That magazine was Electronic Games, a title many of our older (American) readers will no doubt be familiar with. Starting all the way back in 1981, the magazine was the world's first publication dedicated solely to video games, and in its initial run (it would later make a brief comeback in the 1990's) lasted until 1985.

The interview is a fascinating insight into not just the history of one video game magazine, but all video game magazines. You can check it out at Gamasutra below.

Electronic Games: The Arnie Katz Interview [Gamasutra]

Each 148-page issue is funded solely through subscriptions (and, presumably, Blizzard), so there'll be no ads. Just articles and pictures. Below, you can see what those articles and pictures will look like, each $10 issue (available only through an annual subscription) claiming to be "more like a softcover book than a magazine".

Which sounds ridiculous, but to WoW fans- who will buy this in their thousands - it rings as true as it can ring.

World of Warcraft Official Magazine [thanks Neil!]

There's little real news in the piece - after all, the demise of both DNF and 3D Realms has been well-documented - but not everything has to be about news.

Instead, the article does a great job of providing some context to the game's troubles, and the stories of the men who contributed most to its downfall. That and it has another amazing gaming illustration by Olly Moss.

Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem [Wired]

First up, the game is set on a space station called "Sprawl", built upon the husk of one of Saturn's moons. It's big; a lot bigger than the Ishimura, and has whole themed wings, like residential quarters, public spaces, etc.

In terms of gameplay changes, you can now not only walk and jump around in zero-G, but fly/float as well, and you're able to shoot your weapons throughout.

Oh, and there'll be multiplayer. No real details on that, but really, you had to expect it.

That's the general gist of things. You want more the really fine details, you could always grab a copy of the mag.

January Game Informer [Game Informer, via VG247]

That's what Amusement - the greatest gaming mag to never be published in English - did for their latest issue, blasting this red DS so hard through the wood that it splits clean in two. Beautiful (click to embiggen).

If your coffee table is in need of some flair next to those coffee-soaked back issues of Game Informer, you can buy back issues of Amusement here.

[via GameSetWatch]

This amazing, dare we say sensual cover was drawn by Vanillaware's George Kamitani, and yes, it's a tip of the...hat to Hokusai's sexy/creepy classic "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife". Only this time with swords.

Wonder if it ships in a plastic bag...

[play magazine]

"Plans put in motion today for EGM to return on December 1...", he posted on his Twitter account earlier today. Now, these are plans. Not a concrete, definitive announcement.

Also, we still don't know what guise the mag will be back in! Surely there'll still be a tangible, proper magazine forming the cornerstone of EGM's output, but Harris' previous comments on "fully transportable" content have us more interested in that than some bound pieces of paper.

[Steve Harris @ Twitter]

These are from a piece called "Made in Myth", and show how cats like Miyamoto and Yuji Naka have been pulling the wool over your eyes for years. Classic video games aren't digitally composed in a studio; they're lovingly handcrafted in a workshop by sweaty, nerd pixies.

Made of Myth [Amusement]

Mario
Arkanoid
Pong
Tetris

One of Future's three PlayStation-focused publications (along with the Official PlayStation Magazine and PSM3), PSW's first issue went on sale in the UK all the way back in 2000, and with the closure already in effect the last issue is probably the one already on newsstands.

Sad, but then, did a single publisher really need three PlayStation magazines?

Future closes PSW magazine [MCV]

Sadly, the French magazine is available only in French (the cheek of them!). And we don't do French. But preview pages of this month's issue, the mag's fifth, make us wish we did. Mostly because we're suckers for shoeless pics of the perennially shoeless Keita Takehashi.

While we all wait for an English-language edition of the publication to launch, you can browse a few preview pages on the mag's site at the link below.

[Amusement 5, via Offworld]

It's an awesome pic, but also a curse, as the rest of my week will be haunted by visions of actually owning games like this. Especially Cooking Wind Waker Zelda. She's such an adorable clutz.

To see each of the Cooking Ladies individually (including a Cooking Jade not pictured here), check out Ruth Steen's (the artist) Flickr page here.

Cooking Heroines [GSW]

Owner Steve Harris says:

First and foremost, we're planning to incorporate digital content within the magazine. This includes professionally-produced video, audio and other types of content. We're also going to make this content fully transportable. ... There's now a heightened consumer interest in the transportability of information and using applications to do things like read content on an iPhone. We benefit not only from the technology but from the consumer's willingness to use it. The new Electronic Gaming Monthly will let you take your magazine and its content from print to computer to wireless devices — even to your television — as well as enable subscribers and single-copy purchasers to enhance that experience every step of the way. We are embracing that reality [and] will enable it and encourage it.

So you pay for the "mag", and in return receive content that can be read (or watched, or listened to) across multiple formats. Interesting. Very interesting.

Big Hints at EGM's Future [Bitmob]

In addition to the turntable, there will be a second, clip-on component, which includes a cross-fader, effects dial, "Euphoria" button (ie star power) and the requisite d-pad and control pad buttons, which are hid tastefully beneath a flip-up cover. Unlike the silver turntable, this pad will come in a muted, metallic gold scheme.

Also revealed in the mag is how the game actually works. It's mostly like Guitar Hero, with notes cascading down the screen towards you, however this time around there are only three notes, with complexity coming from the fact that in addition to hitting those three, you need to have the cross-fader in the right position. Replacing sustained guitar notes will be scratching sections, with small arrows in the coloured line telling you which way to turn.

Finally, the article mentions a few confirmed tracks for the game. I'll warn you, if you're approaching this game with any semblance of pessimism or doubt, do not read any further.

"Feel Good Inc." (Gorillaz) vs "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Marvin Gaye)
"Jayou" (Jurassic 5) vs "Rockit" (Herbie Hancock)
"Bustin' Loose" (Chuck Brown) vs "Time of the Season" (The Zombies, DJ Shadow Mix)
"All Apologies" (Nirvana) vs "Give It to Me Baby" (Rick James, DJ Shadow Mix)
"Let's Dance" (David Bowie) vs "Jack of Spades" (KRS One, DJ Shadow Mix)
"Shout" (Tears for Fears) vs "Pjanoo" (Eric Prydz)

Nirvana vs Rick James? Oh dear.

[thanks to everyone who sent scans in!]

The Japanese version of the game shipped without it (you could only play against other humans on the same console). Which may cut it in Japan, but in the West, a fighter without online multiplayer just isn't going to cut it.

Which is why Capcom are looking into it. Producer Ryota Niitsuma has told Nintendo Power "We listened to feedback from our fans and marketing/sales teams in other territories in order to implement new features into the game this time around".

While he didn't specifically mention what some of those other features may be, he does strongly suggest the inclusion of online multiplayer, saying "we are still working this out, but stay tuned for more information coming soon".

Promising!

[Nintendo Power]

First released on the Sega CD all the way back in 1992, the game's already been ported and upgraded several times, for systems as diverse as the Saturn and PC. This latest version, Lunar: Harmony of Silver Star, will feature not only updated visuals, but an all-new user interface, along with new art and new music.

At the moment it's obviously only been confirmed for a Japanese release, but since most other Lunar games have been released in the West sooner or later, fans of the series can have some hope of seeing the title.

Previews of the game have begun appearing in European magazines, and while they consist of little more than a bunch of screenshots, they do manage to reveal that the game is set 30 years after the events in Aliens (the movie), on a planet where Colonial Marines are trying to root out a serious xenomorph infestation. And then, yes, as the name suggests, Predators turn up for a spot of hunting.

As with Rebellion's previous AvP effort, there will be three singleplayer campaigns (one for each race), and it will feature a multiplayer component as well (though details on this are scarce at the moment). The game is due for release in 2010. We can only confirm from the scans that the game is coming for the PS3, though since they come from a PlayStation-only magazine, that's not terribly helpful.

This scan, and info, come from Spanish mag PlayMania, so if you're kicking back on the Iberian peninsula, pick up a copy of the mag and see them in all their glory.

[Thanks Toni!]

According to data released by BurrellesLuce, the mag has a monthly readership of 3,517,598. Which makes it the 12th most read magazine in the United States, ahead of more notable publications such as Time, TV Guide, Sports Illustrated, Cosmo, Newsweek, Playboy and Maxim.

If only other mags could be distributed so prominently across the US in the nation's largest games retailer!

[via Joystiq]

The venture, according to a report from GameDaily, will see games published for the iPhone as well as through Microsoft's XNA initiative. Telling GameDaily that GamePro Labs will be "fueled by grassroots independent game developers," it sounds like the mag-turned-game label has designs on moving beyond indie development.

GamePro plans to reveal some of its games at the upcoming Game Developers Conference.

With GamePro one of the few remaining print publications still thriving as magazines and web sites go under, it's not surprising that it's looking to expand. The "Regular promotion in GamePro Magazine" perk for signing up with GamePro Labs is probably going to rub some people the wrong way, however, no matter how much disclosure the magazine's editors provide.

GamePro Reels in Ziff Sales Staff, Launching Games Publishing Label [GameDaily]

This isn't a "These Are The Best Games Of All-Time" list, nor a rattling off of the 100 most influential. It's Edge's attempt to pin down what it considers "a snapshot of the titles that define modern videogaming as it stands in March‭ ‬2009." That means some of your favorite 8-bit titles might be missing in action.

But it also makes for a very agreeable list of modern day classics and 16-bit titles that stand the test of time.

We'll spoil it for you: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time sits at #1. In fact, Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda and Mario series make multiple appearances, as do oft-overlooked games like Jet Set Radio Future, Frequency, Viewtiful Joe and R-Type Final. (Never did finish that last one on the list, sadly.)

Sure, you may find some oversights (Diablo II? Still eminently playable, Edge dudes.) and some curiosities (Ninja Gaiden.... II?) but you may also find some holes in your gaming experience collection that need filling in.

The 100 Best Games To Play Today [Edge]

You may hate them for their snooty tone and tough review standards, that's cool. Just as many people enjoy and respect those things, which is probably why around 30,000 people around the world still read the mag every month.

Well, that and the magazine's art style, which has long helped it stand out from the pack on a news stand, and which is being put to the ultimate test (along with your tolerance for nutty marketing gimmicks) when the magazine celebrates its 200th issue with...200 covers.

Yes, there'll be 200 covers to choose from when the 200th issue goes on sale next week. Well, 199. The 200th has been designed by LittleBigPlanet developers Media Molecule, and will be the cover shipped to subscribers. You can see a selection of the covers above, or click below for a shot of all 200.