TWO MAGAZINE titles aimed at PC
gamers have closed within a month of
each other. Live Publishing?s PC Extreme and Highbury?s GigaHz have both published their last issue amid concerns of stagnation in the PC gaming market.
Live Publishing editorial director Wayne Williams cited poor advertising and overseas sales as factors in the decision to cease publication of the specialist modding and games title.
?PC Extreme is very much a niche title and was not pulling in the revenue it was a few years ago,? said Williams in an interview with leading games trade mag MCV. ?Undoubtedly the PC market is nowhere near what it was; PCs aren?t as popular as they once were. I think most people would rather have a console to play games.?
Inevitable comments from a publisher presiding over the failure of a PC gaming magazine, but ominous nonetheless. Seven staff are to be laid off following the closure of the magazine, which was launched in December 2002.
GigaHz was only launched a year ago and was a brave move considering the presence of incumbents Custom PC and PC Extreme. ?The PC magazine market has been slowing for over two years,? Highbury publishing director Dave Taylor told MCV. ?The market is changing, and we need to find the right type of magazine to cater for changing tastes.?
Despite the closure of GigaHz, Taylor remains optimistic for the future: ?We?ve got to take what worked and build on those elements for future publications. The launch of Windows Vista will help the market out. If anything, the niche has opened up rather than closed down.?
When pushed on whether Highbury will be replacing the title, Taylor added: ?It?s fair to say that we?ll be revisiting the PC market in a different form.?
It?s not all doom and gloom in the technology publishing world, however, as new kid on the block, Imagine Publishing, announces its first two titles.
360 is dedicated to the upcoming Microsoft Xbox 360 console, while Mac Creative is a high-end Apple Macintosh title aimed at advanced users.
Imagine, which is based in Bournemouth, has been formed by the former directors of Paragon Publishing, which was sold to Highbury House in 2003 for ?32m.
Further magazine launches are expected over the next three months as Imagine gears up.
As the latest ABC figures show, Dennis is setting the standard for PC magazines with the two highest circulation titles, well ahead of rivals VNU and Future.
Advertisement
