History Magazine / ElectronicGamingMonthly

''EGM'''s calling card with reviews was assigning multiple writers to independently review the same game, drawing inspiration from Japanese gaming magazine ''Famitsu''. This allowed multiple perspectives to assess a game, making it more trustworthy if they collectively believed a game to be good or bad, or opened the floor for readers to think about each viewpoint if there was a more polarizing reaction. For the first decade-plus of the magazine's run, there were four reviewers to a game, but as software and hardware became very prolific in UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, this was pared down to three for the rest of its lifespan, with single reviewers being assigned for smaller games and certain multi-platform ports.

* SpinOff: Had one in the 90's and early 2000's with its own interesting history. Originally called ''[=EGM2=]'' and published roughly two weeks after that month's ''EGM'', this second magazine would cover news and previews that came in after press time for the mother magazine. After a couple of years, ''[=EGM2=]'' would shift focus to emphasize cheat codes and tricks, and in issue 50 would change its name to ''Expert Gamer''. The magazine ran under that name until October 2001; the following month it would change again to ''[=GameNow=]'', and would again expand focus to include news, reviews and previews. The incresing usability of the internet (not to mention redundancy with the main ''EGM'' still running) would kill this magazine after 27 issues.

* [[CreatorsFavoriteEpisode Creator's Favorite Game]]: ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' was a big hit with the magazine's crew in the early 90's, and the series got a lot of love and coverage. In 1995, the year ''Mortal Kombat 3'' was released, only ''five'' of the twelve covers that year did NOT have at least one ''Mortal Kombat'' character on the cover, a feat that would never be duplicated again by a single game in a single year.

* SpinOff: Had one in the 90's and early 2000's with its own interesting history. Originally called ''EGM2'' and published roughly two weeks after that month's ''EGM'', this second magazine would cover news and previews that came in after press time for the mother magazine. After a couple of years, ''EGM2'' would shift focus to emphasize cheat codes and tricks, and in issue 50 would change its name to ''Expert Gamer''. The magazine ran under that name until October 2001; the following month it would change again to ''[=GameNow=]'', and would again expand focus to include news, reviews and previews. The incresing usability of the internet (not to mention redundancy with the main ''EGM'' still running) would kill this magazine after 27 issues.

''EGM'' was creator by the U.S. National Video Game Team, one of the first UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming teams, in 1989 and its founder and first editor-in-chief was the team's captain Steve Harris. The magazine was highly regarded for having a fair look at the industry, including being unafraid to call out games that weren't up to snuff, ''even ones on their own cover''.[[note]]for instance, a bulk of their ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'' cover story in issue #104 lamented their time with the Japanese import, calling it too short and easy and tempered expectations of anyone expecting it to be the next ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland''; it received middling reviews the next issue[[/note]] While this drew ire from publishers, who would sometimes yank advertising (and money) from the magazine in retaliation for poor scores, they were respected for their journalistic integrity instead of being corporate shills, and were given high-profile exclusives as a result. Notably, they were the ''only'' publication that Creator/HideoKojima allowed to have early preview access to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' beyond public trade-show footage.

''EGM'' published a annual ''Buyer's Guide'' throughout the 90's, compiling review scores past and present, yearly Game of the Year awards, and expanded strategy sections and previews. In 1994, EGM spawned [=EGM2=], which focused on expanded cheats and tricks (i.e. with maps and guides). The spin-off publication eventually became Expert Gamer, and finally the defunct [=GameNOW=]. From 2001 to 2008, the editor-in-chief of the magazine was Dan "Shoe" Hsu.

The magazine was highly regarded for having a fair look at the industry, including being unafraid to call out games that weren't up to snuff, ''even ones on their own cover''.[[note]]for instance, a bulk of their ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'' cover story in issue #104 lamented their time with the Japanese import, calling it too short and easy and tempered expectations of anyone expecting it to be the next ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland''; it received middling reviews the next issue[[/note]] While this drew ire from publishers, who would sometimes yank advertising (and money) from the magazine in retaliation for poor scores, they were respected for their journalistic integrity instead of being corporate shills, and were given high-profile exclusives as a result. Notably, they were the ''only'' publication that Creator/HideoKojima allowed to have early preview access to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' beyond public trade-show footage.

''EGM'' published a annual ''Buyer's Guide'' throughout the 90's, compiling review scores past and present, yearly Game of the Year awards, and expanded strategy sections and previews. In 1994, EGM spawned [=EGM2=], which focused on expanded cheats and tricks (i.e. with maps and guides). The spin-off publication eventually became Expert Gamer, and finally the defunct [=GameNOW=].

On May 29, 2009, EGM founder Steve Harris announced that he has acquired print and online publishing rights for the magazine for relaunch in the second half of 2009. The "lost" February 2009 edition of EGM was the first issue released for the relaunch using a new digital publishing platform called [=ScreenPaper=], and appeared in March 2010. It ran quarterly for four years before closing up the print side for good, while still active presently as a traditional news-and-review site like IGN, Gamespot, etc.

* BrokeTheRatingScale: Their review of the infamous ''Mortal Kombat Advance'', an atrocious port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 crapped out in a two-month development cycle for the Game Boy Advance. They couldn't find anything positive to say about the game, so it was the first game in their magazine to have the dishonor of earning a 0 out of 10 from a reviewer (Dan Hsu), and across all three reviewers, averaged a record-low ''0.85'' out of 10.

The website can be found [[http://www.egmnow.com/ here.]] They regularly stream games on Twitch as part of their "EGM Playdate" feature [[http://www.twitch.tv/egmnow here]].

* FourPointScale: Averted, they were well-known for using the entire scale, and having four (eventually) three reviewers per game casted a wider net of scores. In 1998, the magazine retooled the score of 10 after they went three years without a reviewer giving one (since 1994's ''VideoGame/SonicAndKnuckles''). A 10 was originally defined as perfect, but since there was no point in having a ten-point system if they were only going to use nine and one could find faults in any game if they wanted, the philosophy changed to where a 10 would represent the gold standard of gaming. The first month with this scale, ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 3'', scored a 10 from three out of four editors[[note]]the lone exception being Sushi-X, who gave it a 9 but said no button mashing fighting game would get a 10 from him[[/note]], and later that year, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' became the first games to score 10s from all its reviewers.

* ArtifactTitle: ''EGM'' is no longer published monthly since its relaunch.

* SchmuckBait: April Fools Jokes that involved gameplay secrets would turn into this. For instance, their April Fools prank of an unlockable Sonic and Tails in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' came with the requirement that it would take 20 K.O.s in the Cruel Melee mode[[note]]where high-level AI fighters attack your fighter, who is at critical health[[/note]] to make them playable. They delighted in several readers writing back in the throes of gamer-rage at trying to accomplish an extraordinarily difficult feat.

* AprilFoolsDay: Every April issue has a trick. Several of them, such as Sheng Long in ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' and Sonic in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' eventually became reality.

* AprilFoolsDay: Every April issue has a trick. And there are ''still'' people who fall for the articles and write in angry letters.

''EGM'' published a annual ''Buyer's Guide'' throughout the 90's, compiling review scores past and present, yearly Game of the Year awards, and more expanded strategy guides and previews. In 1994, EGM spawned [=EGM2=], which focused on expanded cheats and tricks (i.e. with maps and guides). The spin-off publication eventually became Expert Gamer, and finally the defunct [=GameNOW=].

''EGM'' also carried a more adult, PG-13 sensibility, with swear words peppered throughout (although they would censor "fuck" and "shit"), some crass and sexual jokes, and a lot of references to classic movies (to the point of having giveaways for readers who could spot them). This caused no end of letters from MoralGuardians who bought the magazines for their kids, but they stood steadfast about writing as adults for an industry that shifted to older demographics with time.

''EGM'' also notably carried a more adult, PG-13 sensibility, with swear words (although they would censor "fuck" and "shit") peppered throughout, some crass and sexual jokes, and a lot of references to classic movies (to the point of having giveaways for readers who could spot them). This caused no end of letters from MoralGuardians who bought the magazines for their kids, but they stood steadfast about writing as adults for an industry that shifted to older demographics with time.

The magazine was widely regarded for having a fair look at the industry, including being unafraid to call out games that weren't up to snuff, ''even ones on their own cover''.[[note]]for instance, a bulk of their ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'' cover story in issue #104 lamented their time with the Japanese import, calling it too short and easy and tempered expectations of anyone expecting it to be the next ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland''; it received middling reviews the next issue[[/note]] While this drew ire from publishers, who would sometimes yank advertising (and money) from the magazine in retaliation for poor scores, they were respected for their journalistic integrity instead of being corporate shills, and were given high-profile exclusives as a result. Notably, they were the ''only'' publication that Creator/HideoKojima allowed to have early preview access to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' beyond public trade-show footage.

''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') was an American video game magazine published by EGM Media, LLC. It was originally published by Sendai Publications and later by Ziff Davis as part of the 1UP Network. It released 12 issues a year (and an occasional extra "13th" issue for the Christmas season, also known as the "Smarch" issue, a reference to the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode of The Simpsons). ''EGM'' was a news-and-reviews magazine, with a notable, exclusive focus on console and handheld gaming, as opposed to competing magazines that incorporated PC coverage. ''EGM'' stood out from the pack for a variety or reasons: BrutalHonesty, an adult-aimed sensibility, and a multi-reviewer format.

''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is an American video game magazine published by EGM Media, LLC. It was originally published by Sendai Publications and later by Ziff Davis as part of the 1UP Network. It released 12 issues a year (and an occasional extra "13th" issue for the Christmas season, also known as the "Smarch" issue, a reference to the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode of The Simpsons).

EGM has concentrated on news regarding current video game consoles (see magazine content for detailed information). The December 2006 issue introduced new sections, expanded reviews, and more focus on the acronym of the magazine's title in a redesign. This was the first issue redesign since June 2003. EGM has said that the reason for the design shift was to keep more in line with the site layout of their once-owned website, 1up.com. In 1994, EGM spawned [=EGM2=]. [=EGM2=] focused on expanded cheats and tricks (i.e. with maps and guides). The spin-off publication eventually became Expert Gamer, and finally the defunct [=GameNOW=].

On May 29, 2009, EGM founder Steve Harris announced that he has acquired print and online publishing rights for the magazine for relaunch in the second half of 2009. The "lost" February 2009 edition of EGM was the first issue released for the relaunch using a new digital publishing platform called [=ScreenPaper=], and appeared in March 2010. It runs quarterly, in print, to this day.

* BrokeTheRatingScale: Their review of the infamous ''Mortal Kombat Advance'', an atrocious port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for the Game Boy Advance. They couldn't find anything positive to say about the game, so it was the first game in their magazine to have the dishonor of earning a 0 out of 10.

* MascotRacer: One of their April Fools jokes was mocking up a ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' kart racing game.