Future US

Last updated

Future US
Industry Publishing
Predecessor
  • Imagine Media
  • GP Publications
Headquarters,
US
Key people
  • Rachelle Considine (CEO)
[1]
Parent Future plc

Future US, Inc. (formerly known as Imagine Media and The Future Network USA) is an American media corporation specializing in targeted magazines and websites in the video games, music, and technology markets. Headquartered in New York City, the corporation has offices in: Alexandria, Virginia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Washington, D.C. [2] Future US is owned by parent company, Future plc, a specialist media company based in Bath, Somerset, England.

Contents

History

The company was established when Future plc acquired struggling Greensboro (N.C.) video game magazine publisher GP Publications, publisher of Game Players magazine, in 1994. [3]

The company launched a number of titles including PC Gamer , and relocated from North Carolina to the San Francisco Bay Area, occupying various properties in Burlingame and South San Francisco. When Chris Anderson, the founder of Future plc, sold Future to Pearson plc he retained GP, renamed Imagine Media, Inc. in June 1995, and operated it as his sole company for a few years. [4]

Buoyed by the Internet economy and the success of Business 2.0 in the US (and subsequently in the UK, France, Italy and Germany), Future rode the boom of the late nineties. During this period the company won the exclusive worldwide rights to produce the official magazine for Microsoft's Xbox video game console and cemented its position as a leader in the games market. In the spring of 2001, buffeted by economic factors and the market downturn, Future Network USA went through a strategic reset of its business that included the closure of some titles and Internet operations and the sale of Business 2.0 to AOL/Time Warner. [5]

On September 19, 2007, Nintendo and Future announced that Future US would obtain the publishing rights to Nintendo Power magazine. This came into effect with the creation of issue #222 (December 2007). [6]

On October 1, 2007, it was announced that Future US would be making PlayStation: The Official Magazine , which ended up replacing PSM and first hit newsstands in November 2007. With this launch, Future US became the publisher of the official magazines of all three major console manufacturers in the US. PlayStation: The Official Magazine closed in 2012. [7]

In 2012, NewBay Media bought the Music division of Future US. [8]

In 2018, Future reacquired majority of the assets previously sold to NewBay by buying NewBay outright for US$13.8 million. [9] Future used this acquisition to expand its US footprint, particularly in B2B segment. [10] [11]

Magazines and websites

Current titles

Its magazines and websites include:

Defunct titles

Related Research Articles

<i>DuckTales</i> (video game) 1989 video game

DuckTales is a platform game developed and published by Capcom and based on the Disney animated TV series of the same name. It was first released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989 and was later ported to the Game Boy in 1990. The story involves Scrooge McDuck traveling around the globe collecting treasure and outwitting his rival Flintheart Glomgold to become the world's richest duck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Future plc</span> International multimedia company

Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photography, home, and knowledge. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Game Players was a monthly video game magazine founded by Robert C. Lock in 1989 and originally published by Signal Research in Greensboro, North Carolina.

<i>Madden NFL 2002</i> 2001 video game

Madden NFL 2002 is an American football video game. It features former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper on the cover. Pat Summerall and John Madden are the commentators. The Madden NFL 2002 commercial first aired during Super Bowl XXXVI, three days after Madden NFL 2002 started selling in Japan. Notably, it does not feature the Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who is included on later editions of the game as a roster update. It is also the first game to be developed by Budcat Creations.

<i>Mega Man X</i> (video game) 1993 action-platform game

Mega Man X is an action-platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was the first Mega Man game for the 16-bit console and the first game in the Mega Man X series, a spin-off to the original Mega Man series that began on the Super NES's predecessor, the Nintendo Entertainment System. Mega Man X was released in Japan on December 17, 1993 and was released in both North America and Europe the following year. Taking place a century after the original Mega Man series, Mega Man X is set in a futuristic world populated by both humans and "Reploids", robots capable of thinking, feeling, and growing like their human creators. Because of these complex attributes, many Reploids are prone to destructive, renegade activity and are thereafter referred to as "Mavericks". The plot of the game follows the protagonist X, an android member of a military task force called the "Maverick Hunters". With the help of his partner Zero, X must thwart the plans of Sigma, a powerful Maverick leader wishing to bring about human extinction.

<i>PC Accelerator</i>

PC Accelerator (PCXL) was an American personal computer game magazine that was published by Imagine Media. It was known for its Maxim-like humor and photography.

<i>Dark Summit</i> 2001 snowboarding video game

Dark Summit is a 2001 snowboarding video game released by Radical Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imagine Publishing</span> British magazine publisher

Imagine Publishing was a UK-based magazine publisher, which published a number of video games, computing, creative and lifestyle magazines.

<i>Urban Freestyle Soccer</i> 2003 video game

Urban Freestyle Soccer is a sports video game developed by British studio Gusto Games, a company announced in 2003, made up from eleven former employees of Silicon Dreams Studio, the game's original developer, which closed down in September that year. The game was published by Acclaim Entertainment and released for mobile phones, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, between August 2003 and March 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paragon Publishing</span> Magazine publisher in the United Kingdom

Paragon Publishing Ltd was a magazine publisher in the UK, which published computer games and other entertainment titles from 1991 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlayStation 2</span> Home video game console by Sony

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 30 November 2000. It is the successor to the original PlayStation, as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo's GameCube, Sega's Dreamcast, and Microsoft's Xbox. It is the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide, nearly triple the combined sales of the Dreamcast, GameCube, and Xbox.

<i>Rogue Trooper</i> (video game) 2006 video game

Rogue Trooper is a third-person shooter video game developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2006. The Wii version, entitled Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre, was released in 2009.

<i>Beijing 2008</i> (video game) 2008 sports video game

Beijing 2008 is the official Olympic video game of the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing. Developed by Eurocom and published by Sega, the game was the second video game based on the 2008 Summer Olympics to be released, the first being the fantasy-based Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games which appeared in late 2007; however, Beijing 2008 is a realistic sports simulation.

<i>Droplitz</i> 2009 video game

Droplitz is a 2009 puzzle video game developed by Blitz Arcade and published by Atlus USA. It was released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Microsoft Windows and iOS in June 2009 In May 2012 a sequel called Droplitz Delight was released for Windows Phone.

<i>Rock of the Dead</i> 2010 video game

Rock of the Dead is a music video game. It was developed by Epicenter Studios and distributed by Conspiracy Entertainment and UFO Interactive Games. The game was released in 2010 for iOS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

<i>Minecraft</i> 2011 video game

Minecraft is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios and originally released in 2009. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being fully released in November 2011, with Notch stepping down and Jens "Jeb" Bergensten taking over development. Minecraft has become the best-selling video game in history, with over 300 million copies sold and nearly 140 million monthly active players as of 2023. It has been ported to several platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NewBay Media</span> American magazine publisher

NewBay Media, LLC was a magazine and website publisher founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City.

Nextmedia Pty Limited is an Australian media company which publishes special interest magazines in the sport, humor, and hobby. The company is headquartered in Sydney and owned by The Forum Media Group, a German-based B2B and B2C publisher.

<i>Stoked</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Stoked is a snowboarding video game developed by Austrian-based Bongfish GmbH for the Xbox 360 in 2009. It is the latest entry in the Stoked Rider snowboard game series and is in association with Absinthe Films. In 2009 an updated version, Stoked: Big Air Edition, was released for Xbox 360, and a Microsoft Windows version was released only for the PAL region in 2011.

References

  1. "Bloomberg – Future US Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  2. "Contact". futureplc.com. Bath, Somerset: Future plc. 2019. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  3. Cox, Howard; Mowatt, Simon (2014). Revolutions from Grub Street: A History of Magazine Publishing in Britain. Oxford University Press. p. 220. ISBN   978-0199601639.
  4. "About Imagine". Imagine Media. Archived from the original on October 12, 1999.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "Timeline: a history of magazines". Magforum.com. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  6. "Future officially takes over Nintendo Power". Nintendo Forums. October 12, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  7. "PlayStation: The Official Magazine Is Shutting Down". Forbes. November 7, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  8. "NewBay Media Buys Music Mags from Future US". Folio. January 13, 2012.
  9. "Future plc Acquires NewBay Media for $13.8m". Future. April 4, 2018. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  10. "PennWell Corp. and NewBay Media acquired by UK firms". Folio. Access Intelligence, LLC. April 4, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  11. Butts, Tom. "Future Publishing acquires TV Technology parent NewBay Media". TV Technology . Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  12. "netPOWER" . Retrieved February 26, 2013.