If someone stopped you in the middle of the street and asked what was the first Croatian magazine for video games, what would you answer? Was it perhaps Hacker? Incorrect! Although the first issue of Hacker was published back in 1994, it was not the first magazine on that topic. The honor of breaking the ice and being the first belongs to Pilot Video. Pilot what??? If the name isn't familiar, you are probably too young to remember it.
Pilot Video is a magazine from 1985! Zagrebački Vjesnik made a bold pioneering move in March 1985 and started publishing a magazine aimed at those who love to "pilot" on the video screen. At that time, many Yugoslavs acquired computers and loved playing video games.
Unlike similar English and American publications (CVG, Zzap!64, Crash, CGW, EM), Pilot Video did not last long on the market; it was discontinued after 3 issues. The editor-in-chief was Borivoj Jurković (better known as the initiator and editor-in-chief of the Yugoslav SF magazine Sirius). Looking from today's perspective, it is a real shame that Pilot Video did not survive.
Thanks to good people, all three published issues are available for free download in the vastness of the web. The magic word is: ex-YU Computer Magazines!
Article originally published in December 2020 in Press X digizine.
