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Today, Ziff Davis and SCEA officially announced that the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine will be discontinued in January of 2007. Unfortunately, as cool as the mag was, the internet is quickly killing off the print medium. Below is the official announcement from ZD, and further down is the official statement from SCEA. Statement from Ziff Davis Game Group Ziff Davis Game Group, the leading integrated media company focused on the video game sector, today announced that it will discontinue publication of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine after the January 2007 issue. The Game Group is laser-focused on continuing to expand its rapidly growing digital media presence and on further strengthening its multiplatform properties and powerful integrated network. As such, the Game Group has determined that Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, a property licensed from Sony Computer Entertainment America and limited to print, no longer fits its strategic vision. "Ziff Davis has had a great run with Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine for the past nine years," said Scott McCarthy, President of Ziff Davis Game Group. "We are very proud of the magazine and its outstanding editorial team, and we're obviously sad to see it go. Unfortunately, given where we are taking the Game Group, it doesn't easily fit into our integrated media network or afford us digital media opportunities." Mr. McCarthy continued, "In addition, it's a new world. The powerful online capabilities of the exciting PlayStation 3, coupled with ever- increasing broadband penetration in the U.S., allow for much more efficient distribution of game demos, videos, and trailers. With this next generation of game consoles, the days of having to bundle a disc with a magazine to distribute games-related content are over. And the disc has clearly been a major driver for consumer interest in premium-priced, platform-specific magazines in the past, when the magazine disc was the only way gamers could get such content." Sony Computer Entertainment America will remain a key content and marketing partner for Ziff Davis Game Group, which will cover SCEA's PlayStation 3 and first-party games extensively across all of its media outlets, including EGM, 1UP.com, and GameVideos.com. The Game Group editorial team will also work closely with SCEA in the development of digital content for the PlayStation Network, accessible only through the PS3. "We are as excited about the PlayStation 3 as the rest of the world, and gamers will be sure to see us reporting extensively on the platform -- and on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable -- across our various media assets," said John Davison, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director of Ziff Davis Game Group. "We enjoy working with SCEA and look forward to continuing our relationship for many years to come." Statement from SCEA Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and Ziff Davis Game Group announced today the companies have mutually agreed to discontinue production on the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (OPM) in North America. The final issue will be dated January 2007. OPM is a publication officially licensed by SCEA. "A key element of the OPM magazine was the playable PlayStation disc packed in with every magazine. With the launch of the PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system and its full network and Web capabilities, we are focused on delivering content via the PlayStation Network and PlayStation.com website, not discs," said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing, SCEA. "While we have enjoyed a very good run with the printed version of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, we feel it is important to shift assets online to meet the needs of today's PlayStation consumer. This is a natural evolution of our content delivery strategy." Entertainment content, such as high definition downloadable game trailers and demos previously found only on the DVD disc packed in with each OPM issue, will now be available to everyone on the PlayStation.com site and on the PlayStation Network, accessible only through the PS3. SCEA will continue to work closely with the editorial staff at Ziff Davis, as well as other partners, in the development of content for the PlayStation Network and on news coverage, previews, reviews, game developer profiles and in-depth executive interviews for all Ziff Davis properties.
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