30 years of PC games: How our community has developed!

30 years of PC games: How our community has developed!

With 30 years of gaming history, it’s not just PC games that have some time under their belts, but also the community, from which some veterans have been with us since the first issues. Nowadays we keep hearing from regular readers who proudly mention that they belong to the old masters and who regularly remind you of the good old days when they held the first issues in their hands as children with beaming eyes. Since then, a lot of water has flowed down the drain, everything has somehow changed and the ravages of time have also gnawed at the remaining editorial staff and the readership, who have been loyal to it since day 1.

We and former editors have already taken a look back, but above all the community has of course made a huge contribution to our development, which is why we want to give her, i.e. you, the floor here. In our forum we have for that started a callto reminisce and take a look back at the community’s journey with us.

All beginnings today are retro

The first issue in 1992 was created under the direction of Christian Müller, the faithful soul who still walks the “sacred halls” of our Computec office as managing director. The first edition in retro chic is now rare and we in the publishing house cling to the only copy that we have kept. Much to the displeasure of one community member, by the way, who owns the collected works of our printed outpourings… except for this first edition. Owners of this book can certainly get a good price by signing up the-yellow report in the forum.

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How rare this rarity is is also reflected in the memories of other readers who didn’t have a subscription when they were younger, but instead hunted down the coveted product.



30 years of PC Games: This is how our community has developed!”/>



30 years of PC games: This is how our community developed!

Source: GTAEXTREMFAN



Others were fortunate to have been blessed with parents whose good taste didn’t disappoint – eyes sparkling under the Christmas tree at the sight of the first PC games to call your own! Angry tongues would claim it was the PC that was given to us, but we are sure in the beaming eyes of sauerlandboy79 reflected the starry cover of the January 1996 issue, which he kindly sent us a picture of!



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Source: sauerlandboy79







The first issue that user sauerlandboy79 held in their hands



The first issue that user sauerlandboy79 held in their hands

Source: PC Games



The save icon

Even before the CD made it into the magazine, our readers could look forward to the bonus of diskettes – these are those relics that insensitive children dub “the memory symbol”.

The data carriers of that time were very limited, so it is no wonder that it was a blessing for many when the CD made it into the magazine. Today, some readers like to ask why we still deliver DVDs with the print edition at all, but at this point we are sure that one or the other will still be happy about the round disc.

Gaming and information gathering are now taking place more over the Internet. Whether we’ll trigger lucky leaps in young vegetables with our magazine like we did back then: doubtful, but you never know!



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Source: MidlifeGamer







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Source: Shadow_Man



Speaking of obtaining information on the Internet: 1996 is the year in which we launch our first online presence. The 20th anniversary of this got its own article in 2016, with a small overview of the ups and downs associated with this development. At this point, we’ll just say that the correct version of the browser was required for the page to display. Almost unimaginable today.




In the mid-90s, websites looked a little different than they do today, but our origins are somehow worth seeing.



In the mid-90s, websites looked a little different than they do today, but our origins are somehow worth seeing.

Source: PC Games



At that time, the forum did not exist for a long time, instead direct communication between the community and the editors took place via chat. Some may still remember the Gamesonline lobby, which today can only be reached via the WaybackMachine. Via an installable client, one entered a virtual space where there was a lively exchange at the time.

At predetermined times, the editors met with the readers in the chat room and exchanged ideas, a model that appeared and disappeared again and again in the history of PC games.




The forerunner to the forum was a client that gave access to the games lobby chat room.



The forerunner to the forum was a client that gave access to the games lobby chat room.

Source: PC Games



There is no longer a chat, but it has actually only been for a year. Its use has flattened out over the past two decades. However, the switch to a forum in 2001 did not put a stop to this, people still chatted and celebrated gaming in real time – today only via the comment and contribution function.

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Reference-www.pcgames.de