Dean Mortlock knows more than a thing or two about the video gaming industry having worked on some of the best known magazines of yesteryear and especially when it comes to all things Sega. Now he decided that the time is right to bring print media Sega goodness back to the fans with the launch of ‘Sega Powered’ magazine and Dean took some time out from his busy schedule to talk to Last Word on Gaming’s Site Manager Matt Jarvis about the project and his time in games journalism.
Sega Powered Magazine – A New Print Magazine For Sega Fans
Kickstarter Goal Smashed
When the Kickstarter for the new print magazine went live in October it was time to get backing for the project and now that the campaign has ended, Dean is delighted that it ended on a massive £12,772 which means the project is now all systems go.
Early Steps Into Games Writing
I asked Dean about his beginnings in games journalism and it wasn’t the first job he had, taking in other roles before finally landing a writing role, something that many journalists find as Dean explains;
”I worked in a games shop, as an accounts clerk which I was rubbish at as well as two years bar work and at a holiday park before joining Paragon publishing where I had applied for a staff writer role and worked in a small office above another shop.”
At the time that Dean began his journey there was no internet so getting gaming tips and advice was not something that could be easily accessed as it is today;
”I worked on a magazine called Console XS that really broke the mould as it was the first dedicated tips magazine. It was a thick magazine (It was an absolute beast as I recall – Matt) and had photographs of games with walkthroughs and guides that today are available at the click of a button.”
Sega
Dean worked on best selling Sega magazine, ‘Sega Power’ between 1992 and 1998 when he edited the very final issue before the magazine morphed to become ‘Saturn Power’ and cover what turned out to be an ill fated console sadly. Dean’s love for Sega has never waned though and he sees exciting times ahead for the company;
”Exciting times look to be ahead for Sega again and they are well liked by developers. A great example of how Sega allow creative freedom is with Sonic Mania. A fan made idea that Sega said was so good, ‘let’s get it out there as a game.’ Nintendo simply would not do that and would shut it down. Nintendo are very stringent in that respect whereas Sega allow that creativity to thrive.”
That’s not to say that Dean doesn’t like Nintendo – he does and still prefers Mario overall over Sega’s blue blur”
”I would still take Mario over Sonic but of course I love Sonic as well.”
How Did Sega Powered Magazine Come About
Despite the demise of many print gaming magazines, Dean has remained in publishing with his company Super 8 media producing A5 magazines for local areas such as what’s on guides and festival guides that are free and funded by advertising.
Still burning inside of Dean though was that passion to get a print games magazine back into the hands of fans.
”On April/May of this year it felt the right time to get working on a new magazine and it just had to be a Sega magazine. I have a great team of four people and we all have different skill sets which complement each other perfectly. We set about creating a 16 page ‘dummy’ magazine so we could give people a taste of what we were going to be producing and after that it was time to get the Kickstarter up and running.”
Deadlines
Deadlines are always there in journalism and that’s no different for Dean as he tells me that;
”The print deadline is in the coming two weeks so the magazine will be in peoples hands in December. We will then have a bit of leeway for issue two which will be due for release in mid January.’
Many print magazine projects are bi monthly or every quarter but Dean explains that Sega Powered will be a monthly magazine;
”There is enough of the retro content out there but also with the exciting times ahead for Sega there will be up to date news and reports on new games and developments as well as interviews with industry people.”
What Next?
Dean will be taking Sega Powered magazine on the road to the Doncaster Video Game Market on Sunday 5th December as well as being at OLL2022 at the Norfolk Showground on 15th and 16th January 2022.
Even though the Kickstarter is now closed there will still be chance to buy issue one from the website once that is ready and future issues will all be available from the website so it really is exciting times ahead for Sega fans!
Last Word on Gaming would like to thank Dean for his time in giving the interview and all the staff here wish him and his team all the very best with the launch and for the future success of Sega Powered magazine.
Last Word on Gaming are committed to bringing news of new projects, Indie developments and strategies to a wider audience. If you have a project you are working on, whether that be a magazine like Dean or a game or Kickstarter campaign, why not get in touch and get your story featured with us!
For all enquiries please contact Site Manager Matt Jarvis via email: [email protected]
