Future US, the publishing house behind a number of successful magazines over the years including Nintendo Power and Maximum PC, has announced plans to end the long run of PlayStation: The Official Magazine this holiday season. The last issue to roll off the presses will in fact be the 2012 holiday issue, according to Game Informer.
PlayStation: The Official Magazine was originally known as Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. It was published by Ziff Davis Media as a sister publication to Electronic Gaming Monthly. The first issue hit stands in September 1997 and was famous for including a disc with each issue that contained game demos.
That magazine covered hardware and software for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable before being discontinued and replaced with PlayStation: The Official Magazine 10 years later in December 2007.
Ending the PlayStation magazine run is just another sign of the times when you think about it. Print media has been dying for years as the Internet, smartphones and now tablets provide instant news and analysis of new products – all stuff that magazines and newspapers were once responsible for.
In fact, earlier this year, Nintendo of America confirmed that Future US was also ending their run with Nintendo Power magazine in December 2012. That periodical was first published in 1988 and remains one of the longest-running print video game publications. The inaugural issue featured a 20-page spread on Super Mario Bros. 2 as well as an in-depth review of the second quest of The Legend of Zelda.
