http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=27735

PlayStation magazines suffer circulation slump

PlayStation, PC and multiformat magazines in the UK have once again posted declining circulation figures, although the performance of a handful of Xbox 360 titles have managed to grow for the six months ended June 30, 2007.

Future Publishing's Official Xbox 360 has increased its circulation to almost 65,700, up from 56,000 for the six months ended February this year. Imagine Publishing's 360 has also seen a marginal increase from 11,369 to 12,017.

Xbox World 360, another title from Future, has seen circulation climb from 23,000 to 30,200 and Uncooked Media's 360 Gamer has risen to 12,500, from 10,600. Imagine's X360 has also benefited from improved circulation from 28,000 to just over 31,000 issues.

Future's PlayStation portfolio is looking grim in contrast, with all titles recording a drop in circulation. Official PlayStation 2 figures are now below 44,200, compared to 76,300 for the period ended in February.

Unofficial titles PlayStation World (17,132) PSM3 (24,121) and cheat magazine Powerstation (15,171) are all down.

Future's PC gaming titles have also suffered over the past six months, with PC Gamer (41,600), PC Zone (24,400) and PC Format (28,300) all taking a knock in circulation.

Edge and Games Master, Future's multiformat titles, continue the downward trend, recording figures of 30,000 (down from 35,00) and 47,800 (down from 53,900).

The Official Nintendo magazine has seen a rise in circulation, with numbers growing from around 43,000 to almost 48,000.

Imagine Publishing does not release six month circulation figures for PS2 magazine Play and multiformat title GamesTM.

I wonder why people need game magazines for anyway, most of the stuff and even more you can find on the Internet.

I still like getting Nintendo Power, it has a lot of stuff you can't find online. It's neatly put together, comes with a poster every month, you get a players guide with a sub. It's an easy purchase for most subscribers.

@Onna76
Well not many use the magazines. 4 million DS', 1 million Wii's, and 1 million Gamecubes and all the official Nintendo magazine can muster is 48,000 subscriptions? That's somewhere between 0.8% and 1.2% of owners of Nintendo consoles.

Not surprising news though, MS and Nintendo's marketshare in Britain is way up and Sony's is way down. That's bound to affect everything from magazine subscriptions, to store placement, to advertising and free product placement.

 Well there is probably a lot of overlap on ownership, but your percentages are probably a bit high anyways .  I don't know anyone who buys these things.

The Nintendo Power one is a pretty good deal since I like the Zelda guides and Fire Emblem guides.

Plus they have a huge selection of guides to choose from so when you factor that in you esetianlly get the mag subscription for dirt cheap. 

People buy magazines of all types for the same reason. They are very convenient, and they are a form of entertainment. You can take a magazine anywhere, and when people have some time to burn reading is a good way to burn it. When the subject matter interests you. You will find it easy to read even if the information is somewhat dated.

I still subscribe to Nintendo Power and EGM. NP is much improved from what it once was. EGM is on a downward spiral. I know it's hard for an independat mag to get the scoop these days(especially w/out Game Informer-esque shady deals with publishers), but the last year or so the issues have pretty much been paper thin. Then a mag like NP is consistantly robust and it only covers two platforms.

Anyways, online is great for news and discussion, but a good gaming magazine is always welcome in my world.

I had a subscription to Nintendo Power for about 5-6 years straight. I still have ever issue from #'s in the mid 20s (with Final Fantasy 2/4 on the cover), upto around 130-ish before I stopped my subscription when NP started putting ads in their mags.

Do they even do the cool features anymore, such as all kinds of free gear, or did they quit that too?

Japans weird, the most technological advanced nation lacks space and yet they still buy mags. (well not for long)