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PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 8

It’s Part 8, and from the bright and breezy complacency of the mid-00s, we come to 2008: the era of Mock the Week and the global financial crisis. Part 8: 2008-10 – The Bitter End Just as I was getting used to the new Zone family (I blame the mildly disturbing Zone Christmas card from […]

PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 7

We’re into the penultimate part of our history of PC Zone magazine. Having missed a significant chunk of it out (sorry), we rejoin Zone in the mid-late 00s. Part 7: 2006-2007 – A Bright Future Sadly, I can’t tell you much about Zone between 2003-2005. I never bought or read the magazine, and I can’t […]

PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 6

We’re into part 6 of our history of PC Zone. Here are the previous instalments, if you haven’t read them already. This is the part where those looking forward to detailed coverage of the magazine during the early-mid 00s are likely to be disappointed. Part 6: 2002-2005 – The Zone-less Years I think I bought […]

Let’s Go 8 Bit

As the second series has just come to an end, I thought it might be worth sharing a few brief thoughts about Dara O’Briain’s Go 8 Bit. I haven’t watched a games-based TV programme since the early 90s heyday of GamesMaster and Games World, and though there have been a few since then, they haven’t […]

PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 5

2000: the year in which Silverchair said they’d make it up to us. Did they ever get around to it? I’m not sure. Whatever am I talking about? Never mind, we’re into part 5 of our history of PC Zone magazine, so let’s get on with that. Part 5: 2000-2001 – Reality Check At some […]

PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 4

Part 4 of our history of PC Zone, and we’re into 1998: past the peak of the 90s, but still, to my mind, a vaguely optimistic time. Okay, so Britpop was dead and Be Here Now was rubbish, but we still lived in hope that England might win the World Cup and The Phantom Menace […]

PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 3

We’re onto part 3 of our history of PC Zone (part 1, part 2) and it’s getting to the point in the 90s where one of those nostalgic TV documentaries about Cool Britannia (which I would try – but fail – to resist watching) might focus its attention: Britpop, Euro ’96, Tony Blair and the […]

PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 2

Welcome to part 2 of our history of PC Zone (part 1 here, if you missed it). This time, we’re into the mid-90s, and what many consider the era of peak Zone. This is around the time that I started reading, too (my first issue was Zone 24, March 1995, with Dark Forces on the […]

PC Zone: an incomplete and subjective history, part 1

Earlier in the year, we had a request from our reader Nick, who asked if we might consider a feature on old PC magazines. Although there were quite a few around at various points in the 90s, there’s really only one that we could ever really write about. PC Zone magazine may not be familiar […]

A marvellous bundle of Windows 95 wonders, part 2

Hello! We’re doing lists of games again, and this time we’re looking at those released between the mid-late 90s and 2001. My friend and colleague has already taken us through the first part of this particular selection, the content of which was the subject of some fevered debate (okay, a series of friendly e-mails) before […]