UPDATE - JULY 20, 2005: Sometimes it's amazing how quickly the internet works. It seems like just yesterday I posted this article, yet in a very short amount of time I have received quite a few emails regarding my comparison to Game Fan and Hardcore. Thankfully most of the emails were nice and it gave me an opportunity to check out the Hardcore Gamer Magazine website. To show you all aspects of this story I would like to include a couple of emails from people who actually have something to do with the making of this unique magazine:


That's kinda neat. I really didn't purposely design the magazine look like GameFan, but seeing the stuff side by side it's obvious that I haven't changed my tastes all that much over the years.

BTW, Greg Off is the guy who designed Monitaur originally.

Regards,
Tim


Hey Syrill,
Someone posted your link regarding Hardcore Gamer Magazine on the HGM forum boards and I just came across it. After reading your review, I felt inclined to email you and explain the usage of Monitaur. I was originally at Die Hard back in the day (helped launch the magazine, stayed for a few years, moved on, came back, then moved on again - spent the last 12 years at Dimension Publishing where Tim Lindquist, myself, and Dave Winding (Talko) worked on PSExtreme/PSE2 magazine). Tim left and I followed suit not long after. We decided to go back to our roots with HGM, which is why you were so astute at spotting the similarities - it's semi-intentional. In regards to Monitaur, he's my character. I created him long before starting up GameFan and kept the rights all these years. We won't be showcasing him on the cover as we did back in the '90s, but he's near and dear to me and that's why he's been reincarnated.

Thought you would like to know!

Thanks for the kinds words. We're a work in progress, but we plan on being around for quite a while.

-Greg

Well, it looks like I didn't get all my facts right ... but then, that guy called me "Syrill", so let's call it a wash. We always appreciate hearing from the people we do stories about, and we look forward to seeing what the magazine is like a year or two down the road. If you still haven't picked it up yet do yourself a favor and find it wherever it is sold (you can also preview the magazine on their website).