As a watcher of some of PC Gamer's YouTube content, I've noticed they spend actually a good bit of time playing either indie games, or virtual versions of card games, not just what you think of as your standard PC game. They just started a (monthly I think) webshow, and it's pretty entertaining, but they've already spent a significant portion of time on a type of card game (I forget what...but it's similar to monster card games you play with physical cards), a rough game with a 2D arena where you're fighting for control of a ball or something, a game where you control various appendages (with other players) of an Octopus guy to do routine tasks like make coffee, and another 2D jousting type game that looked fun and was clearly indie. I love indie games - don't get me wrong; they're more interesting in a lot of ways than some mainstream titles nowadays, but I swear their coverage is probably well above 50% so far with bigger titles getting much less coverage. It's kind of funny seeing an indy game or card game being played when they have the behemoth Large Pixel Collider sitting there.
It just seems like PC Gamer has changed a lot since the days (15-20 years ago) I used to subscribe. A good part of that is there are so few projects being developed exclusively for, or taking advantage of, PC's nowadays... I really have to wonder if the people in charge of PC Gamer now simply don't remember the "good old days" of gaming because, frankly, they're too young to.
I was talking with a friend tonight about how fleeting certain aspects of our society are, especially since the acceleration of technology - experiences that we might have that nobody else in history...or in the future...are really going to have. One example is the days of VHS rental places ("be kind, please rewind" anybody). Another more apt to this forum is the days of carefully tweaking DOS boot disks, with the hope you can make that game you just got run, and the feeling you get when you get it just right and the magic happens...or just how GOOD some of these graphics and the sound looked and sounded at the time, not to mention the still-great and relevant gameplay.
These are experiences people only a little bit younger than us will never have...
Anyways...I took the long way around...but yeah...it's a good bet that most of the higher ups at PC Gamer never actually PLAYED Wing Commander. It's hard to realize the significance of certain games if you weren't there to experience them. Data about games, etc., is all well and good, but having played them in the proper timeframe makes all the difference. It also explains why they might mess up the date for DOOM. Someone who was there probably wouldn't, but it's an easy thing to do if it's all stories you've heard from someone else, not an experience YOU had.