UK · 1981–2004
The UK's oldest dedicated gaming magazine, launched in 1981 when home computing was still new, and a primary reference for a generation of British players through the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, and Amiga eras.
Computer and Video Games, universally known as CVG, launched in November 1981 from EMAP — predating most of its competitors by several years and giving it a defining role in establishing British games journalism as a distinct profession. In its early years CVG covered all home computers without bias: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, and Amstrad CPC all received equal column inches, reflecting a market where hardware fragmentation was the norm rather than the exception. As the market consolidated around consoles in the late 1980s, CVG shifted to cover the Sega and Nintendo platforms while maintaining its computer coverage, occupying an unusual cross-platform position that no US magazine of the era matched. The magazine launched the careers of several major British games journalists and editors, and its influence on the editorial culture of Future Publishing — which acquired EMAP's games titles — can be traced through publications that survive to the present day. CVG transitioned to digital-only in 2014 before closing entirely.