PlayStation Official Magazine – UK

The Official UK PlayStation Magazine was a magazine launched in November 1995 to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation console. It ran for 108 issues, with the last hitting news stands in March 2004. The first issue sold 37,000 copies.^{[citation needed]} Roughly midway through its run the abbreviations in the magazine changed from PSM to OPM (this was mainly because another magazine by the name of PSM2 was launched in the 4th quarter of 2000, and so as not to cause confusion, the abbreviations of the official magazine were changed to OPM). It had 3 design changes in its lifetime: 1 to 51, 52 to 72, and finally 73 to 108.

The first game to be reviewed was Wipeout, which received 8/10. The last game to be reviewed was Ford Truck Mania, which garnered 7/10.

The magazine would go on to become not only the best selling PlayStation magazine in the United Kingdom, but the best selling videogames magazine in the world.^[5][6] By mid-1997, PSM was selling over 150,000 issues a month.^{[citation needed]} In the month of February 1999, issue 42 (cover game: Metal Gear Solid), according to ABC the magazine managed a record 453,571, beating the UK's biggest lads magazines FHM, Maxim and Loaded.^{[citation needed]}

Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine (often abbreviated to OPS2) was launched in December 2000 as the sequel publication to the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, originally priced £4.99, to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation 2 console. Each month the magazine came with a cover-mounted playable demo DVD. It ran for 100 issues, with the last going on sale in the month of July 2008. The magazine was commonly abbreviated OPS2. It had four design changes in its lifetime: 1 to 25, 26 to 41, 42 to 89, and finally 90 to 100.

The first game to be reviewed was Tekken Tag Tournament, which received 8/10. The last game to be reviewed was SBK-08: Superbike World Championship, which earned 7/10. The magazine would go on to become the UK's best selling PlayStation 2 magazine, peaking with 197,348 readers in 2002.^[7]

In the beginning OPS2 was designed for the early adopter – encompassing hardcore gamers and previous readers crossing over from the original Official UK PlayStation Magazine. This ran from issue 1 (December 2000) to 25 (October 2002). Starting from issue 26, the magazine was set the task of attracting a more mass market, mainstream audience. This included a full redesign.^[8] From issue 34, OPS2 changed again – however this time retaining its recent redesign. In a drastic attempt to attract a more young male demographic – similar to that of the independent PlayStation magazines of the '90s – the publication decided to "review" readers girlfriends and their mothers and increased the number of scantily-clad women, even to the point of including bare breasts. It received a mixed response from readers, and failed to considerably increase the readership. In turn, the magazine featured another redesign from issue 42. OPS2 would retain this middle ground for the next three years, neither employing an overly male nor hardcore adult gamer stance. In the final year, as the PlayStation 2 entered a more family-friendly stage, OPS2 changed once more; this time for its final time. Starting from issue 90 the magazine would focus on new PS2 owners and the younger gamer.

• In 2004, OPSM2 won the prestigious Industry Dinner Magazine of the Year Award.^{[citation needed]}
• In 2004, OPSM2 publication won MCV's Magazine Team of the Year Award.^{[citation needed]}
• In 1998 and 1999, OPSM won the prestigious Industry Dinner Magazine of the Year Award.^{[citation needed]}

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 a Personal column and regulars like Culture, where PlayStation super fans show off their art, models and tributes. It also shows off the latest Sony gadgets (mainly phones and cameras) as well as "Lust have kit".
• Previews and reviews sections.
• Blu-ray movies section in which the latest Blu-ray releases are reviewed.
• Contact, in which letters and emails from readers are shown and replied to, this section also includes a corner dedicated to "what's on my hard drive" where people talk about what games, videos, music, photos and friends are on their PS3 and several wall posts from the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Facebook page.
• Directory, which houses a "Buyer's Guide" for games for the main platforms as well as for HDTVs.

From issues #1 to #51, the magazine followed a set format every month:

• StartUp (featuring a quick run through of the games featured on the cover disc and editor's letter)
• Update (news, interviews and first looks. With each page, a 'Loading Bar' percentage increased)
• PrePlay (previews)
• Letters (this was later moved to the back of the magazine in a section called 'Down Loading')
• Features
• PlayTest (reviews)
• Cheats (later called 'Top Secret', a special section which was printed on recycled paper)
• Down Loading
• On the CD (demo game controls)
• Next Month

• Spy (news and the latest announcements)
• Monitor (previews, as voted for by the readers)
• Features
• Next Month
• Letters
• Replay (looking at previously reviewed titles, review A to Z, cheats)
• Comedown (DVD and Music reviews)
• On the Disc

Each month the publication comes with a cover mounted playable demo disc — a first for a console magazine.^{[citation needed]} The disc contains game demos and other PlayStation-related content which have to be downloaded and installed onto the PS3's hard drive.

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.

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 do not necessarily have to have a perfect 10 out of 10 score to receive it; those that have received this award include FIFA 09, FIFA 11, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots,^[9] Mirror's Edge, Grand Theft Auto IV, Warhawk, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Siren: Blood Curse, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Soulcalibur IV, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, Infamous, BioShock, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Killzone 2, Assassin's Creed II, Heavy Rain, and Red Dead Redemption 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.

The only game to receive a 0 rating was the DVD version of Time Traveler.

As of Issue 140, the team listed on the magazine's first page consists of:

• Ian Dean – Editor
• Milford Coppock – Managing art editor
• Miriam McDonald – Operations editor
• Oscar Taylor-Kent – Games editor
• Jessica Kinghorn – Staff writer

In issue 50 (October 2010), the magazine published the results of the readers poll on the greatest PlayStation title ever released.^[10]

In the final March 2004 issue, the magazine published their list of the official top 10 PlayStation games of all time.^[11]

With the new look, the magazine published their Hall of Fame for each platform.^[12]

• Official website Archived 2014-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Archived Official PlayStation UK Magazines on the Internet Archive