Edge (magazine) - Special Issues

Special Issues

A number of Edge special editions were published in the UK. These included:

"1996 essential hardware guide" (1996)

Special edition issue focussing on PS1, Saturn, Ultra 64, PC CD-ROM, 3DO, M2, Atari Jaguar, Amiga, Virtual Boy, Mega Drive, Super Nintendo. This was the first special edition produced, the front and spine displaying Premiere Issue.

"Essential hardware guide 2000" (2000)

Special edition featuring the top ten formats ever, Sir Clive revists the ZX Spectrum and sections on Xbox, PSOne, PS2, Dreamcast, Gamecube, GScube, Game Boy Color, PC, Game Boy Advance, Wonderswan Color, Ericsson R380s, Palm IIIc and GP32.

"The 100 most significant reviews from the first 100 issues" (2001)

A collection of reprints of notable reviews from the magazine's history, along with retrospective commentary on each game. In addition to reviews of popular titles (including the three "ten out of ten" scores that had been awarded during that period), it also included Edge's comments on notable hyped disappointments such as Rise of the Robots and Daikatana. The issue also included an index of the content of those 100 issues of the magazine.

"Retro: The Guide to Classic Videogame Playing and Collection" (2002)

This retrogaming-themed special issue applied the format of the standard edition of Edge to classic video games. This was the most fully formed of the Edge specials, being an edition that only featured new material.

"Retro: The Making Of... Special" (2002)

The second edition in the Retro series was a collection of "Making of" features, most of which had run previously in the main magazine. These features usually contained interviews with the makers of classic video games talking about the process involved in their title's creation.

"Equip: PlayStation 2"

"Equip: GameCube"

"Equip: PC"

"Equip: Xbox"

Each Equip issue discussed the state of a particular games platform, looking back on significant releases with the benefit of hindsight and outlining future developments. For example, the GameCube issue featured lengthy retrospectives on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Animal Crossing, plus a feature on upcoming titles which would use the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable.

Specials issue ten: "Retro: The Collector's Series"

This final edition in the Retro series reprinted all of the "Collector's Series" of articles from the main magazine. Each feature focused on a specific video game console of yesteryear and examined its history and the collectors market surrounding its rare or collectable games. Unusually for Edge, the majority of these articles were written by one video games journalist, Simon Parkin—a long-time freelance contributor to the magazine.

"FILE Volume 1" (2006)

"FILE Volume 2" (2007)

"FILE Volume 3" (2007)

Three "File" editions reprinted selected content originally published between 1993 and 1996 in Edge issues 1–36. Each volume of "File" covered 12 issues.

"Edge Presents The Art Of Videogames" (2007)

This went on sale April 26, 2007 showcasing the visual aspect of gaming.

"Edge Presents The 100 Best Videogames" (2007)

On sale from July 3, 2007. The list was compiled through a combination of suggestions from Edge readers, Edge staff and additional "industry experts". Each game in the list had a retrospective article, a full-page illustration, and a sidebar listing readers' comments. In addition, the volume contained reprints of the magazine's previous "Top 100" lists from 2000 (issue 80) and 2003 (issue 128). The top 10 of Edge Presents The 100 Best Videogames were:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Resident Evil 4
3. Super Mario 64
4. Half-Life 2
5. Super Mario World
6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
7. Halo: Combat Evolved
8. Final Fantasy XII
9. Tetris
10. Super Metroid