EGM April Fools' Jokes

EGM April Fools' Jokes

Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine was famous for its April Fools' Day jokes. The jokes usually contained a reference to a hidden feature in a popular video game that could only be accessed through an obscure – and often near-impossible – method.

The joke was usually placed in an inconspicuous place in the magazine, and was normally treated as if it were a genuine piece of news that was being written about. Through careful observation, however, readers could pick out several signs that the story may be a joke:

• The use of the number 41 (4/1 - April 1st).
• A letter written by a reader from the state HA (HA is often used as onomatopoeia for laughter. There is no state with the postal code of HA - Hawaii is HI).
• A phonetic or hidden spelling of the phrase "April Fools" or "Fooled Again."

Often, those duped by EGM's prank would write letters to other magazines or game companies to figure out a strategy for unlocking game features. For example, Nintendo Power ran a brief article to dispose of rumors of Sonic and Tails as hidden characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Other times, readers will be tricked into being skeptical of a story that is, in fact, true, while the real April Fools' prank goes unnoticed. For example, readers overlooked a typo on the cover of the magazine as a joke, instead focusing on the inclusion of a Hadouken special move in Mega Man X, which was legitimately hidden in the game. Capcom would later add a Dragon Punch special move in Mega Man X2, incidentally.

Some of EGM's jokes have, coincidentally, become real features in games. Sheng Long, the fictional master of Street Fighter characters Ken and Ryu, is often viewed as the inspiration for the introduction of Akuma into the series. Also, some cheats, such as a "nude cheat" for Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, have been made a reality, through the use of cheat devices such as the GameShark or via hacked versions of the game. Joke crossovers thought to be ludicrous at the time have also occasionally come true in later sequels, as with Battletoads & Double Dragon and Sonic's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Additionally, while Apple has not created their own portable game console called the iGame, games have made their way to the iPod Touch and iPhone, which are purchased and downloaded through iTunes.

An EGM Live* podcast, released in March 2007, explored the history of the April Fools' prank. The podcast can be downloaded for free at the 1UP.com website (that podcast, itself, has an April Fools joke; the joke was revealed on the podcast a week later).