The sport journal that spent two years taunting a Last Fantasy VIII hater – Last Fantasy VIII is the Greatest

2024-02-29 05:10:55

I’m uncertain how standard GameNOW journal was, however over the course of two years, they pulled off one of many weirdest working gags I’ve seen in a sport journal, simply to have enjoyable on the expense of an irate reader who didn’t like Last Fantasy VIII.

Just a little background: though there have been solely 27 problems with GameNOW, the journal ran for nearly twenty years. It began out as EGM², a by-product of Digital Gaming Month-to-month that acted as a second version of the journal, focusing extra on methods, cheats, import video games, late-breaking information that didn’t make it into EGM¹, and different specialty topics. As time went on, the journal refocused on the cheat and technique information content material and dropped the EGM banner altogether, rebranding as Knowledgeable Gamer.

Then the powers that be at publishing conglomerate Ziff Davis determined to scrap Knowledgeable Gamer and relaunch it with a completely new idea: a youth-oriented journal that lined video games with a handy guide a rough angle. Enter GameNOW (pronounced, I assume, as “sport NOOOWWW”).

They wasted no time establishing the brand new tone for the journal. Within the first challenge, the editors of GameNOW answered a little bit of fanmail addressed to Knowledgeable Gamer from a reader who didn’t look after Last Fantasy VIII. Particularly, he didn’t like that each time Knowledgeable Gamer talked about Last Fantasy, they saved working the identical screenshot from Ultimecia’s throne room on the finish of FFVIII, and he want to see the opposite video games within the collection represented, thanks very a lot.

Pricey GameNOW,

I’ve to let you know there’s something that has been bothering me. In what looks like each challenge of Knowledgeable Gamer, in your letter part, you’ve gotten had the identical screenshot of Last Fantasy VIII. Let me specific my emotions: Last Fantasy VIII sucked in contrast with Last Fantasies 7 and 9. If you’re going to put the identical display screen shot up time and again, at the least put up one. Nonetheless, I do know you’ll in all probability put it up once more simply to tick me off.

Tim Spollen

GameNOW obliged.

The party from Final Fantasy VIII standing in front of Ultimecia's throne. "The great debate: Even though the games have been out for many years, avid Final Fantasy fans are still arguing about which game in the series is the best. Is it part VIII (as shown above) or one of the other terrific Final Fantasy games?" — *GameNOW* Problem 1, November 2001, p.111

Properly, Tim, we actually do agree with you that Last Fantasy IX is best than Last Fantasy VIII. Nevertheless, we do imagine that FF8 was far superior than FF7. In fact, that’s simply our opinion. In the event you actually liked FF8, then extra energy to you. Relating to the repeated image; we actually don’t know what you’re speaking about. We haven’t seen any such factor. Nonetheless, we will definitely not print something in our journal that’s intentionally attempting to upset our readers.

Over the following two years, GameNOW would sneak the identical screenshot into almost each single challenge of the journal. A number of highlights:

"HIRE THIS GUY. Dear GameNOW, I’m surprised that you guys haven't tried to do something to stop the complaining about that FF8 screen shot. If I were you, I'd insert a foldout poster of that very shot and put all the complaint letters that you've ever gotten about it on the back. I mean, come on! If they don't like the shot, they should just ignore it. You put up with too much ignorant crap, anyway. Shawn Wear, Beverly, MA"

"Shawn, that is, without question, the best idea that we’ve ever heard. Seriously, you should be running this magazine. We’re not sure if we'll ever see the FF8 picture poster, but rest assured that we are going to do everything that we can to make that a reality." — *GameNOW* Issue 8, June 2002, p.103

GameNOW was not lengthy for this world, and in January 2004, Ziff Davis lastly killed off their long-running second sport journal. Within the ultimate challenge, the editors made good on their promise from Problem 8 and ran a full web page of the Last Fantasy VIII screenshot for readers to tear out and body for posterity.

The party from Final Fantasy VIII standing in front of Ultimecia's throne. It's the same screenshot, again, but much larger. — *GameNOW* Problem 27, January 2004, p.103

It’s a foolish, foolish working joke that’s now 20 years previous, and one that everybody in all probability forgot about after GameNOW went out of print. However there was nonetheless yet one more joke up its sleeve.

At my day job as a online game historical past librarian, we’ve been attempting to assemble a whole set of American online game magazines, together with a full run of GameNOW. Whereas I used to be shelving the final lacking points, I seen one thing.