PC Games (magazine)

Last updated

PC Games
PC Games logo.png
PC Games logo
Publisher Computec Media AG
FounderOliver Menne and Thomas Borovskis
First issue1 October 1992 (1992-10-01)
CountryGermany
Website http://www.pcgames.de

PC Games is a monthly released PC game magazine, published by the Computec Media AG in Germany.

A PC game, also known as a computer game or personal computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-determined gaming hardware and software; and generally greater capacity in input, processing, video and audio output. The uncoordinated nature of the PC game market, and now its lack of physical media, make precisely assessing its size difficult.

Contents

History

PC Games was founded in 1992 and included a 3½-in floppy disk, which was changed to a CD-ROM in 1995. By 1999 it became the leading computer gaming magazine in Germany at this time. [1] [2]

From October 1992 to March 1998 the founders Oliver Menne and Thomas Borovskis were editors in chief. They were replaced by Thomas Borovskis from April 1998 to February 2000. From March 2000 to June 2001 the magazine was led by Florian Stangl and Petra Fröhlich. From March 2004 on Petra Fröhlich was the sole editor-in-chief. Petra Fröhlich left this post in December 2014 and was replaced by Wolfgang Fischer. [3]

Content

The magazine has about 150 pages, and also usually includes a DVD (earlier a CD) with drivers, demos, mods and maps. The DVD also often includes a full retail version of a chosen game. [4]

The magazine contains the following content: [4]

A review is an evaluation of a publication, service, or company such as a movie, video game, musical composition, book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, play, musical theater show, dance show, or art exhibition. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indicate its relative merit. More loosely, an author may review current events, trends, or items in the news. A compilation of reviews may itself be called a review. The New York Review of Books, for instance, is a collection of essays on literature, culture, and current affairs. National Review, founded by William F. Buckley, Jr., is an influential conservative magazine, and Monthly Review is a long-running socialist periodical.

Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines freeware unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the freeware it offers. For instance, modification, redistribution by third parties, and reverse engineering without the author's permission are permitted by some publishers but prohibited by others. Unlike with free and open-source software, which are also often distributed free of charge, the source code for freeware is typically not made available. Freeware may be intended to benefit its producer by, for example, encouraging sales of a more capable version, as in the freemium and shareware business models.

Open-source video game video game whose source code is open-source software. Articles in different languages may emphasize games which are only that, or those with fully free content.

An open-source video game, or simply an open-source game, is a video game whose source code is open-source. They are often freely distributable and sometimes cross-platform compatible.

Versions

PC Games was released in several different versions: [4]

The PC Games staff publish a magazine called PC Games Hardware, which solely concentrates on the testing of gaming related Hardware devices. [5] [2]

Sales and popularity

The magazine is one of the best selling computer gaming magazines in Germany, after Computerbild Spiele and Gamestar. In the fourth quarter of 1999, PC Games sold 363,608 issues per month, making it the best sold PC gaming magazine in Germany at this time. However, from 2002 on the print market started to decline and PC Games's sale figures decreased. By the fourth quarter of 2011 only 102,032 copies per month were sold. [6] [5] [1]

PC Games also hosts a gaming portal in the internet on PCGames.de, where they provide coverage and publish news, reviews and tests for computer games and computer gaming related topics. As of February 2016, PCGames.de has about 1.41 million unique visitors per month, making it one of the largest PC gaming web portals in the German language internet. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 Petra Fröhlich. "Die unheimliche Macht des Durchschnitts". spiegel.de (in German). Spiegel Online. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 Petra Fröhlich. "Auflagenschwund Spielemagazine - Petra Fröhlich im Interview". golem.de (in German). Golem.de  [ de ]. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "PC Games Team". PCGames.de. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "PC Games archive". PCGames.de. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Computec Media GmbH portfolio". computec.de. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ↑ IVW quarterly statistics - IVW.eu
  7. ↑ "AGOF digital facts: website statistics February 2016" (PDF). agof.de. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Online Forschung  [ de ]. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
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