PlayStation Official Magazine – UK
| Editor | Tim Clark |
|---|---|
| Categories | Computer and video games |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | Winter 2006 |
| Company | Future Publishing |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | Future Publishing Site |
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The Official PlayStation Magazine [1] - UK and generally abbreviated OPM is a magazine [2] originally created in Winter 2006. Although the first issue was available for 3 months, from Issue 2 onwards it became a monthly segment. As of issue 7 (June 2007) the magazine comes with a playable Blu-ray Disc. It primarily covers PlayStation 3 games and material, however it also covers PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 material also. The magazine covers PlayStation lifestyle and all aspects of High Definition media, although not in great detail.
OPM-OPSM2
The magazine, not to be confused with the Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine - OPS2 or OPM2, mainly concentrates on giving information about PS3, PlayStation Portable and to a lesser extent PlayStation 2 games, as well as other general PlayStation related news. It is sold in retail outlets for £5.99; however, subscribers receive a 30% discount.
Although the majority of the main staff originated from OPS2, several of the review scores for PS2 and PSP games, such as Okami, Black, TimeSplitters 2, LocoRoco, and Tekken: Dark Resurrection have been changed.
Blu-ray Disc
From June 1, 2007 onwards, the magazine has been released with a Blu-ray Disc containing PS3-related content. This disk contains game demos for PlayStation 3 games, and has been received with every issue since.
Although some of the demos are also available on the Playstation Network, there will be some exclusive content on certain discs. It has also been stated that the magazine will receive exclusive content in the future to be published on the disc.
Structure
The magazine's design follows the same approximate structure each issue. Recurring segments include:
- The Big 10, in which the ten most momentous PlayStation-related pieces of news are discussed
- Agenda, which contains the game sales charts for all three major PlayStation platforms as well as columns such as "Want That" and "Commuter and Video Games"
- Previews and reviews sections
- Directory, which houses a "Buyer's Guide" for games for the main platforms as well as for HDTV's
Reviews
Usually, one member of the team is assigned to review a certain new game, although on occasion other staff members will provide "2up" or a second opinion. Sometimes there are also pie charts to describe the contents, or what you do in the game. Also used are score poles to compare reviews, as well as describing the influences. And as with the "2up" segment, there is a "dev talk" article giving a short statement from the games developer. Reviews are scored out of ten.
The magazine also presents its "highest accolade", the Gold Award, to any game that its staff believe "demonstrates significant innovation, near-flawless gameplay, great graphics and long-lasting appeal". Games that have received this award include Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots[3], Grand Theft Auto IV, Virtua Fighter 5, Warhawk, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PlayStation 3 , Tomb Raider Anniversary for the PlayStation 2 and God of War: Chains of Olympus and Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions for the PlayStation Portable.
It has also been rumoured that the magazine will give a "Top 20" list of their highest rated PlayStation 1 games, as it does with the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Sony PSP.
The Main Team
The team listed on the magazine's first double page consists of:
- Tim Clark - Editor*
- Ben Wilson - Deputy Editor*
- Mark Wynne - Art Editor
- Helen Woodey - Operations Editor*
- Leon Hurley - Commissioning Editor*
- Nathan Ditum - Reviews Editor*
- Rachel Weber - Staff Writer
*Denotes people who used to be part of OPS2M UK.
(All team members are accurate as of Issue 17.)
Website
In Issue 15, Tim Clark, the editor of OPM, hinted at the release of an Playstation Official Magazine UK website in the Editors column after crediting the users who have contributed to this Wikipedia page:
"We would maintain it ourselves, but we're busy working on another site."
There were many rumour's for this website, with the most common being that the website will be similar to Official Playstation 2 Magazine's 'thestash.tv' in which a monthly code is given in the magazine for customers to put in the website and look at new content such as new trailers and screenshots. However, in issue 17 it was revealed that the website was actually a group on popular social networking website Facebook.[4]
References
