Next Generation was a US video game magazine published by Imagine Media, now known as Future US. It was connected to and shared content with Edge magazine from the UK. The magazine was published from January 1995 to January 2002. Jonathan Simpson-Bint was the publisher, and Neil West was the editor. Other editors included Chris Charla, Tom Russo, and Blake Fischer.
Next Generation first covered 32-bit game consoles, such as 3DO, Atari Jaguar, and the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn, which were not yet released. Unlike other magazines like GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly, Next Generation focused on the video game industry itself instead of individual games.
Publication history
The magazine was first published by GP Publications until May 1995, when the publisher changed its name to Imagine Media.
In September 1999, Next Generation was redesigned, and its cover name was shortened to NextGen. One year later, in September 2000, the magazine’s width was increased from 8 inches to 9 inches. This wider format lasted less than a year.
In 2005, Future Publishing USA restarted the brand as an industry-run website called Next-Gen.biz. The website included articles and editorial content similar to the print magazine and republished many articles from Edge, the UK-based sister magazine to Next-Gen. In July 2008, Next-Gen.biz changed its name to Edge-Online.com. At the end of NextGen Magazine’s life cycle, previous subscribers began receiving copies of PlayStation magazine.
Content
Next Generation's content did not talk about screenshots, walkthroughs, or cheat codes. Instead, the content focused on how games are made from an artistic point of view. Interviews with people in the video game industry often included questions about games in general, not about the specific details of the latest game or game system they were working on.
Next Generation was first published before the North American launch of the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. Much of the early content was about what to expect from those consoles.
Besides regular columns, the magazine did not list the names of the writers. The editors said they believed the entire staff should share credit or responsibility for each article and review, even if one person wrote it.
The review system used a star rating from 1 to 5 stars. This system compared how good a game was to other games already available.
The magazine included editorial sections, such as "The Way Games Ought To Be," which was originally written every month by game designer Chris Crawford. These sections tried to give helpful feedback about common practices in the video game industry.
The magazine's design was simple and clear. At first, the back cover had no advertising, which was different from most other gaming magazines. For the first few years, the magazine's covers had a matte finish, unlike the shiny paper covers used by competitors. The magazine changed to a different cover style in early 1999, but it returned to the matte finish in late 2000.