Mega Play (magazine)

From Sega Retro

MegaPlayMagazine logo.png
File:MegaPlay US 01.pdf
Mega Play
Publisher: Sendai Publishing
Country of origin: United States
Backed systems: Sega Mega Drive
First issue date: 1990-xx-xx
Last issue date: 1995-0x-xx
Number of issues: 28 (29)
Frequency: Bimonthly
ISSN: 1058-9171

Mega Play was a bimonthly US magazine devoted to Sega video games, particularly the Sega Mega Drive. It "debuted" inside an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly before going out on its own in 1990, almost simultaneously with Game Player's Sega Genesis Strategy Guide.

History

By and large, Mega Play was created mainly to create more product for Sendai to sell. Each issue (nearly all of them 52 pages long) had roughly the same content as would be in a normal issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. Extras included longer strategy guides, more previews, and a different Review Crew taking on new games each month.

In 1991, Sendai announced that Mega Play had been picked up by Warner Publisher Services, the same distributor handling Electronic Gaming Monthly at the time. With this improved distribution, Sendai revealed plans to make the magazine monthly and increase its distribution to over 200,000 copies a month. For whatever reason, though, Mega Play didn't go monthly—in fact, it had trouble keeping a bimonthly schedule in the following years, occasionally skipping a month or putting out two issues in consecutive months.

Despite the lack of original content, the documented devotion of Sega fans allowed Mega Play to survive for over five years before petering out in the summer of 1995, just as Sega's Saturn was debuting in the US.

Ratings

Main article: Mega Play (magazine)/Ratings.

Back issues

Issue PDF Name Date Price Barcode Extras
0 Premiere Issue 1990-xx-xx $1.991.99
[[File:]]
1 Logo-pdf.svg November/December 1990 1990-xx-xx $2.952.95 014302779014-02
2 Logo-pdf.svg February 1991 199x-xx-xx $3.503.50 014302779014-02
3 Logo-pdf.svg March/April 1991 1991-04-xx[1] $3.503.50 014302779014-04
4 Logo-pdf.svg May/June 1991 1991-0x-xx $3.503.50 014302779014-06
5 Logo-pdf.svg July/August 1991 1991-0x-xx $3.503.50 014302779014-08
6 Logo-pdf.svg September/October 1991 1991-0x-xx $3.503.50 014302779014-10
7 Logo-pdf.svg November/December 1991 1991-xx-xx $3.503.50 014302779014-12
8 MegaPlay US 08 cover.jpg January/February 1992 199x-xx-xx $3.503.50
[[File:]]
9 Logo-pdf.svg March/April 1992 1992-0x-xx $3.953.95
0303 Logo-pdf.svg June 1992 1992-0x-xx $3.953.95 014302779014-06
0304 Logo-pdf.svg August 1992 1992-0x-xx $3.953.95 014302779014-08
0305 Logo-pdf.svg October 1992 1992-09-08[2] $3.953.95 014302779014-10
0306 Logo-pdf.svg January 1993 199x-xx-xx $3.953.95 070989373723-01
0401 Logo-pdf.svg February 1993 1993-0x-xx $3.953.95 070989373723-03
0402 Logo-pdf.svg April 1993 1993-0x-xx $3.953.95 070989373723-05
0403 Logo-pdf.svg June 1993 1993-0x-xx $3.953.95 070989373723-07
0404 August 1993 1993-0x-xx $3.953.95
[[File:]]
0405 MegaPlay US 18 cover.jpg October 1993 1993-xx-xx $3.953.95 014302779014-11
[[File:]]
0406 Logo-pdf.svg December 1993 1993-1x-xx $3.953.95
0501 Logo-pdf.svg February 1994 199x-xx-xx $3.953.95 014302779014-03
0502 April 1994 1994-0x-xx
[[File:]]
0503 MegaPlay US 22 cover.jpg July 1994 1994-0x-xx 070989373723-07
[[File:]]
0504 Logo-pdf.svg August 1994 1994-0x-xx 070989373723-09
0505 Logo-pdf.svg October/November 1994 1994-xx-xx $3.993.99 070992373727-11
0506 MegaPlay US 25 cover.jpg December/January 1994/1995 1994-xx-xx $3.993.99 070992373727-01
[[File:]]
0601 Logo-pdf.svg February/March 1995 1995-0x-xx $3.993.99 070992373727-03
0602 April/May 1995 1995-0x-xx $3.993.99
[[File:]]
0603 Logo-pdf.svg June/July 1995 1995-0x-xx $3.993.99 070992373727-07

References


Sega-related magazines published in the United States
Sega Visions (1990-1995) Game Players Sega Guide! (1990-1993) | Mega Play (1990-1995) | Official Dreamcast Magazine (1999-2001) | DCM (1999-2000)