# GameFan

GameFan (originally known as Diehard GameFan) was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising, and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and imported video games. It was notable for its extensive use of game screenshots in its page design, contrasting other U.S. publications at the time. The original magazine ceased publishing in December 2000.
In April 2010, Halverson relaunched GameFan as a video games and film magazine. However, this relaunch was short-lived and suffered from internal conflicts and low advertising revenue.

## History

The idea for the name GameFan came from the Japanese Sega magazine called Megafan. Although it began as an advertising supplement to sell imported video games, primarily from Japan, the small text reviews and descriptions drew attention for a lack of refinement and a sense of passion. Editor profiles featured caricatures drawn by Terry Wolfinger. The anonymized approach allowed certain editors like Dave Halverson to write multiple reviews of the same game under different pseudonyms.
GameFan was well known for its extensive coverage of important games and its expansive coverage of emerging interest in anime. Another major feature that separated it from other gaming magazines was the high-quality paper used to print it. GameFan's game screenshots were more colorful and accurate to in-game graphics.

## Controversy

In the September 1995 issue of GameFan, an article was printed that contained several derogatory comments about Japanese people (calling them "little Jap bastards", a racially derogatory term that was used to insult Japanese descendants and Japanese Americans during the years of World War II). The text took the place of one of the paragraphs of one of the sports games reviews. The article discussed a Namco combat flight simulator, Ace Combat, rather than College Football '96 (which was the topic of the article) and was poorly written.
GameFan's official explanation was that a rogue employee had sabotaged the magazine in order to alienate its Japanese audience and fan base. However, later reports indicated that it was actually filler text that someone had neglected to remove, and the entire incident was an internal joke that accidentally got printed. An apology (dated August 24, 1995) was published in DieHard GameFan's October 1995 issue in both English and Japanese, and a further apology appeared in the November 1995 issue.

## The Adventures of Monitaur

The magazine included a comic strip, The Adventures of Monitaur, an anime-derived series. Although the title character Monitaur was only drawn for the strip, the rest of the magazine's staff personae appeared as characters. Monitaur's main storylines were his struggles against The Blowmeister, who represented the leadership of rival magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly. In 1994, GameFan and two new startups, known as Dark Moon Productions and Dark Moon Comics, entered into an agreement to launch a Monitor comic book series, and at that time discussions were underway to make a full-length animated movie to be produced by Dark Moon Productions Inc and DMP Multi-media, a sister company founded by Andrew Spencer and Gary Tucker.

## Golden Megawards

The winners of GameFan's annual Golden Megawards were chosen by editors.
1992 Megawards :
| Award | Skid | Brody | Tom Slick | The Enquirer |
| Best Game | Wonderdog (Sega CD) | Cybernator (SNES) | Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis) | Street Fighter II (SNES) |
| Best Import Game | Landstalker (Mega Drive) | Parodius (Super Famicom) | Landstalker (Mega Drive) | Final Fantasy V (Super Famicom) |
| Best Arcade Translation | Street Fighter II | Street Fighter II | Street Fighter II | Street Fighter II |
| Best Handheld Game | Shinobi 2 | Dracula | Dracula | Mario Land 2 |
| Best Action Platform Game | Wonderdog | Sonic 2 | Sonic 2 | World of Illusion |
| Best One-on-One Fighting Game | Art of Fighting | Art of Fighting | Art of Fighting | Street Fighter II |
| Best Action Fighting Game | TMNT: Hyperstone Heist | Streets of Rage 2 | Streets of Rage 2 | Streets of Rage 2 |
| Best Movie Game | Alien 3 | Alien 3 | Alien 3 | Star Wars |
| Best Shooter | Air Zonk | Thunder Force IV | Thunder Force IV | Space Megaforce |
| Best Cartoon Game | Taz-Mania | World of Illusion | Taz-Mania | World of Illusion |
| Best RPG | Soul Blazer | Zelda: A Link to the Past | Zelda: A Link to the Past | Zelda: A Link to the Past |
| Best Puzzle Game | Q*bert 3 | Lemmings | Krusty's Fun House | Q*bert 3 |
| Best Simulation | Steel Talons | Steel Talons | Battletank | Steel Talons |
| Best Sports Game | Baseball Stars 2 | Madden '93 | Baseball Stars 2 | Baseball Stars 2 |
| Best Driving Game | Mario Kart | Top Racer | Mario Kart | Mario Kart |
| Best Strategy Game | Warsong | Rampart | Warsong | Rampart |
| Best Action Adventure | Legend of the Mystical Ninja | Cybernator | Prince of Persia | Legend of the Mystical Ninja |
| Best Sound Effects | Global Gladiators | Global Gladiators | Super Star Wars | Super Star Wars |
| Best Intro | Wonderdog | Wonderdog | Wonderdog | Out of This World |
| Best Game Music | Wonderdog | Streets of Rage 2 | Super Adventure Island | Legend of the Mystical Ninja |
| Best Music (Import Game) | Lunar Fhey Area | Nobunaga's Ninja Force | Nobunaga's Ninja Force | Final Fantasy V |
| Best Character | Wonderdog (Wonderdog) | Cybernator (Cybernator) | Dhalsim (Street Fighter II) | Guile (Street Fighter II) |
| Best Boss | Smoke Ring Boss (Wonderdog) | Level 5 (Thunder Force IV) | Level 5 (Thunder Force IV) | Scaling Face (Mystical Ninja) |
| Best New Peripheral | Sega CD | Sega CD | Sega CD | Sega CD |
| Worst Game | All THQ Games | All THQ Games | All THQ Games | All THQ Games |
1993 Megawards :
| Award | Winner | Runners-up |
| Game of the Year | Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) | Star Fox (SNES) Landstalker (Genesis) |
| Best Action Platform Game | Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) | Tiny Toons (SNES) |
| Best Action/Adventure | Alien 3 (SNES) | Flashback (Genesis) |
| Best Fighting Game | Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (Genesis) | Street Fighter II Turbo (SNES) |
| Best Shooter | Silpheed (Sega CD) | Star Fox (SNES) |
| Best Action/Arcade Game | Batman Returns (SNES) | Final Fight CD (Sega CD) |
| Best Movie Game | Aladdin (Genesis) | Alien 3 (SNES) |
| Best Cartoon Game | Stimpy's Invention (Genesis) | Taz-Mania (SNES) |
| Best Puzzle Game | Mean Bean Machine (Genesis) | Lost Vikings (SNES) |
| Best Simulation | AH-3 Thunderhawk (Sega CD) | MechWarrior (SNES) |
| Best Strategy Game | Shining Force (Genesis) | King Arthur's World (SNES) |
| Best Action/RPG | Landstalker (Genesis) | Secret of Mana (SNES) |
| Best RPG | Lunar (Sega CD) | Paladin's Quest (SNES) |
| Best Driving Game | Crash & Burn (3DO) | Formula One (Genesis) Rock & Roll Racing (SNES) |
| Best 2 Player Game | Dashin' Desperadoes (Genesis) | Battletoads (SNES) |
| Most Innovative New Game | Landstalker (Genesis) Tax-Mania (SNES) | |
| Best Music | Lunar (Sega CD) | Star Fox (SNES) Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) Sonic CD (Mega CD) |
| Best New Character | Bubsy (Bubsy) | Aero (Aero) Sparkster (Rocket Knight Adventures) |
| Best System of '93 | Sega Genesis | SNES |
| Best Handheld | Game Gear | |
| Best New System | Atari Jaguar | 3DO |
1994 Megawards :
| Award | Winner |
| Game of the Year | Earthworm Jim (Genesis) |
| Import Game of the Year | Clockwork Knight (Saturn) |
| Action/Platform Game of the Year | Earthworm Jim (Genesis) |
| Action/Adventure Game of the Year | Metroid (SNES) |
| Action/Arcade Game of the Year | Contra (Genesis) |
| Fighting Game of the Year | Super Street Fighter II Turbo (3DO) |
| Shooting Game of the Year | Novastorm (3DO) |
| Movie Game of the Year | Demolition Man (3DO) |
| Cartoon Game of the Year | Mickey Mania (Sega CD) |
| Simulation Game of the Year | Iron Soldier (Jaguar) |
| Strategy Game of the Year | Shining Force 2 (Genesis) |
| Role Playing Game of the Year | Final Fantasy III (SNES) |
| Action/RPG Game of the Year | Illusion of Gaia (SNES) |
| Driving/Racing Game of the Year | Road Rash (3DO) |
| Puzzle Game of the Year | Bubba 'n' Stix (Genesis) |
| Best Adventure/RPG | Snatcher (Sega CD) |
| Best 2 Player Game | Contra (Genesis) Eternal Champions (Sega CD) Super Street Fighter II (SNES) |
| Best Soundtrack | Earthworm Jim (Genesis) |
| Best Music | Final Fantasy III (SNES) Burning Soldier (3DO) |
| Best Special Effects | Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis) Donkey Kong Country (SNES) Guardian War (3DO) |
| Best FMV | Loadstar (Sega CD) Burning Soldier (3DO) |
| Best New Character | Earthworm Jim (Earthworm Jim) |
| Best New System | Sega 32X |
| Best System '94 | Panasonic 3DO |
1995 Megawards :
| Award | Winner | Import Megawards |
| Game of the Year | Yoshi's Island (SNES) | |
| 16-Bit Game of the Year | Yoshi's Island (SNES) | |
| 32-Bit Game of the Year | Jumping Flash (PlayStation) | |
| SNES Game of the Year | Yoshi's Island | |
| Genesis Game of the Year | Vectorman | |
| PlayStation Game of the Year | Jumping Flash | |
| Saturn Game of the Year | Virtua Fighter 2 | |
| 3DO Game of the Year | D | |
| Portable Game of the Year | Red Alarm (Virtual Boy) | |
| Action Platform Game of the Year | Yoshi's Island (SNES) | Hermie Hopperhead (PlayStation) |
| Action Adventure Game of the Year | Skeleton Warriors | |
| Fighting Game of the Year | Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn) Killer Instinct (SNES) | |
| Shooter of the Year | Panzer Dragoon (Saturn) | Darius Gaiden (Saturn) |
| Movie/Cartoon Port Game of the Year | Skeleton Warriors | |
| RPG of the Year | EarthBound (SNES) | Mystic Ark (Super Famicom) |
| Action RPG of the Year | Beyond Oasis (Genesis) | Tenchi Sozo (Super Famicom) |
| Racing Game of the Year | Sega Rally Championship (Saturn) | Motor Toon GP (PlayStation) |
| Puzzle Game of the Year | Zoop (PlayStation) | Puyo Puyo 2 (Saturn) |
| Simulation/Shooting Game of the Year | Warhawk (PlayStation) | |
| Strategy Game of the Year | Ogre Battle (SNES) | Tactics Ogre (Super Famicom) |
| Racing/Combat Games of the Year | Wipeout (PlayStation) Off-World Interceptor (Saturn) | |
| Graphic Adventure/FMV Games of the Year | Mansion of Hidden Souls (Saturn) Discworld (PlayStation) D (3DO) | |
| Special Effects Game of the Year | Warhawk (PlayStation) | |
| Soundtrack of the Year | Skeleton Warriors | |
| New Character of the Year | Astal (Astal) | |
1996 Megawards :
| Award | Winner(s) | Runners-up |
| Top GameFan Game of 1996 | Tomb Raider | Resident Evil Super Mario 64 Nights Tekken 2 |
| Best Import Game of the Year | Enemy Zero | Keio Yu Gekitai |
| Coin-Op Game of the Year | Virtua Fighter 3 | Street Fighter Alpha 2 |
| 16-Bit Game of the Year | Virtua Fighter 2 (Genesis) | Donkey Kong Country 3 |
| Portable Game of the Year | Wario (Virtual Boy) | Red Alarm (Virtual Boy) |
| Alternative Game of the Year | Nights | Tail of the Sun |
| Side-Scrolling Game of the Year | Guardian Heroes | Metal Slug |
| Action/Platform Game of the Year | Crash Bandicoot | Pandemonium |
| Action/Adventure Game of the Year | Tomb Raider (PlayStation) | Super Mario 64 |
| Action/RPG Game of the Year | The Legend of Oasis | Legacy of Kain |
| Corridor Game of the Year | PowerSlave (Saturn) | Final Doom |
| Shooting Game of the Year | Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn) | Virtua Cop 2 |
| Fighting Game of the Year | Street Fighter Alpha 2 | Fighting Vipers |
| Racing Game of the Year | Ridge Racer Revolution, Wave Race 64 | Jet Moto, Daytona CCE, Formula 1 |
| Racing/Combat Game of the Year | Wipeout XL | Motor Toon GP, Wipeout (Saturn) |
| Puzzle Game of the Year | Tetris Attack (Super NES) | Puzzle Fighter |
| RPG Game of the Year | Suikoden | Super Mario RPG |
| Strategy Game of the Year | Return Fire (PlayStation) | Tecmo's Deception |
| Simulation Game of the Year | GunGriffon (Saturn) | Pilotwings 64 |
| Best Sports Game of the Year | Worldwide Soccer '97 (Saturn) | Cool Boarders |
| Best Game Story of the Year | Suikoden | Legacy of Kain |
| Best Special Effects of the Year | Super Mario 64 | Tomb Raider |
| Best Soundtrack of the Year | Suikoden | Tekken 2 |
| Best Use of FMV/CG of the Year | Tekken 2 | Legacy of Kain |

## Related publications

GameFan's original editor-in-chief, Dave Halverson, went on to publish Gamers' Republic, and then Play Magazine (an American video-gaming magazine, not to be confused with the English publication of the same name), consisting mostly of former GameFan and Gamers' Republic staff members. Gamers' Republic had a run of 35 issues and ceased publication in July 2001 when the dot-com bubble burst. The Play had a more successful run of 97 issues until the publishing company filed for bankruptcy.
Tim Lindquist, along with several other members of the original GameFan team, launched a new magazine, Hardcore Gamer. They also began developing strategy guides as a part of their publishing company, DoubleJump Books (later renamed OnionBat Books). The magazine had a run of 36 issues before it began focusing exclusively on its website.
The DieHard GameFan name was resurrected by Alex Lucard as a website, Diehard GameFAN, with Halverson's blessing. While the site covers major game releases, the site also reviews indie games, much like the original magazine.

## 2010 relaunch

After the bankruptcy of Fusion Publishing and the closure of Play, Dave Halverson began work on a relaunch of GameFan. The magazine returned to newsstands in April 2010, headed by Halverson and a few key staffers from Play with Rob Duenas serving as the new art director. It was available in both print and digital formats, the latter of which was sold directly through GameFan's online shop.
The first two issues of the relaunched GameFan featured a section titled MovieFan, which covered movies, anime, and comics. The first two-thirds of the magazine was devoted to GameFan, and then readers would have to turn the magazine upside down in order to read the MovieFan magazine. As of issue 3, the MovieFan portion of the magazine was discontinued, but later issues still featured anime and comic reviews similar to Play. In its second and final issue, MovieFan conducted one of the last known interviews with the late filmmaker Satoshi Kon.
The first five issues of the magazine were released on a consistent bi-monthly schedule. However, problems occurred with the magazine's development due to issues with advertising revenue, causing the sixth issue to be released in August 2011, eight months after issue 5, and with an entirely new editing team, headed by newcomer James Bacon. Issue 7 was assembled by only three people - editor-in-chief Dave Halverson, art director and graphic designer Rob Duenas, and managing editor James Bacon - and was released in December 2011. Soon thereafter Duenas resigned. The reason for his departure was due to an overwhelming workload; Duenas stated that he worked "20 hours a day for two weeks straight and [he was] still short cover art". Despite the stressful working conditions, Duenas harbored no ill will towards Halverson or the magazine, stating that he would have still been willing to contribute with cover illustrations or provide assistance with layouts. Soon after Duenas' departure, Bacon left for reasons unstated.
A press release was issued on April 18, 2012, highlighting the supposed future of Paper Planet brands: GameFan and Girls of Gaming. The company planned on increasing its online presence through app development for mobile devices as well as a new GameFan TV online channel. None of these plans would come to fruition except the creation of a YouTube channel. Former Destructoid editor Wesley Ruscher was named the magazine's new editor-in-chief but resigned shortly after the release of issue 8, stating that it "lacked the necessities to keep food in [his] belly and a roof over [his] head."
As of June 2013, GameFan's web presence had been in a mostly inactive state for about a year. Issue 9 was finally made available in February 2013 after missing the holiday 2012 release. This issue was only worked on by two people, Dave Halverson and Greg Orlando. Issues 8 and 9 were only available in a digital format. GameFan would later go on a two-year hiatus, returning in 2015 with a redesigned magazine and website. In February 2015, GameFan simultaneously released issue 10 digitally and on newsstands. The digital version was freely released on Magzter with the use of a promotional code. The magazine went through a complete overhaul, simplifying its layouts and design, most likely in order to have the magazines completed on schedule. The size of the print magazine is significantly smaller compared to previous issues. In addition, the GameFan mascot, Monitaur, and logo were redesigned.
On May 6, 2015, GameFan announced a partnership with Destructoid to help promote the GameFan brand with collaborations and free subscription offers. The initial plan was to bring back the dual-cover format from the first two issues, but instead of a MovieFan portion, it would be exclusive content created by Destructoid for the magazine. According to GameFan's official Facebook page, the deal with Destructoid would have allowed for the magazine to be released on a monthly schedule. However, the deal with Destructoid resulted in only one issue of the GameFan/Destructoid magazine ever being released. As of January 2019, there have been no new updates regarding GameFan's overall status.