge retrospectively awarded ten-out-of-ten ratings to two titles released before the magazine's launch:
Edge also awarded a 10/10 score in one of the regular retrospective reviews in the magazine's normal run:
In Edge's 10th anniversary issue in 2003, GoldenEye 007 (1997) was included as one of the magazine's top ten shooters, along with a note that it was perhaps "the only other game" that should have received a ten out of ten rating. The game had originally been awarded a nine out of ten, with the magazine later stating that "a ten was considered, but eventually rejected".
Resident Evil 4 , which came second in Edge Presents The 100 Best Videogames, originally obtained a nine, but according to the 100 Best Videogames issue, it came "as near as dammit to the sixth (at the time) Edge ten".
The 20th anniversary issue (E258) published in August 2013 carried a feature called "The Ten Amendments", in which the following seven games' scores were retrospectively adjusted to ten-out-of-ten. A rationale was provided for each.
A number of Edge special editions were published in the UK. These included:
An Edge Special Edition - "the 30th anniversary special edition" - 100 greatest games of Edge's lifetime (2023) [57]
An Australian edition was briefly published in early 2004, for less than six months. The Australian edition consisted mostly of content from the UK edition, along with news on the local games industry.
The Brazilian edition was launched in Brazil in May 2009. It includes articles translated from the UK magazine alongside original local content. [58] The magazine was cancelled in November 2010, with 18 issues. [59]
A translated selection of articles are published with the French magazine Joypad . In 2017, La Financière de Loisirs licensed the title for France, starting with a 200 pages special issue about popular games that changed the gaming industry, as well AAA as indies.
In November 2005, a German translation was launched by the publishing house Computec Media AG. The German edition was thinner than the English original, the covers were slightly changed and the ratings raised. In January 2007 it was changed to a bi-monthly schedule and in July 2007 it was finally shut down.
In October 2004, an Italian localised edition was launched under the name Videogiochi and published by Future Italy. In December 2006, Future Italy was sold to Sprea Editori which renamed it Game Pro in May 2007. Last issue: September 2009.
A localised edition of Edge was launched in Spain on 15 April 2006 by publisher Globus, which shares some staff from the On/Off editorial, [60] a Globus magazine about DVD video and consumer technology, not in any way related to video games. [61] It lacks some articles contained in the UK edition, such as the Virtua Fighter 5 story which was omitted from the corresponding Spanish edition. [62]
At the end of May 2009, a post in the official Edge Spanish forums [63] made by the main administrator, stated that Globus was about to close its video game division, which meant the closure of the Spanish edition of Edge and NGamer.
In October 2017, a new official Edge Spanish edition is released. A new number comes every two months.
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in video games, he is the creator of some of the most acclaimed and best-selling game franchises of all time, including Mario,The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox and Pikmin. More than 1 billion copies of games featuring franchises created by Miyamoto have been sold.
Super Mario World, known in Japanese marketing as Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4, is a platform game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 1992. The player controls Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach and Dinosaur Land from the series' antagonist Bowser and the Koopalings. The gameplay is similar to that of earlier Super Mario games; players control Mario through a series of levels in which the goal is to reach the goalpost at the end.
A killer application is any software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as its host computer hardware, video game console, software platform, or operating system. Consumers would buy the host platform just to access that application, possibly substantially increasing sales of its host platform.
Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in North America in September 1988, and in the PAL region in 1989.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a 1998 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in November 1998 and in PAL regions the following month. Ocarina of Time is the first game in The Legend of Zelda series with 3D graphics.
The Legend of Zelda, originally released in Japan as The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu, is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The first game of The Legend of Zelda series, it is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates throughout the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets along the way.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. An installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was released in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 24, 2003, and in Europe on May 2, 2003.
GoldenEye 007 is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Based on the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, the player controls the secret agent James Bond to prevent a criminal syndicate from using a satellite weapon. They navigate a series of levels to complete objectives, such as recovering or destroying objects, while shooting enemies. In a multiplayer mode, up to four players compete in several deathmatch scenarios via split-screen.
In the history of video games, the sixth generation era is the era of computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming devices available at the turn of the 21st century, starting on November 27, 1998. Platforms in the sixth generation include consoles from four companies: the Sega Dreamcast (DC), Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2), Nintendo GameCube (GC), and Microsoft Xbox. This era began on November 27, 1998, with the Japanese release of the Dreamcast, which was joined by the PlayStation 2 on March 4, 2000, the GameCube on September 14, 2001 and the Xbox on November 15, 2001, respectively. On March 31, 2001, the Dreamcast was among the first to be discontinued. Xbox in 2006, GameCube in 2007 and PlayStation 2 was the last, in January 2013. Meanwhile, the seventh generation of consoles started on November 22, 2005, with the launch of the Xbox 360.
Smash TV is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a twin-stick shooter in the same vein as 1982's Robotron: 2084, which was also co-created by Jarvis. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear versions are titled Super Smash TV.
Famitsu, formerly Famicom Tsūshin, is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage, a subsidiary of Kadokawa. Famitsu is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the form of special topical issues devoted to only one console, video game company, or other theme. Shūkan Famitsū, the original Famitsu publication, is considered the most widely read and respected video game news magazine in Japan. From October 28, 2011, the company began releasing the digital version of the magazine exclusively on BookWalker weekly.
1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, Super Mario Bros. 2, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and Super Mario Bros. 3, along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q.
Computer and Video Games was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website was launched in 1999 and closed in February 2015. CVG was the longest-running video game media brand in the world. Several CVG writers led the creation of Video Games Chronicle in 2019.
Official Xbox Magazine was a British monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001. The magazine was bundled with a disc that included game demos, preview videos and trailers, and other content, such as game or Xbox updates and free gamerpics. The discs also provided the software for the Xbox 360 for backward compatibility of original Xbox games for those without broadband and Xbox Live access. From January 2012, OXM no longer included a demo disc. In mid-2014, the U.S. version was merged into the UK version on the website, which lasted only a few months until Future plc announced that it was closing its website along with all the other websites that Future has published, including Edge and Computer and Video Games. In February 2015, OXM and all of Future's video game websites were redirected into GamesRadar.
GamesTM was a UK-based, multi-format video games magazine, covering console, handheld, PC and Arcade games. The first issue was released in December 2002 and the magazine was still being published monthly in English and German up until the last edition was published on 1 November 2018.
Official Nintendo Magazine, or ONM, was a British video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo.
OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is a racing game developed by Sumo Digital and published in 2006 by Sega. It is the 9th title in the series, and the final one to have a physical release. Outrun 2006 is an updated version of OutRun 2. The game is split into two parts: a conversion of OutRun 2 SP and "Coast 2 Coast", which includes single-player races and challenges, and local network and internet multiplayer.
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK, generally abbreviated as OPM, was a magazine based in the United Kingdom that covered PlayStation news created in 2006. Although the first issue was distributed in three-month intervals, from Issue 2 onward, it became a monthly segment. From Issue 7 to Issue 84, the magazine came with a playable Blu-ray disc; it primarily covered PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation VR and PlayStation 5 games and material. It also covered PlayStation Vita material. The magazine covered PlayStation, as well as all aspects of HD media in lesser detail.
The Japanese video game magazine Famitsu reviews video games by having four critics each assign the game a score from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest score. The scores of are then added together for a maximum possible score of 40. As of 2024, thirty games have received perfect scores from Famitsu.
In late February, Edge is moving to GamesRadar+. We'll be joining CVG, Official PlayStation Magazine, Official Xbox Magazine and GamesMaster to create the most comprehensive gaming website in the world.
Articles from the Edge archive will be available alongside new interviews, opinion and features and the best content from the website will be migrated over to our new GR+ homepage. Our print and digital editions will remain unchanged, as will our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages.
{{cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (help)