''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' (''PTOM'') was a magazine originally known as ''PlayStation Magazine'' (''PSM''), becoming ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' in late 2007. ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' was published 13 times a year by

Future plc Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson (entrepreneur), Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was ...

until its cancellation in late 2012. ''PSM''s UK-based partner magazine, ''

PSM3 ''PSM3'' (short for ''PlayStation 3 Magazine'') was a video game magazine specializing in all Sony video game consoles and handheld gaming platforms. It was published by Future plc, a UK-based publishing company. The magazine launched in Octob ...

'', was another Future publication.

History

''PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine''

Prior to becoming the official magazine, ''PSM'' was an independently published

video game magazine Video game journalism (also called games journalism or video game criticism) is a specialized branch of journalism that covers various aspects of video games, including game reviews, industry news, and player culture, typically following a core ...

specializing in all

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

-brand

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

s and

handheld gaming A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the con ...

platforms. ''PSM'' was published by Future, who also publishes '' PlayStation Official Magazine'' in United Kingdom. The magazine launched with the September 1997 issue, which featured ''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation. The seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released in Japan by Square and internationally by Sony Computer Entertainment, becoming the first ...

'' on the cover. During its publication, it consistently outsold every other PlayStation-dedicated magazine both in the United States and abroad (according to independent

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

audits). ''PSM'' celebrated ten years of publication with its 2007 issue. By this time, the magazine had been through several redesigns, most recently with its June 2006 issue. Also over its history, the magazine had sponsored side content such as cover-mounted DVDs, websites, online forums, and near the end, a ''PSM''

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

''PlayStation: The Official Magazine''

After ''

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine'' (often abbreviated to ''OPM'') was a monthly video game magazine published by Ziff Davis Media. It was a sister publication of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''. The magazine focused exclusively on PlayStation ...

'' was discontinued,

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

announced on October 1, 2007 that ''PSM'' would become ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine''. The last issue published under the ''PSM'' title was that of December 2007, becoming ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' with the following Christmas 2007 issue. While it did retain the same staff for a period of time lasting from December 2007 until January 2008, it eventually lost its remaining core editors, making ''PTOM'' a completely different magazine from the former ''PSM''. Due to the same setbacks that caused the cancelations of other video game magazines published by Future (mostly prominently ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...

''), the magazine ceased publication after 15 years (5 as ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'') with its Christmas 2012 issue.

Mascots and promotion

In the beginning, ''PSM'' had an anime-style mascot named "Banzai Chibi-Chan", created and illustrated by Robert DeJesus. He was featured prominently in early issues and even inspired apparel and other accessories. He was later dropped, with the supposed reason being that the character was too childish and gave some the wrong impression about the magazine's intended audience. A

smiley face A smiley, sometimes called a smiley face, is a basic ideogram representing a smiling face. Since the 1950s, it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram or as a form of communication, such as emoticon ...

featuring an

eye patch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

with a star on it was also used, but it too was eventually dropped after the magazine went through redesign in later years. The ''PSM'' Smiley Face was notable for its appearance throughout the magazine, as well as on "lid-sticker" inserts (large, circular stickers that could be placed decoratively on the lid of a

console), including one found in the first issue. Some lid-stickers promotionally featured characters from PlayStation games being covered in the magazine. Other inserts included PlayStation memory card label stickers featuring visual themes similar to the lid-stickers, as well as video game tip sheets, instead of the demo discs that then-competitor ''

'' was known for. As ''PTOM'', from the July 2008 issue to the June 2009 issue, the magazine included promotional codes for free downloads of '' Qore'', a subscription-based interactive

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the comput ...

for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

, available through the

PlayStation Store PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital distribution service for users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content both ...

. These free, promotional editions of ''Qore'' did not include some of the features available in the paid-for edition, such as playable demos. ''PTOM'' also had promotional pullout-style

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

s from time to time, to help advertise upcoming video game releases.

References

External links

PlayStation: The Official Magazine

Publisher's product description page for ''PTOM''
* Archived issues o
PSM
and
PlayStation: The Official Magazine
' at

Video Game History Foundation The Video Game History Foundation is a non-profit foundation founded by Frank Cifaldi. The primary aim of the foundation is the archival, preservation, and dissemination of historical media related to video games. History In a talk given at the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Playstation: The Official Magazine Future plc 1997 establishments in the United States 2012 disestablishments in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct video game magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1997 Magazines disestablished in 2012 PlayStation (brand) magazines Magazines published in San Francisco