About GamesFirst!
Candid and thoughtful. — GamesFirst!, 1995–2007
GamesFirst! was one of the earliest independent online videogame magazines, running from 1995 through 2007. Started by Zap Reiken from Cactus Computers in Moscow, Idaho, GF! grew into a vibrant publication covering games across every major platform of the era.
In 1998, Rick Fehrenbacher and Al Wildey (University of Idaho professors) purchased the site and hired Shawn Rider as console editor and Sarah Wichlacz for writing, design, and photography. Shawn and Sarah bought GamesFirst! in 2001 and ran it through its most active years until it went on hiatus in 2007.
GamesFirst! was a pioneer in many forms of game journalism: among the first to live-blog E3 with text, photos, and video from the show floor. The site produced podcasts, a TV show pilot, original comics, and covered everything from Dreamcast launches to Xbox 360 demos.
Timeline
1995 — Started by Zap Reiken from Cactus Computers in Moscow, Idaho. One of the first gaming sites on the web.
1996 — Listed on NCSA’s “What’s New” page — a remarkable early web honor. The NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) curated a weekly list of notable new websites, and GamesFirst! was featured in the Top 25 for the week of April 29 – May 3, 1996.
1998 — Purchased by Rick Fehrenbacher and Al Wildey. Shawn Rider joins as Console Editor, Sarah Wichlacz for writing and design. Traffic grows from 300 to over 3,000 daily unique visitors within a year.
2001 — Shawn and Sarah purchase GamesFirst! and continue growing the site.
2003 — Launch of GamesFirst!’s annual E3 live coverage, including on-floor reporting from the Los Angeles Convention Center.
2004 — Transition from FrontPage flat-file HTML to PHP/MySQL CMS. At peak: 125,000 unique readers and 300,000 page views per month.
2005–06 — Peak output years: podcasts, GFTV pilot, live E3 moblog coverage, Xbox 360 launch.
2007 — GamesFirst! officially goes on hiatus.
By the Numbers
(1995–2007)
& previews
contributors
readers (2004)
in 2004
covered
The Site Through the Years
These captures show how GamesFirst! looked at key moments in its history — from the early days of the web through the full-CMS era.
The original GamesFirst.com — hand-coded HTML on the Cactus Computers server in Moscow, Idaho.
Under Rick Fehrenbacher and Al Wildey. A cleaner look; the site now covering Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and early PS2 coverage.
Article pages from the Rick & Al era showed a consistent editorial voice and growing review catalog.
Shortly after Shawn and Sarah took over. Xbox and PS2 launching, GF! expanding its staff and coverage.
The FrontPage-built site at its mature form, just before the major CMS transition in 2004. E3 coverage, comics, and a full staff in place.
The byteSwarm-powered CMS era in full swing. TwoPlayer comic, daily news, and a full review pipeline running at peak output.
The site in its final full year of operation. Xbox 360 launch coverage, active podcast schedule, and the GF! community still going strong.
As Seen In
GamesFirst! was cited, linked, and quoted across the web — from major gaming communities to niche enthusiast sites and mainstream media outlets. Here’s a selection of tearsheets and screenshots documenting where our work was noticed.
Bethesda's Peter Hines cited GamesFirst! in a BusinessWeek article on Xbox 360 HDD configurations and their impact on Oblivion.
GF!'s side-by-side visual comparison of King Kong on original Xbox and Xbox 360 picked up by the leading gaming blog in December 2005.
The premier Halo fan community linking to GF!'s E3 preview coverage.
GF!'s RE4 review quoted on the aggregate site alongside major publications.
Proof GF! reached into tabletop communities, with the Settlers of Catan fan site featuring our coverage.
The influential women-in-games blog covering GF!'s controversial take on the adult MMO.
Gawker's culture blog picked up our Sociolotron coverage, bringing a new audience to GF!
Our Sociolotron coverage traveled internationally, referenced in Polish gaming media.
GF! articles collected by the early social web's bookmarking community.
GF!'s hardware coverage cited by networking publications — the gaming router beat had a wider audience than expected.
GF! Merch
In 2005, GamesFirst! designed a line of branded merchandise for its community — t-shirts and apparel built around gaming culture identity. Designs ranged from ironic (“1 Star”) to affectionate (“Grognard,” “Last Starfighter”) to self-aware (“Want Some?”).
About This Archive
This archive was assembled in 2026 from original server backups, database exports, and the Wayback Machine. Articles have been converted to modern web standards while preserving the original text, images, and metadata.
The archive includes over 2,700 articles across 54 author profiles, with game metadata enriched from multiple databases.
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