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''Zzap!64'' is a computer games magazine covering games for computers manufactured by
Commodore International Commodore International Corporation was a home computer and electronics manufacturer with its head office in The Bahamas and its executive office in the United States founded in 1976 by Jack Tramiel and Irving Gould. It was the successor compan ...
, especially the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
(C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazine launched in April, with the cover date May 1985, as the sister magazine to '' CRASH''. It focused on the C64 for much of its shelf life, but later incorporated
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
game news and reviews. Like ''CRASH'' for the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
, it had a dedicated cult following amongst C64 owners and was well known for its irreverent sense of humour as well as its extensive, detailed coverage of the C64 scene. The magazine adopted an innovative review system that involved the use of the reviewers' faces, artistically rendered by in-house artists Oli Frey and Mark Kendrick, to express their reaction to the games. These eventually evolved into static cartoons as the magazine began catering for a younger market. High-quality games were indicated in reviews via the "Gold Medal" award, the logo was used as a selling point for games, big and small. By 1992, the magazine had changed so dramatically in design and editorial direction that then-publisher Europress decided to relaunch the magazine. Thus, issue 91 of ''Zzap!64'' became issue 1 of '' Commodore Force'', a magazine that itself lasted until March 1994.


History

The first issue of ''Zzap!64'', dated May 1985, was released on 11 April 1985. Its inaugural editorial team included editor Chris Anderson, Software Editor Bob Wade, freelance writer Steve Cooke (who joined the staff from the recently folded '' Personal Computer Games''), and reviewers Gary Penn and
Julian Rignall Julian "Jaz" Rignall (born 6 March 1965, London, England) is a writer and editor. He has also produced content for corporate websites such as GamePro Media, publisher of ''GamePro'' magazine and ''GamePro.com'', marketing collateral and advert ...
, who won their jobs after having placed as finalists at a video game competition. The editorial headquarters was in
Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...
, more than 120 miles from Newsfield's headquarters in
Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...
; the team was relocated to Ludlow after three months to cut costs, and Anderson and Wade left the staff after declining to make the move. Anderson would later found
Future Publishing Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was founded by Chris Anderson a ...
and the TED Conference. As the Amiga gained popularity in the UK, ''Zzap!64'' began to publish occasional reviews of Amiga games. The Amiga coverage became a fixed feature of the magazine in issue 43 (November 1988), when the title was renamed to ''Zzap!64 Amiga''. The magazine experienced controversy in 1989, when three out of four reviewers (Gordon Houghton, Kati Hamza and Maff Evans) were fired and replaced during production of issue 50 (June 1989). The only one remaining, Paul Rand, had been employed at ''Zzap!64'' a mere two months. Issue 50's editorial mentioned nothing of what happened, and the issue featured content from the three fired reviewers without discussing their fates. Issue 74 (June 1991) saw the dropping of all Amiga coverage (the word "Amiga" was dropped from the name in 1990), and the magazine became completely devoted to the C64 once more. Four months later the publisher Newsfield declared bankruptcy and publication was suspended for a month. Europress Impact (a satellite company of Europress launched by Roger Kean, Oliver Frey and Jonathan Rignall) became the new publisher of ''Zzap!64'', beginning with issue 79 (December 1991). Issue 90 (November 1992) was the last official ''Zzap!64'' issue. From the following month, the magazine was replaced by ''Commodore Force''.


In Italy

The Italian edition (just titled ''Zzap!''), authorised by the original publisher, was not limited to Commodore 64 games, but it also reviewed games for other 8-bit machines like the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
,
MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...
,
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...
, and
Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...
. Around 80% of the content was translated with the remainder written in Italy. From issue 1 (May 1986) to issue 73 (December 1992) it was released as an actual magazine; with issue 74 (January 1993) it became an inset of the Italian version of The Games Machine until December 1993 when it stopped being published. From 1996 to 1999, ''Zzap!'' became an online magazine, a PC gaming website with a different "cover" each month and a mailbag, which reviewed games with the same style of the original magazine. In 2002, a special "issue 85", dedicated to then recently released games for 8-bit machines, was released in PDF format. In 2021, the ''Airons'' cultural association in Vigevano resumed the publication of a new ''Zzap!'' magazine, founded by a group of former editors. The magazine is published aperiodically and only sent via mail to the members; it focuses on retrogaming and new games for 8- and 16-bit systems, still made by enthusiasts and small independent software houses.


Commemorative issues

In March 2002, a special "Issue 107" of ''Zzap!64'' was published digitally in
PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...
format, later receiving a limited print run of 200 copies. Originally intended as a fan project based on a suggestion by journalist Cameron Davis in a ''Zzap!64'' discussion forum, a number of ex-Newsfield writers later volunteered to join the project, including former editors Gordon Houghton, Robin Hogg and Paul Glancey. The special issue reflected the C64's continuing popularity in the 21st century as a platform for retro gamers and hobbyists, with the majority of reviews focusing on recently released C64 games. The magazine's design was based on "classic era" ''Zzap!64'', and the front cover was based on an illustration by former Newsfield artist Oli Frey, significantly revised by designer Craig Grannell. Another special issue of ''Zzap!64'' was created in July 2005 to celebrate the magazine's twentieth anniversary. Dubbed ''The Def Tribute to Zzap!64'', it was professionally printed and given away with issue 18 of ''
Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...
'' magazine. Although more celebratory and retrospective in design than issue 107, it nevertheless featured a great deal of new content, including a foreword and articles by former Newsfield director and ''Zzap!64'' editor Roger Kean and new material from former editors Gary Penn and Chris Anderson. The front cover and centerfold featured rare illustrations by Oli Frey from his pre-Newsfield days. Fusion Retro Books licensed the rights to use the ZZAP! and Crash trademarks from Future Publishing, creating a series of Annuals funded through Kickstarter and published in time for Christmas. Roger Kean was involved in editing and compiling the issues alongside Chris Wilkins. The Annuals up to 2022 featured new and specially commissioned Oli Frey cover artwork. Fusion Retro Books then negotiated the transfer of the remaining Newsfield trademarks for future use. Since March 2021, a new bimonthly volume of Zzap! 64 has been available through Patreon subscriptions. This is a 66-page A5 magazine, published bi-monthly by Fusion Retro Books. Original staff member Robin Hogg is part of the reviewing team, with artist Simon Butler contributing the regular Gallery section looking at artwork. The Technical Bit In The Middle now focuses on modern hardware and other upgrades for the computer, with a regular section dedicated to the MEGA65 computer.


Staff

* Chris Anderson *Bob Wade *
Roger Kean Oliver Frey (; 30 June 1948 – 21 August 2022) was a Swiss artist, who was based in the United Kingdom. He was known for his book and magazine illustrations, especially for British computer magazines of the 1980s. Under the pen name Zack, he b ...
* Gary Penn *
Julian Rignall Julian "Jaz" Rignall (born 6 March 1965, London, England) is a writer and editor. He has also produced content for corporate websites such as GamePro Media, publisher of ''GamePro'' magazine and ''GamePro.com'', marketing collateral and advert ...
* Gary Liddon *Sean Masterson * Steve Jarratt *Dan Gilbert * Paul Glancey *Matthew "Maff" Evans *Kati Hamza *Robin Hogg *Mark Caswell *Carl Rowley *Gordon Houghton *Ciarán Brennan *Richard Eddy *Lucy Hickman *Stuart Wynne *"Footy" Phil King *Steve Shields *Dominic Handy (aka Paul Sumner) *Warren Lapworth *Paul Rand *Nik Wild *Massimo Valducci


Columnists

* Jeff Minter - He left early, disagreeing about the bad review of his game ''Mama Llama'' but returned to write a diary of the production of Iridis Alpha. * Andrew Braybrook - Wrote diaries on the production of his games '' Paradroid'' and '' Morpheus'', titled ''Mental Procreation'' *Martin Walker - following suit for his game ''
Citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...
'', titled ''Walker's Way'' * Apex Computer Productions - the Rowlands Brothers, John & Steve, doing the same for their game '' Creatures''


References


Further reading

*


External links

* Archived Zzap!64 magazines on the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Patreon for ZZAP! 64 Magazine
{{Commodore 8-bit computer magazines 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom 1992 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Commodore 8-bit computer magazines Defunct video game magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines disestablished in 1992 Magazines established in 1985 Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Video game magazines published in the United Kingdom