The Video Game History Foundation just opened its digital library, which houses numerous classic video game magazines likeGame Informerwithin its online archives. Game Informer was first published in 1991 by gaming retailer FuncoLand before being bought out by GameStop in 2000. Over the next couple of decades,Game Informer would becomeone of the most highly regarded gaming publications around, providing readers with exciting previews of upcoming titles and in-depth interviews with the people responsible for developing them.
Sadly, Game Informer announced that it would be shutting down last August, with all of its online content removed from its website. This meant that fans could no longer access 33 years' worth of interviews and reviews, including coverage forthe then-upcomingDragon Age: The Veilguard. There have been efforts to restore and preserve the lost Game Informer content, with former video producer Ben Hanson asking readers to share their scans of past issues for an online database.
Meanwhile, theVideo Game History Foundation(a non-profit set up in 2017 to help catalog and preserve the history of gaming) recently opened its digital library, as reported byVGC. This free resource consists of more than 30,000 pieces from over 1500 out-of-print magazines, includingevery issue of Game Informerever published. Other classic magazines included in the Video Game History Foundation’s database are the Official US PlayStation Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and PC Gamer.
Magazine articles aren’t the only content available in the Video Game History Foundation’s digital library. Event guides and ephemera from numerous gaming events like thefirst 12 years of E3are also available to view, along with an international collection of FromSoftware promotional materials (complete with theElden Ringstudio giving its full blessing to include them), over 100 hours of footage from the making of theMystfranchise, and the so-called “Mark Flitman papers,” which includes documents from the game producer’s time working at companies like Konami, Atari and more.
While gaming-centric websites and forums have largely replaced printed publications as the primary outlet for news and other content, plenty of fans are still nostalgic forprinted media like Game Informer- and the articles it produced over three decades are still a valuable part of video game history. Thanks to the efforts of the Video Game History Foundation, these fans can now read through every issue ofGame Informeralong with numerous other gaming magazines and promotional material free of charge.
