The 40, 30, 20, 10, 0 of January 2025

Tilt puts the M.S.X. standard to the test. For the record, the M.S.X. was a family computer standard from Japan, with the software layer provided by Microsoft. This meant that any manufacturer could release their version of the M.S.X. as long as the standard was adhered to. Very popular in Japan, where it left almost no room for Amstrad or other Atari ST computers, the M.S.X. (especially from the second generation onward) is the original platform for several major Japanese franchises such as Goemon, Puyo Puyo, and Metal Gear. Released in 1983, Tilt explains that the M.S.X. only made its way to France in 1984 and offers a review of six M.S.X. variants and ten games. The magazine isn’t fully convinced by the standard, pointing out several “growing pains.” Indeed, the M.S.X. 2 would appear a few months later in Japan, but the standard would never take off in France. What followed was the test of the Amstrad CPC 464, a true game-changer from the UK, which prematurely ended the careers of several other computers of the time, eventually reaching 1 million units sold in France, a success that Tilt reports on enthusiastically ! And the games? Nothing historic; the Ghostbusters adaptation by Activision for the Commodore 64, Tennis by Exelvision for the EXL 100, and Spy vs. Spy (based on the comic strip of the same name) by First Start for Atari receive good reviews and are probably the only games from this period that would still resonate with a gamer in 2025 !

The big news in January 1995 was the near-simultaneous release of the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in Japan during the fall of 1994. While France had to wait until July 1995 for the Saturn and September for the PlayStation, Consoles + dedicated a special section to the new 32-bit consoles, largely written by Banana San, the magazine’s Japanese correspondent, who shared photographs of the console launches in Akihabara—back when the web was still in its infancy. Funny detail: in 1995, it was necessary to explain what an operating system was and how to use a CD on a console. Nevertheless, Banana San accurately analyzed the situation: the Saturn launched earlier and owed much of its sales success to Virtua Fighter, but less than a month later, the PlayStation already seemed to be taking the lead. History was being made. And while Sega had Virtua Fighter, Sony had Ridge Racer: both games, instant arcade classics—at a time when the 32-bit promise was “arcade at home,” just like the Famicom era—received the same score of 93%. This was higher than two other classics reviewed in the issue: Super Punch-Out!! for the Super Nintendo and Crusader of Centy for the Sega Genesis, both scoring 91%. While 32-bit consoles were the future, the present was still dominated by 16-bit systems, with plenty of reviews and previews (what game announcements were called in the ’90s). The Jaguar and 3DO, which also had games reviewed in the same issue, were already showing signs of a different fate, despite an article mentioning the Jaguar’s launch in Japan in early December 1994—right between the Saturn and PlayStation. Perfect timing! What stood out to me was the mention of a more powerful Jaguar II with a built-in CD-ROM drive planned for 1996—only to end up in the same prototype graveyard as the M2, made obsolete by the PSX. Finally, I was surprised to see the term otaku already used in 1995. A pay-per-call ad even targeted otakus, promising to teach them “everything you need to know about girls.” 😀 Pro tip: Start with personal hygiene!

Since I mentioned the 3DO, I might as well continue with Joystick, a more generalist magazine than Consoles +, which dedicated a feature to the system, including an interview with Trip Hawkins, the man behind the project. While the article openly acknowledged the 3DO’s difficult first year, it maintained a moderately optimistic tone about its future. Caution was warranted, as 1995 would be the 3DO’s final year, leaving almost no legacy—except perhaps the Gex the Gecko franchise, known mainly for its ports to other platforms. However, Joystick preferred to highlight the 3DO version of FIFA International Soccer (a brand-new Electronic Arts franchise at the time…), fully rendered in 3D, which the reviewer seemed particularly impressed with! A bit further in the issue, there’s a review of a new title the editor-in-chief didn’t think deserved the cover spotlight: a certain WarCraft, to which reviewer Moulinex gave a solid but not spectacular score of 85/100. Proof that even legendary franchises can have humble beginnings! Finally, one last noteworthy detail from the magazine’s 200 pages: Lord Casque Noir reviewed an operating system, OS/2 Warp, in an article predicting the venerable DOS would soon be replaced, with several contenders aiming to dethrone Microsoft. Looking back 30 years later, such optimism is almost amusing!

Let’s start with Joystick, which reviewed WarCraft in relative obscurity back in January 1995. By January 2005, however, the magazine included a 30-page supplement entirely dedicated to World of WarCraft—the franchise had come a long way in just ten years! Elsewhere in the issue, the cover story and feature article focus on The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, a solid action/stealth game well-received at launch but since faded into relative obscurity—much like the Vin Diesel film series it was based on. The magazine also previews S.T.A.L.K.E.R., the first entry in what would become a hit series but at the time seemed destined to become just another vaporware. Reviewer Bishop even made a joke about the Orange Revolution and Ukraine’s political situation—something that feels awkwardly out of place in 2025. Finally, the Nintendo DS, which had just launched in North America and Japan and was set for a spring 2005 release in Europe, was reviewed with genuine enthusiasm!

In Consoles +, a front-page ad serves as a reminder that even retrogaming is starting to age: it’s for the NES Classics (Classic NES Series in the U.S.) line, re-releases of NES classics for the GBA (shocking, right?). Funny detail: the time separating a 2005 reader from those classics is now the same as what separates today’s reader from this article. Time is relative, indeed! Early 2000s trends continue with a feature on Metal Gear Solid – Snake Eater (18/20), a preview of Brothers in Arms, and a review of Call of Duty: Finest Hour (17/20). To stay on theme, the magazine includes a special on military FPS games, comparing their proliferation to teenage acne outbreaks. The topics of video game violence and militaristic propaganda could easily be revisited on a modern podcast in 2025! The game of the month award went to Champions: Return to Arms, an action-RPG that has since faded into obscurity. The issue wraps up with a 27-page guide to GTA: San Andreas, a reminder that 20 years ago, searching for game solutions online wasn’t quite the norm yet!

The January 2015 issue of Jeux Vidéo Magazine is a December/January buying guide (the actual January issue would be released on January 15, 2015, but Bob doesn’t have it in his archives and it’s nowhere to be found online, whether by paying or by sporting a wooden leg and an eye patch!). However, it is worth noting the presentation of GTA V on the new generation consoles (PS4 and Xbox One): after already two years on PS3 and Xbox 360, the game is now being released on a second generation… It would see a third generation release in 2022, and its sequel is still awaited in 2025! The magazine also provides a mid-generation review of the three home consoles, foreshadowing the final outcome of this generation, with a clear lead for the PS4 and a proper failure for the Wii U, though the magazine still mentions an all-new Zelda title for it… As for the two issues of Canard PC—back then a biweekly magazine—the tribute to Charlie Hebdo (whose journalists were murdered on January 7, 2015, triggering a grim series of Islamist crimes in France) on the inside cover reminds us how insignificant our microcosm is in the real world and, paradoxically, how crucial leisure activities are in general. In an unintended echo, an article discusses the Ukrainian video game industry, focusing on the upcoming game Survarium (an online shooter released in 2015 and shut down in 2022) and going back to S.T.A.L.K.E.R., which was covered by Joystick in 2015. Another article addresses cheating in video games, mentioning a scandal from late 2024 in the e-sports scene (which was much more prominent in 2015 than it is today). Canard PC also announces the scheduled end of PlayStation Home—which I had entirely forgotten existed—and the foreseeable decline of game streaming, which was once expected to revolutionize gaming in the early 2010s.

Video games are cyclical—or, to be blunt, one could say publishers often lack imagination. Both Canard PC and Jeux Vidéo Magazine mention S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, a sequel to the game first announced by Joystick in January 2005 and covered again by Canard PC in their January 2015 feature, as well as GTA VI, which will likely be one of the biggest cultural events of 2025. Yet, it remains just another entry in a franchise already discussed by Consoles+ in January 2005 and Jeux Vidéo Magazine in January 2015. The announcement of one of the “big” 2025 titles won’t change the pattern: Assassin’s Creed Shadows is ultimately just another addition to a franchise milked since 2007. The game, featuring a semi-legendary Black samurai and a female ninja, is bound to spark conversation, especially in an era where the culture war between “wokes” and “incels” is raging. However, a good bit of sterile controversy might just help Ubisoft, which has been struggling lately, avoid scrutiny of the game’s actual quality. Joking aside, these early-year issues also celebrate the 30th anniversary of the PlayStation and review Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, the first hit of 2025 (or the last of 2024, depending on your perspective), continuing a tradition of action-adventure games with varying quality. Cyclical, I tell you. Jeux Vidéo Magazine also announces the end of Xbox One avatars on January 9, 2025, marking the last of the “virtual worlds”—like PlayStation Home, shut down in 2015—that publishers kept trying to impose for nearly fifteen years (fortunately without success). What a waste of money… Finally, wrapping up this four-decade press review, let’s remember the Jeux Vidéo Magazine article betting on a comeback for FMV (Full Motion Video) games in 2025. Now, while I appreciate a journalist willing to take a bold stance (old Bob is known for that), if FMV actually turns out to be the future of gaming, I’ll eat my hat!