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Electronic Games

Issue #1 (Winter 1981)
Frequency	Monthly
Publisher	1st run: Reese Publishing Company, Inc. Katz Kunkel Worley Inc.
Founder	Bill Kunkel, Arnie Katz, Joyce Worley
First issue	1st run: October 29, 1981 (October 29, 1981) 2nd run: October 1992 (1992)
Final issue	1st run: August 1985 (1985) 2nd run: January 1997 (1997)
Country	United States
Language	English
ISSN	0730-6687

Electronic Games was the first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States and ran from October 15, 1981, to 1997 under different titles. It was co-founded by Bill Kunkel, Joyce Worley, and Arnie Katz.

History

The history of Electronic Games originates in the consumer electronics magazine, Video. Initially video games were covered sporadically in Deeny Kaplan's regular "VideoTest Reports" column. In the summer of 1979, Video decided to launch a new column to focus on video games. Arcade Alley became a regular column and would represent a journalistic first. Written by Bill Kunkel, Arnie Katz (initially pseudonymously writing as Frank T. Laney II), and Joyce Worley, the three writers became close friends and in 1981 they founded Electronic Games magazine. The magazine was active from Winter 1981, during the golden age of arcade video games and the second generation of consoles, up until 1985, following the video game crash of 1983. The magazine was briefly revived during the 16-bit era in the early 1990s, but ended in 1995 and was renamed to Fusion.

Initially, the release of the first issue was scheduled for October 15, 1981. However, the release was postponed to October 29, 1981 and featured a slightly different cover than initially advertised.

1st Run

2nd Run

Arcade Awards

Electronic Games is notable for hosting the Arcade Awards, or Arkie Awards, the first "Game of the Year" award ceremony simultaneously running in Video's "Arcade Alley" column. The following games are the winners of the magazine's annual Arcade Awards. The awards for each year took place in the January of the following year. No single game was allowed to win more than one award in the same year.

1980 Arcade Awards (1979)

According to the Winter 1981 issue of Electronic Games, the 1980 Arcade Awards (i.e., the first set of "Arkies") were announced in February 1980 and covered all hardware and software produced prior to January 1, 1980.

1981 Arcade Awards (1980)

The 1981 edition of the awards reflects accomplishments during the 12 months of the preceding year.

1982 Arcade Awards (1981)

The third annual Arcade Awards were sponsored jointly by Video and Electronic Games and honored outstanding achievements in the field of video games of the year 1981. The 1982 Arcade Awards were published in the March 1982 issue of Electronic Games.

1983 Arcade Awards (1982)

The 4th "Arkies" cover games published between October 1, 1981, and October 1, 1982, and were published in the January 1983 issue of Electronic Games.

1984 Arcade Awards (1983)

The 5th "Arkies" were published in the January 1984 issue of Electronic Games.

1985 Arkie Awards (1984)

The 6th "Arkies" were printed in the January 1985 issue of Electronic Games.

1992 (7th)

Following the magazine's revival in 1992, it published the Electronic Gaming Awards in March 1993, where editors nominated several games for each category and the readers would vote which games win. The following were the winners and nominees for 1992.

1993 (8th)

The following games were the winners and nominees for the EG Awards of 1993, with nominees chosen by editors and winners voted by readers.

Reader polls

From May 1982 onwards, the magazine carried out a reader poll in each issue to see which are the most popular games of the month among its readers, up until the January 1985 issue. The top-ranking games in these polls are listed below.

1982

May

• Console: Asteroids (Runner-Up: Missile Command)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Space Invaders)
• Arcade: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Asteroids)

August

• Console: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Missile Command)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Jawbreaker)
• Arcade: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Tempest)

September

• Console: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Missile Command)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Missile Command)
• Arcade: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong)

October & November

• Console: Defender (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Missile Command)
• Arcade: Tempest (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong)

The games that were top-ranked the most in these 1982 polls were:

• Console: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Defender)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Missile Command)
• Arcade: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Tempest)

1983

January

• Console: Pitfall! (Runner-Up: Berzerk)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Arcade: Donkey Kong (Runner-Up: Dig Dug)

May

• Console: Pitfall! (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Arcade: Donkey Kong

June

• Console: Donkey Kong (Runner-Up: Zaxxon)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Arcade: Donkey Kong (Runner-Up: Tron)

July

• Console: Pitfall! (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Arcade: Donkey Kong (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong Jr.)

August

• Console: Donkey Kong (Runner-Up: Pitfall!)
• Computer: Pac-Man (Runner-Up: Star Raiders)
• Arcade: Zaxxon (Runner-Up: Joust)

September

• Console: Donkey Kong Jr. (Runner-Up: Lady Bug)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Centipede)
• Arcade: Pole Position (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong Jr.)

October

• Console: Donkey Kong (Runner-Up: River Raid)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Arcade: Pole Position (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong)

November

• Console: Donkey Kong Jr. (Runner-Up: Zaxxon)
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Arcade: Pole Position (Runner-Up: Q*bert)

December

• Console: Donkey Kong Jr. (Runner-Up: Centipede)
• Computer: Miner 2049er (Runner-Up: Star Raiders)
• Arcade: Pole Position (Runner-Up: Q*bert)

The games that were top-ranked the most in these 1983 polls were:

• Console: Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr.
• Computer: Star Raiders (Runner-Up: Pac-Man)
• Arcade: Pole Position (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong)

1984

January

• Console: Donkey Kong Jr. (Runner-Up: River Raid)
• Computer: Miner 2049er (Runner-Up: Star Raiders)
• Arcade: Dragon's Lair (Runner-Up: Star Wars)

November

• Console: Pitfall II (Runner-Up: Miner 2049er)
• Computer: Zork I (Runner-Up: Buck Rogers)
• Arcade: Dragon's Lair (Runner-Up: Star Wars)

December

• Computer: Zork I
• Arcade: Spy Hunter (Runner-Up: Track & Field)

The games that were top-ranked the most in these 1984 polls were:

• Console: Donkey Kong Jr. / Pitfall II
• Computer: Zork I (Runner-Up: Miner 2049er)
• Arcade: Dragon's Lair (Runner-Up: Spy Hunter)

1985

January

• Console: Pitfall II (Runner-Up: Q*bert)
• Computer: Miner 2049er (Runner-Up: Donkey Kong)
• Arcade: Star Wars (Runner-Up: Dragon's Lair)

There was no reader poll held for the March 1985 issue.

Hall of Fame

The twelve games voted by readers as part of the magazine's Hall of Fame up until January 1985.

• Pong (1972)
• Space Invaders (1978)
• Asteroids (1979)
• Star Raiders (1980)
• Defender (1980)
• Major League Baseball (1980)
• Pac-Man (1980)
• Donkey Kong (1981)
• Quest for the Rings (1981)
• Miner 2049er (1982)
• Zaxxon (1982)
• Dragon's Lair (1983)

References

1. Plunkett, Luke. "A Little Background On The World's First Ever Video Game Magazine". Kotaku. 29 December 2009.
2. Cifaldi, Frank (2005-12-12). "Playing Catch-Up: Bill 'The Game Doctor' Kunkel Lets Loose". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
3. Kohler, Chris (September 6, 2011). "Bill Kunkel, Original Gaming Journalist, Dies at 61". Wired. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
4. Katz, Arnie. "Power On: The End of an Era—Hooray!" Electronic Games. Pg. 6. July 1995. ISSN 0730-6687.
5. Video. Volume 5, No. 6. Pg. 88. ISSN 0147-8907. September 1981.
6. Video. Volume 5, No. 9. Pg. 65. ISSN 0147-8907. December 1981.
7. Weston, D.B. "Greatest Moments in Video Game History" Page 47. Published 2011
8. The Arcade Awards – 1980 – Electronic Games Winter 1981, pages 38-9
9. "Bally Awards" (PDF). Arcadian. 2 (3): 20. 1980-01-15. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
10. The Arcade Awards – 1981 – Electronic Games Winter 1981, page 39.
11. 1981 Arcade Awards – Electronic Games March 1982, pages 46–49.
12. "1983 Arcade Awards: These Are the Year's Greatest Games!". Electronic Games. Vol. 1, no. 11. January 1983. pp. 22–37, 120.
13. 1984 Arcade Awards – Electronic Games January 1984, pages 68–81.
14. 1985 Arcade Awards – Electronic Games January 1985, pages 22–28.
15. "The 1993 Electronic Gaming Awards: Here are Your Votes for the Year's Best Games". Electronic Games. Vol. 1, no. 7 (April 1993). March 16, 1993. pp. 38–9.
16. "Electronic Gaming Awards". Electronic Games. No. 38. January 1993. pp. 26–7. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
17. "The Electronic Gaming Awards: Here are YOUR Picks for the Best Interactive Entertainment". Electronic Games. Vol. 2, no. 7 (May 1994). April 21, 1993. pp. 30–4.
18. "Electronic Gaming Awards". Electronic Games. Vol. 2, no. 17. February 1994. pp. 32–51.
19. "Hall of Fame Winners". Electronic Games. 3 (35): 58–59 . January 1985. Retrieved 2 February 2012.

External links

• Article on the first issue of Electronic Games
• PDF magazine repository at archive.org
• PDF magazine repository at digitpress.com

• Magazines established in 1981
• Magazines disestablished in 1994
• Defunct video game magazines published in the United States
• Defunct magazines published in New York City