GameFan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007) |
| GameFan | |
|---|---|
GameFan Volume 7, Issue 12 - December 1999 |
|
| Editor | Dave Halverson David Hodgson Eric Mylonas |
| Categories | Computing, Gaming, Computer magazine |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | October 1992 |
| Final issue — Number |
December 2000 Volume 8, Issue 12 |
| Company | DieHard Gamers Club (1992-1996) Metropolis Media (1996-1998) Shinno Media (1999-2000) |
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Language | English |
| Website | Defunct |
| ISSN | 1092-7212 |
GameFan Magazine (originally known as Diehard GameFan Magazine) was a publication started by Dave Halverson in September of 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its extensive use of game screenshots in page design because of the lack of good screen shots in other US publications at the time. It ceased publishing in December 2000.
Contents |
[edit] History
GameFan's legacy extends far beyond that of its intended "hardcore" gaming legacy. The idea for the name Gamefan came from the Japanese Sega magazine called Megafan. Although it began as an advertising supplement to sell imported video games mostly from Japan, the small text reviews and descriptions soon took on a life all their own, primarily due to the lack of refinement and sense of passion. Steve Harris (creator of EGM) came over to see Halverson after the first issue of Gamefan (the small issue with wonderdog on the cover) and tried to persuade Halverson from starting the magazine because of being scared of what Dave could bring to the table. Caricatures were given in place of actual editor profile, with profiles drawn exclusively by Terry Wolfinger. This particular method of reviewing and commenting was unique to GameFan Magazine (with Gamepro being the only other magazine to do so before Gamefan, though for a completely different reason), and seemingly freed its editors from the creative restraints commonly associated with competing publications.
While GameFan Magazine was well-known for its extensive import game coverage, it’s most likely just as well regarded for its expansive (and unique) coverage of the emerging interest in Japanese Anime. Long before anime-themed publications came into their own, GameFan was the ideal and most popular journal of what was new and popular in this genre. Another major feature that separated Gamefan from other gaming magazines was the high quality paper it was printed on. Comparing to other gaming magazines in the same era, Gamefan’s game screen shots were the most colorful and resemble the in game graphics most faithfully.
Perhaps in no other arena was the effect of GameFan Magazine’s effects on the gaming industry as in their championing of the coming age of RPG (Role Playing Games). Mostly ignored by American audiences, this genre in particular was a favorite of many a GameFan staffer. The unique style of passionate response, combined with the more traditional video game audience helped create and foster acceptance for the style of gameplay that was so radically different. This support came to its climax with the release of Final Fantasy VII, of which GameFan was chosen as the on-box quote proclaiming the title “Quite Possibly The Best Game Ever Made”. However, they did not give the same praise for the succeeding title, Final Fantasy VIII, by giving it underwhelming review scores, claiming that the game was not a true Final Fantasy title. The next title, Final Fantasy IX, received GameFan's praise for returning to the fantasy elements that were part of the series pre-FFVII. They also gave high praise to Seiken Densetsu 3, encouraging readers to buy the import version.
The death of GameFan Magazine is usually attributed to several factors, most based on rumors, hearsay and misinformation. The primary cause was due to the effects of a series of lawsuits which had haunted the magazine for nearly its entire run (mainly stemming from a cadre of investors that felt they were fleeced during the earliest years of the publication's run), following it through numerous corporate iterations and change of hands. It is this lawsuit that, in fact, had prevented the sale of the print magazine and its continuation as a going concern (as it turns out, the deal was virtually all but final and was derailed at, literally, the 11th hour due to the aforementioned suit.)
Even after its demise, several staff members attempted to have the brand resurrected by the publisher of Computer Strategy Plus, based in Burlington, Vermont. Unfortunately, a deal could not be reached and the magazine was shuttered shortly thereafter (around the end of the 1st quarter of 2001.)
[edit] Controversy
Probably one of the most well-known (and most likely only) controversies in GameFan's history was an issue in where a piece of written work, which contained several derogatory comments about Japanese people was leaked in an issue of GameFan (naming them "Japs", a racial insult/term that was used to insult Japanese descendants and Japanese-Americans during the years of World War II), taking the place of one of the paragraphs of one of the sports games reviews. GameFan editor Dave Halverson published a letter in the next issue of the magazine explaining the origin and intentions of the offensive article. Halverson claimed that the article was an attempt to sabotage the magazine aimed at alienating its Japanese audience and fanbase. Halverson's claims were supported by the article itself: the article discussed a Namco flight-simulator rather than College Football '96 (which was the topic of the article) and was extremely poorly written. Halverson published the following apology:
GameFan, more so than any other American title covering the gaming industry, has been the greatest proponent of the Japanese market and culture. This is a known fact in the industry and among gamers.
We are also the fastest growing gaming magazine on the market, despite the fact that our cover price is 20% higher than that of our competitors. We are thought of by readers of all gaming titles as the magazine with the highest production quality and editorial integrity. For these reasons, we are the constant target of our competitors.
Our September issue was the aim of sabotage. The intention was to include language in our issue offensive to the Japanese to damage relationships and set our friends against us.
During the production process, text containing various profanities and language offensive to the Japanese culture was woven throughout the text of the issue. We were able to remove the majority of the language. Despite our efforts, one paragraph contained within an editorial made it through the production process. By the time we discovered this, some of the copies were already distributed to retail outlets.
Unfortunately, because our production process largely involves digitized information on disk and it travels through the hands of several outside sources, it is subject to this type of manipulation. We were caught with our guard down, never having expected such an outrageous act. We have put safeguards in place to insure that this will never occur again.
The action was undoubtedly directed to harm GameFan.
We ask that you accept our deepest apologies for any offense that it may have caused. Please consider that the persons responsible for this action intended not only an offense against the Japanese, but against GameFan. This type of motive and behavior should not be condoned.
Carefully consider the circumstances and our integrity and help us maintain it by not reacting against GameFan, but together with GameFan.
Sincerely,
Dave Halverson
Editor In Chief, GameFan Magazine
[edit] Staff
Staff members of GameFan magazine had amusing aliases. The following are some known members of GameFan:
- E. Storm (Dave Halverson)
- Skid (Dave Halverson)
- Takahara (Dave Halverson)
- The Enquirer (Andrew Cockburn[1])
- Nick Rox (Nicholas Dean Des Barres, son of Michael Des Barres)
- Takuhi (Casey Loe)
- Knightmare (Dan Jevons)
- Glitch (Mike Griffin)
- Substance D (Michael Hobbs)
- Special K (Kei Kuboki)
- K. Lee (Kelly Rickards)
- (Frank Martinez)
- Chief Hambleton (David Hodgson)
- Eggo (George Ngo)
- Dangohead (Anthony Chau)
- Kodomo (Matt Van Stone)
- ECM (Eric Mylonas)
- Fury (Jason Weitzner)
- Shidoshi (Eric Patterson)
- Cerberus (Tyrone Rodriguez)
- El Nino (Geoff Higgins)
- Waka (Mike Wakamatsu)
- L.A. Akira (Gerald Abraham)
- Sergeant H. Core (Jeremy Corby)
- Hi-Fi (Kevin Deselms)
- The Wanderer (Rick Mears)
- Slasher Quan, (Matt Taylor, who had worked for GamePro prior to working for Gamefan)
- The Postmeister (mostly Dave Halverson)
[edit] Related Publications
GameFan's original Editor in Chief, Dave Halverson, went on to publish Gamer's Republic, and then Play magazine, comprised mostly of ex-GameFan staff members. (An American video-gaming magazine, not to be confused with the English publication of the same name.) Not long after it began, Gamer's Republic soon followed GameFan's demise and has ceased publication.
After GameFan ceased publication, Eric Mylonas went on to edit GameGO! magazine. Only one issue of the magazine ever reached publication while a second was completed and distributed in digital format, only. More recently, Mylonas has had success writing strategy guides for Prima Games.
Most recently, DieHard GameFan has been resurrected by Alex Lucard as a website[2] with Dave Halverson's blessings. While covering the major releases, the site also prides itself on reviewing more "indie" games, as was the spirit of the original magazine.
![[1]](http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4038/usgalileech5.jpg){kind=link}