 | |
| Editor | Celeste Dolan |
|---|---|
| Categories | Video game journalism |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Circulation | 10,000 |
| Publisher | Marylou Badeaux |
| First issue | January 1982 |
| Final issue | July 1990 |
| Company | VTO Inc. |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Los Angeles, California |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0890-2143 |
| OCLC | 14192197 |
Computer Entertainer, also known asThe Video Game Update, was an American video gamenewsletter. Based out of Los Angeles, California and edited by Celeste Dolan, it was published monthly between 1982 and 1990. It regularly featured news and reviews ofcomputer andhome console software; sales charts; coverage of the annualConsumer Electronics Show; interviews with developers in thevideo game industry; and release dates.
Computer Entertainer was a newsletter for amail order retailer called Video Take-Out, which was located inNorth Hollywood, Los Angeles and started as a supplier of blank and pre-recordedVHS tapes. The store's general manager, Celeste Dolan, toldBillboard in August 1982 they had begun business two and a half years earlier but that product demand had fluctuated the past year. They chose to begin sales of video games due to its stronger market at the time and for being "a natural extension of selling video tape", even claiming Video Take-Out to be one of the original outlets forAtari.[1] Video Take-Out sent the first issue of its newsletter, originally titledThe Video Game Update, to customers in January 1982 as an information guide for its customers.[2] Dolan was its chief editor alongside Marylou Badeaux, who was also credited as its publisher.[3][4]
The monthly newsletter most prominently featured news and reviews ofcomputer andhome console software. It survived thevideo game crash of 1983 and covered the rise ofindustry juggernautsNintendo andSega as well as the introduction ofCD-ROM technology.[2] Other features included sales charts, reports of the annualConsumer Electronics Show, interviews with developers, and release dates. Game evaluations could be found in the Critically Speaking sections in every issue. Titles were rated based on gameplay and graphics[2] excepttext adventure which were not given graphical scores. While Dolan was the designated review editor,Computer Entertainer later introduced writer and game designer Jeffrey Stanton as a staff reviewer. An extensive game release schedule was provided each month. The staff would contact game publishers directly to obtain and report accurate information[5] and dates would be regularly updated to reflect cancelations and changes.[2]
Dolan served on the award selection committee alongside other video game journalists for The First Video Games Conference, which was co-sponsored byBillboard and theVideo Marketing Game Letter and held in San Francisco in April 1983.[6] The periodical was permanently renamedComputer Entertainer in April 1984.[2] It was announced in the February 1985 issue that Video Take-Out had partnered withSydney Software to exclusively distributeBest of B.C., a compilation of theColeco Adam games B.C.'s Quest for Tires and B.C. II: Grog's Revenge. Just prior to the release in April,Computer Entertainer stated that the companies had halted all future collaborations due to the threat ofpiracy by Adam users and its potentially negative financial impact.[7]
Video Takeout launched its ownbulletin board system for southern California called The Hotline in early 1986, which included an online version ofComputer Entertainer and weekly columns byDan Gutman.[8][9][10]Print circulation for the newsletter reached up to around 10,000 copies by as early as 1987.[4][11][12] According to the April 1987 issue the publisher moved its office toVan Nuys. The business moved again around January 1990 andComputer Entertainer continued publication until abruptly ending that July with a total of 100 issues, one special edition, and one index.[2]
A 2014 documentary series featuredComputer Entertainer in the collection of gaming historianFrank Cifaldi. He alleged that the newsletter's 1986 review ofSuper Mario Bros. for theNintendo Entertainment System was the first and only English-language review of the game's original release. Websites such asIGN andKotaku recited this claim.[13][14]