''PC Games'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine published by the Computec Media GmbH in Germany.

History

''PC Games'' was founded in 1992 and included a 3½-in

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

, which was changed to a

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

in 1995. By 1999 it became the leading computer gaming magazine in Germany at this time. From October 1992 to March 1998, the founders Oliver Menne and Thomas Borovskis were editors-in-chief. They were replaced by Thomas Borovskis from April 1998 to February 2000. From March 2000 to June 2001, the magazine was led by Florian Stangl and Petra Fröhlich. From March 2004 on, Petra Fröhlich was the sole editor-in-chief. Fröhlich left this post in December 2014 and was replaced by Wolfgang Fischer.

Content

The magazine has about 116 pages (extended edition), and also usually includes a DVD (earlier a CD) with drivers, demos, mods and

maps A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

. The DVD also often includes a full retail version of a chosen game. The magazine contains the following content: * News about the PC gaming community * Previews of computer games, (games which are still in development) * ''Sneak Peeks'' by invited readers on upcoming games * Tests (reviews) of lately released or to be released computer games * A section about

freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

and open-source games, mods and

e-sports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

* Articles about recent PC hardware components with regard to computer gaming (e.g.

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...

s or

computer mouse A computer mouse (plural mice; also mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of the Cursor (user interface)#Po ...

s) * Articles about important events, that influence the gaming community at large (i.e. e-sports, censorship) * Hints, cheats, modifications and walkthroughs for released games * A magazine part with letters to the editors and other topics concerning the magazine and its editors itself

Versions

''PC Games'' was released in several different versions: * A "magazine" version (which does not include any DVDs and is thus cheaper) * ''PC Games Extended'' with two DVDs and 16 additional pages * ''PC Games MMORE'' which features content related to

MMOG A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players to interact in the same online game world. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games th ...

s and mostly

World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a 2004 massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Windows and Mac OS X. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of War ...

. Discontinued editions: * A "normal" edition, with one DVD in a rated 16 or rated 18 edition * ''PC Games Premium'' with more content centering around a specific game brand with extra merchandise The publishing company also publishes a magazine called ''PC Games Hardware'', which solely concentrates on the testing of gaming-related hardware devices.

Sales and popularity

The magazine is one of the best-selling computer gaming magazines in Germany, after '' Computerbild Spiele'' and ''

Gamestar ''GameStar'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine in Germany. It is the best-selling German-language magazine focused on PC gaming and it also hosts the largest video gaming-related portal in the German-speaking internet. ''GameStar.de'' i ...

''. In the fourth quarter of 1999, ''PC Games'' sold 363,608 issues per month, making it the best-selling PC gaming magazine in Germany at the time. However, from 2002 on, the print market started to decline and ''PC Games''s sale figures decreased. By the fourth quarter of 2011, only 102,032 copies per month were sold. IVW quarterly statistics – IVW.eu ''PC Games'' also hosts a gaming portal in the internet on ''PCGames.de'', where they provide coverage and publish news, reviews and tests for computer games and computer gaming related topics. As of February 2016, ''PCGames.de'' has about 1.41 million unique visitors per month, making it one of the largest PC gaming web portals in the German-language internet.

References

{{reflist

External links

pcgames.de
– official website 1992 establishments in Germany German-language magazines Magazines established in 1992 Mass media in Nuremberg Monthly magazines published in Germany Video game magazines published in Germany