MEDIA: German rival for Playstation mags

The German magazine company Computec Media is launching its first

title in the UK in a move which should shake up the computer games

magazine market.

PlayStation World will launch in January as a glossy games title, with a

strong men’s lifestyle emphasis. Jointly edited by Richard Leadbetter

and David Upchurch, the title will have a print run of 350,000, and aims

to challenge the dominance of Future Publishing, which publishes the

market leader, Official PlayStation Magazine.

Leadbetter’s experience in the computer magazine world includes editing

Mean Machines and Maximum, and Upchurch was responsible for the launch

of PC Games.

The editorial team also includes Stephen Pierce as deputy editor, former

deputy editor of Official PlayStation Magazine, and Lee Nutter, formerly

of PlayStation Plus, as assistant editor.

The computer games magazine industry is worth pounds 77 million, three

times more than the music magazine industry, and Britain has the largest

market for PlayStation titles worldwide. Computec Media plans to follow

the launch of its flagship magazine with further titles in the computer

arena next year.

’Computec Media has held the number one position in Germany for three

years with nine titles across all technological platforms,’ said UK MD,

Marc Swallow.