The Electronic Gaming Monthly Compendium

New updates on The Compendium, the Digital Archive, and EGM #265
about 1 year ago – Mon, Jun 30, 2025 at 04:54:21 PM

Hello, and thanks again for your support of The EGM Compendium. As we round the final corner, there’s plenty of ground to cover in this update, so let’s get started.

Updated Timing for The EGM Compendium

Let’s hit the most important part of this update first: We now expect to ship the The EGM Compendium to you a bit later than the July date previously announced. For reasons we’ll explain below, we’ll need 60 more days to finish up the book and other rewards (that’s the end of September for everyone keeping track). Everything is progressing nicely, albeit a bit slower than we had originally anticipated. Our goal has always been to deliver the best book possible, and this delay is almost entirely due to that fact.

Rest assured, we’ve put the extra time since our previous delay to good use by overhauling layouts, upping the page count (again), and continuing to work hard to line up even more interviews (including one much-requested name we’d been trying to get in touch with for over a year). Buttoning up all that extra work, while simultaneously launching an even more robust version of the Digital Archive than we’d originally planned (more on the Archive below) has simply taken longer than we anticipated.

Also, there is one issue that remains out of our control: We underestimated the amount of time it would take to get everyone’s responses to the backer participation elements of the book. We’ve still got over 1,000 surveys outstanding, including nearly 400 backers who paid to have their name in the book. We’re also waiting on around half of the I Am Sushi-X tier bios, letter art, and letters. We’ve sent out regular reminders and will continue to do so, but we’re quickly approaching a point when anyone who’s yet to submit their info will lose out on their chance to be in the book. We’re announcing today that the deadline is July 11th. This applies to anyone who needs to submit a name to be credited in the book (through the BackerKit survey) or a submission for your reward tier (via email). If you’re one of the folks who’s yet to respond, please do whatever you can to get your submission in before then. We don't want to leave anyone out.

We know the added wait isn’t ideal, but we’re committed to making the book the best it can be and we wanted to keep you, our biggest supporters, in the loop. We promise The EGM Compendium will be the best version of itself when you get your hands on it.

To help make the wait a little more tolerable, we’ll be putting out preview pages in an update next week, so you'll actually have a piece of the book to read and enjoy in the meantime. Stay tuned!

EGM Digital Archive Issue Downloads

…are now live.

We’ve actually been rolling out the feature over the past few weeks unannounced, to gauge how the servers would hold up to the added load of issue downloads. Everyone should now have access to nearly all of the original print issues for download in PDF format. You can find the download links on each issue page, below the cover art. We’ll get the remaining issues up in the days ahead. We’re performing additional cleanup work on the scans and in some cases rescanning material to ensure the PDFs are of the best possible quality.

To prevent abuse, each paid account has a limit of three downloads per issue of the magazine. This is not a hard-and-fast lifetime limit, but a preventative measure that we may well decide to modify in the future. If you encounter a problem with the limit and need your download counter reset on any issue for any reason, you can just send a note to [email protected] and we’ll help you out.

As a reminder, these downloads are DRM-free, so once you’ve grabbed them you can make as many copies and transfer them to as many of your personal devices as you’d like. However, please note that they’re not copyright-free. Please don’t upload the PDFs anywhere for the general public to download.

EGM Compendium Backer Voting Results

Earlier this year, we opened voting for the franchises you wanted to see spotlighted in The EGM Compendium. Now, the results are in.

Here are the winners:

Top Three Licensed Franchises

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Star Wars
Marvel

Top Five Additional Franchises

Castlevania
Metroid
Mega Man
Doom
Super Smash Bros.

Bonus Review Crew Bookmark

Final Fantasy VII

EGM #265

We’re also in the very earliest stages of planning for the new issue of EGM, so we’ll be able to hit the ground running as soon as the book is delivered to the printer and ensure you’ll get the magazine shipped to you alongside the book. There’s not much to share yet, but there is one exciting announcement we can make today.

If you’ll recall, our final bonus stretch goal was to give the magazine a fold-out cover inspired by the original EGM #100 artwork. That classic cover featured a montage of some of the most iconic game characters in history at that point. Our new version will take the same concept but update the selection of characters with a more modern lineup.

Today, we can announce that we’re working with the very same artist who drew the EGM #100 cover, Allan Ditzig. Following his working on the original cover, Allan has built an impressive career in the game industry, working as a designer, creative director, and art director at studios such as Midway, THQ, Zynga, and Boss Fight Entertainment. At Midway, he worked with Ed Boon to reinvent classic Mortal Kombat characters for Deadly Alliance and designed the now-iconic blind swordsman Kenshi.

We’ve already seen his sketch for the new cover, and it’s nothing short of incredible. Working with Allan to deliver a new take on the same cover concept he illustrated back in 1997, with decades more experience under his belt, is one more special moment in a project that’s been packed with them. We can’t wait for you to see the finished piece.

That’s all for today. Thanks again, and be sure to keep an eye out for next week’s update, when we’ll be sharing the preview chapter of the book.

Some Official Business, and a Fun Update on Recapturing the Past
about 1 year ago – Mon, May 19, 2025 at 01:15:15 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Vote to Feature Your Favorites in the Compendium (Plus Updates on the Archive and Tariffs)
about 1 year ago – Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 09:08:19 PM

Thanks again for your support of Electronic Gaming Monthly as we deliver your first reward—the EGM Archive—and continue work on the rest of the project. We’ve got a lot to share today, so let’s get to it.

Voting for The EGM Compendium Is Now Live

Thanks to the stretch goals unlocked by the backers during the initial campaign, our community will be voting on some of the franchises that will be highlighted in The EGM Compendium and the game featured on the final Review Crew bookmark.

Today we’re officially opening up voting on those stretch goals. Go here and make your voice heard now!

We plan to leave the voting open for at least two weeks to allow as many backers as possible to vote. We’ll follow up again with a reminder and let you know the final deadline as it approaches.

Please note that the voting form also includes a handful of optional survey questions, so we can gauge how you’re feeling about the project so far, how we can improve, and what might interest you in the future.

The EGM Archive

Separately, we’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to check out the beta version of the EGM Archive. Given the volume of new signups we’ve experienced over the last week, things went far smoother than even we hoped for, and we’ve already made some tweaks to improve the site’s performance and usability in response to backer feedback. We’ve read all the kind words you’ve shared about the Archive, and it’s immensely gratifying to know you appreciate the work we put into building it.

By now, any existing backers who paid for access to the Archive should have received a code. If you haven’t seen it, please check your email (including the spam folder) for a message with the subject line "New Digital Content for The Electronic Gaming Monthly Compendium on BackerKit."

If you still can’t find your code, it’s also accessible at the end of your BackerKit survey, via a button on the survey confirmation page marked "Get Your Digital Downloads." You can get back to your BackerKit survey at any time by entering the email address associated with the Kickstarter account you used to back the EGM Compendium at egmcompendium.backerkit.com.

We’ve also distributed codes for "backer" accounts to everyone who did not purchase Archive access. This account will allow you to view the Review database we unlocked as a stretch goal during the campaign.

If you’re interested in seeing everything the Archive has to offer, you’ll be able to upgrade after registering your "backer" account. You’ll find a link to Shopify, where you can purchase the upgrade, on your account page or when trying to navigate to paid areas of the site. The pricing will be $10, the same as if had you included Archive access during the original campaign.

Upgrading will provide you with access to the entire run of Electronic Gaming Monthly in a searchable and indexed format that allows you to locate specific content by game name, franchise, platform, writer, and more. You can also read entire issues from nearly the whole 264-issue print run—we’re saving 237 until physical copies ship—on desktop, mobile, and tablets.

And remember: We also plan to continue improving and expanding the Archive in the weeks and months ahead, so it’ll get even more content from here.

Tariffs and The EGM Compendium Project

We’ve received some questions from backers and potential backers about the issue of tariffs and how they could impact The EGM Compendium. We know there is a lot of uncertainty on this question, and it’s understandable that some of you may have questions about how this could effect the production and shipping of the project.

If you’re a backer who lives outside of the U.S., and your government imposes any additional tariffs, you should be aware that this may increase the cost you’d have to pay to the courier on your end to receive your book (or however else your country handles import taxes on international shipments). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. To state the obvious, the situation is beyond our control, and we do not receive any of the import taxes that may be collected in your jurisdiction. Please consult your local tax authority if you have any questions.

Finally, we feel obligated to once again thank everyone who has supported EGM and the campaign. It is very much appreciated!

It’s no April Fool—The EGM Digital Archive will begin opening its doors this week
over 1 year ago – Tue, Apr 01, 2025 at 03:06:16 PM

A few weeks back, we brought you a quick look at the EGM Digital Archive, the companion website that lets you browse through the history of Electronic Gaming Monthly’s print run on a level never before seen.

Today, we’re excited to announce that we will begin the launch of the Digital Archive beta this Friday, April 4th.

With any website launch such as this, simply opening up the floodgates for everyone to come in at once can make it harder for anyone to get in. So, come Friday, we’ll be sending out invite codes and login instructions via BackerKit to anyone who backed at the I Am Sushi-X or Editor’s Choice tiers. Those backers will have the weekend to get a slightly early look at the site, while also giving us the chance to make sure everything is going the way we’re hoping it does.

Then, on Monday, April 7th, we’ll begin sending out invites to all remaining backers, at a bit of a staggered pace to (again) make sure we don’t have everyone attempting to create accounts all at the same time.

One important note: We will distribute the codes for the Archive through BackerKit, so please ensure that you’ve completed the survey. If you need to check on the status of your survey or generate a new link to get in, you can enter the email associated with your Kickstarter account at EGMCompendium.BackerKit.com. If you cannot access your survey, please review our previous update to troubleshoot.

The email you receive will contain a unique invite code, which is a one-time use code needed for account creation. While you aren’t required to use the same email address that you have attached to BackerKit, doing so will let us help you more quickly should there be any issues with your account.

Depending on your backer level, your personal invite code will grant you one of two account types: Backer or Paid Member. No matter what tier you backed The EGM Compendium, you will gain full access to the EGM Reviews database, where you can sort through and see the final scores for every scored review that appeared in the pages of EGM.

For those who backed to be a Paid Member of the EGM Digital Archive, you’ll then also get access to read the full library of digital issues of Electronic Gaming Monthly, use our dynamic search engine to easily filter through all of the great content that awaits inside each edition, or make use of our Indexes to better discover the games, franchises, companies, developers, personalities, and more.

For anyone with a standard Backer account, we’ll also have an option to pay a one-time fee of $10 to upgrade your Digital Archive account and become a Paid Member. You’ll be able to access this upgrade option directly from your account page on the Archive.

As we prepare to launch the Digital Archive beta, we want to emphasize that this is a beginning, not an end. There’s still a lot that will be added to the site, and given how massive of an effort putting together what’s already there has been, there will still be more polish, as well as additional content we want to catalog or expand metadata on.

We think that the site is already an exceptionally powerful and fun tool to use, so we want to start letting you use it—and we welcome your feedback as we prepare to work toward the next stage of the site’s evolution. While we’re still a few months away from getting The EGM Compendium to everyone, we hope you find the Digital Archive to be a satisfying appetizer to the main course to come!

So, for now, sit tight for a few more days, and you should be hearing from us again very soon as we finally unlock the doors to the EGM Digital Archive.

The EGM Digital Archive is almost here—along with a quick project update and some questions answered!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Mar 18, 2025 at 04:50:33 PM

Hi everyone! We’ve got a quick update on the project, along with answers to some recurring questions we’re getting that we’d like to put into one convenient place.

Apple IDs

We are still waiting for responses from approximately 200 backers who used Apple IDs to set up their Kickstarter accounts. Obviously, we don’t want you to have to alter the way you have your accounts set up, but we also can’t get the backer survey to you unless we have a valid email address that is not an Apple relay email.

So, this is a quick request to any of you who have not yet received your backer survey, and who use an Apple ID as your account email on Kickstarter: Please reach out to us either by sending a direct message via Kickstarter or by sending an email to [email protected]. You can also use both of those methods to send any other questions you may have about this in case you’re not sure if it applies to you or not.

Additionally, we still have about 1400 other backers who have not sent in their surveys yet.  There’s still a bit more time to do this, but for those who are entitled to have their name in the book, time is running out! If you have the survey but haven’t gotten around to filling it out, now is the perfect time to do so. If you still haven’t received it or can’t find it, do not hesitate to reach out so we can escalate your request and have it either re-sent to you or send you a link where you can access it. We just want to make sure everyone gets their information into us on time!

With that out of the way we’d like to give you some updates on The EGM Compendium book and Digital Archive:

Book Update

We received dummy mock-ups of the book last week and they were, in a word, “stunning!” We’re really excited to get the printed dummy books which are coming next week and are the next step in the process. They let us confirm the quality of printing on a chunk of the book pages that we provided to the printer. This is the normal process on any printed item. As we noted in our update in January, we are currently on schedule to get the full book to the printer in June, and should have the final printed copies off the press 2-3 weeks after that date.

We have internally discussed releasing the digital version of the book (which will obviously be done in advance of the printed version) earlier so everyone can see it—however, some argue that it will take the wind out of the sails of the book’s big reveal. We’re open to hearing from our backers what you think the best approach should be, and welcome your input. Let us know want you’d like to see happen in the comments!

EGM Digital Archive

On the Digital Archive front, we’ve please to say that we have the site up and running across desktop, tablets, and mobile, and are going through the final internal tests. While the experience is best on desktop—as many archives of media or information are—it is still a nice experience on mobile and tablets as well, and it was important to us to go the extra mile to make it work for all readers. We are planning to roll out the Beta version of the Digital Archive in the next couple weeks to our backers. The version you get will include all 264* issues of the original Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine, and enable you to do detailed searches of content based on the game titles, platforms, publishers, writers, and more! You’ll also be able to view and read all 5,703 reviews that appeared in the magazine and sort the reviews by score, title, and reviewer (among other things).

* So that we don't spoil the fun of you receiving your print copy, EGM #237—aka the infamous "Lost Issue"—won't be up just yet.

Literally thousands of hours have gone into indexing the issues so you can easily find anything you’d like to read from the magazine’s entire 25-year run. We do want to be clear, however: While we’ve come a long way in achieving that goal, there are still some instances in which you might find the searchable metadata is not yet fully fleshed out. We’ll be filling any of those holes after launch, but we felt like the site was at a point where it’s time to get it in your hands so you can start enjoying it. As well, issue downloads won’t be available at launch, as there’s a couple of things left to finish up before we turn those on, and upgrades to the Digital Archive that came through stretch goals—such as the inclusion of EGM2, or the option to read text versions of articles—is also still to come.

To give you a sneak peek at the Digital Archive, here’s a short video where I run through many of its major features in action, so that you can get a feel for how it all works and what you’ll be able to access later this month.

Some Additions to the FAQ

While we have addressed a lot of the most pertinent questions in the FAQ (which you can read here), we are continuing to get some recurring questions that we’d like to highlight in this update, and which we will further emphasize in the FAQ going forward.  Some of the main points include:

I just backed the project and haven’t received my survey yet. What gives?
Late pledges will receive their backer survey as long as they’re not using an Apple ID on their Kickstarter account (in that case, as noted above, you’ll need to send us a valid direct email to get the survey to you) within 3-5 days after backing. This is something that’s out of our control, as it takes a short period of time for Kickstarter to forward the information for your order over to BackerKit, and for them to then generate and email the survey. If you back the project and don’t see the survey after a week, however, please message us and we’ll get it squared away.

When is the book shipping?
As we noted in our update back in January (and reiterated in this update above), The EGM Compendium book is now on track to release in July.  We are taking the extra time to add some additional features, boost up the page count, and give you even more insight into the history of gaming as chronicled in the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

When are the other rewards shipping?
We are currently planning to ship all of the printed items—all editions of the book, Lost Issue, EGM #265, and poster—together in July. The enamel pins and rolled posters will be sent separately at around the same time. The reason for this is that we intend to mail the printed materials out as fourth class postage using the USPS. Fourth class is a special postage designation that allows us to send printed materials like books and magazines at a special rate and allows us to provide tracking for each shipment so that all of you can follow exactly where your shipment is from the moment it leaves our hands until it gets into yours.  Unfortunately, this kind of shipping can’t be used if things other than books and magazines are included (like enamel pins) so it ends up being easier for us to ship these things separately to the group that is entitled to receive them.

And Finally…

Last but not least, a quick shout-out to all of you, our backers, who have willed this project into existence with a huge outpouring of support that has catapulted The EGM Compendium into the fifth-most funded book (in any category!) of all time on Kickstarter! To say we continue to be blown away by the response is an understatement, and we can never say “Thank You” too much.  So, thank you again.

Feel free to reach out to us at any time if you have any questions, either by dropping a comment or sending a message via Kickstarter.