Wikipedia

Joystick (magazine)

Not to be confused with Joystiq, a defunct video game blog.

Joystick (formerly Joystick Hebdo)[4][8] was a French computer magazine that published monthly issues on PC games. It was founded in 1988 by Marc Andersen,[5] who later left in November 1995. Originally published in the form of a 32-page weekly magazine in 1988 and 1989, it saw monthly 148-page issues (and more) past 1990.[1][4][9] It initially sold with one or more floppy disks and then later with several CD-ROMs, and finally, until April 2012, a DVD that included complete copies of video games. In 2012, Joystick ceased distribution.

Joystick
Issue 107 cover
CategoriesComputer magazine, Video games
FrequencyMonthly[1][2]
Circulation14000[3]
FounderMarc Andersen[4][5]
Founded1988
First issue9 November 1988
Final issue
Number		23 November 2012
260
CompanySipress,[5] Hachette Digital Presse,[1] MER7,[6] Anuman Interactive[7]
CountryFrance
Based inParis
LanguageFrench
ISSN1145-4806

Despite 80,000 unique visitors per month to Joystick's website, it was closed in March 2002 due to the lack of profitability.[10] It reopened in early 2008 as a summary of the magazine, including video game reviews and video game news; it would be updated irregularly until June 2012.

History

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The first issue of Joystick Hebdo was published on 9 November 1988[8] and contained cheat-code listings, game testings and reviews.

Sometime between November 1989 and January 1990, Joystick Hebdo rebranded as Joystick[4][11] and began selling monthly issues.

In June 1993, Joystick was purchased by Hachette Digital Presse.[5][12] In 2003, Hachette Digital Presse was acquired by Future.[13] During this time, many editors left Joystick and created the independent publication Canard PC.[14]

In 2011, MER7[6] (formerly Future France) was liquidated,[14][15][16] causing the last issue of Joystick to release on 23 November 2012. On 8 February 2013, based on a decision by the Paris Commercial Court, Anuman Interactive acquired the Joystick brand[7][17] and announced Joystick Replay in March 2013.[18]

On 17 May 2018, ZQSD.fr and Anuman launched a podcast series to commemorate the magazine.[19] It showcases interviews with former Joystick writers and editors.

Joystick Replay

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In March 2013, Anuman Interactive announced Joystick Replay,[18] a game label that repurposes retro PC games for the modern age. It has published remakes of games such as Darkstone, Fire & Forget, Moto Racer, North Vs South, Prehistorik, Prohibition 1930 and Titan.

Controversy

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On 3 July 2012, in the "Summer Special" issue of that year, Kévin Bitterlin, a former journalist for Joystick, wrote in a review for the 2013 Tomb Raider game "Subjecting one of the most iconic figures in video games to such torture is just great. And I daresay it is quite exciting." Many outraged reactions launched a debate on sexism in video games in France. [20][21][22][23][24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "press-0-tech". Fiche magazine. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  2. ^ Willing, James (2006). Willing's Press Guide. Michigan State University: Willing's Press Service. p. 20. ISBN 9780955174537.
  3. ^ "Joystick entry on OJD". ojd.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Magazine Joystick Hebdo". Abandonware France (in French). Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "Marc Andersen - Cyber Press Publishing Sa (cybr.ln)". The Wall Street Transcript. 3 April 2000. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Company Overview of M.E.R.7, Joystick and Tilt Brands". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  7. ^ a b "L'éditeur Anuman Interactive acquiert les licences "Joystick" et "Tilt"". AFJV (in French). 8 February 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Le site des anciennes revues informatiques - Joystick Hebdo". www.abandonware-magazines.org (in French). Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Oldies But Goodies". Le site des jeux vidéos rétros. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Le site Joystick.fr ferme ses portes". Clubic (in French). 1 February 2002. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  11. ^ "CPC-POWER, CPCArchives". www.cpc-power.com (in French). Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Magazine Joystick". Abandonware France (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Future acquiert Hachette Digital Presse". www.gamekult.com (in French). 12 March 2003. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  14. ^ a b Wolf, Mark J. P. (2015). Video Games Around the World. MIT Press. p. 189. ISBN 9780262527163.
  15. ^ Gasperini, Cedric (8 November 2012). "L'éditeur de Consoles , Jeux Vidéo Magazine, Joystick... placé en liquidation judiciaire - page 1- GamAlive". www.gamalive.com. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Liquidation judiciaire pour MER7 (Consoles , Jeux Vidéo Magazine...)". jeuxvideo.fr (in French). 8 November 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  17. ^ Weber, Rachel (12 February 2013). "Anuman acquires Tilt and Joystick magazines". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  18. ^ a b Verdin, Guillaume (27 March 2013). "Anuman Interactive annonce le label "Joystick Replay"". Le Mag de MO5.COM (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  19. ^ Pépin, Guénaël (27 September 2016). "ZQSD: des journalistes financent l'avenir de leur podcast sur le jeu vidéo via Patreon" (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  20. ^ Provost, Lauren (22 August 2012). "Joystick et Lara Croft: la critique d'un jeux-vidéo accusée de faire "l'apologie du viol"". Huffington Post (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2019. Faire subir de tels supplices à l'une des figures les plus emblématiques du jeu vidéo, c'est tout simplement génial. Et si j'osais, je dirais même que c'est assez excitant.
  21. ^ Checola, Laurent (23 August 2012). "Lara Croft et le sexisme des gamers". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  22. ^ "Lara Croft, le sexe et les machos". L'Express. 17 May 2014.
  23. ^ "Joystick: apologie du viol et culture du machisme". cafaitgenre.org. 18 August 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  24. ^ "Tomb Raider: Joystick déclenche une polémique sur la tentative de viol de Lara Croft". mcetv.fr. 24 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
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