The journey for Gekkan PC Engine Magzine has finally come to an end. After publishing sixty-six issues over a span of seven years, Shogakukan decided to cease publication of the second-longest running publication dedicated to the PCE (ultimately, PC Engine Fan claimed the title of longest running PCE magazine).
The Legend of Xanadu Poster #6 (2600x1629 .jpg) ▼ is further evidence that NEC had high-expectations for the game. Indeed, NEC had been promoting Legend of Xanadu since August of 1993, designing at least six different advertisements over an 8-month period…
WAIT! THERE ARE MORE…
The Legend of Xanadu Poster #1. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE (1993 August)
The Legend of Xanadu Poster #2. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE (1993 September)
The Legend of Xanadu Poster #3. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE (1993 October)
The Legend of Xanadu Poster #4. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE (1993 November)
The Legend of Xanadu Poster #5. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE (1994 January)
The Legend of Xanadu Poster #6. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE (1994 March)
DOORKNOB SIGN: Life would not be complete without The Legend of Xanadu placard for your doorknob.
The (A) FRONT of the doorknob sign features Areios (Alektor); the (B) BACK of the sign features Sophia. "Play Now!" implores the placard.
NEC TELEKA (PHONECARDS): Teleka were pre-paid phonecards (terehonkaedo) that experienced some popularity as collectibles during the 1990's in Japan. It was not uncommon for an entire series of teleka to be based on a specific manga, anime, film, pop artist, video game, etc., with each card featuring appropriately-themed artwork.
(C) EMERALD DRAGON: Tamryn (green hair) and XXX (purple hair) from Emerald Dragon are pictured on the phonecard.
(D) LoX: Sophia & Areios (Alektor), poised precariously on a wooden suspension bridge, grace the phonecard (The Legend of Xanadu).
NEC was not shy when it came to phonecards—they released many terehonkaedo based on video games, including two sets of SNK-themed teleka promoting the new Arcade CD•ROM2 format: one set (14 cards) featured the fighters from World Heroes 2 and another set (15 cards) featured the characters from Fatal Fury Special.
PREMATURE vs. INEVITABLE EXIT: In many ways, it seemed like an odd time for Shogakuka to withdraw from the PCE market—many top-tier games had just been released (for example, Ys IV–Dawn of Ys, The Legend of Xanadu, Emerald Dragon, etc.) and many highly-anticipated titles were slated for release in 1994 (for example, fans of SNK's fighting games were looking forward to ACD ports of Fatal Fury 2, Art of Fighting, World Heroes 2 and Fatal Fury Special). 1994 was not going to be a dud for PCE fans. Surely, even if the PCE library wasn't growing at the same rate as previous years, there was enough activity in the PCE cosmos to fill a monthly magazine like Gekkan PC Engine. Indeed, the fact that a rival publisher—MediaWorks—continued to publish Dengeki PC Engine until May of 1996 suggests that the PCE remained a popular, economically viable platform for at least two more years.
Perhaps, then, Shogakuka's decision to cease publication of Gekkan PC Engine was simply a matter of profitability—or lack thereof. Gekkan PC Engine—facing increased competiton from other PCE magazines, like the newcomer Dengeki PC Engine—may have suffered a signficant decrease in subscription rates and/or newsstand sales. A decreased subscriber base, in turn, would result in lower advertising revenue for Shogakuka (advertising rates are based on the number of people a publication reaches). Faced with diminishing economic returns, Shogakuka promptly exited the market of PCE magazines.
Continued below…
SNK (x4) ON PCE…▲
Between March and December of 1994, four SNK fighting games were released on the new Arcade CD•ROM2 (ACD) format. These ACD games required PCE owners to purchase an upgraded system card, the aptly named Arcade Card…
FOUR MARQUEES: Fatal Fury 2, Art of Fighting, World Heroes 2, Fatal Fury Special.
The "poster" above was one of five different SNK-themed ads to appear in Japanese PCE magazines over the course of 1993-1994…
09.01.1993: Fatal Fury 2 Poster. SOURCE: Dengeki PCE (1993 September)
03.01.1994: Fatal Fury 2. Art of Fighting. World Heroes 2. Fatal Fury Special. SOURCE: Dengeki PCE (1994 March)
05.01.1994: World Heroes 2 Poster. SOURCE: Dengeki PCE (1994 May)
07.01.1994: Fatal Fury SPECIAL Poster #1. SOURCE: Dengeki PCE (1994 July)
10.01.1994: Fatal Fury SPECIAL Poster #2. SOURCE: Dengeki PCE (1994 October)
Follow the links above to view large, high-quality "posters" created from the original two-page advertisements. Browsing the posters, one simply cannot deny the immense popularity enjoyed by fighting games during this era (and the implications this had for Hudson, SNK, NEC, ACD and the PCE).
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