I was sent Dungeon Master TM and a LoT t-shirt in response to one of my many "If I worked at NEC/Hudson or T.T.I..." letters. Considering that the game selection and personalized response both reflected someone actually reading and acknowledging what I wrote, it felt at least as satisfying as winning a contest.
I sent EGM a Bloody Wolf high score which was higher than the winner's, but they never published it. 
The high scores in most magazines were a joke. I used to look through the games I had and could beat most of them without effort. I imagine it was mostly kids.
