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I expanded the lead and added some details about what was on the cover disks and a graph showing the magazine's circulation. The primary sourcing is no longer an issue throughout the article, but only one of its sections, which can be either backed up with secondary sources or trimmed down.
I expanded the History and Staff sections, citing more sources and making copyedits along the way. I decided to remove all of the Regular Features section except what has been verified and merge the remainder into History, as there does not seem to be any information from independent sources about the features, so they seem non-notable. Additionally, I could not verify the claim that Amiga Active became Britain's last Amiga magazine after AF's closure, so it has been removed also.
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| editor =
| editor =
| editor_title =
| editor_title =
| previous_editor = [[Bob Wade (journalist)|Bob Wade]]<br>[[Damien Noonan]]<br>[[Marcus Dyson]]<br>[[Steve Jarratt]]<br>[[Nick Veitch]]<br>Ben Vost
| previous_editor = |Bob Wade<br>Damien Noonan<br>Marcus Dyson<br>[[Steve Jarratt]]<br>Nick Veitch<br>Ben Vost
| staff_writer =
| staff_writer =
| frequency = Monthly
| frequency = Monthly
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'''''Amiga Format''''' was a British monthly [[computer magazine]] for [[Amiga]] computers, published by [[Future Publishing]]. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when Future split ''[[ST/Amiga Format]]'' into two separate publications (the other being ''[[ST Format]]'').
'''''Amiga Format''''' was a British monthly [[computer magazine]] for [[Amiga]] computers, published by [[Future Publishing]]. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when Future split ''[[ST/Amiga Format]]'' into two separate publications (the other being ''[[ST Format]]'').


The magazine's coverage extended to hardware, software, as well as video games. It is known to have provided each issue with a [[cover disk]] containing an assortment of demos and usually free-of-charge software and games, popularising the concept among its rival magazines. At its peak, in the first half of 1992, the magazine's circulation averaged 161,256.
The magazine's coverage extended to hardware, software, as well as video games. It is known to have provided each issue with a [[cover disk]] containing an assortment of demos and usually free-of-charge software and games, popularising the concept among its rival magazines. At its peak, in the first half of 1992, the magazine's circulation averaged 161,256.


==History==
==History==
[[File:Amiga Format Cover Disk 48.jpg|thumb|left|A cover disk featuring game and animation demos.]]
[[File:Amiga Format Cover Disk 48.jpg|thumb|left|A cover disk featuring game and animation demos.]]


''[[ST/Amiga Format]]'' was a monthly magazine that covered the [[Amiga]] and [[Atari ST]] operating systems, created and published in July 1988 by [[Future Publishing]] founder [[Chris Anderson (entrepreneur)|Chris Anderson]]. The two operating systems were seen as rivals, and because of growing competition between them, in the wake of Future's sale of the video game magazine ''[[ACE (magazine)|ACE]]'' to [[EMAP]], it was decided to split the magazine into ''Amiga Format'' and ''[[ST Format]]'' in July 1989. As a result, the former dual-format title lasted only 13 issues, and the first issue of ''Amiga Format'' was published in August that year.<ref name=NCE-27/><ref name=Railton-2005/><ref name=Cox-2014/><ref name=AmAddict-5/>
The first issue of ''Amiga Format'' was published in August 1989, after a July split of [[Future Publishing]]'s dual-format publication ''[[ST/Amiga Format]]'' into this magazine and ''[[ST Format]]'', which both covered the [[Amiga]] and [[Atari ST]] operating systems, respectively.<ref name=NCE-27/>


''Amiga Format'' covered all aspects of Amiga computers, both hardware and software, both [[application software|application]] and [[Video game|gaming]] uses. Future decided to spin off the magazine after reader demands for magazines with narrowed interests. Two magazines resulted: ''[[Amiga Shopper]]'', which dealt purely with the hardware and "serious" software side of the Amiga scene, and ''[[Amiga Power]]'', which was strictly games-only, and both were launched in May 1991.<ref name=NCE-118/><ref name=AmShopper-1/>
''Amiga Format'' covered all aspects of Amiga computers, both hardware and software, both [[application software|application]] and [[Video game|gaming]] uses. Future decided to spin off the magazine after reader demands for magazines with narrowed interests. Two magazines resulted: ''[[Amiga Shopper]]'', which dealt purely with the hardware and "serious" software side of the Amiga scene, and ''[[Amiga Power]]'', which was strictly games-only, and both were launched in May 1991.<ref name=NCE-118/><ref name=AmShopper-1/>
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The magazine was published on a monthly basis<ref>{{cite web|title=AMIGA Magazines from the UK|url=http://www.magazines.ch/amigamagsuk.html|work=Amiga Magazines List|access-date=4 October 2015}}</ref> and offered various multi-issue tutorials on different application software, such as [[C (programming language)|C]] programming or [[LightWave]] graphics rendering. The last tutorial was cut short in the middle because of the cancellation of the magazine.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
The magazine was published on a monthly basis<ref>{{cite web|title=AMIGA Magazines from the UK|url=http://www.magazines.ch/amigamagsuk.html|work=Amiga Magazines List|access-date=4 October 2015}}</ref> and offered various multi-issue tutorials on different application software, such as [[C (programming language)|C]] programming or [[LightWave]] graphics rendering. The last tutorial was cut short in the middle because of the cancellation of the magazine.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}


Each issue of ''Amiga Format'' was provided with a cover disk containing an assortment of application software, public-domain (i.e. free of charge) games, and new game demos—a practice pioneered by Future Publishing<ref name=Schofield/> and which it inherited from its predecessor, ''ST/Amiga Format''<ref name=NCE-27/>—popularising the concept amongst its rival magazines.<ref name=AmAddict-5/> Most of the programs distributed on the disks were public-domain software, [[shareware]], or demos, often available through other means such as [[modem]]s and [[bulletin board system]]s, but they occasionally included full-price commercial titles. Three such examples were the full versions of the games ''[[Archipelagos (video game)|Archipelagos]]'' and ''[[Vaxine]]'' and the word processor Wordworth for the July 1991 issue. This practice drew ire from software publishers, and ''Amiga Format'' and its competitors agreed to halt it.<ref name=Schofield/> In another example, a version of [[Blitz BASIC]] was mounted to the November 1993 cover disk, along with a zombie apocalypse game written in that language. Blitz BASIC subsequently overtook [[AMOS (programming language)|AMOS]] as the preferred way to program games.<ref name=MaxPC-Jan2023/> Later in its lifetime, the magazine turned to the [[compact disc]] as a medium for storing vast quantities of software, which benefited users who lacked Internet access.<ref name=Retro-22/>
Each issue of ''Amiga Format'' was provided with a cover disk containing an assortment of application software, public-domain (i.e. free of charge) games, and new game demos—a practice pioneered by Future Publishing<ref name=Schofield/> and which it inherited from its predecessor, ''ST/Amiga Format''<ref name=NCE-27/>—popularising the concept amongst its rival magazines.<ref name=AmAddict-5/> Most of the programs distributed on the disks were public-domain software, [[shareware]], or demos, often available through other means such as [[modem]]s and [[bulletin board system]]s, but they occasionally included full-price commercial titles. Three such examples were the full versions of the games ''[[Archipelagos (video game)|Archipelagos]]'' and ''[[Vaxine]]'' and the word processor Wordworth for the July 1991 issue. This practice drew ire from software publishers, and ''Amiga Format'' and its competitors agreed to halt it.<ref name=Schofield/> In another example, a version of [[Blitz BASIC]] was mounted to the November 1993 cover disk, along with a zombie apocalypse game written in that language. Blitz BASIC subsequently overtook [[AMOS (programming language)|AMOS]] as the preferred way to program games.<ref name=MaxPC-Jan2023/> Later in its lifetime, the magazine turned to the [[compact disc]] as a medium for storing vast quantities of software, which benefited users who lacked Internet access.<ref name=Retro-22/>


⚫
, a competition was run to find the best game developed by a reader using Blitz BASIC. A game called ''Total Wormage'' was entered by [[Andy Davidson (game designer)|Andy Davidson]]. Although ''Total Wormage'' was overlooked by the magazine's judges and thus did not win, Marcus Dyson, who was editor when the magazine held the competition and had departed publishing to join developer Team17, persuaded ''Amiga Format'' to transfer rights to the game to the studio (all demos submitted to the competition became property of Future Publishing). Team17 would complete the game and release it commercially as ''[[Worms (computer game)|Worms]]''.<ref name=Retro-21/>
⚫
[[File:Amiga magazines by circulation.svg|thumb|right|250px|Circulation of ''Amiga Format'' (blue line with circles) and competing Amiga magazines. At its peak, in the first half of 1992, the magazine averaged 161,256 subscriptions.]]


⚫
[[File:Amiga magazines by circulation.svg|thumb|right|250px|Circulation of ''Amiga Format'' (blue line with circles) Amiga magazines. At its peak, in the first half of 1992, the magazine averaged 161,256 .]]
⚫
''Amiga Format'' spanned 136 issues in its lifetime, achieving peak circulation at an average of 161,256 subscriptions in the first half of 1992,<ref name=McKevitt/> with the final issue published in May 2000.<ref name=Edge-Retro3/> It was the second-to-last regularly issued print magazine about the Amiga in the United Kingdom. The last was ''[[Amiga Active]]'', which ran for 26 issues from October 1999, although ''Amiga Format'' was the only such magazine after [[CU Amiga Magazine]]'s closure in October 1998 until the launch of ''Amiga Active''.

⚫
''Amiga Format'' spanned 136 issues in its lifetime, achieving peak circulation at an average of 161,256 in the first half of 1992,<ref name=McKevitt/> with the final issue published in May 2000.<ref name=Edge-Retro3/> the [[Amiga ]]' , was the only magazine Amiga in the


==Staff==
==Staff==
Marcus Dyson, whom the magazine recruited in 1990 as an art assistant, became editor in 1993 before departing the magazine the following year for [[Team17]].<ref name=AmAddict-4/><ref name=Retro-21/> Notable writers included [[Steve Jarratt]]<ref name=NLife-Oct2015/> and Andy Nuttall, who also wrote for ''[[The One (magazine)|The One]]'' before entering [[Bullfrog Productions]].<ref name=Retro-14/>
Marcus Dyson, whom the magazine in 1990 as an art assistant, became editor in 1993 before departing the magazine the following year for Team17.<ref name=AmAddict-4/><ref name=Retro-21/> [[Steve Jarratt]]<ref name=NLife-Oct2015/> , for ''[[ ]]'' before entering [[Bullfrog Productions]].<ref name=Retro-14/>

==Regular features==
{{primary sources|section|date=April 2021}}

===Reader Games===
A notable regular feature in the later stage of the magazine (introduced by then-editor [[Nick Veitch]]) was ''Readers' Games''. Here readers of the magazine could send in games they had programmed themselves, and the magazine staff would then publish a brief review of them. In the [[CD-ROM]] edition of the magazine, all the Readers' Games were also included on the [[covermount]] CD-ROM. Most of the games were written in [[AMOS BASIC]] or [[Blitz BASIC]].

⚫
In one issue, a competition was run to find the best game developed by a reader using Blitz BASIC. A game called ''Total Wormage'' was entered by [[Andy Davidson (game designer)|Andy Davidson]]. Although ''Total Wormage'' was overlooked by the magazine's judges and thus did not win, Marcus Dyson, who was editor when the magazine held the competition and had departed publishing to join developer Team17, persuaded ''Amiga Format'' to transfer rights to the game to the studio (all demos submitted to the competition became property of Future Publishing). Team17 would complete the game and release it commercially as ''[[Worms (computer game)|Worms]]''.<ref name=Retro-21/>

===Just the FAQs===
Introduced in issue 129 and continuing until the final issue, ''Just the FAQs'' consisted of a single page each month containing an interview with a prominent figure in the Amiga community, with the exception of the January 2000 issue (published in December 1999), which instead explained the limited effects the [[Year 2000 problem]] would have on the Amiga.<ref>Olaf Barthel, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', January 2000 (issue 132), 86</ref>

Interviews were conducted with Chris Wiles ([[managing director]] of Active Technologies), Neil Bothwick (founder of the Wirenet [[Internet service provider|ISP]]), Alan Redhouse (of Eyetech), Wolf Dietrich (head of [[Phase5|Phase 5 Digital Products]]), Andrew Elia (of AmigaSoc), and Ben Hermans (of Hyperion Entertainment).<ref>Chris Wiles, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', November 1999 (issue 129), 92</ref><ref>Neil Bothwick, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', December 1999 (issue 130), 92</ref><ref>Alan Redhouse, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', Christmas 1999 (issue 131), 86</ref><ref>Wolf Dietrich, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', February 2000 (issue 133), 86</ref><ref>Andrew Elia, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', March 2000 (issue 134), 78</ref><ref>Ben Hermans, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', April 2000 (issue 135), 78</ref> In the final issue, a special interview was conducted with [[Eric W. Schwartz|Eric Schwartz]]'s cartoon character Sabrina.<ref>Eric Schwartz, "Just the FAQs", ''Amiga Format'', May 2000 (issue 136), 78</ref>

===Backstage===
''Backstage'' was a four-page [[newsletter]] sent to [[subscriber]]s with each issue. The tone of the newsletter was less formal than that of the magazine, and it would often provide behind-the-scenes information on the activities of prominent members of the ''Amiga Format'' staff. ''Backstage'' also gave details of the contents of the Subscribers' Superdisk (an extra [[floppy disk]] sent to subscribers, whose contents were also stored in a password-protected [[File archiver|archive]] on the cover CD), and featured [[special offer]]s for subscribers.


==References==
==References==
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<ref name=AmAddict-5>{{cite magazine|url=https://issuu.com/simulant/docs/issue05_amigaaddict_may2021-digitaledition|url-access=limited|title=Amiga's Got You Covered!|last=Monaghan|first=Paul|magazine=[[Amiga Addict]]|date=May 2021|access-date=2024-06-05|issue=5|pages=13–15}}</ref>
<ref name=AmAddict-5>{{cite magazine|url=https://issuu.com/simulant/docs/issue05_amigaaddict_may2021-digitaledition|url-access=limited|title=Amiga's Got You Covered!|last=Monaghan|first=Paul|magazine=[[Amiga Addict]]|date=May 2021|access-date=2024-06-05|issue=5|pages=13–15}}</ref>
<ref name=AmShopper-1>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/AmigaShopper30Oct93/AmigaShopper/AmigaShopper01-May91/page/n5|title=The Power and the Format|magazine=[[Amiga Shopper]]|date=May 1991|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=1|page=6}}</ref>
<ref name=AmShopper-1>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/AmigaShopper30Oct93/AmigaShopper/AmigaShopper01-May91/page/n5|title=The Power and the Format|magazine=[[Amiga Shopper]]|date=May 1991|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=1|page=6}}</ref>
<ref name=Cox-2014>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKzSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA134|title=Revolutions from Grub Street: A History of Magazine Publishing in Britain|last1=Cox|first1=Howard|author-link=Howard Cox|last2=Mowatt|first2=Simon|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|date=2014|access-date=2024-06-12|pages=134–135, 214|isbn=978-0-19-960163-9}}</ref>
<ref name=CUAmiga-Oct1998>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/cuamiga-magazine-104/page/n103|department=Points of View|title=The battle plan|last=Drummond|first=Richard|magazine=[[CU Amiga]]|date=October 1998|access-date=2024-06-12|page=104}}</ref>
<ref name=Edge-Retro3>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/EDGE.RETRO.N3.2003.Guide.collecting.classic.videogames.hardware/page/n41|series=The Collector's Series|title=Amiga amigos|magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|date=2003|access-date=2024-06-10|issue=10|page=42}}</ref>
<ref name=Edge-Retro3>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/EDGE.RETRO.N3.2003.Guide.collecting.classic.videogames.hardware/page/n41|series=The Collector's Series|title=Amiga amigos|magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|date=2003|access-date=2024-06-10|issue=10|page=42}}</ref>
<ref name=MaxPC-Jan2023>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/maximum-pc/20230101/282454238042267|title=16-Bit Hits|last=|first=|magazine=[[Maximum PC]]|date=January 2023|access-date=2024-06-05|page=58}}</ref>
<ref name=MaxPC-Jan2023>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/maximum-pc/20230101/282454238042267|title=16-Bit Hits|last=|first=|magazine=[[Maximum PC]]|date=January 2023|access-date=2024-06-05|page=58}}</ref>
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<ref name=NCE-27>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/NH2021_New_Computer_Express_Issue027.pdf/page/n4|title=''ST/Amiga Format'' to split|magazine=[[New Computer Express]]|date=1989-05-13|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=27|page=5}}</ref>
<ref name=NCE-27>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/NH2021_New_Computer_Express_Issue027.pdf/page/n4|title=''ST/Amiga Format'' to split|magazine=[[New Computer Express]]|date=1989-05-13|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=27|page=5}}</ref>
<ref name=NCE-118>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/NH2021_New_Computer_Express_Issue118.pdf/page/n4|title=From the makers of Amiga Format|magazine=[[New Computer Express]]|date=1991-02-09|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=118|page=5}}</ref>
<ref name=NCE-118>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/NH2021_New_Computer_Express_Issue118.pdf/page/n4|title=From the makers of Amiga Format|magazine=[[New Computer Express]]|date=1991-02-09|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=118|page=5}}</ref>
<ref name=NLife-Oct2015>{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/super_famicom_the_box_art_collection_is_back_and_better_than_ever|title=Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection Is Back, And Better Than Ever|last=McFerran|first=Damien|work=[[Nintendo Life]]|date=2015-10-01|access-date=2024-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002135916/http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/super_famicom_the_box_art_collection_is_back_and_better_than_ever|archive-date=2015-10-02|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=NLife-Oct2015>{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/super_famicom_the_box_art_collection_is_back_and_better_than_ever|title=Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection Is Back, And Better Than Ever|last=McFerran|first=Damien|=[[Nintendo Life]]|date=2015-10-01|access-date=2024-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002135916/http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/super_famicom_the_box_art_collection_is_back_and_better_than_ever|archive-date=2015-10-02|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=Railton-2005>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/azofcoolcomputer0000rail/page/202/mode/2up?q=%22ST+Amiga+Format%22|title=The A-Z of Cool Computer Games|last=Railton|first=Jack|publisher=[[Allison & Busby]]|date=2005|access-date=2024-06-12|page=203|isbn=0-7490-8206-2}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-14>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20014/page/92|title=Retro Scene: CGE UK on the move|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2005-03-17|access-date=2024-06-05|issue=14|page=92}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-14>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20014/page/92|title=Retro Scene: CGE UK on the move|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2005-03-17|access-date=2024-06-05|issue=14|page=92}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-21>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20021/page/63|title=Developer Lookback: Team 17|last=Day|first=Ashley|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2006-02-02|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=21|pages=63–64}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-21>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20021/page/63|title=Developer Lookback: Team 17|last=Day|first=Ashley|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2006-02-02|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=21|pages=63–64}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-22>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20022/page/49|title=Retroinspection: Amiga 1200|last=Day|first=Ashley|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2006-03-02|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=22|page=49}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-22>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20022/page/49|title=Retroinspection: Amiga 1200|last=Day|first=Ashley|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2006-03-02|access-date=2024-06-04|issue=22|page=49}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-50>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20050/page/43|title=The Making Of Retro Gamer|last=Carroll|first=Martyn|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2008-04-24|access-date=2024-06-12|issue=50|page=43}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-126>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20126/page/17|department=Back To The Nineties|title=The Latest News From January 1997|last=Burton|first=Richard|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2014-03-04|access-date=2024-06-12|issue=126|page=17}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-130>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20130/page/48|title=The Making Of Theme Hospital|last=Crookes|first=David|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2014-06-19|access-date=2024-06-12|issue=130|page=48}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-215>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20215/page/65|title=Strictly Confidential: Inside The Official Secrets Magazine|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2020-12-29|access-date=2024-06-12|issue=215|page=65}}</ref>
<ref name=Retro-257>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/retro-gamer/20240314/284790701162275|department=My Retro Life|title=Riding The Retro Wave|last=Crookes|first=David|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|date=2024-03-14|access-date=2024-06-12|issue=257|pages=108–109}}</ref>
<ref name=Schofield>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/130161008/|title=Discs that make the magazines front page|last=Schofield|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Schofield (journalist)|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=1991-10-10|access-date=2023-08-17|page=35|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
<ref name=Schofield>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/130161008/|title=Discs that make the magazines front page|last=Schofield|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Schofield (journalist)|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=1991-10-10|access-date=2023-08-17|page=35|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
}}
}}

Revision as of 04:04, 12 June 2024

Amiga Format
The cover of the final issue of Amiga Format (May 2000)
Former editors
Editors
Bob Wade
Damien Noonan
Marcus Dyson (1993–1994)
Steve Jarratt
Nick Veitch
Ben Vost
CategoriesAmiga, Video games
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation161,256 (Jan – Jun 1992)
First issueAugust 1989
Final issue
Number		May 2000
136
CompanyFuture Publishing
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inBath
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0957-4867

Amiga Format was a British monthly computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when Future split ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications (the other being ST Format).

The magazine's coverage extended to hardware, software, as well as video games. It is known to have provided each issue with a cover disk containing an assortment of demos and usually free-of-charge software and games, popularising the concept among its rival magazines. At its peak, in the first half of 1992, the magazine's circulation averaged 161,256 copies per issue.

History

A cover disk featuring game and animation demos.

ST/Amiga Format was a monthly magazine that covered the Amiga and Atari ST operating systems, created and published in July 1988 by Future Publishing founder Chris Anderson. The two operating systems were seen as rivals, and because of growing competition between them, in the wake of Future's sale of the video game magazine ACE to EMAP, it was decided to split the magazine into Amiga Format and ST Format in July 1989. As a result, the former dual-format title lasted only 13 issues, and the first issue of Amiga Format was published in August that year.[1][2][3][4]

Amiga Format covered all aspects of Amiga computers, both hardware and software, both application and gaming uses. Future decided to spin off the magazine after reader demands for magazines with narrowed interests. Two magazines resulted: Amiga Shopper, which dealt purely with the hardware and "serious" software side of the Amiga scene, and Amiga Power, which was strictly games-only, and both were launched in May 1991.[5][6]

The magazine was published on a monthly basis[7] and offered various multi-issue tutorials on different application software, such as C programming or LightWave graphics rendering. The last tutorial was cut short in the middle because of the cancellation of the magazine.[citation needed]

Each issue of Amiga Format was provided with a cover disk containing an assortment of application software, public-domain (i.e. free of charge) games, and new game demos—a practice pioneered by Future Publishing[8] and which it inherited from its predecessor, ST/Amiga Format[1]—popularising the concept amongst its rival magazines.[4] Most of the programs distributed on the disks were public-domain software, shareware, or demos, often available through other means such as modems and bulletin board systems, but they occasionally included full-price commercial titles. Three such examples were the full versions of the games Archipelagos and Vaxine and the word processor Wordworth for the July 1991 issue. This practice drew ire from software publishers, and Amiga Format and its competitors agreed to halt it.[8] In another example, a version of Blitz BASIC was mounted to the November 1993 cover disk, along with a zombie apocalypse game written in that language. Blitz BASIC subsequently overtook AMOS as the preferred way to program games.[9] Later in its lifetime, the magazine turned to the CD as a medium for storing vast quantities of software, which benefited users who lacked Internet access.[10] With its January 1997 issue, it became the United Kingdom's first computer magazine to attach two cover CDs to a single issue, the second in this case AGA users.[11]

During Marcus Dyson's time at Amiga Format as editor (1993–1994), a competition was run to find the best game developed by a reader using Blitz BASIC. A game called Total Wormage was entered by Andy Davidson. Although Total Wormage was overlooked by the magazine's judges and thus did not win, Marcus Dyson, who was editor when the magazine held the competition and had departed publishing to join developer Team17, persuaded Amiga Format to transfer rights to the game to the studio (all demos submitted to the competition became property of Future Publishing). Team17 would complete the game and release it commercially as Worms.[12][13]

Circulation of Amiga Format (blue line with circles) compared with other Amiga magazines. At its peak, in the first half of 1992, the magazine averaged 161,256 copies per issue.

Amiga Format spanned 136 issues in its lifetime, achieving peak circulation at an average of 161,256 copies distributed in the first half of 1992,[14] with the final issue published in May 2000.[15] At the time of CU Amiga Magazine's closure in late 1998, it was the only regularly issued print magazine about the Amiga in the United Kingdom.[16]

Staff

Marcus Dyson, whom the magazine hired in 1990 as an art assistant, became editor in 1993 before departing the magazine the following year for Team17.[12][13] Another writer to become editor was prolific Steve Jarratt.[17] Contributors included Nick Walkland, previously a staff writer for the adventure games magazine Confidential and later part of the television programme Games World,[18] and Richard Burton and David Crookes, both of whom who would later write for Retro Gamer.[19][20] Other writers included Andy Nuttall and James Leach, both of whom also wrote for other video game magazines before entering Bullfrog Productions.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b "ST/Amiga Format to split". New Computer Express. No. 27. 13 May 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. ^ Railton, Jack (2005). The A-Z of Cool Computer Games. Allison & Busby. p. 203. ISBN 0-7490-8206-2. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  3. ^ Cox, Howard; Mowatt, Simon (2014). Revolutions from Grub Street: A History of Magazine Publishing in Britain. Oxford University Press. pp. 134–135, 214. ISBN 978-0-19-960163-9. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b Monaghan, Paul (May 2021). "Amiga's Got You Covered!". Amiga Addict. No. 5. pp. 13–15. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  5. ^ "From the makers of Amiga Format". New Computer Express. No. 118. 9 February 1991. p. 5. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  6. ^ "The Power and the Format". Amiga Shopper. No. 1. May 1991. p. 6. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  7. ^ "AMIGA Magazines from the UK". Amiga Magazines List. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  8. ^ a b Schofield, Jack (10 October 1991). "Discs that make the magazines front page". The Guardian. p. 35. Retrieved 17 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "16-Bit Hits". Maximum PC. January 2023. p. 58. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  10. ^ Day, Ashley (2 March 2006). "Retroinspection: Amiga 1200". Retro Gamer. No. 22. p. 49. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  11. ^ Burton, Richard (4 March 2014). "The Latest News From January 1997". Back To The Nineties. Retro Gamer. No. 126. p. 17. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  12. ^ a b Monaghan, Paul (April 2021). "Marcus Dyson interview". Amiga Addict. No. 4. pp. 15–16. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  13. ^ a b Day, Ashley (2 February 2006). "Developer Lookback: Team 17". Retro Gamer. No. 21. pp. 63–64. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  14. ^ McKevitt, Steve (2018). The Persuasion Industries: The Making of Modern Britain. Oxford University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-19-882170-0. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Amiga amigos". Edge. The Collector's Series. No. 10. 2003. p. 42. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  16. ^ Drummond, Richard (October 1998). "The battle plan". Points of View. CU Amiga. p. 104. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  17. ^ McFerran, Damien (1 October 2015). "Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection Is Back, And Better Than Ever". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Strictly Confidential: Inside The Official Secrets Magazine". Retro Gamer. No. 215. 29 December 2020. p. 65. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  19. ^ Carroll, Martyn (24 April 2008). "The Making Of Retro Gamer". Retro Gamer. No. 50. p. 43. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  20. ^ Crookes, David (14 March 2024). "Riding The Retro Wave". My Retro Life. Retro Gamer. No. 257. pp. 108–109. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Retro Scene: CGE UK on the move". Retro Gamer. No. 14. 17 March 2005. p. 92. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  22. ^ Crookes, David (19 June 2014). "The Making Of Theme Hospital". Retro Gamer. No. 130. p. 48. Retrieved 12 June 2024.

External links

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