Computer Gaming World

Computer Gaming World

Computer Gaming World Issue 249 - March 2005
Editor	Russell Sipe (1981–1992) Johnny Wilson (1992–1999) George Jones (1999–2001) Jeff Green (2002–2006)
Categories	Computing, Gaming
Frequency	Monthly
First issue	November 1981
Final issue — Number	November 2006 268
Company	Ziff Davis
Country	United States
Language	English
Website	http://computergamingworld.com/ (archived)
ISSN	0744-6667
OCLC number	8482876

Computer Gaming World (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006.

In 1979 Russell Sipe left the Southern Baptist Convention ministry. A fan of computer games, he realized in spring 1981 there was no magazine dedicated to computer games. Although Sipe had no publishing experience, he formed Golden Empire Publications in June and found investors. He chose the name of Computer Gaming World (CGW) instead of alternatives such as Computer Games or Kilobaud Warrior because he hoped that the magazine would both review games and serve as a trade publication for the industry. The first issue appeared in November, at about the same as rivals Electronic Games and Softline. (Sipe's religious background led to "Psalm 9:1-2" appearing in each issue. His successor as editor, Johnny L. Wilson, was an evangelical Christian minister.)

Early bi-monthly issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings (SSI), Dan Bunten (Ozark Software), and Chris Crawford. As well, early covers were not always directly related to the magazine's contents, but rather featured work by artist Tim Finkas. In January/February 1986 CGW increased its publication cycle to nine times a year, and the editorial staff included popular writers such as Scorpia, Charles Ardai, and M. Evan Brooks.

CGW survived the video game crash of 1983, which badly hurt the market; by summer 1985 it was the only survivor of 18 color magazines covering computer games in 1983. In autumn 1987 CGW introduced a quarterly newsletter called Computer Game Forum (CGF), which was published during the off-months of CGW. The newsletter never became popular; only two issues were published before it was cancelled. Some of CGF's content became part of CGW, which became a monthly.