Things to Know About Atari Vintage Computer Magazines
Atari vintage computer magazines are print magazines featuring information on this brand of home computers and video game consoles. Some of the magazines produced include "Atari World Magazine," "Atari ST Review," "START," and "Atari ST User."
What types of content do Atari computer magazines include?Atari magazines, which were released from the 1970s to the early 1990s, featured articles on how to design programs for the Atari, tutorials on how to build and disassemble Atari machines, reviews of games for the Atari video game consoles, and editorials on computing in general. In addition, these periodicals often featured colorful covers, intricate type-in programs, and columns from professional engineers.
What are some magazines devoted to the Atari?Some vintage magazines focused on this brand of computers include:
- "Antic": Focused on the Atari 8-bit family, this magazine ran from 1982 to 1990 and covered 88 issues in total. It featured reviews and tutorials and included a type-in game each month.
- "ANALOG Computing": This magazine covering the 8-bit family included 79 issues released from 1981 to 1989 and often featured machine-language games.
- "Atari Explorer": Featuring dozens of issues from 1985 to 1993, this magazine emphasized the ST line of computers and everything that came after it.
- "Atari User": This British magazine focused on the 8-bit family and featured numerous game reviews. It was released from 1985 to 1988 across 43 issues.
- "Page 6": Consisting of 85 issues from 1982 to 1998, this British Atari magazine covered the 8-bit and ST range of machines in detail.
- Other: In addition to Atari-focused magazines, many general-purpose technology periodicals devoted substantial attention to this brand, such as "Compute!," which ran from 1979 to 1994, and "Creative Computing," which ran from 1974 to 1985.
When picking vintage Atari magazines, take into account these factors:
- Anthologies: Some issues from magazines during this brand's heyday were combined into anthologies, sometimes according to year.
- Page Count: Note the page counts of any issues that interest you so you know how much material you're getting.
- Special Editions: Some issues have special editions with alternate covers or content. One example of this is holiday issues, which sometimes have unusual content or extended page counts. They often have striking covers as well.
- Image-to-Text Ratio: Depending on the content the magazine specializes in, you may prefer issues with more images or text per page.
- Special Information: You may be looking for rare material, such as machine-code games or game reviews from notable guest editors. If so, be sure research the contents of each periodical beforehand.