Mega Zone

MegaZone was an Australian video game magazine published from July 1988 until October 1995. It ultimately produced 56 issues and is associated with the period when specialist computer and console-game magazines were becoming important channels for software promotion and enthusiast culture in Australia. The publication began under the name MegaComp. It was launched as a bimonthly, multi-platform magazine by MegaComp Publications, a publisher based in Elwood, Victoria. In its initial form, the magazine covered games and software across several computer and console platforms rather than limiting itself to a single hardware ecosystem. This broad editorial scope reflected the fragmented Australian games market of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Commodore, Amiga, PC, and console users formed distinct but overlapping readerships. The magazine later moved to a monthly schedule after ownership passed to the Australian software distributor Ozisoft, subsequently known as Sega Ozisoft. Under this arrangement, MegaZone served both as a games magazine and as a promotional vehicle for software distributed by the company. Its coverage included Commodore 64, Amiga, and PC products, as well as Sega platforms. The magazine did not cover Nintendo software in the same manner because Nintendo products in Australia were distributed by rival company Mattel. This distribution relationship influenced the publication's editorial and commercial orientation. During the Ozisoft period, subscribers also received a quarterly 20-page supplement titled SegaZone. The insert concentrated on Sega games and provided a dedicated space for platform-specific coverage while the main magazine retained a wider multi-platform remit. SegaZone was eventually absorbed into the main publication, consolidating the Sega-oriented material within MegaZone itself. A major change occurred in June 1993, when Mason Stewart Publishing took over the magazine. At that point, MegaZone shifted to an exclusively Sega-console focus. Later issues used the title Sega MegaZone, making the publication's relationship with Sega and its platform identity explicit. This repositioning narrowed the magazine's editorial scope but aligned it more closely with the Sega console business and the software distribution interests connected to its Australian market. MegaZone ceased publication in October 1995. Its run documents the transition from broad, computer-oriented games coverage to more sharply defined console-platform publishing. Although it was an Australian publication with a finite run, its surviving issues and archival references provide evidence of how local distribution arrangements, platform rivalries, subscription supplements, and publisher changes shaped games journalism in the country.

MegaZone's history began in July 1988 with the launch of MegaComp, a bimonthly Australian video game magazine published by MegaComp Publications in Elwood, Victoria. The title entered a market characterized by multiple competing computer and console platforms, and its early editorial model reflected that diversity. Rather than being tied to one manufacturer, the magazine addressed a broad games audience and covered software for a range of systems. The publication later came under the ownership of Ozisoft, an Australian software distributor that was subsequently known as Sega Ozisoft. Following this change, the magazine adopted the name MegaZone and moved to a monthly publishing schedule. Its role was not purely editorial: because Ozisoft distributed software in Australia, the magazine also promoted and reviewed products within the company's distribution portfolio. Coverage during this period extended across Commodore 64, Amiga, and PC software alongside Sega products. Nintendo titles were absent from the magazine's coverage because Nintendo software in Australia was distributed by Mattel, a competing company. To strengthen its Sega content without immediately abandoning the broader magazine, the publication supplied subscribers with a quarterly 20-page insert called SegaZone. This supplement focused specifically on Sega games and functioned as a platform-focused companion to the main publication. Over time, the Sega material was incorporated into the main magazine, reducing the distinction between the general-interest title and the Sega supplement. In June 1993, Mason Stewart Publishing took over MegaZone. The new ownership was accompanied by a decisive editorial repositioning: the magazine abandoned its previous multi-platform remit and concentrated exclusively on Sega console software. Later issues were published under the name Sega MegaZone, a title that made the magazine's platform allegiance and commercial orientation clear. The publication ended in October 1995 after 56 issues. Its run therefore spans the late-1980s rise of dedicated Australian games journalism, the expansion of distributor-linked editorial publishing, and the early-1990s consolidation of magazines around individual console platforms. Preservation projects and online archives have kept portions of the magazine's history accessible, although detailed issue-by-issue bibliographic and editorial information remains limited in the available reference material.

• 1995

  Publication ends

  [1]MegaZoneen.wikipedia.org

  MegaZone ended its run in October after publishing 56 issues.

• 1993

  Shift to Sega-only coverage

  [1]MegaZoneen.wikipedia.org

  Following Mason Stewart Publishing's takeover in June, the magazine moved to an exclusively Sega-console focus.

• 1988

  Launch as MegaComp

  [1]MegaZoneen.wikipedia.org

  The magazine began publication in July as a bimonthly, multi-platform title issued by MegaComp Publications in Elwood, Victoria, Australia.

• Renaming and monthly publication

  [1]MegaZoneen.wikipedia.org

  After ownership passed to Ozisoft, later known as Sega Ozisoft, the publication became MegaZone and changed from a bimonthly to a monthly schedule.

• Introduction of SegaZone

  [1]MegaZoneen.wikipedia.org

  Subscribers received a quarterly 20-page Sega-focused insert while the main magazine continued to carry broader platform coverage.

A specialist Australian games publication that began with multi-platform coverage and later repositioned itself as a Sega-console magazine.

• Multi-platform video game magazine · 1988

  MegaComp

  The original title of the publication, MegaComp was launched in July 1988 as a bimonthly Australian magazine. It covered games and software across multiple computer and console platforms before the title was renamed MegaZone.

• Video game magazine

  MegaZone

  The principal title used after the magazine moved under Ozisoft ownership. MegaZone initially retained a multi-platform editorial scope while also promoting software distributed by Ozisoft, including Commodore 64, Amiga, PC, and Sega releases.

• Subscriber magazine supplement

  SegaZone

  A quarterly 20-page insert supplied to MegaZone subscribers. SegaZone concentrated on Sega games and was later merged into the main magazine as MegaZone became increasingly focused on Sega software.

• Sega-focused video game magazine · 1993

  Sega MegaZone

  The later title used for issues published after the magazine's editorial shift to exclusive Sega-console coverage. The name signaled the publication's narrower platform identity during its final period.

• 1993

  Transition to Sega-exclusive coverageStrategy

  Background

  Mason Stewart Publishing took over the magazine in June 1993 after a period in which the publication combined broad platform coverage with Sega-oriented promotional content.

  Action taken

  The magazine narrowed its editorial remit to Sega console software and later adopted the Sega MegaZone title.

  Aftermath

  The change aligned the publication more closely with Sega's platform ecosystem but ended its earlier multi-platform positioning.

  Source

• Adoption of a monthly publishing scheduleStrategy

  Background

  After Ozisoft acquired the publication, the magazine operated within the business of an Australian software distributor seeking to reach local games consumers.

  Action taken

  MegaZone moved from its original bimonthly schedule to monthly publication.

  Aftermath

  The increased frequency supported a closer connection with current software releases and distributor-led promotion.

  Source

1. 1MegaZoneen.wikipedia.org