35 years ago this month, EMAP launched Mean Machines, the UK's first dedicated multiformat console magazine.
It's no exaggeration to say that, had this publication not existed, you wouldn't be reading this site (so yes, you have someone to blame).
I can still vividly remember getting the first issue of Mean Machines, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the cover, and leafing through its pages multiple times for days afterwards. I was just about to enter the world of console gaming via a Japanese Mega Drive, and within these pages, I found a connection with like-minded individuals who shared my passion for video games.
To say it was a transformative experience would be putting it mildly; I hadn't seen anybody present the world of gaming in such an accessible and enthusiastic manner before, and I quickly became hooked – so much so that, when the magazine was split after 24 issues into Mean Machines Sega and Nintendo Magazine System, it genuinely ruined my week. I was both a Sega and Nintendo fan, and loved getting all my news in a single magazine – but I accept I may have been in the minority.
Launched with the legendary Julian Rignall at the helm and boasting the writing talents of Richard Leadbetter, Paul Glancey and Ed "Radion Automatic" Lawrence, Mean Machines made such an impact that, even today, you'll get passionate reactions to uttering its name in the presence of 40-something gamers.
All the way back in 2002, I launched The Mean Machines Archive, a site devoted to celebrating the legacy of the magazine. Via this now-defunct site, I met fellow Hookshot Media co-founder Darren Calvert, and we would use it as a template for what would eventually become Virtual Console Reviews – which subsequently combined with Nintendo Life a few years later, bringing Hookshot CEO Ant Dickens into my life.
The rest, as they say, is history, but I've been fortunate enough to have met and even worked with several former Mean Machines staffers throughout my career, which has been the greatest of honours.
Several members of the Mean Machines team recently reunited to create a similar, one-off magazine for smartphone publisher Supercell, and Rignall has recently stated that he's working on something new; my fingers are crossed that somehow, Mean Machines can make a comeback.