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Katz/Kunkel/Worley : The History Of Video Games From Holy Trinity Of Game Journalism

Bill Kunkel, Arnie, Katz and Joyce Worley were the pioneers of game journalism.   Here, in chronological order, are links to a good portion the writing they created in the golden age (and beyond) of video games.

1970-1980: Arcade Alley: Bill Kunkel And Arnie Katz suggested this column to the editors of Video Magazine.  You can find a few of these original columns (including one of the ealiest discussion of the Mattel Intellivision, and a 10 year history of video games to that point) in the Digital Press Library in the Video Magazine section.

1981-1985:  Electronic Games : Bill Kunkel, Arnie Katz, and Joyce Worley pioneered the video game journalism with Electronic Games in the winter of 1981.     The Digital Press Library has a nearly complete collection of the original Electronic Games magazines in .pdf format.

1982-1983: Arcade Express : Joyce Worley edited this bi-weekly newsletter that was packed with the latest video game news as fast as it could be printed.   The Digital Press Library has an almost complete collection of these newsletters.  While they are pretty dry when it comes to content, they are great for archivists who want to know dates and chronology, as they are the closest thing to a “blog” printed in the golden age.

1988: Computer Gaming World: In 1988, Katz, Kunkel and Worley created the Videogame World column for Computer Gaming World:  June, July, August, September,  October,  November,  December

1988-1989: ST-Log : In 1988, Katz, Kunkel and Worley wrote a bevy of freelance articles for the Atari ST compute game magazine ST-Log. These included : Hard Ball review ,  The Cinemaware Story, History Of Adventure Gaming , Karate Kid II Review,  Sub Battle Simulator review , Airball review,  The Joy Of Joysticks, Leisure Suit Larry review, The Guild Of Thieves,  Top Games Of 1988 and Coming Attractions for

1989 – 1995: Video Games And Computer Entertainment, Electronic Games (mark II):  Bill Kunkel along with Arnie Katz and Joyce Wroley wrote for Video Games And Computer Entertainment, and the 1990’s version of Electronic Games.  Both publications were not under their control, but Katz, Kunkel and Worley contributed  many stories, articles, and reviews to each.  Some issues are available here and here.

2000’s: The Kunkel Report : In the 2000’s, Bill Kunkel wrote a column for Digital Press named The Kunkel Report.  You can find some of them here (scroll down to the Kunkel Report).  Many of these stories appeared in his book: Confessions Of The Game Doctor

2003: Good Deal Games: Bill Kunkjel wrote and co-wrote several articles for Good Deal Games in the early 2000’s. The Story Behind The First Issue Of Electronic Games,  How Alex Pajitnov was Tetris-Ized!, and  Classic CES Gaming Treasures

2006: Confessions Of The Game Doctor: In 2005, Bill Kunkel Published a book on his career as a pioneering video game journarlist named Confessions Of The Game Doctor. It’s still available from Rolenta Press

2007: From January 2007-August 2007, Bill Kunkel Edited Tips And Tricks Magazine. You can read his bio here.

2007-2011: J2Games.com: From 2007-2011, Bill Kunkel wrote a regular “column” fr J2Games.com on their forums. For anyone who wanted to know more about the details in Confessions Of The Game Doctor, this was the place to read about them.  It was in this column that the Bill Kunkel of 80’s and 90’s finally got a chance to exercise his writing skills about video games in the 21st Century.   The column starts here, and here are some of the highlights:

2000-2009: Interviews, Etc.

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