Open up any video game magazine, and you’ll find pages of high-quality artwork for just about every title that was coming out.
Have you ever wondered where that art came from? And where did it all go? We have the answers.
Years ago, we were donated the internal art archives from GamePro magazine. Whenever the staff at GamePro received artwork or screenshots from a game publisher, they backed it up on a CD and organized it in a set of binders for future reference.
As part of our preservation mission, we’ve been digitizing the GamePro press CDs and adding them to our digital archive. When we launched our library this year, we started with the first 100 GamePro CDs. Today, we’re expanding that to 200! The collection currently runs from 1995–1998. There’s another 500+ CDs to go, but we thought this would be a good opportunity to talk a little more about this project.
Getting these CDs into a usable state for our digital archive hasn’t been an easy or automatic process. In addition to digitizing and scanning the CDs, we also need to convert the files into a modern format you can view in your browser. We always keep the original disc images, but we also want to make their contents convenient to browse. As an example, we convert print-formatted CMYK images to RGB images in bulk using open-source command-line tools. It took a while to iron out that process, but we’re happy with the results so far.
Besides artwork, these CDs could also contain press releases and pre-release screenshots, which help researchers understand how games were made. In some cases, these CDs have screenshots and art for games that never came out! Game researchers rely on magazines to learn about games that were canceled, but we can go a step further and give them access to the raw digital assets that those magazines used!
Our latest batch has high-resolution promotional artwork from classic games including Banjo-Kazooie, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VIII, Parasite Eve, Mega Man Legends, Soulcalibur, EverQuest, and much, much more! Click below for a full list.
Games featured on CDs 101–200
- 1080° Snowboarding
- 2Xtreme
- A Bug’s Life
- AirBoardin’ USA (unreleased in United States)
- Akuji the Heartless
- Alien: Resurrection
- Aliens Versus Predator (1999)
- Apocalypse
- Area 51: Site 4
- Armored Core: Project Phantasma
- Army Men 3D
- Assault: Retribution
- Axis & Allies
- Backstreet Billiards
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Battleship: The Classic Naval Warfare Game
- Battlezone (1998)
- Beast Wars: Transformers
- Beavis & Butthead Do Hollywood (unreleased)
- Big Air
- Bio FREAKS
- Body Harvest
- Boggle
- Bomberman World
- Brave Fencer Musashi
- Breath of Fire III
- Brigandine
- Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling
- Buck Bumble
- Burning Rangers
- Bushido Blade 2
- Bust A Groove
- Bust-A-Move 2
- Bust-A-Move 4
- C: The Contra Adventure
- Capcom Arcade Collection
- Cardinal Syn
- Castlevania (Nintendo 64)
- Centipede
- Chopper Attack
- Circuit Breakers
- Civilization: Call to Power
- Clock Tower II
- Clue
- Colony Wars
- Colony Wars: Vengeance
- Cool Boarders 3
- Crash Bandicoot
- Crash Bandicoot: Warped
- Crime Killer
- Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
- Croc 2
- Cruisin’ USA (Player’s Choice release)
- CyberStrike 2
- DBZ: Dead Ball Zone
- Darkstalkers 3
- Dead Unity (unreleased)
- Dead in the Water
- Deadlock II: Shrine Wars
- Descent: Freespace – The Great War
- Devil Dice
- Diablo
- Die Hard Trilogy
- Dragonseeds
- Drakan: Order of the Flame
- Duke Nukem: Time to Kill
- Eggs of Steel
- Einhander
- Elemental Gearbolt
- EverQuest
- Expert Pool
- Extreme-G 2
- F-1 World Grand Prix
- FIFA 99
- Fighters Edge brand
- Fighting Force
- Final Fantasy VIII
- Flying Dragon
- Formula 1 98
- Fox Sports College Hoops ’99
- Fox Sports Golf ’99
- Fox Sports Soccer ’99
- Fox Sports Hockey ’99 (unreleased)
- Fox Sports Tennis ’99 (unreleased)
- Freestyle Boardin’ ’99
- Frogger
- Future Cop: L.A.P.D.
- G Darius
- GT 64: Championship Edition
- Game Boy Color hardware
- Gauntlet Legends
- Gex: Enter the Gecko / Gex 64: Enter the Gecko
- Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
- Giants: Citizens Kabuto
- Girl Talk: The CD-ROM Game of Truth or Dare
- Global Domination
- Glover
- GoldenEye 007 (Player’s Choice release)
- Gran Turismo
- Grand Prix Legends
- Grand Theft Auto
- Guardian’s Crusade
- Guilty Gear
- H.E.D.Z.: Head Extreme Destruction Zone
- HardBall 6
- Harley-Davidson & L.A. Riders
- Harvest Moon GB
- Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls
- Independence Day
- Jackie Chan Stuntmaster
- Jane’s Combat Simulations: F-15
- Jeff Gordon XS Racing
- Jeopardy!
- Jersey Devil
- Judge Dredd
- Jumping Flash 2
- Kartia
- Knockout Kings
- Kobe Bryant’s NBA Courtside (Player’s Choice release)
- Kula World
- Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
- Legend of the River King 64 (unreleased in United States)
- Legend of the River King GB
- Lemmings & Oh No! More Lemmings! (GBC)
- Lode Runner: The Legend Returns
- Lufia III: Ruins Chasers (unreleased)
- Lunar: Silver Star Story
- MLB ’99
- MLB Pennant Race
- Madden NFL 99
- Magic Knight Rayearth
- Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
- Mario Kart 64 (Player’s Choice release)
- Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
- Master of Monsters: Disciples of Gaia
- Mastermind
- MediEvil
- Mega Man Legends
- Messiah
- Metal Gear Solid
- Micro Machines 64 Turbo
- Micro Machines V3
- Milo’s Astro Lanes
- Mission: Impossible
- Monkey Hero
- Monopoly (1995, Windows)
- Monopoly (1997, PlayStation)
- Monopoly: Star Wars
- Monopoly: World Cup France 98 Edition
- Monster Truck Madness
- Mortal Kombat 4
- Mortal Kombat 4 (GBC)
- Moto Racer 2
- Motorhead
- Mr. Potato Head Activity Pack
- My Little Pony: Friendship Gardens
- N2O: Nitrous Oxide
- NASCAR 99
- NBA Jam 99
- NBA Live 99
- NBA ShootOut
- NBA ShootOut 99 (unreleased)
- NCAA Football 99
- NCAA Football GameBreaker
- NCAA GameBreaker 99
- NCAA March Madness 98
- NFL Blitz
- NFL Blitz (GBC)
- NFL FaceOff
- NFL GameDay
- NFL GameDay 97
- NFL GameDay 99
- NFL Quarterback Club 99
- NFL Xtreme
- NHL 99
- NHL Breakaway 99
- NHL FaceOff
- NHL FaceOff 99
- Namco Museum Vol. 4
- Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
- Ninja: Shadow of Darkness
- O.D.T.
- Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus
- Off Road Challenge (Nintendo 64)
- Operation
- Outburst
- Panzer Dragoon Saga
- Parasite Eve
- Penny Racers
- Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle
- Pocket Fighter
- Poy Poy 2
- Pro 18 World Tour Golf
- Psybadek
- Punky Skunk
- Quake II mods and multiplayer services
- Queen: The Eye
- Quest 64
- R/C Stunt Copter
- Rally Cross 2
- Rampage World Tour (GBC)
- Rayman 2: The Great Escape
- Reboot
- Redline
- Reel Fishing
- Risk: The Game of Global Domination
- Rival Schools
- Road Rash 3-D
- Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012
- Rosco McQueen: Firefighter Extreme
- Rugrats game, unidentified
- Running Wild
- Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA
- S.C.A.R.S.
- San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing
- San Francisco Rush: The Rock – Alcatraz Edition
- Scrabble
- Sega Dreamcast hardware
- Shaolin
- SharkLink for GameShark
- Shining Force III
- Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
- Silent Hill
- Silhouette Mirage
- Skullmonkeys
- Slave Zero
- Small Soldiers
- Small Soldiers: Squad Commander
- Smart Games Puzzle Challenge 2
- Smart Games Puzzle Challenge 3
- Sonic Adventure
- Sorry!
- Soul of the Samurai
- Soulcalibur
- Soviet Strike
- Space Station Silicon Valley
- Speed Tribes
- Spice World
- Spyro the Dragon
- Star Fox 64 (Player’s Choice release)
- Star Wars Customizable Card Game
- Star Wars: Millennium Falcon CD-ROM Playset
- Star Wars: Rebellion
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Player’s Choice release)
- StarCon (Star Control 4) (unreleased)
- Starshot Space Circus
- Stratego
- Streak: Hoverboard Racing
- Street Fighter Alpha 3
- Streets of SimCity
- Super Mario 64 (Player’s Choice release)
- Syphon Filter
- Team Losi RC Racer
- Tekken 3
- Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
- Tenth Degree (unreleased)
- Test Drive 5
- Test Drive Off-Road 2
- The Diabolical Adventures of Tobu (unreleased)
- The Fifth Element
- The Game of Life
- The Granstream Saga
- The House of the Dead
- The Simpsons Cartoon Studio
- The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield
- The Unholy War
- The X-Files Game
- The X-Files: Unrestricted Access
- Theme Hospital
- Three Lions: The Official England Team Game
- Thrill Kill (unreleased)
- Thunder Force V
- Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf
- Tiny Tank
- Tomb Raider III
- Tomba!
- Tonic Trouble
- Tonka Construction
- Tonka Garage
- Tonka Search & Rescue
- Tonka Workshop CD-ROM Playset
- Total Annihilation
- Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics
- Total Annihilation: Commander Pack
- Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency
- Trap Gunner
- Triple Play 99
- Turbo Prop Racing
- Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
- Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (Player’s Choice release)
- Twisted Metal 2
- Twisted Metal III
- Ultima Collection
- Ultimate Race Pro
- Uprising X
- VR Baseball ’99
- VR Sports (company logo)
- Vigilante 8
- Virtual Chess 64
- Virtual K’Nex
- WCW/nWo Revenge
- WCW game, unspecified
- Waialae Country Club: True Golf Classics
- WarGames
- Warhammer 40,000: Dark Crusaders (unreleased)
- Warhammer: Dark Omen
- Warzone 2100
- Wave Race 64 (Player’s Choice release)
- Wetrix
- Wheel of Fortune
- Wild 9
- Winter Heat
- Wipeout 64
- World Cup 98
- Working Designs (company logo)
- Xenogears
- Youngblood: Search and Destroy (unreleased)
To learn more about the production of GamePro, listen to our episode of the Video Game History Hour with former editors Katrin Auch (Miss Spell) and Dan Amrich (Dan Elektro).