Hyper (magazine)
Phil Keir, owner of Next Media and publisher of Rolling Stone, rang Stuart Clarke at home one night in 1993. The call came just as Clarke was starting to relax after leaving his previous role editing MegaZone. Keir asked a few questions before asking him to set up a brand new games magazine that he would create and control completely. Clarke recalled the moment in Hyper's 100th issue published in February 2002. He said he thought for only a few nano-seconds before answering yes. This decision launched Australia's longest running gaming magazine.
Hyper covered current major video game systems and releases on both console and handheld formats. The publication also included arcade machines and classic games alongside anime and DVD movies once they became popular in Australia during 1994 and 1999 respectively. Issue number two featured articles about game classifications ranging from G to X18+ status. Computer hardware reviews and video game music discussions appeared regularly within its pages. A sister magazine called PC PowerPlay focused entirely on personal computer gaming content.
Stuart Clarke served as editor from 1993 until 1996 with Andrew Humphreys as deputy editor. Dan Toose took over the role from 1996 through 1999 while Eliot Fish led the team between 1999 and 2004. Cam Shea held the position from 2005 to 2007 followed by Daniel Wilks who started his first tenure in 2007. Anthony Fordham and Dylan Burns briefly edited the magazine in 2010 before David Wildgoose took charge from 2011 to 2013. Daniel Wilks returned for a second stint from 2013 until 2018 when David Hollingworth became editor for issue 271 published on the 11th of August 2019.
Competitors during Hyper's early years included ACP's Gamestar, Australian GamePro, and MegaZone which had been taken over by Mason Stewart Publishing in September 1993. Contributors appeared on The Zone video game focused TV show between 1994 and 1995. Nextmedia announced in late 2014 that the publication would become quarterly starting in 2015. Daniel Wilks noted that print seemed dead during the peak of the Global Financial Crisis when every publishing company shed staff. He stated that magazines like theirs were going out of style yet he believed they could weather anything thrown at them.
Hyper released its 200th issue on the 28th of April 2010 with Daniel Wilks serving as editor until that point. Darren Wells succeeded him as deputy editor following the milestone. Only two issues appeared in 2018 after nextmedia sold computing titles to Future including Hyper itself. Issue 269 came out on the 7th of February 2018 while issue 270 followed on the 8th of August 2018. No further issues were published by Future after releasing issue 271 on the 11th of August 2019. Subscriptions for both physical and digital formats are no longer available.
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Common questions
Who founded Hyper magazine in 1993?
Phil Keir founded Hyper magazine by calling Stuart Clarke to propose the project. Phil Keir was the owner of Next Media and publisher of Rolling Stone at that time.
When did Stuart Clarke edit Hyper magazine for the first time?
Stuart Clarke edited Hyper magazine from 1993 until 1996. He served as editor before Dan Toose took over the role from 1996 through 1999.
What date was issue 271 of Hyper published?
Issue 271 of Hyper was published on the 11th of August 2019. David Hollingworth became editor for this final issue after Daniel Wilks left his second stint in 2018.
Which competitors existed during the early years of Hyper magazine?
Competitors during Hyper's early years included ACP's Gamestar, Australian GamePro, and MegaZone. MegaZone had been taken over by Mason Stewart Publishing in September 1993.
On what date did Hyper release its 200th issue?
Hyper released its 200th issue on the 28th of April 2010 with Daniel Wilks serving as editor until that point. Darren Wells succeeded him as deputy editor following the milestone.