It’s been a little over a year since we scanned our last complete magazine set, but we have our second full run of a game magazine preserved for all to read and enjoy! Gekkan PC Engine (月刊PCエンジン), a PC Engine focused magazine, was kindly loaned to us by David Shadoff for scanning and preservation. This magazine is quite rare and we could not have done this without his help. These are the great things that can happen when collectors and preservationists work together! If you’re interested in helping us fund acquisitions of stuff to scan please consider becoming joining our Patreon or purchasing some of the games we have scanned at our store.
The magazine was published by Shogakukan and ran for a total of 66 issues from June 1988 until March 1994. The first three issues were actually published as special adjunct of CoroCoro Comic before becoming its own full fledged magazine that was published monthly. The mascot gorilla appears on every cover of every issue. While some of the later issues contain some adult game coverage, the magazine is mostly aimed at a younger crowd.
Content wise, it is similar to other Japanese game magazines of the time – including appendices/strategy guides and bonuses such as calendars or poster foldouts. Game reviews were in most issues and are scored on a scale of 0-100. Game reviews, new game coverage, fanart submissions, and Japanese idol coverage/interviews are all included as well. After the final issues in March 1994, the magazine was rebranded as Game On!, which covered multiple consoles instead of just focusing on the PC Engine, likely due to the fact that the PC Engine market share had shrunk substantially. (Another Japanese PC Engine magazine – Marukatsu Famicom – also ended its run that same month.)
Please spread the word on Gekkan PC Engine and share what you find in the comments below, on Twitter, forums, our Discord, or anywhere else! We want the world to be able to enjoy and research these beautiful magazines. If you enjoyed these please let us know!
To view the magazines click here (Gaming Alexandria listing) or here and here (Internet Archive listing). To download them all with a torrent client you can use the magnet link here.
This is a massive feat! A great sequel to your last full magazine scan! Well done everyone on the project, this is a huge win for preservation and gaming history!