PlayStation The Official Magazine
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PlayStation: The Official Magazine being shuttered, will say farewell with holiday issue
The publisher of PlayStation: The Official Magazine has confirmed to Game Informer that the Sony-minded periodical will board up its doors by year's end. This isn't the first gaming zine that publisher Future US has called it quits on this year -- news of Nintendo Power's closure broke this August. Just like the Nintendo-centric themed publication, the PlayStation mag's last issue will be its holiday edition. However, unlike Newsweek's leap to a purely digital existence, there's no indication that the magazine could see life online.
PlayStation: The Official Magazine shut down, final issue this holiday
PlayStation: The Official Magazine is halting production, and the holiday 2012 issue will be its last, Game Informer reports.Earlier this year, PlayStation: The Official Magazine publisher Future US announced the shutdown of Nintendo Power. The final issue of Nintendo Power is slated for December, and we compiled a tribute post with memories from across the industry to mark its retirement.
Rumor: Ninja Gaiden 3 loses the store, may add Move support
Reports are coming in that the latest issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine is full of new info about Ninja Gaiden 3. NeoGAFfer RatedRSuperstar summarized the article, noting a few salient points about the Team Ninja sequel. Reportedly, the difficulty level "won't be toned down for casual gamers," which means Team Ninja is making the game "more accessible" in a different way. In addition, it packs competitive and cooperative multiplayer, with at least one mode supporting up to eight players. There's also a possibility of Move support. The weapons store is gone, in favor of weapons that "upgrade over time." According to RatedRSuperstar, "Blood is back" as well. Having seen the purported scans, that's an understatement. Imagine a ninja covered in melted Twizzlers. [Thanks, Andreas!]
Ninja Gaiden 3 has complex multiplayer mode, will be more accessible
Ninja Gaiden 3 will feature some form of multiplayer gameplay, according to an interview in the April issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine. Project lead Yosuke Hayashi characterized the mode as "complex," but didn't offer a comparison to Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2's online co-op missions. He noted that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions would launch at the same time, unlike past iterations in the series. Additionally, NG3 will supposedly be more accessible to new players, while retaining the challenge that fans have come to expect from the franchise. "We know that many fans feel good about the difficulty level, but we are taking a slightly different approach," Hayashi said. "It's not that the game is going to be easier -- nothing like that. It's just that we are trying to make a whole game, a more exciting game that can be enjoyed by anyone, but at the same time, hardcore gamers will be able to feel and appreciate what the series is about." Hayashi said that the franchise's main character, Ryu Hayabusa, will be the only playable character this time around, and that the game's story "will focus more deeply on Ryu Hayabusa's life and lifestyle and feelings and thoughts." Our first question -- how does Ryu feel about ninja dogs? And, say, giant flaming armadillos? This stuff's important!
PixelJunk Shooter 2 revealed in July PlayStation: The Official Magazine
While Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood may hold the cover spot of the next issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine, the July 2010 issue will also feature a "lovefest feature" on PixelJunk Shooter 2, Q-Games' not-yet-announced-but-very-real PSN sequel, according to a Tweet from EIC Gary Steinman. Considering the numerous hints of a sequel, we're unsurprised that the game's existence is confirmed by an uneventful preview of a preview. (It seems Sony is intent on making this a trend.) If Sony shows this off at its E3 press conference, just try to act shocked, okay?
Crysis 2 takes the crisis to New York
The supersuit-enhanced cat has officially leaped out of the bag, folks -- Crysis 2 will be set in New York City. According to a "World Exclusive" Twitter image of the next PlayStation: The Official Magazine's cover (partially seen above), the upcoming sequel plans to give players a chance to blast off the faces of "aliens invading NYC," employing the already teased "Nanosuit 2.0." As the Crysis 2 cover is set for the March issue of PTOM, we expect to start hearing more details on the sequel over the next few weeks as subscribers start getting their copies (and subsequently begin filling the internet with said details).
1-year subscription to Playstation Magazine for only $9 at Amazon
Amazon is currently offering a pretty good deal for the declining number of gamers that prefer receiving their news on paper. Specifically, the site is offering a one-year subscription to Playstation: The Official Magazine. But you'd better hurry. Like really fast, as over half of the subscriptions Amazon has on sale have already been claimed. No, seriously. You should go now. Why are you still reading this? What's that? You prefer reading your news on the internet? Touché.
First (glowing) Uncharted 2 reviews released
If you're one of those people who judges the value of games based on numerological qualifiers, you'll be pleased to know that a few print publications have had their Uncharted 2 review scores posted online. Surprising nobody, PlayStation: The Official Magazine (which features Nate Drake on its upcoming October issue) awarded the game a perfect 5 out of 5 score and wreathed it with the magazine's monthly "Editor's Choice" award. However, French publication PSM3 really went above and beyond with the accolades, giving the game a score of 21 ... out of 20. The mag summed up the game with a single word: "M-O-N-S-T-R-E-U-X!!!" According to the understanding we gleaned during our one semester of French tutoring, this can be translated to mean, "my strudel!" Impossible math and random pastry shout-outs? Man, French game reviews are weird.
Square Enix trademark may reveal title of new action game
The May issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine made an announcement that likely piqued the interest of Squeenix fanboys worldwide -- the renowned RPG developer is currently working on an unannounced action title. Unfortunately, that's the only tidbit about the game which the magazine revealed -- no title, launch platforms, release date or gameplay details were mentioned. Given the nature of the source of this information, we're guessing it's a PS3 title -- but that's an assumption that has hurt us very deeply in the past.However, a recent Square Enix trademark filing may shed some light on the moniker of its upcoming, unspoken game. Late last week, the developer reserved the name Vanguard Storm with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. As far as we know, the title has no connection to any franchises within Square Enix's expansive catalog. We could postulate further, but instead we'll wait for the next issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine, which promises to blow the doors off this action-packed sucka.
SCEA announces "PlayStation: The Official Magazine"
Official PlayStation Magazine is dead. Long live PlayStation: The Official Magazine! Miss the Official PlayStation Magazine (OPM), Ziff Davis' all-things-PlayStation 'zine that was unceremoniously axed last November just before the launch of the PlayStation 3? Well, Sony has announced that Future US – publisher of other fine magazine products like Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, and ... uh, Pregnancy – has signed up to publish the newly announced PlayStation: The Official Magazine scheduled to hit newsstands in November, and run 13 issues a year (that's once a month using Sony's proprietary calendar technology). Of course, Future has also published the Official Sony PlayStation Magazine in the UK since 1995, and PSM (the independent PlayStation Magazine) in the US, so the whole Sony magazine thing is old hat for the folks at Future, we're sure. Speaking of PSM, editorial duties for the new mag will be handled by Rob Smith, former editor-in-chief of PSM, leading us to assume that the publisher won't be maintaining two PlayStation magazines, one "official" and one "independent." It's too bad, we'd take the acronym PSM over POM any day.
PlayStation: The Official Magazine hits newstands in November
Last November, Sony announced the discontinuation of the Official PlayStation Magazine, but it appears it's getting a new lease on life as Sony and Future US announced their agreement on a new magazine – PlayStation: The Official Magazine. The magazine, which will initially have a circulation of about 300,000 copies, will arrive in November."We're very excited to be working with a group that is nearly as passionate about our brand as we are ourselves and we look forward to working with Future on many innovative ideas they have to create a best in class enthusiast publication," said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing at SCEA.Ziff Davis, the former publisher of OPM, continues to battle financial issues, so it's understandable Sony's preference to find a more reliable company in Future, which has continued to publish OPM in Europe. Additionally, when Sony made the announcement last year, it said focus would shift to delivering content via PlayStation.com and the PlayStation Store, so we wonder what spurred this change of heart. [via NeoGAF]
