Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[PlayStation: The Official Magazine shut down, final issue this holiday]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/06/playstation-the-official-magazine-shut-down-final-issue-this-h/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/06/playstation-the-official-magazine-shut-down-final-issue-this-h/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/06/playstation-the-official-magazine-shut-down-final-issue-this-h/#comments HIT NEXT Official PlayStation Magazine shutting downPlayStation: The Official Magazine is halting production, and the holiday 2012 issue will be its last, Game Informer reports.

Earlier this year, PlayStation: The Official Magazine publisher Future US announced the shutdown of Nintendo Power. The final issue of Nintendo Power is slated for December, and we compiled a tribute post with memories from across the industry to mark its retirement.

JoystiqPlayStation: The Official Magazine shut down, final issue this holiday originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>closureFuture-USplaystationplaystation-the-official-magazineps3shut-downSONYTue, 06 Nov 2012 19:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Future making hard choices about US publications]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/29/future-making-hard-choices-about-us-publications/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/29/future-making-hard-choices-about-us-publications/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/29/future-making-hard-choices-about-us-publications/#comments A note to investors from publishing giant Future portends dark happenings for the company's US arm. The UK-based publisher has found continued operations in the US "significantly more challenging," due to a smaller scale operation and the business model for magazines in the States. In July, Future announced it was moving its Future US into a primarily digital business (i.e. non tree-based magazines), but things have apparently escalated.

"With trading conditions in the U.S. reflecting ongoing weakness and decreasing visibility at newsstand, and an acceleration in the year-on-year growth rate in digital revenues, the Board is now considering a wider range of strategic options in respect of its U.S. operations," the note reads.

Future US's magazine business currently includes all three official console magazines, along with PC Gamer and Best Buy's @Gamer. The question now revolves around whether the "wider range of strategic options" includes the publisher cutting its losses in the magazine space or moving to sell off the division. Future plans to share more details at the end of its fiscal year November 24.

JoystiqFuture making hard choices about US publications originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>FutureFuture-USmicrosoftnintendopcplaystationps3wiixboxThu, 29 Sep 2011 21:30:00 EST<![CDATA[WoW Magazine calling it quits]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/17/wow-magazine-calling-it-quits/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/17/wow-magazine-calling-it-quits/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/17/wow-magazine-calling-it-quits/#comments WoW Magazine calls it quits after five issues After just five issues, the official World of Warcraft Magazine is calling it quits. Future US has posted a notice on the website, and subscribers can either get a refund for the issues they didn't receive, or a voucher for six in-game World of Warcraft pets. Future recommends subscribers who want to keep up with the game in a dead tree format can subscribe to its PC Gamer publication, and it's possible Blizzard may try to publish something itself, though there are apparently no plans for that yet.

It's kind of a shame -- the WoW Magazine did offer a lot of solid coverage about the game (and some good looks inside the workings of Blizzard's Irvine, CA campus), but the publication was also torn between its status as an official outlet and a separate press entity. Dan Amrich, the magazine's first editor-in-chief (who left even before the first issue was published, and is now working as an official Activision blogger) recently wrote about some of the troubles he had dealing with Blizzard's licensing department and their control over the magazine.

When you combine that with the fact that MMO fans tend to prefer digital over analog, then apparently the whole venture just wasn't worth it. Like we said, shame.

JoystiqWoW Magazine calling it quits originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzard-entertainmentdan-amrichfuturefuture-uspcpublicationWorld-of-WarcraftWoWwow-magazinewow-the-magazinewow-the-official-magazineSat, 17 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Best Buy taps Future US for new game mag: @Gamer]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/11/best-buy-taps-future-us-for-new-game-mag-gamer/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/11/best-buy-taps-future-us-for-new-game-mag-gamer/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/11/best-buy-taps-future-us-for-new-game-mag-gamer/#comments Andy Eddy seems like a regular guy. He's got some sweet scruff and nothing on his Facebook page looks out of the ordinary, so -- wait, what's this? Apparently Mr. Eddy is "working at Future US in the Future Plus group on a new publication called @Gamer, the 'official games magazine of Best Buy.'" For real?

It's news to us and certainly the first that Kyle Orland, ex-Joystiq blogger and devilishly handsome chap who noticed the blurb, has heard about it. While we're inclined to point out the obvious to Best Buy (uh, game mags are pretty dead, bro), we're interested in seeing how far this will go. Real editorial content or a glorified shopper's guide? We can't wait to find out!

[Via The Game Beat]

JoystiqBest Buy taps Future US for new game mag: @Gamer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 May 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>andy-eddybest-buyfuturefuture-plus-groupFuture-publishingfuture-usgamermagmagazineTue, 11 May 2010 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Future US president calls it quits]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/future-us-president-calls-it-quits/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/future-us-president-calls-it-quits/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/future-us-president-calls-it-quits/#comments
Yes, 12-year-old Billy Caruthers, projected winner of the 2036 presidential election has decided to resign from his pending office in order to dodge controversy surrounding his pending extramarital affair. He -- oh, wait. We totally misread that headline. The president of magazine publisher Future US, Jonathan Simpson-Bint, is stepping down August 31 in order to start up his own business. Simpson-Bint has been working with the company for 18 years, and oversaw the launch of PSM, IGN.com and DailyRadar.com.

Future is currently looking for Simpson-Bint's replacement -- if you've got experience managing humongous publishing companies, yet find yourself working as a lowly fry cook at your local Carl's Jr., perhaps its time you gained some upward mobility.

JoystiqFuture US president calls it quits originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>futurefuture-usmagazinemediapublishingThu, 18 Jun 2009 19:55:00 EST<![CDATA[Sony looks to expand Qore audience with free episode on Dec. 4]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/03/sony-looks-to-expand-qore-audience-with-free-episode-on-dec-4/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/03/sony-looks-to-expand-qore-audience-with-free-episode-on-dec-4/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/03/sony-looks-to-expand-qore-audience-with-free-episode-on-dec-4/#commentsFiled under: ,


While Nintendo's lack of focus on its core audience is affecting one publication adversely, Sony's focusing on building its audience for Qore by offering the seventh episode of the Future US-produced digital magazine free of charge via the PlayStation Store. The episode will be available tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 4.

The free single-episode offering was announced on the PlayStation Blog, which details its contents, including host Veronica Belmont's visits to EA and Capcom to see Skate 2, Bionic Commando, and Flock, respectively. This episode also contains a playable Flock demo for annual subscribers, along with a Killzone 2 theme and "ArQade" game, Blast Qore, available to anyone who downloads it.

JoystiqSony looks to expand Qore audience with free episode on Dec. 4 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>future-usplaystation-storePS3psnqoresceaSony-Computer-Entertainment-AmericaWed, 03 Dec 2008 22:30:00 EST<![CDATA[SCEA announces "PlayStation: The Official Magazine"]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/01/scea-announces-playstation-the-official-magazine/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/01/scea-announces-playstation-the-official-magazine/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/01/scea-announces-playstation-the-official-magazine/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Official PlayStation Magazine is dead. Long live PlayStation: The Official Magazine!

Miss the Official PlayStation Magazine (OPM), Ziff Davis' all-things-PlayStation 'zine that was unceremoniously axed last November just before the launch of the PlayStation 3? Well, Sony has announced that Future US - publisher of other fine magazine products like Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, and ... uh, Pregnancy - has signed up to publish the newly announced PlayStation: The Official Magazine scheduled to hit newsstands in November, and run 13 issues a year (that's once a month using Sony's proprietary calendar technology).

Of course, Future has also published the Official Sony PlayStation Magazine in the UK since 1995, and PSM (the independent PlayStation Magazine) in the US, so the whole Sony magazine thing is old hat for the folks at Future, we're sure. Speaking of PSM, editorial duties for the new mag will be handled by Rob Smith, former editor-in-chief of PSM, leading us to assume that the publisher won't be maintaining two PlayStation magazines, one "official" and one "independent." It's too bad, we'd take the acronym PSM over POM any day.

JoystiqSCEA announces "PlayStation: The Official Magazine" originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Future-USMagazinesPlayStation-The-Official-MagazinePOMPS2PS3PSPMon, 01 Oct 2007 12:46:00 EST