Old School Gamer is dedicated to the gamer who enjoys everything from Arcade Game collecting – refurbishing – playing to the home console gamer reliving his childhood from the 70s, 80s and 90s and passing it onto the next generation of gamers. Those that collect the arcade machines, bring that back to life and play them, those that collect and enjoy games from the first generation to the current. Free digital subscriptions can be signed up for at FREE Old School Gamer Magazine

Issue #28 – Coming Soon

Issue #27 – March 2022

Issue #26 (January 2022) – Old School Gamer – Rhythm Games

The human race has been obsessed with Music ever since Thag hit a big log with a small rock and Gron started dancing. Music has changed through time to reflect the state of humankind, from Gregorian Chant, Renaissance music, and the Grand Masters to Big Band, Lounge, Rock and Roll, Punk, Rap, Thrash, and Rave music. So it was only natural that music would make the leap to video games… and that’s where this issue of Old School Gamer comes in. We cover it all – from the first early beeps and boops to those magnificent Guitar and DJ emulators.

I know I’ve said this before, but wait… there’s more! We reveal Taito’s new line of video game-based pins, the decline of the Street Fighter series, a look at the early VC-4000 game system, a rundown of the Con scene and, for those who still know what a book is, we have a Book Report from Publisher Ryan Burger! So what are you waiting for? Put on those dancing shoes! LET’S ROCK!!!

In This Issue

iiRcade
DJ Hero
Guitar Hero
Frequency
Beatmania
Revolution X
DDR & Pump It Up

Jaded Gamer
Early Music Games
Book Report: Pacman
Taito Video Game Pins
End of Days: Hyper Street Fighter 2
Interton Video Computer 4000
Convention Roundup

Issue #26 – January 2022

Special Issue – Old School Gamer Tour 2021-2022

Issue #25 (November 2021) – Old School Gamer – The X-Box 20th Anniversary

Okay, I confess! I started gaming when my Dad brought home a Commodore Vic-20 and a couple of Scott Adams text adventure games. I spent many an hour typing my way through The Count and Voodoo Castle. Then the Commodore 64 came out and I immersed myself into the magic of games like F-14 Tomcat, The Train, and many, many others. Then the Amiga 500 appeared, along with Wings, Cannon Fodder and more. I despised consoles. They were for little kids. Then I got a job at Future Publishing and suddenly I saw the light. Today, I own more consoles than computers.

In This Issue

iiRcade
X-Box 20th Anniverary
J Allard Recalls
End of Days: X-Box
Dark Side of the Drives
Deux Ex

Ghost Recon
Jaden Berk
KISS Psycho Circus
Movie Inspired Pins
Bueller Pin
Convention Roundup

Issue #25 – November 2021

Issue #24 (September 2021) – Old School Gamer – The Console War

Believe it or not, I was not your normal kid. I was obsessed with two things in my childhood – reading, and war. I read Homer’s Iliad at 6, Richard Tregaskis’s Guadalcanal Diary at 8, and countless other tomes on the art of getting your way via vulgar displays of power. Now you faithful readers can read about a great struggle – the Video Game Console Wars – which occurred between 1990 and 2000. The drawnout conflict had many casualties and a few winners, just like all wars. But wait! There’s more… We’re proud to announce our new Pinball section! Every issue, we’ll give you the lowdown on everything PIN. We start this new section with rockin’ coverage of pinball’s hardest-rockin’ machines: Led Zepplin, iron Maiden, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and of course, ELVIS. Check it out!

In This Issue

iiRcade
The Console Wars
Crash Bandicoot
Tommy Tallarico
Genesis vs. SNES

Pinball Palooza!
Zach Sharpe
Jaden Berk
End of Days: AMigao 4000
Convention Roundup
Save The Cade!

Issue #24 – September 2021

Issue #23 (July 2021) – Old School Gamer – The Adventure Game Issue

Everyone has had at least one adventure. Even that liitle old lady down the block has had some racy adventures at one time… trust me on this one… I’ve had some amazing adventures in my time on Earth, little old ladies not with- standing. Like the time a friend and I thought we had scored the only… Uh, I can’t ell you about that one… There was this time on tour that I ate 3 egg salad sandwiches and on stage, I… Hmm, you don’t need to hear that one… Then there was the time we made a depth charge and put it my Dad’s pool to see what would happen. We set that thing off and… Anyway, my point is that everyone loves a good adventure and this issue of Old School Gamer is packed with plenty of ’em! So put on your Elven cape, grab your walking stick and climb on in!

In This Issue

iiRcade
King’s Quest
Jane Jensen at Sierra
Early NES Adventures
The Jaded Gamer
Click Bait

Sega’s Early AdventuresWhat’s Old Is New
End of Days: Famicom Disk System
Zelda Hits 35
WWF Wrestlefest
Retromania Wrestling

Issue #23 – July 2021

Issue #22 (May 2021) – Old School Gamer – The Racing Issue

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to race. What’s not to like? That feeling you get when you strap yourself in… the scream of engines being revved to the Red Line… the G-forces pushing you back into your seat as your stomp on the gas pedal… the acrid smell of rubber as white clouds of smoke billow from your tires… the scenery that blurs as you accelerate… the thrill of victory as you blow past your opponent… the red light flashing from the Highway Patrol car behind you… the cold steel of the handcuffs… but I digress… If you love going fast, then this is the issue of Old School Gamer magazine for you! So pull on those Italian leather racing gloves and grab this issue!!! Gareggiamo!

In This Issue

iiRcade – Wanna Know What’s New
Outrun
Pit Stop II
Brett Weiss’s Bargain Bin
Sega Turbo
Hard Drivin’
Cruisi’n USA

Mario Kart
End of Days: C64
Minicab Reviews
Game Gear: Glen’s Retro Show
Save the Cade – Arkadia – Arkansas
Nox Archaist
Once Upon Atari

Issue #22 – May 2021

Issue #21 (March 2021) – Old School Gamer – The First Person Shooters Issue

If there’s one thing I love almost as much as I love guitars, it’s guns… all kinds of guns. I’ve fired everything from a pellet rifle to an M55 self-propelled gun. There’s just something special about pulling a lanyard and then seeing the top of a hill 12 miles away disappear with a huge BOOM! Maybe that’s why I’m such a huge fan of First Person Shooters. I just really like that feeling of reaching out and fatally touching someone… it could be an alien, a Nazi Storm Trooper, a Wild West outlaw… heck, it could even be a laughing dog… We’ve got all kinds of great FPS articles in this issue. All you’ve got to do is set your sights on the pages and squeeze the trigger.

In This Issue

iiRcade – Wanna Know What’s New
Strife: What’s Old Was New Again
Powerslave: Play Like AN Egyptian
Light Gun Games
Dragon’s Lair
Wolfenstein 3D

End of Days: 32X and Spiderman Web of Fire
First Person Nausia
Disruptor: Graig Stitt Reminisces
John Romero Reveals All Things W3d
Major Havoc
Old School Gamer Bookshelf

Issue #21 – March 2021

Issue #20 (January 2021) – Old School Gamer – The Late 1990s Issue

The one thing I remember most about the Late 90s was when they ended at Y2K. 1999 for me wasn’t a Prince song; it was more like a Mad Max movie, as I stockpiled everything I could think of to survive the collapse of society: guns, ammo, body armor, food, water… you name it, I had it! Just like this issue of Old School Gamer magazine! We’ve got the games that made the Late 90s a great time to be alive: Resident Evil, Pokemon, Quake, Croc, Clock Tower, and NHL FaceOff ’98! If that isn’t enough, we’ve also got 25 years of E3 memories (without the hangovers!), another iiRcade Report, a trip into Walter Day’s mind, and my tutorial on demented architecture… no, really! This issue is really packing a lot of heat… just like I am… you know, I look pretty cool in my MOPP suit…

In This Issue

iiRcade: Bring It Home
Tiger Games – Cheaper Was Better?
Game Boy – Early Arcade Ports
Gamegear – Hey It Tried…
The Unpopular Ones – Ever Heard of These
Game Bioy Color – Not Just The Case
Theme vs. Design
Hidden Gems – N64

Diary of an Arcade Employee
Intellivision Amico – The Future is Now!
Barfighter – You Win Beer!!!
End of Days – The Virtual Boy
The Atari 2600 Encyclopedia
Ed Logg – Rock Star Asteroids Rocks!
The Jaded Gamer – SB2 Glossary
Joel Billings – SSI Simulations

Issue #20 – January 2021

Issue #19 (November 2020) – Old School Gamer – The Handhelds

Handhelds… What the heck isn’t a handheld device in this day and age? You’ve got handheld phones (I don’t, but that’s another story…), handheld computers… come to think of it, if you’re reading this printed magazine, even it could be considered a handheld device. What we have here are a collection of stories about all the great (and some not so great) handheld games: Tiger Games, the GameBoy, the GameBoy Color, the Game Gear, and one or two more that you might not even know about! Handhelds… we got your handhelds right here! Plus a whole bunch of other great stuff: Asteroids, BarFighter, SSI games, the Virtual Boy, Squids and an interview with an Arcade Employee! So pick up this handheld magazine and get into it!

In This Issue

iiRcade: Bring It Home
Tiger Games – Cheaper Was Better?
Game Boy – Early Arcade Ports
Gamegear – Hey It Tried…
The Unpopular Ones – Ever Heard of These
Game Bioy Color – Not Just The Case
Theme vs. Design
Hidden Gems – N64

Diary of an Arcade Employee
Intellivision Amico – The Future is Now!
Barfighter – You Win Beer!!!
End of Days – The Virtual Boy
The Atari 2600 Encyclopedia
Ed Logg – Rock Star Asteroids Rocks!
The Jaded Gamer – SB2 Glossary
Joel Billings – SSI Simulations

Issue #19 – November 2020

Issue #18 (September 2020) – Old School Gamer – The 1990s

The early 90s was a time for change. I went from being a mainframe programmer at a major telephone company to a Managing Editor at Game Players. Grunge stabbed Hair Metal in the back with a rusty fork and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, except for Axel Rose. Ren and Stimpy took over Saturday mornings and no one would ever look at cartoons the same way again. Here at OSG magazine, we’ve got Adam Goldberg and Jeff Peters! We’ve got NHLPA 93 and Burning Force, along with Final Fight and Virtual Bart. We’ve also got Revolution X featuring Aerosmith, who still kept a-rolling despite the rusty fork in their backs. So grab your beverage of choice, settle down in your comfy chair, and dig in to Issue 18 of Old School Gamer Magazine – The Early 90s!

In This Issue

Adam F. Goldberg – Still a NES Kid
IIRCADE – Ready For Your Home
NHLPA 93 – Fight For Fun
Final Fight – Hit ‘Em Hard
Virtual Bart – Don’t Have A Cow
Jaded Gamer – Walking The Dog
Burning Force – A Hidden Gem
Gaming News: Robbie Lakeman

World Record Update: Billy Mitchell / Paul Tesi
Revolution X / Kerri Hoskins
Pinball
End of Days: Sega Master System
TETRIS Community Update
NES Reviews
Jeff Peters: The Early Days
OTTUMWA: The Gaming Capital of the World

Issue #18 – September 2020

Issue #17 (July 2020) – Old School Gamer – Air and Space

Roger, Houston, that’s an affirmative. The suit is perfoming wonderfully. I can hardly tell I went… Ready to continue with pre-launch checklist, Flight Leader. ToeJam and Earl… check… StarFox… roger that… Warhawk… one moment, Houston… uh, check… Space Invaders is a go… Cobra Commander… COBRA COMMANDER? WHERE IS THAT RAT BASTARD? What? Cobra Command… It’s a game? Oh… Uh, that’s a go… Wild Bill Sealey is good to go… Pre-launch checklist is complete, Houston. Payload inventory is complete: Donkey Kong, and Walter Day’s Trading Cards are all secure in the Payload Bay.

Old School Gamer Issue 17 (Air & Space) is ready for launch. Internals are set. Ignition is in 10… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three…

In This Issue

Toe Jam & Earl
The Starworlds Arcade
Starfox
Space Invaders
Cobra Commander
Yars Revenge
Warhawk

End of Days: Warios Woods
Donkey Kong
Walter Day’s Trading Cards
eSports vs. Chris Tang
Wild Bill Sealey: The Microprose Years

Issue #17 – July 2020

Issue #16 (May 2020) – Old School Gamer – Late 1980’s

Welcome to the Thunderdome! Two men enter; one man leaves. IT’S DYIN’ TIME!!!… Oops! Sorry… I was reliving the late 80’s… Not an easy task if you were as crazy as I was back then. What we have here is the Late 80’s issue of OSG, loaded with incredible stories about Double Dragons, Robot Monsters, the End Of Days, Defenders, Game-Changing Consoles, Insane Asylums, and a hedgehog named Lizzy. So grab a cold one and dive into gaming history!

I’d like to apologize to Richard Moss for accidently omitting him from The Scribes section. His piece “Mac Attack” was a great expose of shooters that appeared on Apple computers.

In This Issue

Prince of Persia
Robot Monsters!
MSX2: Game Changer
End of Days: Magic Knight Rayearth
Defender: Eugene Jarvis Interview
80’s Arcade Life
The Jaded Gamer: Adventure Writer
Genesis: The Launch Games

Sega Does What Nintendon’t
Double Dragon
The Lizzy Hedgehog Story
Float In The Fizzy Tunnel
Game Gear
Super Arcade Controller
Retron HD Console

Issue #16 – May 2020

Issue #15 (March 2020) – Old School Gamer – Shooters

Howdy, folks! My name is Bill Donohue, and it looks like I’ll be filling up this box now. If you know me, you know I’m a huge gun fan, real or pixelated. So I’m real happy about Issue 15… SHOOTERS! We’ve got shooters you’ve probably never heard of. We’ve got shooters that existed only on Macs. We’ve also got the classics: Duck Hunt (You know dog is delicious, right?), Sinistar (Face it, the only thing getting eaten is you), and Airborne Ranger (Foon!). So hunker down and set your sights on Issue 15 of Old School Gamer.

In This Issue

Konami Shooters
Duck Hunt
Brett’s Old School Bargain Bin
The Jaded Gamer: MMU812A
Mac Attack
Metalstorm
The Super Spy

Breakout
Video Game Box Art
Interview with Jim Levy
Sinistar: Noah Falstein
The Game Scholar: War Games
You Can’t Call It… #!%%$!
Ultimate Guide to the NES Library 1985-1995

Issue #15 – March 2020

Issue #14 (January 2020) – Old School Gamer – Early 1980s

We’re very excited to present issue 14 of Old School Gamer Magazine. I’ve been on board since issue 3 and it’s been incredible to see the response and acceptance of OSGM by the community during that time. In this issue, we have an interview with Bob DeCrescenzo, a preeminent Atari homebrew creator. We also have some excellent ColecoVision stories as well as fantastic pieces from our regular contributors.

In This Issue

Nolan Bushnell Interview
Designer of the ColecoVision
Brett’s Old School Bargain Bin
Modern Retro Programming
A Tale of Two Consoles
The Jaded Gamer
Coins Detected In Pocket
The Game Scholar

Moon Patrol!
The Walter Day Report
2020 OSG Events Calendar
Game Gear
HC One-Up NES Arcade Stick
Hyperkin HDTV Cable
Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro
Bleeps On Wax

Issue #14 – January 2020

Issue #13 – Old School Gamer (November 2019) – Puzzle Games

It’s lucky issue number 13, and in this edition we explore the world of puzzle games. We’ve brought in some exciting new writers for this issue, and we also continue our insightful pieces by Howard Scott Warshaw and Walter Day. This is an issue you need to read from cover to cover (or top to bottom as it were). We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it! Brian

In This Issue

Myst
Myst: Solve the Original in 30 Minutes?
Tetris in Pop Culture
Puzzle De Pon!
Tetris Attack and Zoop
The Birth of an Arcade
OSG Events Calendar
Game Scholar: Plug and Plays
The Best Video Game In The World
Bomb Squad or Boom Goes The Dynamite
30 Years of the TurboGrafx-16
Convention and Event Update
Designing Yar’s Revenge – The Sizzle

Underground Retrocade
1990 NWC vs. Dave ‘DLo’ Lopez
It’s A Burgertime Party
EveoRetroing Out Your Nintendo Switch
Street Fighter Replicade
NES Encyclopedia
Art of Point-And-Click Adventure Game
Killer Queen Black
Coffee Break Shootout and Total Refill
Sorry Sony
Great Retro Shops

Issue #13 – November 2019

Issue #12 – Old School Gamer (September 2019) – The 1970’s

COMING SOON

In This Issue

Magnavox Odyssey
A Conversation with Nolan Bushnell, Part 1
Space Wars
Colossal Cave Adventure 1976
Exploring The Classic Text Adventures
That 70s Show
Space Invaders
So You Want To Be A YouTuber
OSG Events Calendar
Convention Update

eStarland
Entering the Digitized Era – Part 3
Designing Yar’s Revenge – Part 1
8 Bit Hall of Fame
Nickelworld
Then and Now – Pac-Man
Joust and Lonnie McDonald
3 Arcade Cabinets
Faster Than Light
Sega Master System: A Visual Compendium
Great Retro Shops

Issue #12– September 2019

Issue #11 – Old School Gamer (July 2019) – Platformers

I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Brian Szarek, Editor for Old School Gamer Magazine. I’ve been with OSGM since the second issue. After reading the first issue I knew that I had to be a part of this in some way. Old School Gamer Magazine is really quite unique and fills a void in the retro gaming community. While there are some great online resources, podcasts and YouTube content providers out there, a bi-monthly print and digital magazine featuring all-new content from some of the industry’s top writers is always a great read. All of our writers are excellent and bring interesting and unique perspectives.

While we’ve had top industry writers, such as Brett Weiss, Michael Thomasson, and Walter Day, writing for OSGM since the beginning, this issue we’ve added one of the top names since nearly the very beginning of home console gaming: Howard Scott Warshaw.