View source for VideoGames & Computer Entertainment

{{Short description|American video game magazine}}
{{redirect|VideoGames|the general topic|Video game}}
{{Distinguish|Computer and Video Games}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title           = VideoGames & Computer Entertainment
| logo            = File:VideoGames&Computer Entertainment logo.png
| logo_size       = 300px
| image_file      = <!-- cover.jpg (omit the "file:" prefix) -->
| image_size      = <!-- default is 180px -->
| image_alt       = 
| image_caption   = 
| editor          = [[Andy Eddy]] <!-- up to |editor5= -->
| editor_title    = Executive Editor <!-- up to |editor_title5= -->
| editor2         = Chris Bieniek, Mike Dávila, Clayton Walnum (freelance editor)
| editor_title2   = Associate Editors
| previous_editor = 
| staff_writer    = 
| photographer    = 
| category        = Video Games
| frequency       = <small>bi-monthly:</small> Dec. 1988-Feb. 1989<br /><small>monthly:</small> from April 1989<ref name=videogameobsession>[http://www.videogameobsession.com/videogame/mags/vg&ce/index.htm ''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment''] at videogameobsession.com</ref>
| format          = 28 cm
| circulation     = 
| publisher       = [[Larry Flynt Publications|L.F.P., Inc.]]
| paid_circulation   = 
| unpaid_circulation = 
| circulation_year   = 
| total_circulation  = 
| founder         = 
| founded         = 
| firstdate       = VG&CE: {{Start date|1988|12|}}<br />VG: {{Start date|1993|09|}}
| finaldate       = VG&CE: August 1993<br />VG: September 1996<ref>[http://retrocdn.net/File:VideoGames_US_92.pdf VideoGames US 92.pdf] at retrocdn.net - PDF of issue September 1996</ref>
| finalnumber     = 
| company         = 
| country         = [[North America|USA]]
| based           = 9171 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
| language        = [[English language]]
| website         = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| issn            = 1059-2938
| oclc            = 25300986
}}

'''''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment''''' (abbreviated as '''''VG&CE''''') was an American magazine dedicated to covering [[video games]] on computers, [[Video game console|home consoles]] and [[Arcade game|arcades]]. It was published by [[Larry Flynt Publications|LFP, Inc.]] from the late 1988 until the mid-1990s. Offering game reviews, previews, game strategies and [[cheat code]]s as well as coverage of the general industry, ''VG&CE'' was also one of the first magazines to cover both home console and [[computer game]]s. The magazine gave out annual awards in a variety of categories, divided between the best of home video games and computer video games. The magazine featured original artwork by Alan Hunter and other [[Freelancer|freelance artists]].

== History ==
''VG&CE'' began as a spinoff of ''[[ANALOG Computing]]'', a magazine published by LFP devoted to [[Atari 8-bit computers]].<ref>[http://www.gamingmagz.com/magazines/usa/videogames-computer-entertainment ''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment''] at gamingmagz.com</ref>

[[Image:Vgce.jpg|thumb|March 1992 issue, with original artwork on the cover]]

''VG&CE'' was started at LFP by [[Lee H. Pappas]] (publisher), with [[Andy Eddy]] as executive editor (Eddy was a freelance contributor to the first issue of the magazine, which had the cover date of December 1988, just before relocating to [[California]] in September 1988 to become its editor before the first issue hit the streets. During Eddy's tenure at the magazine, there was no one listed as editor-in-chief, simply due to odd staff-titling decisions.) Contributors included [[Arnie Katz]] and [[Bill Kunkel (journalist)|Bill "The Game Doctor" Kunkel]], co-founders of the first video game magazine, ''[[Electronic Games]]''. [[Tips & Tricks]] editor-in-chief Chris Bieniek was an associate editor at ''VG&CE''. ''Computer Player'' editor-in-chief Mike Davila was an associate editor and later executive editor at ''VG&CE''. ''[[Knights of Xentar]]'' writer David Moskowitz was also an associate editor covering news and computer games during the Eddy/Davila/Bieniek tenure.

=== ''VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine'' ===
[[File:VideogamesMagazine.jpg|thumb|''VideoGames'', April 1995]]

The magazine was renamed into ''VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine''<ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9009373 ''The Paper Trail: VideoGames & Computer Entertainment #1''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709052655/http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9009373|date=2012-07-09}} at [[1Up.com|1up.com]]</ref> starting with the September 1993 issue and dropped computer game coverage. 
In an effort to compete with magazines popular at the time,{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} such as ''[[GamePro]]'', the magazine was made more child-friendly with vibrant colors and issues often featured a videogame cheat printed on the cover, labelled as a "free code" (this ended in late 1994). For much of this era, [[Chris Gore]] was editor-in-chief, and it had a monthly news and gossip column "The Gore Score". The magazine ended publication in late 1996, when [[Ziff-Davis]] bought ''VideoGames'' from LFP and folded the brand.

== Spin-off magazines ==
''VG&CE'' spun off several other video game magazines:
* ''[[TurboPlay]]'' (June/July 1990-August/September 1992), a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to covering [[TurboGrafx-16]] hardware and software.
* ''[[Tips & Tricks (magazine)|Tips & Tricks]]'' (February 1995-August 2007), a game magazine dedicated to game strategies and cheat codes. The magazine concept was spun out of the "Easter Egg Hunt" and "Tips & Tricks" sections in ''VG&CE'', which offered extensive codes and cheats for video games, as well as the "walkthrough" strategies that ''VG&CE'' also provided.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25300986 ''VideoGames & computer entertainment.''] at worldcat.org
* [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29194384 ''VideoGames.''] at worldcat.org
* [http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/special/cb/cb.html An interview with former associate editor Chris Bieniek]
* [http://www.defunctgames.com/29magazines/21/magazine-21-video-games-computer-entertainment Magazine #21: ''Video Games & Computer Entertainment'']
* [http://www.videogameobsession.com/videogame/mags/vg&ce/index.htm ''VideoGames and Computer Entertainment''], covers of issues December 1988 to April 1990
* [http://retrocdn.net/Category:VideoGames_%26_Computer_Entertainment_scans ''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment'' scans], PDF repository of ''VG&CE''
* [http://retrocdn.net/Category:VideoGames_scans ''VideoGames'' scans], PDF repository of ''VG''
*[https://archive.org/search.php?query=video%20games%20the%20ultimate%20gaming%20magazine&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22texts%22 Archived Video games the Ultimate Gaming Magazines] on the [[Internet Archive]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:VideoGames and Computer Entertainment}}
[[Category:Defunct video game magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1988]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:Magazines published in California]]
[[Category:Monthly magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Bimonthly magazines published in the United States]]