ABC Results Jul-Dec 2006:Turbulent Second Half For PC & Gaming Magazine Sector
As with the rest of the magazine market, the gaming and computer sector also had a turbulent time, with many of the titles recording declines.
Future Publishing’s Official Nintendo Magazine was not one of them though, as it recorded an increase of over 14% year on year and almost 21% period on period, no doubt due to the launch of Nintendo’s Wii console.
Official Playstation 2 Magazine, also published by Future, was down by more than 40% year on year, shedding more than 55,700 copies from its total figure, although it remained the market leader. Of course, as newer consoles such as the Nintendo Wii and the forthcoming Playstation 3 are released onto the market it is inevitable that the magazine’s circulation will fall.
Xbox World 360 enjoyed a year on year increase of almost 22%, an increase in actual terms of more than 4,100 copies, lifting its circulation to 23,200. The Xbox mag with the largest circulation figure was Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine, which recorded a circulation of over 56,000 up more than 31% period on period.
Within the computer magazine sector, MacFormat, saw an increase of just over 14% year on year, to take its total circulation figure to over 19,600, while PC Format dropped by 21.7% year on year.
| Gaming Magazines: Jul-Dec 2006 Year On Year Comparisons | |||||
| Title | Publisher | Jul-Dec 05 | Jul-Dec 06 | Actual Change | % Ch |
| Edge | Future Publishing | 33,522 | 35,145 | 1,623 | 4.8 |
| GamesMaster | Future Publishing | 55,520 | 53,904 | -1,616 | -2.9 |
| Official Nintendo Magazine | Future Publishing | 37,578 | 42,960 | 5,382 | 14.3 |
| Official Playstation 2 Magazine | Future Publishing | 132,069 | 76,351 | -55,718 | -42.2 |
| PC Gamer | Future Publishing | 48,699 | 43,620 | -5,079 | -10.4 |
| PC Zone | Future Publishing | 33,580 | 27,002 | -6,578 | -19.6 |
| Play | Imagine Publishing | 53,102 | 29,086 | -24,016 | -45.2 |
| PSM3 | Future Publishing | 40,428 | 26,584 | -13,844 | -34.2 |
| PSW (Formerly Playstation World) | Future Publishing | 43,708 | 26,003 | -17,705 | -40.5 |
| X360 | Imagine Publishing | 27,525 | 28,006 | 481 | 1.7 |
| Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine | Future Publishing | n/a | 56,057 | n/a | n/a |
| Xbox World 360 | Future Publishing | 19,048 | 23,202 | 4,154 | 21.8 |
| Computing Magazines: Jul-Dec 2006 Year On Year Comparisons | |||||
| Title | Publisher | Jul-Dec 05 | Jul-Dec 06 | Actual Change | % Ch |
| MacFormat | Future Publishing | 17,191 | 19,613 | 2,422 | 14.1 |
| PC Format | Future Publishing | 36,320 | 28,439 | -7,881 | -21.7 |
The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 15 February 2007. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date, and will thereafter be amended in MediaTel’s Press database.
ABC: 01442 870 800 www.abc.org.uk