''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print

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, founded in October 1988 as the

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publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1990, Issue 1) and ''Computer Games Strategy Plus'', but changed its name to ''Computer Games Magazine'' after its purchase by theGlobe.com. When it closed down in April 2007, it held the record for the second-longest-running print magazine dedicated exclusively to computer games with 197 issues, behind only ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

''. In 1998 and 2000, it was the United States' third-largest magazine in this field.

History

The magazine's original editor-in-chief, Brian Walker, sold ''Strategy Plus'' to the United States retail chain Chips & Bits in 1991. Based in

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and owned by Tina and Yale Brozen, Chips & Bits retitled ''Strategy Plus'' to ''Computer Games Strategy Plus'' after the purchase. Its circulation rose to around 130,000 monthly copies by the mid-1990s. By 1998, ''Computer Games Strategy Plus'' was the United States' third-largest computer game magazine, with a circulation of 184,299. According to editor-in-chief Steve Bauman, this number rose to 220,000 in 1999. Chips & Bits was purchased by theGlobe.com in January 2000, alongside ''Computer Games Strategy Plus'' and its publishing division, Strategy Plus, Inc. By March 2000, ''Computer Games'' circulation had reached 240,000 copies; roughly 300,000 units of each issue were printed per month. It remained the United States' third-biggest computer game magazine by that date, according to Yale Brozen, and the publication's Ed Mitchell estimated that it was Vermont's largest magazine in any field. Its official website, cdmag.com, averaged one million unique visits per month by early 2000. The magazine experienced major growth during 2000: tracking firm BPA International recorded its average circulation from July–December as 374,576 copies, while the December issue rose to 450,515. ''Computer Games Magazine'' was subsequently redesigned, starting from its June 2001 issue. ''Computer Games Magazine'' launched a sister publication, '' MMO Games Magazine'', in 2006. On March 13, 2007, both publications were shut down by theGlobe.com, after that company was hit with a multimillion-dollar judgement in a lawsuit resulting from the e-mail spam of

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References

{{Reflist

External links

''Computer Games'' content from 1996–2001

''MMO Games Magazine'' website

''Greek Computer Games Magazine'' website & gaming news portal

''Computer Games Magazine for Mexico'' website

Archived issues
at Video Game History Foundation Digital Archive Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Home computer magazines Magazines established in 1988 Magazines disestablished in 2007 Defunct video game magazines published in the United States Magazines published in Vermont Defunct magazines published in Florida