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GamePro

US · 1989–2011

A long-running US multiplatform magazine aimed at younger players, recognisable for its "ProReview" format and mascot-heavy visual identity that made it a staple of school-library gaming coverage.

GamePro launched in May/June 1989 from IDG and quickly built a large readership by targeting a slightly younger demographic than EGM — readers aged 10–14 who wanted coverage of every major platform without deep technical analysis. The magazine's ProReview format scored each game across four separate categories (fun factor, graphics, sound, and control), giving readers a quick reference checklist rather than extended prose criticism. GamePro also maintained a stable of in-house pseudonym reviewers rather than credited staff, a practice that critics argued undermined accountability but gave the magazine a distinctive editorial personality. At peak circulation in the mid-1990s GamePro was selling over one million copies monthly. The magazine survived the transition from cartridge to disc gaming, through multiple ownership changes, and a full conversion to web-only publication before finally ceasing operations in 2011.

Notable Issues:
  • Issue #1 (May/June 1989) — Launch issue covering NES, Master System, and the incoming Genesis
  • Issue #50 (September 1993) — Major Mortal Kombat II cover with strategy content that sold out on newsstands
  • Issue #100 (November 1997) — Centennial issue with a retrospective spanning the 8-bit and 16-bit eras
  • Issue #150 (March 2002) — PlayStation 2 transition coverage with early PS2 library round-ups
Key Facts:
  • Published by IDG from 1989; reached over 1 million monthly readers in the mid-1990s
  • ProReview four-category scoring system (fun, graphics, sound, control) used throughout the 1990s
  • Used pseudonymous staff reviewers as recurring characters rather than credited journalists
  • Survived in various forms until 2011, outlasting most of its 1990s contemporaries