Retro Gamer

Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamer soon became a monthly. In 2005, a general decline in gaming and computer magazine readership led to the closure of its publishers, Live Publishing, although the rights to the magazine were later purchased by Imagine Publishing.

History

The first 18 issues of the magazine came with a coverdisk. It usually contained freeware remakes of retro video games and emulators, but also videos and free commercial PC software such as The Games Factory and The Elder Scrolls: Arena. Some issues had themed CDs containing the entire back catalogue of a publisher such as Durell Llamasoft and Gremlin Graphics.

On 27 September 2005, the magazine's original publishing company, Live Publishing, went into bankruptcy. The magazine's official online forums described the magazine as "finished" shortly before issue #19 was due for release. However, rights to Retro Gamer were purchased by Imagine Publishing in October 2005 and the magazine was re-launched on 8 December 2005. The magazine is now £1 cheaper, but lacks a cover disc. The website was relaunched with a new forum, which can be found at www.retrogamer.net/forum.