Digitiser was a video games magazine broadcast on Teletext in the United Kingdom between 1993 and 2003. It was originally billed as "The World's Only Daily Game Magazine".

The magazine launched on 1 January 1993 on page 370 of the Teletext service on ITV before transferring to Channel 4 later that year. It was updated daily except on Sundays. In 2002, the schedule was reduced to three days a week (weekends and holidays) for a nine-month period.

At its peak, Digitiser had up to 1.5 million viewers. The magazine was known for its surreal humour, risqué jokes, and games coverage. It was advertised on the back of several issues of the multi-platform video game magazine Electric Brain.

Digitiser was created by writers Paul Rose and Tim Moore, who used the pseudonyms Mr Biffo and Mr Hairs. They wrote the magazine together for the first four years. Rose wrote the publication largely solo as a freelancer for the remaining six years.

History

Digitiser generated controversy during its run, drawing criticism from external groups and Teletext's editorial team. The editorial staff viewed the writers as difficult but did not cancel the column due to its popularity. Sub-editors often altered pages without the writers' knowledge or deleted reviews to remove potentially offensive jokes.

On one occasion, a sub-editor contacted Rose to demand the removal of a reference to "fingering the index." Rose stated it was a play on the term "index finger," but the editor insisted it was provocative and deleted it. A similar disagreement occurred over a reference to "The three Rs," which editors interpreted as a reference to "arse" rather than the educational principle.

According to Rose, there were internal and external campaigns to have the writing team dismissed. Complaints came from fans of Amiga, Sega, Sony, and Nintendo, as well as staff from Mean Machines and Official Nintendo Magazine, publications that Digitiser often satirized. Rose stated that these reactions encouraged him to maintain a controversial tone, noting on the letters page that the magazine "hates everyone equally."

Despite the content and internal friction, Digitiser maintained a large readership. The reviews, format, and unusual tone contributed to its popularity.

In 2002, a new senior editorial team at Teletext attempted to change the magazine's tone. They ordered that publication be reduced to three days a week and requested the removal of the humour and characters. Rose claimed he was told the humour "excluded people." In response to the feedback, Teletext asked Rose to reinstate the humour and return to a daily schedule.

BW – A quizmaster who parodied Bamber Boozler from the Teletext quiz Bamboozle.

Gossi the Dog – A cartoon dog who hosted the gossip page. The Broadcasting Standards Commission upheld a complaint regarding a column that implied Gossi's owner beat him with a belt. This page led to the dismissal of Tim Moore after he printed a rumour about journalist Dave Perry.

Doctor Derek Doctors – A character removed from the service after a viewer complained he was "perverted."

Chester Fisho – Commentary on news that utilized sexual innuendo.

Mock advertisements

Digitiser created spoof advertisements to fill space at the end of subpages. One example was for a fictional German music compilation called Rock Meister!, which used stereotypical German phrasing. It listed artists such as Roxette and The Scorpions. The header "NOT A REAL GERMAN ADVERT" was used instead of the standard "NOT AN ADVERT" after a viewer mistook a previous spoof for a genuine product.

Reveal button

The "reveal" button on the TV remote, typically used for quiz answers, was used to display hidden text. Jokes included surreal non-sequiturs or character comments. The weekend edition often featured stories told through these hidden sections.

On the final page of the last letters section, the reveal button hid an image described as "the real Turner The Worm" (a Teletext character created by Rose). The image was controversial for its resemblance to a phallic symbol. Written largely by Rose, the site was initially self-funded before moving to a crowdfunding model via Patreon.

Mr Biffo's Found Footage

In 2017, Rose funded a Kickstarter campaign for "Mr Biffo's Found Footage," a comedy/sci-fi series filmed in a found footage style. The series was released on YouTube in late 2017.

Digitiser the Show

In 2018, a crowdfunding campaign raised over £44,000 for Digitiser the Show, a six-part YouTube series hosted by Rose, Larry Bundy Jr, Octavius Kitten, Gameplay Jenny, and Paul Gannon. It featured guests from the gaming community and puppets of original Digitiser characters.

A subsequent campaign for a second series, Digitiser the Show: Level 2, raised over £74,000. Filming was planned for 2022 with a release in 2023 to coincide with the magazine's 30th anniversary.

See also

  • GameCentral
  • Park Avenue

References

  • Digitiser Vault