NG - Namco Community Magazine

NG - Namco Community Magazine, often referred to shorthand as NG Magazine or just NG, was a Japanese magazine published by Namco from 1983 to 1993. The magazine was succeeded by Namco's "Nours" publication, which ran from 1993 to early 2006. Many issues of NG Magazine prominently feature Pac-Man-related content, including original Pac-Man artwork for the covers of many issues.
== Overview ==
The first issue of NG Magazine was released in February of 1983. The magazine was initially published quarterly, up until the 14th issue in July of 1986; after this point, NG magazine was run monthly for 52 issues, ending its run in April 1993.
NG Magazine features an assortment of content related to Namco's games, robots, and arcade locations (such as the "Carrot" game centers); alongside detailing merchandising related to these subjects. Interviews with developers and reader-submitted fan artwork are also featured. Notably, Bally Midway and Atari overseas productions were also detailed in the magazine; albeit generally as footnotes. Several punch-out paper activities were also present in NG Magazine, including a "Namco All-Stars" board game in the January 1985 issue (#8).
Starting in the October 1984 issue (#7), an assortment of Namco merchandise could be purchased through the magazine via mail order, including many Pac-Man products. These items were also sold in Namco's retail outlets and arcade chains, but not through any non-Namco-published markets; potentially a result of Tomy's presumed-exclusive Pac-Man contract.
For unclear reasons, much of Pac-Man's marketing within NG highlights its popularity in North America; despite that Pac-Man was still a rather large IP in Japan. Most prominently, from the April 1984 (#5) to July 1985 (#10) issues, a "U.S.A. Pac-Man Club" section is placed at the end of each magazine. These sections detail American culture represented by teenage forms of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man - often in comparison to their stricter Japanese equivalent. This "American" marketing also applies to the mail-in merchandise, which use various (often erroneous) English captions or references.
== Trivia ==
*NG Magazine was run concurrently with a "Carrot" newspaper publication, which also featured information on Namco's arcade games.
*The second issue of NG Magazine (Jul. 1983, page 12) features an image seemingly related to the unreleased Superman and Pac-Man comic; showing Masaya Nakamura in-between the duo. However, few further details are provided, other than that the image was given to Nakamura by Manny Gerard (a high-up employee for Warner Communications).
*Issue #3 of NG Magazine (Oct. 1983, page 26) features two notable pieces of Pac-Man content:
**There is an image of the marquee for the canceled Bally Midway release of Pac-Man & Chomp-Chomp. This is, to date, the only known surviving image of the arcade machine (save for its Sidam variant, which uses different artwork).
**An array of various pieces of American Pac-Man merchandise is shown. Among other notably rare items (such as the Electronic Talking Pac-Man plush), a Pac-Man toilet seat is present on a shelf of Pac-Man merchandise. However, its placement on the shelf is implausible (with it effectively levitating), suggesting it was just a joke hidden within the page.
*The first publication of the U.S.A. Pac-Man Club details "B.Y.O.B.", or "bring your own bottle". Ironically, it appears to have been lost in translation that BYOB typically refers to beer or booze; the article is written in a child-like perspective, and recommends having a BYOB using "fried chicken, fruit, and a healthy or sports drink". The article then details how to play spin-the-bottle, a rather adult game by nature.
*The third U.S.A. Pac-Man Club article attempts to detail how children can run lemonade stands; however, it labels this concept as "Cool-Aid" [sic] stands, without listing other beverages.
*The cover artwork for every NG Magazine issue is featured across the five Namco Museum PlayStation volumes (displayed in the respective "Lounge" areas). The October 1992 issue's cover is blurred out, presumably for legal reasons (as it features a large image of Godzilla above Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man).
*Several references to NG Magazine appear in later Namco media and branding:
**The short-lived Namco Generations brand label repurposes the "N" and "G" in its logo from the NG Magazine logo; specifically the one used from the March 1989 issue onward. Press releases on the Namco Generations website were labeled as "NG News".
**The Namcot Collection compilation features faux-NG Magazine issues on the menu display; their covers read "NC - Namcot Collection Catalog", and are used to purchase DLC games. This is not present in the overseas Namco Museum Archives releases.
== Gallery ==
=== U.S.A. Pac-Man Club ===
USA-pacman-club-NG-issue-5-Apr-1984.jpg|First article detailing "partying"
USA-pacman-club-NG-issue-6-Jul-1984.jpg|Second article detailing scary stories
USA-pacman-club-NG-issue-7-Oct-1984.jpg|Third article detailing "kiddie" part-time jobs
USA-pacman-club-NG-issue-8-Jan-1985.jpg|Fourth article detailing American schools
USA-pacman-club-NG-issue-9-Apr-1985.jpg|Fifth article featuring a contest winner's "Pac-Man drawing song"
USA-pacman-club-NG-issue-10-Jul-1985.jpg|Sixth article detailing summer vacation
=== Artwork ===
Ng-magazine-artwork-super-pacman.jpg|Super Pac-Man artwork from the Feb. 1983 issue
Ms-pacman-nurse-ng-colorized.png|Artwork from the Jul. 1986 issue (colorized)
== External links ==
*Shimanekko690's blog featuring all quarterly issues (ameblo.jp)
*Internet Archive collection by Gaming Alexandria featuring quarterly issues (7/14) and monthly issues (50/52)
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