Rare Early US Video Game Magazine Now Free for Preservation
▼ Summary
– The Video Game History Foundation has added the full run of Computer Entertainer, an early American video game magazine, to its digital library.
– Computer Entertainer is a unique historical record of mid-1980s console gaming, as it survived the 1983–84 industry crash and provided rare reviews and release dates.
– The magazine, originally a newsletter for retailer Video Take-Out, was co-edited by sisters Marylou Badeaux and Celeste Dolan, making it the earliest console game magazine run by women.
– The foundation digitized the magazine using high-quality scans after acquiring complete copies and intellectual property rights, now available for free under a Creative Commons license.
– Despite setbacks like the 2024 DMCA exemption rejection, game preservation efforts continue through initiatives like GOG’s Preservation Program and the Stop Killing Games campaign.
A rare piece of video game history has been preserved and made freely available online for enthusiasts and researchers alike. The Video Game History Foundation recently added the complete archive of Computer Entertainer, one of America’s earliest video game magazines, to its growing digital library. This publication offers an invaluable glimpse into the home console gaming scene of the 1980s, a period when few similar magazines survived.
What makes Computer Entertainer particularly noteworthy is its endurance through the 1983–84 video game crash, a time when most U.S. gaming publications folded. As a result, it stands as one of the few reliable sources for reviews and release dates of iconic titles like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Super Mario Bros. Originally a newsletter for mail-order retailer Video Take-Out, the magazine evolved into a full-fledged publication, running from 1982 until 1990.
Adding to its historical significance, Computer Entertainer was co-edited by sisters Marylou Badeaux and Celeste Dolan, making it the earliest known console gaming magazine led by women. The Video Game History Foundation acquired the complete collection from Badeaux last year, meticulously digitizing each issue. Initial scans were subpar due to the challenges of scanning bound volumes, but after Dolan’s passing, Badeaux donated her sister’s personal copies, allowing the team to disassemble and rescan them at much higher quality.
To fill gaps in the archive, the foundation collaborated with game historian Leonard Herman, securing missing issues. They also obtained the intellectual property rights, ensuring the magazine could be shared freely under a Creative Commons license. Now, the entire run is accessible through the foundation’s digital archive, where users can read, search, and download scans for personal or academic use.
This effort is part of a broader mission to safeguard gaming’s cultural heritage. The Video Game History Foundation, founded in 2017, has been a vocal advocate for preservation, even pushing for DMCA exemptions to allow libraries and archives to share out-of-print games digitally. Though their 2024 request was denied, opposed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), their work continues alongside other initiatives like GOG’s Preservation Program and the European Federation of Game Archives.
Meanwhile, the conversation around game preservation has gained momentum with campaigns like Stop Killing Games, which challenges the shutdown of online game services. A recent EU petition on the issue garnered over 1 million signatures, paving the way for potential legislative action. Despite resistance from publishers, these collective efforts highlight the growing recognition of video games as cultural artifacts worth protecting for future generations.
(Source: EuroGamer)
