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GamesMaster: 1992 - 1998
No videogames show has ever been as loved or missed as Channel 4's seminal GamesMaster. Conceptualised when producer Jane Hewland developed a liking for Duck Hunt on her son's NES, GM was the first dedicated gaming show on UK TV and the first time games content was ever really seen outside of Saturday morning kids' shows. Taking a mid-evening slot, the show was an informed and irreverent mix of challenges, news, features and reviews, and the first big example of the games industry really stamping its mark on the mainstream media.
For the first time, publishers and developers had a decent platform from which to show off their products on TV. The show got their full backing and involvement, as well as that of professional games journalists from all over the UK industry. Representatives of both groups appeared on GamesMaster on a weekly basis,giving the whole production a feel of officialdom and legitimacy that TV games coverage had never even dared to attempt before. To those of us growing up as gamers in the '90s, it was our show.
And over the course of its seven series, GM matured and became ever more worthy. As the audience and the industry grew up, so did GamesMaster, becoming more industry-focused and taking subtle steps towards turning into a truly adult show. In 1998 it looked like GamesMaster couldlast as long as gaming did. Viewing figures were healthy and the PlayStation had opened up the market in the way that gamers had hoped for for years. There was even talk of the show moving into a later, more mainstream time slot.
Alas though, Channel 4's management changed and the show was axed. There's never been a clear explanation as to why, and we can only dream of what the series would have been like if it was still running today. There's certainly never been an adequate replacement. Still, its spirit lives on in the continued publication of GamesMaster Magazine, which is written mere feet away from GamesRadar to this very day.
