Editor’s note: Freelance writer Andrew Hayward loves video game magazines. This passion inspired him to go into journalism. In his first Bitmob post, Andrew poses a question: What do you do with a collection when you’re no longer interested in keeping it? Andrew has a library of 400 or so game magazines dating back to the mid-1990s, and they need a good home. He’s also interested in learning what you do with your old collections when you’re no longer interested in keeping them. -Jason
I still vividly recall the first video game magazine I purchased on the newsstand. It was around Christmas in 1995, putting me at the ripe young age of just 11, and we’d stopped by the Barnes & Noble in Wheaton, Illinois, after visiting nearby family.
While perusing the magazines — still a favorite activity some 14 years later — I discovered the January 1996 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (#78), boasting the “Ultra 64 Game Screen Debut!” with an image of Mario standing over a glowing Nintendo 64. Early screens of Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, Mario Kart 64, and the original Legend of Zelda 64 prototype (with the shiny metallic knight) shoot toward the foreground, and at the time, it was all too much for my young brain to handle. Sixty-four bits? It seemed unfathomable to me.
I wanted to know everything about it, and I had to have this magazine.
I’m looking at that precise issue now (pictured above), and it’s clear from the extensive wear that I carried this magazine around with me for months, showing off the system to my parents, siblings, friends, classmates, and whoever else would listen to an overenthusiastic youth spout off about the glorious future of video games. The short-term effect was immediate: I was fixated on the Nintendo 64 up until its launch, saving my meager allowances for months to purchase the console and Super Mario 64 on day one, and loving the system intensely for some time.
But the long-term effect has been much more profound on my life, and continues to this day. That single issue of EGM pushed me headfirst into a lifelong love and appreciation of gaming journalism — especially print — that eventually led me to pursue it as a career.
I became a voracious reader of video game magazines as a pre-teen and teenager, subscribing at one time or another (many overlapping) to EGM, GamePro, Game Informer, Nintendo Power, PSM, Next Generation, Official PlayStation Magazine, Official Dreamcast Magazine, and Ultra Game Players. Beyond those, I would still often pick up single issues of other magazines from the United States (and occasionally beyond), and the magazines would accumulate in my closet, on shelves, and anywhere else where I could store them. Throwing them out seemed a baffling concept in my youth. Why even purchase it?
In time, frequently reading about games nurtured my interest in writing about them. I started with personal websites, writing expectedly shoddy reviews for one site, and then creating a Final Fantasy fan site that gained minor popularity during the 6-year span that I maintained it. After completing (and loving) a media studies class in my final semester of high school, I began a print journalism major in college and graduated in 2006.
After volunteering at a couple websites throughout my final year of college and 6 months beyond, I started my first paying gig and transitioned into several other opportunities that have allowed me to work full-time as a freelance video game writer for more than 2 years. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to write for some of the magazines I loved as a kid, including EGM, GamePro, and Nintendo Power, as well as many other print and online outlets.
So that’s where I am now. I’m 25 and live in a one-bedroom apartment in Chicago with my fiancée and cats. While digging through the crawl space at my parents’ house for a recent yard sale, I discovered the glorious bounty: seven or eight boxes full of old gaming magazines. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. But they’re undoubtedly real.
I’d estimate there are maybe 400 or so various magazines in all, including long runs of aforementioned mags, plus various issues of other publications like GameFan, EGM2, Gamers’ Republic, Official Xbox Magazine, and Play. Most were accumulated via purchase or subscription, a couple stacks were donated by friends looking to clear out their rooms several years back, and a fair amount were snatched (with the blessing of managers, of course) on their way to the dumpster during the several years I worked at a specialty gaming retailer (similar to what Shoe talked about, but after they’d had a chance to sell).
Much as I loved reading these magazines as a youth, most hold little more than sentimental value for me nowadays, and I certainly don’t have the space to store them in my apartment (which already holds dozens of more recent gaming ‘zines). I can theoretically keep them in my parents’ crawl space indefinitely, as they’re not forcing me to clear the area, but then what: deal with it in a couple more years? It’s time to take care of this now while it’s fresh in my mind and I’m connected with scads of other writers and like-minded individuals via blogs and social networks.
My initial plan — hastily prepared moments after digging the boxes out from the crawl space — was to pull out some issues to keep and then dump the rest into recycling bins and be done with it. I pored over the boxes late into the evening, pulling out at least one issue of each magazine: memorable favorites, first or last issues (when available), and commemorative issues. Oh, and every single issue of EGM I’d collected — likely several dozen in all. By the time I finished, I’d already filled two boxes worth of keepers and kept leering at the throwaways. I wasn’t as kosher with this plan as I’d expected to be. Rather than toss the magazines, I stuffed them in a corner of the basement and told my folks to leave them be until I could concoct a better plan.
But what would that plan be? You’ll find large sets of older magazines on eBay, but preparing and shipping heavy boxes of magazines hardly seems worth the meager return, and as a freelancer, my time is very valuable to me. I’m certainly not opposed to making money off of them, as I’m saving for a mostly self-funded wedding (to be held next May) and can have an inconsistent workflow at times.
The most likely option here seems to be giving them away to someone. But if I’m going to freely hand these relics of my childhood over to someone, I’d prefer it to be a collector rather than a reseller — someone who will show love and appreciation for these works, rather than try to hock them at flea markets or wherever classic gaming mags are found these days.
I’m in a bit of a pickle here. I’ll certainly keep the issues I previously pulled aside, but I still need to find a good home for hundreds of “outdated” gaming magazines. I’m torn between doing what seems right (finding a good home for them, even if it requires spending time or money to ship them) and what’s easy (simple washing my hands of them), and can’t come to a decision on the matter. Have you found yourself in a similar situation in the past, whether with magazines or some other childhood collection?