And anything that was popular was popular by word of mouth. I didn't find out about Mortal Kombat from adverts or magazines but from kids at school.  Yeah, but where did they hear it from? There is some prime-mover stuff here that I think the gaming press did fill at one point.  Certainly today it's never been easier for developers to interact with fans directly and for social media to spread buzz before a single article is written, but back in the day articles and advertisements were very important.