Next Generation Magazine 1460579 224788910 2008-07-10T12:35:44Z Falcon9x5 336540 /* Current state */ better ref {{Incomplete|date= October 2007}} [[Image:NextGen Cover 01-95.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The cover of the January '95 issue of Next Generation.]] '''''Next Generation Magazine''''' (also known as '''''NextGen''''') was a [[video game magazine]] that was made by [[Imagine Media]] [[publishing company]] (now [[Future Publishing|Future Network USA]]).<ref> {{cite web | title = Imagine Media is now Future Network USA | work = | publisher = [[Future Publishing|Future Network USA]] | date = 2005-01-22 | url = http://web.archive.org/web/20050210132617/www.futurenetworkusa.com/home_nf.html | accessdate = 2007-01-30 }} </ref> It was affiliated to and shared editorial with the UK's [[Edge (games magazine)|''Edge'' magazine]]. ''Next Generation'' ran from January [[1995]] until January [[2002]]. Unlike its competitors ''[[GamePro]]'' and ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly|EGM]]'' which targeted an adolescent audience, ''Next Generation'' was directed towards a more mature, adult readership by focusing on the industry itself rather than individual games. ==Lifecycle 2== In September 1999, ''Next Generation'' was redesigned, its cover name shortened to simply ''NextGen''. This would start what was known as "Lifecycle 2" of the magazine. A year later, in September 2000, the magazine's width was increased from its standard 8 inches to 9 inches, however this wider format lasted less than a year. Subscribers of Next-Gen Magazine received issues of Playstation Magazine when the magazine's life-cycle was terminated. The brand was resurrected in 2005 by [[Future Publishing]] USA as an industry-led website, at [http://www.next-gen.biz/ http://www.next-gen.biz/]. ==Differences between ''Next-Gen'' and its contemporaries== Notable differences between ''Next Generation'' and other current video game magazines: * Most video game magazines rank a game in several different categories (graphics, sound, gameplay, etc.) and sometimes provide an average score based on those numbers. ''Next Generation'''s review ranking system, on the other hand, was based on a number of stars (1 through 5), that ranked games based on their merits overall compared to what games were already out there. * Its content didn't focus on [[screenshots]], [[walkthrough]]s, and [[cheat codes]]. Instead the content was more focused on the game industry from an artistic perspective. * Its interviews with people in the [[Video game industry|gaming industry]] often featured questions about gaming in general rather than about the details of the latest game or [[Video game console|game system]] they were working on. * ''Next Generation'' had a few editorial sections like "The Way Games Ought To Be" (originally written every month by [[game designer]] [[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]]) that would attempt to provide [[constructive criticism]] on standard practices in the [[video game industry]]. * The magazine's construction and design also differed from its competitors. The design was decidedly simple and clean, its back cover having no advertising on it initially, a departure from most other gaming magazines. The first several years of Next Generation had a heavy matte finish cover stock, unlike the glossy paper covers of its compeitors. The magazine moved away from this cover style in early 1999, only for it to return again in late 2000. ==Issue history== {| |- !<big>Lifecycle 1</big> !<big>Lifecycle 2</big> |- |- valign="top" | <!-- Lifecycle 1 Column !--> {| class="wikitable" |- valign="top" !Issue !! Feature |- |v1 #1 (January [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[History of video game consoles (fifth generation)|New game consoles]] |- |v1 #2 (February [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[Online game|Online gaming]] |- |v1 #3 (March [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[Sony PlayStation]] |- |v1 #4 (April [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[Atari Jaguar]] |- |v1 #5 (May [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[Ultra 64]] |- |v1 #6 (June [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || Crossfire |- |v1 #7 (July [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || ''[[Wipeout]]'' |- |v1 #8 (August [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[Sega Saturn]] TV Commercials |- |v1 #9 (September [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || ''[[Destruction Derby]]'' |- |v1 #10 (October [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[Madden NFL]] '96 |- |v1 #11 (November [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || [[Virtua Fighter]]'s [[Sarah Bryant]] |- |v1 #12 (December [[1995 in video gaming|1995]]) || 32-bit Videogame Report |- |v2 #13 (January [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || ''[[Ridge Racer Revolution]]'' |- |v2 #14 (February [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || [[Ultra 64]] |- |v2 #15 (March [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || Next Generation 1996 Lexicon |- |v2 #16 (April [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || How to get a job in the [[game industry]] |- |v2 #17 (May [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || History of [[game controller]]s |- |v2 #18 (June [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || [[Microsoft]] future for gaming: [[DirectX]] |- |v2 #19 (July [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || Past, present, and future of [[Online game|online gaming]] |- |v2 #20 (August [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' |- |v2 #21 (September [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || Next Generation's Top 100 Games of All-time |- |v2 #22 (October [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || [[Venture capital]] in [[video game developer|game development]] |- |v2 #23 (November [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || [[Artificial Life]] |- |v2 #24 (December [[1996 in video gaming|1996]]) || [[History of video game consoles (fifth generation)|PlayStation vs Nintendo 64 vs Sega Saturn]] |- |v3 #25 (January [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || [[Net Yaroze]] |- |v3 #26 (February [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || Videogame Myths |- |v3 #27 (March [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || Top 10 online gaming sites |- |v3 #28 (April [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || [[Retrogaming]] |- |v3 #29 (May [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || Something is wrong with the [[Nintendo 64]] |- |v3 #30 (June [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || Why does a game cost $50 |- |v3 #31 (July [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || What makes a Good Game |- |v3 #32 (August [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || [[Computer and video game packaging|Video game packaging]] |- |v3 #33 (September [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || [[Design document]]s |- |v3 #34 (October [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || The future of [[game console]]s |- |v3 #35 (November [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || 25 Breakthrough Games |- |v3 #36 (December [[1997 in video gaming|1997]]) || Independent [[Video game developer|game developer]]s |- |v4 #37 (January [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || The most important people in the American video game industry |- |v4 #38 (February [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || [[Hardcore gamer|hardcore gaming]] |- |v4 #39 (March [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || How to get a job in the [[game industry]] |- |v4 #40 (April [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || [[List of commercial failures in computer and video gaming|What the Hell Happened]]? |- |v4 #41 (May [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || The Fall of [[BMG Interactive]] |- |v4 #42 (June [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || How games will conquer the world |- |v4 #43 (July [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || The Licensing Game |- |v4 #44 (August [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || The [[Console wars|Console Wars]] of [[1999 in video gaming|1999]] |- |v4 #45 (September [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || [[Dreamcast]]: The Full Story |- |v4 #46 (October [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || A Question of [[video game character|Character]] |- |v4 #47 (November [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || The secret of [[Namco]]'s success |- |v4 #48 (December [[1998 in video gaming|1998]]) || Do video games stand a chance in [[List of films based on video games|Hollywood]] |- |v5 #49 (January [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || What did Super Mario 64 do for video games |- |v5 #50 (February [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || Dreamcast Countdown |- |v5 #51 (March [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || [[Game physics|Physics Matters]] |- |v5 #52 (April [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || [[Racing game|Learning Curves]] |- |v5 #53 (May [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || Man versus [[Game AI|machine]] |- |v5 #54 (June [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || [[Dreamcast]] versus [[Playstation 2]] |- |v5 #55 (July [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || [[History of video game consoles (sixth generation)|Building the Future]] |- |v5 #56 (August [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || [[Rare (company)|Rare]]'s Triple Threat |} || <!-- Lifecycle 2 Column !--> {| class="wikitable" |- valign="top" halign="center" !Issue !! Feature |- |v1 #1 (September [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || Dreamcast Arrives |- |v1 #2 (October [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || Hooray for Hollywood |- |v1 #3 (November [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || Playstation 2 arrives |- |v1 #4 (December [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]) || The War for the Living Room |- |v2 #1 (January [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || [[wikt:crunch time|Crunch time]] |- |v2 #2 (February [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || The Games of 2000 Will Blow Your Mind |- |v2 #3 (March [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || Raising the Bar |- |v2 #4 (April [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || Playstation 2: Hands-On Report |- |v2 #5 (May [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || Sega's new deal |- |v2 #6 (June [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || Ready for war |- |v2 #7 (July [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || [[Metal Gear Solid 2]] |- |v2 #8 (August [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || The Making of the [[Xbox]] |- |v2 #9 (September [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || Dreamcast: The First Anniversary |- |v2 #10 (October [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || Broadband Gaming |- |v2 #11 (November [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || [[GameCube]]: Can [[Nintendo]] Compete |- |v2 #12 (December [[2000 in video gaming|2000]]) || [[2001 in video gaming|2001]] Playstation 2 games |- |v3 #1 (January [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || Got Talent: First Party Developers |- |v3 #2 (February [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || [[Video game controversy|Games Grow Up]] |- |v3 #3 (March [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || Start your own game company |- |v3 #4 (April [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || Field of [[Indrema]] |- |v3 #5 (May [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || Old Systems, New Games |- |v3 #6 (June [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || [[Sega]]'s Next Move |- |v3 #7 (July [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || [[Eidos Interactive|Eidos]] on Edge |- |v3 #8 (August [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || GameCube Exposed |- |v3 #9 (September [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || Video Game U |- |v3 #10 (October [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || 25 Power Players |- |v3 #11 (November [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || Xbox arrives |- |v3 #12 (December [[2001 in video gaming|2001]]) || Nintendo's GameCube is here |- |v4 #13 (January [[2002 in video gaming|2002]]) || Xbox review |} |} ==Current state== When the company publishing Next-Gen was forced to make cutbacks, the magazine ceased print. The brand was later revived and moved online. The website, Next-Gen.biz, carries much the same articles and editorial as the print magazine, and in fact reprints many articles from Edge, the UK-based sister magazine to Next-Gen. In [[July 2008]], Next-Gen.biz was rebranded as Edge-Online.com<ref>http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/future-to-rebrand-next-gen-website-as-edge</ref>. ==References== <div class="references-small"> <references/> </div> ==External links== * [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.next-generation.com/ Wayback link for Next Generation Online] * [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.imagine-inc.com/ Wayback link for Imagine Publishing] * [http://www.fatbabies.com/story_nov-dec01.html Rumor site about the end of Next Generation magazine and Imagine Media] * [http://podcast.next-gen.biz/ Next-Gen Podcast] * [http://www.next-gen.biz/ Current Next-Gen website] [[Category:Video game magazines]] [[Category:Defunct magazines of the United States]] [[Category:Monthly magazines]] [[Category:Magazines established in 1995]]