Joystick (magazine)

Not to be confused with Joystiq, a defunct video game blog.

Joystick (formerly Joystick Hebdo)^[4][8] was a French computer magazine that published monthly issues on PC games. It was founded in 1988 by Marc Andersen,^[5] who later left in November 1995. Originally published in the form of a 32-page weekly magazine in 1988 and 1989, it saw monthly 148-page issues (and more) past 1990.^[1][4][9] It initially sold with one or more floppy disks and then later with several CD-ROMs, and finally, until April 2012, a DVD that included complete copies of video games. In 2012, Joystick ceased distribution.

Joystick

Issue 107 cover
Categories	Computer magazine, Video games
Frequency	Monthly[1][2]
Circulation	14000[3]
Founder	Marc Andersen[4][5]
Founded	1988
First issue	9 November 1988
Final issue Number	23 November 2012 260
Company	Sipress,[5] Hachette Digital Presse,[1] MER7,[6] Anuman Interactive[7]
Country	France
Based in	Paris
Language	French
ISSN	1145-4806

Despite 80,000 unique visitors per month to Joystick's website, it was closed in March 2002 due to the lack of profitability.^[10] It reopened in early 2008 as a summary of the magazine, including video game reviews and video game news; it would be updated irregularly until June 2012.

History

The first issue of Joystick Hebdo was published on 9 November 1988^[8] and contained cheat-code listings, game testings and reviews.

Sometime between November 1989 and January 1990, Joystick Hebdo rebranded as Joystick^[4][11] and began selling monthly issues.

In June 1993, Joystick was purchased by Hachette Digital Presse.^[5][12] In 2003, Hachette Digital Presse was acquired by Future.^[13] During this time, many editors left Joystick and created the independent publication Canard PC.^[14]

In 2011, MER7^[6] (formerly Future France) was liquidated,^[14][15][16] causing the last issue of Joystick to release on 23 November 2012. On 8 February 2013, based on a decision by the Paris Commercial Court, Anuman Interactive acquired the Joystick brand^[7][17] and announced Joystick Replay in March 2013.^[18]

On 17 May 2018, ZQSD.fr and Anuman launched a podcast series to commemorate the magazine.^[19] It showcases interviews with former Joystick writers and editors.

Joystick Replay

In March 2013, Anuman Interactive announced Joystick Replay,^[18] a game label that repurposes retro PC games for the modern age. It has published remakes of games such as Darkstone, Fire & Forget, Moto Racer, North Vs South, Prehistorik, Prohibition 1930 and Titan.

Controversy

On 3 July 2012, in the "Summer Special" issue of that year, Kévin Bitterlin, a former journalist for Joystick, wrote in a review for the 2013 Tomb Raider game "Subjecting one of the most iconic figures in video games to such torture is just great. And I daresay it is quite exciting." Many outraged reactions launched a debate on sexism in video games in France. ^{[20][21][22][23][24]}