It's the end of another magazine era.
Sony Computer Entertainment America and Ziff Davis Game Group announced today that they've mutually decided to discontinue production of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (OPM). The last issue will be the January 2007 edition.
"A key element of the OPM magazine was the playable PlayStation disc packed in with every magazine. With the launch of the PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) 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 that might've been found in OPM (game trailers, demos, etc.) will now be available to everyone on the PlayStation.com website and on the PlayStation Network, accessible via the PS3. SCEA plans to work closely with Ziff Davis' editorial staff in the development of Network content, and on news, previews, reviews, and game developer profiles for all Ziff Davis properties.
So we say farewell to yet another gaming magazine. Oh well, it's a new age.