Remember when Videogame magazines had penpal sections?

[Badnik Mechanic]

"Wanted Female Penpal aged 16. I'm 16 and interested in WWF and PapaRoach. You must send a pic or I won't reply (After all, it's the ouside that counts). I have a N64 and Dreamcast. But you can talk about Barbie Dolls if you want to. I have an excellent six pack."

 

*I just wrote out a huge topic... then the laptop crashed and lost it all... so here is the shortened version*

 

So I'm going through (throwing out) the last of my videogame magazine's looking through some of them, it's quite amazing how they were literally the only source of videogame information for a lot of people.

 

Quite often when people look back on these things, they talk about how magazines used to have cheat pages and how the news/preview section was the only way to get game annoucnements...

 

However... at some point in the mid/late 90's through to the early 2000's some videogame magazines actually started to put in 'Penpal adverts.'

 

What you see at the top of the page is a genuine advert... it's by far the funniest one I've found so far. Though reading through these, it's a really interesting insight into unorganised gaming culture. Think about it, no internet, well there was, but virtually nobody had access to it. Certainly no forums on a mass scale. Though IGN.com was live around this time.

 

The majority of people have an interest in Pokemon and WWF, to be fair, these were huge back then. However, theres quite a lot of Sonic fans wanting penpals and theres utterly tons of fanboys =p

 

But that said... there are some really funny lines here and there, as well as a few creepy ones.

 

"I'm 16 and wanting a boy to who is interesting in [...] You MUST be able to come to my house... I AM A TOTAL TOMBOY!" *Tomboy is slang for a girl with boys interests*

 

"No goths or moshers!"

 

"I am 13 and a mosher! You must also be a mosher!"

 

Reading these back, I'm quite glad I never replied to any of them, though I do remember being tempted to one of them! Lol don't remember which one but I remember at one point thinking 'this is a good idea, to reply to this total stranger' Though I never ever sent in a penpal advert... looking back I think 'thank christ I didn't!' Can only imagine how many replys some of these people got.

 

Today you'd never see these things in magazines, not only did they print full names, they also printed full address' too! In todays world, facebook, twitter, google street view! Yikes!

 

Anyway, anyone else remember seeing these things? Or anyone actually reply to them... or... be brave... actually send one in? =p

 

 

[Crash]

What's a mosher?

[Vertekins]

I was a loyal reader of Gamesmaster magazine and there was one thing that was pretty much a consistent thing about the penpal section; The insistence of "No goths". Quite a lot of the 'demands' and descriptions came off to me as stuck-up which is what put me off writing. Had no desire for a penpal so I never entered. It was surprising concerning what they allowed to be printed. Bet in this day and age, editors would be more stringent and parents would be more wary of allowing their kids to have addresses and details published.

[pooshoes]

What's a mosher?

 

Someone who listened to nu metal and wore band hoodies in the early 2000's.

[MamboCat]

I had a penpal via a magazine ad like this, back when I was a kid. Like pre-Sonic fan days so I must have been 6 or 7...

 

Sad thing was, she stopped writing to me after a while so I sent her a present.... then my mum got a letter from her mum apparently telling her my penpal had died. I didn't find out what happened to her until I was a teen.

 

Anyways, kittens, puppies and rainbows!

And moshers, apparently.

[Riff-making Love]

My ten year old cousin has her own iPhone, facebook, twitter and instagram.

 

This is why magazines no longer have penpal sections.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Okay.... so I might have found 2 reasons why GM stopped doing these...

 

Just found 2 adverts from the same issue.

 

I'm witholding the names, but this one was from a woman.

 

"Any lads out there aged 16-21 with a good sense of humor? Looking for fun and a good time? Heehee. Interested in writing to an 18 year old whose witty with many interests? Live a little, send a photo, reply guaranteed"

 

(that one becomes even more scary when you street view the postcode and the address was a warehouse!)

 

And the next...

 

"Female penpal wanted and looking for a relationship. Must live in Kent. I am 12"

 

Just... did nobody on the editing staff check some of these?

[Pelly <3's U]

Hogfather, PM me some addresses man......don't hold out on these great catches !

[Badnik Mechanic]

Hogfather, PM me some addresses man......don't hold out on these great catches !

 

Well here you go then. I just found these 2 in the same issue.

 

"Hey girls! I'm a 17 year old looking for a female! Photo necessary! I like Playstation, N64 and most types of games! Got a mobile? Send me your number! Hurry girls!"

 

Or if you're feeling more adventurous and like a man in uniform. How about this fellow?

 

"Female penpal wanted: Aged 15+. Soldier seeks young lady who enjoys travel."

 

Travel you say!? At aged 15!? Why carry on private!

 

"Listens to Eminem and loves Resident Evil and Final Fantasy. I love the Xgames, do you? Reply guaranteed"

 

Wow, just... wow! That soldier one, what makes it more fun is that the guys name is Ian Wright. Now before you say 'you shoudn't post names,' Here in the UK, Ian Wright at the time was the name of a very well known football player who moved into TV presenting and was on just about every channel doing shows from football reporting, to TV quizz shows and at one point he had his own reality show and even gameshow. So whilst it's a common name here in the UK, odds are it's a fake name given how he claims to be a soldier interested in 15 year old girls!

 

And this issue was dated 2001, so I wonder what the hell the editors were thinking when they gave the green light to some of these. Just think this is a videogame magazine which was easilly targetted at young teens