Electric Brain
| File:Electric Brain Issue 34 (May 1993).jpg Cover art for issue 34 of Electric Brain magazine, May 1993. | |
| Editor | Onn Lee |
|---|---|
| Categories | Video games magazines |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Format | Paper magazine |
| Circulation | National |
| Publisher | Space City Publishing, Ltd. |
| Founder | Onn Lee |
| Year founded | 1989 |
| First issue | Issue #01: April, 1989 |
| Final issue Number | Issue #35: June, 1993 35 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0968-8471 |
Search Electric Brain on Amazon.
Electric Brain (formerly known as PC Engine Fanatics, then Console Ma'zine)[1][2] was a British video game magazine which ran from 1989 to 1993. The name Electric Brain comes from the literal translation of the Chinese word for computer.[3]
The editor throughout the life of the magazine was Onn Lee[1], brother of British actress and presenter Pui Fan Lee. Towards the end of its life as Electric Brain the magazine was published by Space City Publishing Ltd.[4][5] The British Library holds copies of the Space City published issues.[6]
History[edit]
The first issue was a handmade fanzine, created by Onn Lee,[7] which was released in April 1989 as PC Engine Fanatics (not to be confused with the Japanese magazine PC Engine Fan) and its availability was advertised in various magazines, including The Games Machine[8]. From issue 09, released in January 1990, the magazine's name changed to Console Ma'zine (sometimes Console Magazine in early mentions)[9] to reflect its new multi-platform coverage, whose availability was advertised in Zero[10], New Computer Express,[11] and S: The Sega Magazine.[12] Electric Brain was the final name for the multi-platform magazine, and with it came a publisher and high street distribution.[13] A brief history of Electric Brain is featured in Super Play issue 23.[13]
Electric Brain was released at a time when there was no easy way for UK gamers to access information about Japanese gaming in an affordable or timely manner. So Electric Brain offered a way for UK people to keep up with the Japanese gaming scene. The same approach was taken by Super Play, the magazine that writer Jason Brookes went on to write for. Electric Brain also featured content not often seen in other magazines, such as the console modding guide in issue 34 which showed how to modify a Sega Mega Drive to display Japanese text and/or play games at 60Hz.[14]
In its final form the magazine covered console gaming on systems such as NEC's PC Engine, Nintendo's SNES, Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis and Mega CD systems, and SNK's Neo Geo.[15]
Writers who worked on Electric Brain wrote for other contemporary video game magazines: Jason Brookes was a staff writer on Super Play and is credited with infusing that magazine with its much lauded Japanese and hardcore Nintendo aesthetic[16], was editor of EDGE[17], and worked as an international correspondent for Japanese magazine Famitsu.[18] Whilst Nick Burne contributed to Super Play.[19] Other writers were already part of, or went on to become part of, the video game industry such as Brian Flanagan who started his career at Ocean Software.[20]
In 1994, after the end of Electric Brain, Lee started a new self-published, magazine called GAP (Games Amusement Pleasure).[13]
Timeline[edit]
- Issues #01 to #08: PC Engine Fanatics
- Issues #09 to #19: Console Ma'zine
- Issues #20 to #35: Electric Brain
Shigeru Miyamoto interview[edit]
One of Electric Brain's most notable features was an exclusive English translation of a 1991 interview with Shigeru Miyamoto regarding The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past that was published in issue 25 (1992).[21] The interview was next translated into English over 20 years later, partially in 2012[22] and completely in 2016.[23] The original Japanese interview was published in Famitsu #162 (1992-01-24) and was republished, still in Japanese, as part of 2019-04-25 issue of Famitsu which included a "VIP Interviews Reprinted Book", containing a selection of the most important interviews of the Heisei era (1989-2019).[24]
Connection to Viz[edit]
The final run of the magazine featured illustrations and cartoons by Viz artist John Fardell.[5]
Connection to Digitiser[edit]
Some issues featured rear cover advertising from Channel 4's Teletext Ltd service, for Digitiser, their daily games magazine.[25]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Video Game Den". videogameden.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ "More treasures from comic book stores". anime-nostalgia-facility.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ "The Electric Brain". www.halfhill.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ "Space City". Space City. Archived from the original on 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Electric Brain Magazine Scans". Archive.org. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ↑ "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ "Electric Brain Fanzine". bordersdown.net. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ The Games Machine #21. August 1989. p. 55.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ "July 1990 Pt.6 Console Ma'zine". anime-nostalgia-facility.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ Zero #10. August 1990. p. 98.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ New Computer Express #102. 1990-10-20. p. 39.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ "S: The Sega Magazine #09 (August 1990)". www.smspower.org. p. 23. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Super Play #23. Future Publishing. September 1994. p. 19. Archived from the original on 2016-09-25. Retrieved 2019-05-03.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ Electric Brain #34. May 1993. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-05-08. Search this book on
- ↑ Maximum Power Up (2017-07-04), A look at Electric Brain magazine- cult 90's games mag, retrieved 2019-05-01
- ↑ Life, Nintendo (2011-05-07). "Feature: The Making of Super Play Magazine". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ↑ Stuart, Keith (2004-09-17). "I'm in love with a retro machine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2014-09-16. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ↑ "現地直送！ 北米ゲーム事情リポート - ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com (in 日本語). Archived from the original on 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ↑ SuperPlay #01. November 1992. p. 98.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ "C64.COM - For the best in C64 nostalgia". www.c64.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
- ↑ Life, Nintendo (2019-05-05). "Forgotten Interview With Miyamoto Sheds Light On A Classic Zelda Production". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2019-05-05. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
- ↑ "GlitterBerri's Game Translations » The Development of A Link to the Past". www.glitterberri.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
- ↑ "shmuplations.com". shmuplations.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
- ↑ "平成のファミ通に掲載されたインタビュー記事を厳選して36ページの付録冊子に！ 堀井雄二氏、宮本茂氏、坂口博信氏など、時代を担うVIPたちの金言は必読!! 【先出し週刊ファミ通】". ファミ通.com (in 日本語). Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
- ↑ "5 FORGOTTEN VIDEO GAME MAGS". DIGITISER. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
External links[edit]
- Electric Brain PDF magazine archive (incomplete list of issues)
- Electric Brain in the British Library Collection
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