EGM²

Cover of the first issue of EGM² (July 1994): Super Street Fighter II vs. Mortal Kombat II

EGM² was a United States-based video game magazine that was first published by Sendai Publishing from July 1994 to July 1998. There are 49 issues of EGM² in total. The magazine was a spin-off of the popular magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. Unlike EGM, however, EGM² lacked a reviews section and had a greater emphasis on import games. Despite the superscript in the name, the official name of the magazine is said as "EGM Two" and not "EGM Squared."

History

The first issue of EGM² was in July 1994. The magazine lasted 49 issues with the last issue coming out in July 1998.

Starting in August 1998, EGM² became Expert Gamer (often abbreviated as XG), and the magazine's focus shifted away from news and previews to strategy and tricks. Despite the different name, XG continued EGM²'s numbering system. XG lasted for 39 issues until October 2001 (with the last issue being XG #88).

The next month (November 2001), XG morphed into its final form, GameNOW. Although GameNOW maintained a healthy tricks section and occasional strategy guides, the magazine's focus shifted to in-depth previews and reviews. Skewed to a slightly younger audience than that of EGM (roughly 12 to 14-year-olds), GameNOW concentrated less on industry insider-type features and more on the actual video games, including numerous large screenshots and elaborate feature articles.

The numbering system was reset with the change to GameNOW, and the final issue was #27 in January 2004.

Notable Editors- EGM2 1-49

EICs- Ed Semrad, Howard Grossman

Managing Editor- Nelson Taruc

Editorial Staff: Mike Vallas, Andrew "Cyber-Boy" Baran, Terry "Trickman" Minnich, Mike "Major Mike" Weigand, Tim Davis, Chris Johnston, Ron Marciniak, Mark "Moe" Haine, Jason Morgan, Carey Wise, John Gurka, Jason Streetz, Scott Augustyn, Dave Malec, Dave Ruchalla, Jim Mazurek, Ben Durbin

Recurring Freelancers- Pat Dolan, Tracy Baran (DiViscour)