The organization has spent dozens of hours and traveled the country to locate and meticulously digitize the entire eight-year run (1982-1990). Computer Entertainer is now available to search, read, and download at the ever-expanding VGHF Digital Archive, which launched earlier this year at archive.gamehistory.org.
Why Computer Entertainer? The magazine (also known as The Video Game Update) was the first women-owned and operated console game industry magazine, owned by sisters Marylou Badeaux and Celeste Dolan. It was also the only console-focused magazine that survived the entirety of the infamous video game industry crash of the 1980’s, making it a rare source of primary information about industry news during the era. For those interested in knowing how Americans reacted to now-classic franchises like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Final Fantasy when they were brand new, Computer Entertainer is one of the only reliable resources available. In the case of Super Mario Bros., it may be the only English-speaking outlet to cover the game at all when it debuted.
“I often call the period between 1985 and 1988 the ‘dark ages’ of the home console game industry in the U.S.,” said Frank Cifaldi, the Founder and Executive Director at VGHF. “Games and even entire systems were still technically being released, but without an enthusiast press to cover them, we don’t have a lot of insight into what people thought. Computer Entertainer gives us an incredibly rare glimpse into the rebirth that would define the industry as we know it today, and we are incredibly proud to offer the magazine in its entirety to everyone as a public utility.”
As part of its mission to preserve video game industry history through its rapidly growing collection of magazines, literature, and behind-the-scenes material, VGHF is releasing Computer Entertainer for free under an open Creative Commons license, allowing anyone to reproduce or use the magazine with attribution to VGHF. All issues are now available to search, view, and download at the VGHF Digital Archives, where researchers and curious explorers can find countless publications and other materials from across multiple decades of industry history. To hear more behind-the-scenes details from Badeaux herself, check out the Video Game History Hour podcast.
The addition of Computer Entertainer further expands the already vast collection at the VGHF. The Digital Archive contains more than 3,000 full-text-searchable out-of-print video game magazines, never-before-seen artwork, video, and promotional materials from past trade shows, and many behind-the-scenes materials, such as more than 100 hours of footage from the production of Cyan’s classic 1993 adventure game Myst. Recently, the VGHF added materials from the collection of Craig Stitt, the original designer of Spyro the Dragon and more. The VGHF also added nearly 400 trade magazines, previously only available to retailers and industry professionals rather than the public. Find the latest additions by reading the VGHF blog.
“Making Computer Entertainer openly accessible is part of our commitment to saving video game history,” said Phil Salvador, Library Director at the Video Game History Foundation. “By preserving and sharing rare materials like this magazine, we're continuing to grow our digital library into a one-of-a-kind research tool that we believe is changing how people study the history of video games.”