Computer Player
From Magweasel
| Computer Player | |
|---|---|
| |
| Editor | Chris Gore |
| Categories | Computer games |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First Issue | June 1994 |
| Final Issue — Number | Feb/Mar 1998 44 |
| Publisher | HD Publications (1994-1996), Air Age Media (1996-1998) |
| Country | USA |
Computer Player is a game magazine devoted entirely to games on the PC and other computers. It was produced by Larry Flynt Publishing under the name of a satellite company, putting it in the same boat as LFP titles like VideoGames, Ultimate Gamer, and Tips & Tricks.
Despite its relative obscurity, the magazine was under constant production for nearly four years, going through two name changes (to Computer & Net Player, then OGR Magazine) and two different publishers in the process.
History
The magazine was founded and originally edited by Chris Gore, more well-known nowadays for Film Threat magazine and his TV appearances as an independent-film analyst.
Design-wise, the early issues of Computer Player represent a balance between the text-heavy, hardcore-oriented coverage of Computer Gaming World and Game Players PC Entertainment and the futuristic look of "multimedia" mags like Electronic Entertainment. Feature articles and reviews were still longform (and occupied most of the magazine), but there were also pages devoted to capsule reviews and previews, hardware coverage, cheats, and news, all done up in a clear, professional layout.
Despite a quoted rate base of 250,000 copies in 1995, LFP sold the magazine late that year to Air Age Inc., publisher of a variety of magazines and books related to remote-control cars and planes. Air Age coupled the magazine with Online Gaming Review, a game-news website launched in late 1995 and purchased by Air Age soon afterwards, to create a multi-tiered game media outfit. The combination never become very popular, however, and as CGW and PC Gamer rapidly expanded their book size in 1996 and 1997, Computer Player fell by the wayside.
The first Air Age-published issue was March 1996, and the magazine changed names to Computer & Net Player with the February 1997 issue. The name changed once more to OGR Magazine in January 1998 after skipping the August 1997 issue. February/March 1998 was the final issue, and Air Age killed both the magazine and the ogr.com website in February 1998. The domain name was sold to Strategy Plus, who simply used it to redirect visitors to Computer Games' website.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| 1994 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |||||
| 1995 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 1995 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 1996 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| 1997 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | |
| 1998 | 43 | 44 |
