![]() The first issue of PTOM | |
Editor-in-chief | Roger Burchill |
---|---|
Categories | Gaming |
Frequency | 13 issues a year |
Publisher | Future plc / Future US |
First issue | September 1997 |
Final issue | December 25, 2012 |
Country | United States |
Based in | South San Francisco, CA |
Language | English |
ISSN | 1940-0721 |
PlayStation: The Official Magazine (PTOM) was a magazine originally known as PlayStation Magazine (PSM), becoming PlayStation: The Official Magazine in late 2007. PlayStation: The Official Magazine was published 13 times a year by Future plc until its cancellation in late 2012. [1] [2] [3]
PSM's UK-based partner magazine, PSM3 , was another Future publication.
Prior to becoming the official magazine, PSM was an independently published video game magazine specializing in all Sony PlayStation-brand video game consoles and handheld gaming platforms. PSM was published by Future, who also publishes PlayStation Official Magazine .
The magazine launched with the September 1997 issue, which featured Final Fantasy VII on the cover. During its publication, it consistently outsold every other PlayStation-dedicated magazine both in the United States and abroad (according to independent ABC audits).[ citation needed ]
PSM celebrated ten years of publication with its 2007 issue. By this time, the magazine had been through several redesigns, most recently with its June 2006 issue. Also over its history, the magazine had sponsored side content such as cover-mounted DVDs, websites, online forums, and near the end, a PSM podcast. [4]
After Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine was discontinued, Sony Computer Entertainment announced on October 1, 2007 that PSM would become PlayStation: The Official Magazine.
The last issue published under the PSM title was that of December 2007, becoming PlayStation: The Official Magazine with the following Christmas 2007 issue. While it did retain the same staff for a period of time lasting from December 2007 until January 2008, it eventually lost its remaining core editors, making PTOM a completely different magazine from the former PSM.
Due to the same setbacks that caused the cancelations of other video game magazines published by Future (mostly prominently Nintendo Power ), the magazine ceased publication after 15 years (5 as PlayStation: The Official Magazine) with its Christmas 2012 issue. [1] [2] [3]
In the beginning, PSM had an anime-style mascot named "Banzai Chibi-Chan", created and illustrated by Robert DeJesus. He was featured prominently in early issues and even inspired apparel and other accessories. He was later dropped, with the supposed reason being that the character was too childish and gave some the wrong impression about the magazine's intended audience.[ citation needed ]
A smiley face featuring an eye patch with a star on it was also used, but it too was eventually dropped after the magazine went through redesign in later years. The PSM Smiley Face was notable for its appearance throughout the magazine, as well as on "lid-sticker" inserts (large, circular stickers that could be placed decoratively on the lid of a PlayStation console), including one found in the first issue.
Some lid-stickers promotionally featured characters from PlayStation games being covered in the magazine. Other inserts included PlayStation memory card label stickers featuring visual themes similar to the lid-stickers, as well as video game tip sheets, instead of the demo discs that then-competitor Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine was known for.
As PTOM, from the July 2008 issue to the June 2009 issue, the magazine included promotional codes for free downloads of Qore , a subscription-based interactive online magazine for the PlayStation 3, available through the PlayStation Store. These free, promotional editions of Qore did not include some of the features available in the paid-for edition, such as playable demos. PTOM also had promotional pullout-style posters from time to time, to help advertise upcoming video game releases.
Lara Croft is a character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise Tomb Raider. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around the world. Created by a team at British developer Core Design that included Toby Gard, the character first appeared in the video game Tomb Raider in 1996.
Game Informer was an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game retailer FuncoLand started publishing an in-house newsletter. It was acquired by the retailer GameStop, which bought FuncoLand in 2000. Due to this, a large amount of promotion was done in-store, which contributed to the success of the magazine. As of June 2017, it was the fifth-most popular magazine by copies circulated.
Nintendo Power was a former video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Nintendo of America, then independently, and in December 2007 contracted to Future US, the American subsidiary of British publisher Future plc. Its 24-year production run is one of the longest of all video game magazines in the United States and Canada.
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Future US, Inc. 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. Future US is owned by parent company, Future plc, a specialist media company based in Bath, Somerset, England.
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Archived PlayStation: The Official Magazines on the Internet Archive