By RPS on July 14th, 2010 at 1:07 pm.
Sad news, chums. Olden UK PC games mag PC Zone has closed, apparently. It’s finished and they’ve all read it.
The next issue will be the last, RPS has been told by a whole bunch of people. And seen, on a company webpage and stuff. Honestly, we’re not just spreading muck here. Farewell, then, to the UK’s first PC games mag. Trails were blazed. It Was Important. And now it’s gone.
Best of luck to everyone on the mag. You will do well.
14/07/2010 at 13:10 Jim Rossignol says:
Sniff.
14/07/2010 at 14:32 Richard Beer says:
A terrible shame. I used to be an avid reader until the Internet. I assume nothing’s changed in the years since then, though. Poor old Charlie Brooker. Presumably he’ll sink without trace, never to be remembered.
14/07/2010 at 15:43 LintMan says:
I haven’t read PC Zone (I presume it’s a Euro magazine), but I’m always bummed to see PC gaming magazines go away. I’m still bummed over the loss of CGW and CG here in the US.
14/07/2010 at 17:20 DMcCool says:
PC Zone was always my favourite. Yeah, we budgeted in Zone and Gamer, but in my childish understanding PC Gamer was mean but funny and PC Zone was fairer but smaller. Did any of the RPS crew write for Zone? I can never recall. My main memory of it was it giving Morrowind a review of 94% I think, sitting it along Deus Ex as the best RPG for a long, long time, where PC Gamer gave it 86%, the uninspired dungeon crawler Neverwinter Nights something like 92% and then published their own copies of the games with those scores on the front.
So yeah, in my memory, PC Zone was always the nice one. I was only a kid, but how do others remembre the differences between the two big mags? (PC Format doesn’t count, I only ever read it for finding out the cover-girls name each week. Not sure why.)
14/07/2010 at 17:25 Azhrarn says:
Quite a shame, PC Zone UK was my go-to magazine whenever I wanted an objective review before I had access to the Internet at all times. I loved their E3 specials, those generally let me plan out entire years of game-purchases beforehand.
This only applied to the UK version I might add, the “Benelux” version that was also available here in the Netherlands wasn’t anywhere near as good.
15/07/2010 at 11:55 Lord Byte says:
I’m gonna miss PCZone UK, the best gaming mag ever!
@Azhrarn Yeah my sentiments exactly, the biggest issue I had with PCZone Benelux is that they went the typically beneluxian”durr hurr our readers are little kiddies” way of reviewing instead of sticking to PCZone’s dry british sense of humour. Which is why I hate every dutch publication here (from PC Gameplay to Power Unlimited).
14/07/2010 at 13:15 balooba says:
Shame. I loved PC Zone back in my PC-mag-buying-days.
14/07/2010 at 13:36 Mal says:
I’m with you there, I have some old pc zone (by old I mean, 1998-1999 there abouts) editions in my house somewhere. Since I moved to console I stopped buying pc-mags as well. Today is a sad day.
14/07/2010 at 13:17 Dean says:
Ah, shame. Future killed it by taking away all that was unique when they aquired it, and I became a Gamer reader. But Zone was the first PC games mag I bought, the first I subscribed to. Sad to see it go.
14/07/2010 at 13:19 Po0py says:
Oh bollocks.
14/07/2010 at 13:21 Sidorovich says:
Yeah happy memories of PC Zone. When it was good. Those cover discs introduced me to a lot of great gaming gems. Whose next to go then, EDGE?
14/07/2010 at 14:55 Omroth says:
I reckon EDGE outlasts almost everything else.
14/07/2010 at 15:08 DrGonzo says:
Then there is no justice.
14/07/2010 at 15:32 El Stevo says:
Aren’t EDGE’s readership figures pretty good in comparison to other games mags these days?
14/07/2010 at 16:40 Heliocentric says:
Edge is slowly decaying into publisher arse licking. Bloody Future.
14/07/2010 at 13:22 Leo says:
*sad face*
14/07/2010 at 13:23 Meat Circus says:
What is “a magazine”? Is it like the Internets from the olden days?
14/07/2010 at 14:12 BooleanBob says:
It’s somewhere that twitter will never, can never reach.
14/07/2010 at 14:30 Devenger says:
Incorrect. Tweets are published in PC Gamer UK, and probably other magazines that I don’t read. TWITTER PERVADES EVERYTHING.
14/07/2010 at 13:24 KindredPhantom says:
It’s a shame, it is my 2nd favourite gaming mag after PCG. I say we all buy the last issue and give it a good send off.
14/07/2010 at 13:26 KikiJiki says:
How will existing subbers be handled? Will they be getting refunds (as I would assume) or transferring to another publication?
14/07/2010 at 13:36 Dean says:
If past form from Future is any indication, they’ll be moved to PC Gamer subs automatically, but with the option of a refund on any remaining issues if they prefer. Or if they already have a Gamer sub too.
14/07/2010 at 15:09 DrGonzo says:
Well that would be an unpleasant surprise,
14/07/2010 at 13:27 The Great Skratsby says:
Awww
Still have my 1998 PC Zone I received for Xmas with Carma 2 on the cover.
As a youngen I played the shit out of all those demos, and read the thing from cover to cover multiple times.
Finally bought a boxed release copy of Carma 2 recently out of nostalgia after finding the magazine. Worth every penny.
14/07/2010 at 13:28 Steve says:
I’m still subscribed to PC Zone.
Goodnight sweet prince ;_;
14/07/2010 at 13:29 Greg Wild says:
PC Gamer… wins!
Sad day. Always a PCG man myself, especially since I started subbing a few years back, but PCZ was always a good read when I did pick it up.
14/07/2010 at 13:30 Gesadt says:
Was nice mag, back when Charlie Brooker was still reviewing games
14/07/2010 at 13:30 Maxheadroom says:
Not bought it for a long time
It lost a lot after the likes of Mr Cursor & Charlie Brooker departed. (I still have the cover disk where he made crank phone calls to the help desks of Activision, Eidos and the like. Still makes me laugh out loud).
Sad to see it go though, and I’ll definitely be buying the last issue as a keepsake (to keep alongside my 1st and last issues of Zzap64, Zero & The One)
14/07/2010 at 13:36 Gunsmith AKA NanosuitNinja says:
i missed the days of Culky and when they got into hot water by closing thier Quake review with the words “Fucking Brillaint”
now the mag is a paper thin ad fest, shame really :(
14/07/2010 at 13:46 Wulf says:
I remember that, and Brooker’s Cruelty Zoo comic. Then there was the insanity that was calling up customer service lines and asking them to hang up a picture of a pretty snowman, or to go dancing.
Good times.
14/07/2010 at 14:17 Gunsmith AKA NanosuitNinja says:
do you remember the videos of culky and his little-red-tank™ and how he started launching fireworks at EA’s london offices? or the time he made an abstract art painting of his mum and ended up selling it to a tramp for 30p :D
14/07/2010 at 14:25 hydra9 says:
Culky was the best! Anyone have the complete set of videos?
14/07/2010 at 17:39 JohnG says:
Oh man yes, I do remember those videos.. there’s 2 on youtube: Culky goes to EA and Culky’s painting
15/07/2010 at 03:17 TeeJay says:
First time I’ve seen those – very funny. :D
14/07/2010 at 13:45 Wulf says:
D:
I saw it coming a mile away, most of their decent writers leaving and being replaced by far less witty and amusing ones, the quality of the mag overall going downhill, and print just losing all of its worth these days. It couldn’t last forever, especially not in the state that it’s in.
Most of all I think I’ll miss Wandy. PC Gamer needs to pick him up, because most PC magazine tech guys are incredibly wishy-washy and absolutely awful, he was one of the rare few that was actually worth listening to.
Bye Zone, we had some laughs. Especially when Charlie Brooker was writing for you.
Hm, my collection of Zone rags might actually be worth something, now.
14/07/2010 at 13:46 Langman says:
Very little need to buy PC mags these days – this website being one of the perfect example of why – so unfortunately it’s not surprising. I stopped buying mags (PCG was my preferred choice) a couple of years ago, like many others; it’s a shame this is happening, but times are changing.
All the best to the guys who worked on the mag though, their skills should hopefully lead them quickly to new projects.
14/07/2010 at 13:47 Robin says:
The only surprise was that it lasted as long as it did.
I subscribed to PCZ for well over a decade. I always preferred it to PCG. I know it’s probably going to be remembered as the games version of Maxim that spawned Charlie Brooker, but there were long periods when it was a grown-up, editorially independent and extremely funny. I stopped reading it around the time of the Future buyout and staff exodus.
As I was drunkenly telling KG the other week, Duncan McDonald’s “Mr Cursor” columns are some of the very best work ever printed in a games mag. And they’re almost exclusively daft stories with hardly any reference to computer games at all.
I hope they get to do a decent farewell issue.
14/07/2010 at 13:53 Wulf says:
They need to call back Brooker just to have him review some terribly crap and ultimately boring game.
Again.
14/07/2010 at 15:13 DrGonzo says:
PcZone was great and I loved it. But I can’t help feeling Charlie Brooker’s stuff is quite overrated really. Mr. Cursor blows it out of the water imo.
14/07/2010 at 16:38 Wulf says:
As to whether something is overrated or not, I suppose that’s all a matter of opinion and nothing else. I feel the same way about Mr. Cursor, but a lot of people loved it.
I’m just glad that Brooker lives on in Screenwipe, which is amazing (well, his newspaper columns as well, but I have about as much interest in newspapers as I do in watching paint dry). I really wish they’d try and make something of that Gameswipe project, as I’d love to see him talking about games again.
14/07/2010 at 13:49 el_murph says:
Been reading since the first issue and will be a sad day when the postman delivers the final issues.
Now the question is should I go against all my beliefs and subscribe to PCG (spit)?
:(
14/07/2010 at 13:55 Wulf says:
Don’t do it! Just use the opportunity to swear off magazines completely, you’ll get everything they have online anyway, and you can put the money to better things. Like getting a Rock, Paper, Shotgun subscription. >.>
14/07/2010 at 14:02 el_murph says:
That is an excellent idea Wulf!
14/07/2010 at 13:49 Pete says:
Certainly enjoyed it most during the Brooker days and era of oh-so-serious PCG rivalry. Still sad to see it go. Seems like it’s been on life support for a while though with a new editor every few months. :(
14/07/2010 at 13:51 nickski says:
twas broadband that killed the cover disk beasts.
Shame though, still read it up until around 18 months ago when it just seemed poor value for money.
‘throws handful of dirt into grave’
14/07/2010 at 13:58 Matt says:
I had a feeling this might happen, what with all the staff changes that have been happening recently. I bought nearly every issue from about 2006 to last year, then stopped. I must make an effort to get this month’s and the final one now.
:(
14/07/2010 at 13:58 Leo272 says:
Man. I just bought the very first issue on eBay. Was a stunningly ace mag in the beginning. I bought a current issue a year back, just wasn’t the same.
14/07/2010 at 14:00 beefchief says:
do sub to pcgamer. It has some brilliant features and is very funny.
14/07/2010 at 14:02 beefchief says:
that was supposed to be a reply…oh well
14/07/2010 at 14:01 Serenegoose says:
Ah, that’s a pity. I alternated between picking up PCG and PCZ depending on what had more interesting stuff in it (couldn’t afford both), and it’s really sad to see it go.
14/07/2010 at 14:02 JC says:
PCG > PCZ
But one time I talked to ali woods, the editor of pcz, and she was lovely
14/07/2010 at 14:06 Kadayi says:
Damn. Hope the ppls involved get themselves sorted out with new jobs.
14/07/2010 at 14:10 SuperBladesman says:
It’s a real shame. I’ve been a long-time subscriber, and will miss my monthly read.
I’d been considering stopping my sub for a while now, as I was frustrated by the 8-page previews and then half-page reviews… but the quality of writing had kept me coming back. Staff seemed to be very mobile recently, a lot of coming & going, so this isn’t a huge shock.
Still – I will miss it. Now to find something else to read on the bog :(
14/07/2010 at 14:11 Cooper says:
Never read PCZ – I went a fair few years not reading any mags, and when I started again it seemd PCG (at the time) had the most in common in style with AP – my first love. But friends who loved AP also loved PCZ in the early years – i guess I missed out on a gem…
14/07/2010 at 14:13 Kieron Gillen says:
Yeah, it’ll be missed. Good luck to everyone.
KG
14/07/2010 at 14:13 Chris says:
Damn. I used to buy outdated issues (live in australia) back in the late 90′s purely because it was such an awesome mag. Think they were costing me around $19 a pop. Worth it though. Have barely read any of the recent ones. So long old pom.
14/07/2010 at 14:15 Evert says:
I feel quite guilty now – I canceled my subscription last month (belt tightening and all that). I think this will last in my subscription anyway.
This is a shame.
14/07/2010 at 14:18 Mac says:
It was a great mag 5 or so years ago, then teh writing went downhill and I have never bought a coupy since. i’ll have to pick up the last edition though …
Good luck
14/07/2010 at 14:20 Heliocentric says:
Only ever grabbed a few issues because i could only see the sense in buying one and i tended to stick with gamer because of the writers. That said gamer went downhill into overfocus on hype on things which were massively publisher controlled. After an issue with a 12 page operation flashpoint 2 preview covered in target renders i just gave up on the magazine, too much publisher mandated fluff.
14/07/2010 at 14:26 Andy says:
I never understood why Future published 2 pc games mags almost exactly the same. There was even adverts in PCG saying “BUY PCZONE! THE BEST GAMES MAGAZINE IN BRITAIN!”, so I’ve bought the shit one then have I? Doesn’t make sense.
14/07/2010 at 15:18 DrGonzo says:
You did. I never understood people liking PcGamer! I obviously liked the RPS guys but other than that it seemed to be a horribly boring magazine.
I guess it was about 5 years ago that PcZone became a bit pants and from then on I haven’t bought any games magazines at all as there doesn’t seem to be any decent alternatives. And plus RPS is much better than a magazine, and free.
14/07/2010 at 14:28 Mr Wonderstuff says:
Very sad news, was a regular reader for most of its life but then I went all console and never bought a copy thereafter.
BTW If anyone remembers Culky he runs the local health food shop here in Malmesbury.
14/07/2010 at 15:18 James G says:
Heh, not often I hear Malmesbury name dropped in comments threads. Grew up round there, and went to School in Malmesbury itself.
Wasn’t much of a Zone reader myself, more of PCG man, but its still a shame to see it die off. Leaving only PCG on the shelf as the only PC dedicated magazine is a sad state of affairs.
14/07/2010 at 18:12 Mr Wonderstuff says:
Cool, moved here a year ago. Lovely place.
14/07/2010 at 14:28 Zapatero says:
I can’t imagine ever having as much workday fun as when I worked on PC Zone (97-02). Great times, great people, great mag. Some good games too.
Looking forward to seeing the chaps all go on to bigger and better things.
14/07/2010 at 14:33 Chris Evans says:
Sad to see it go, I had been wondering what was happening with various staff departures. Farewell Zone!
14/07/2010 at 14:45 Mark | Retroblique says:
End of an era.
Admittedly, since moving to the States some seven years ago, I stopped reading PC Zone on a regular basis (I think the last regular issue I bought had a Half-Life 2 preview), although the odd issue I did buy kind of confirmed that the magazine had long since peaked. Hardly anyone from the classic mid/late-90s lineup remained.
I actually came pretty close to getting a job as news editor/reviewer there back in 1999(-ish). Best interview ever; it pretty much consisted of me sitting down with Paul Mallinson, Chris Anderson and Paul Presley and chatting about games for an hour or two. Richie Shoemaker got the job, although I suspect that was down to the fact that he attached his CV to a crate of beer (true story!) more than anything else.
Au revoir, PC Zone!
14/07/2010 at 14:46 bill says:
I never had any particular loyalty to any gaming mag, i bought whichever one happened to look interesting when i was passing whsmiths.. but that pczone cover does bring back a bit of nostalgia.
Didn’t they have a “top ten games ever” in the back of every magazine, evern broken down by genre? I remember because Ultima Underworld 1 and then later 2 were always number one. And everytime I was in smiths I looked longlingly at the blue UU2 box… and wished I could afford the 50quid they were asking. And that my PC would run it. Then one day it was gone.
No steam sales back in those days…
14/07/2010 at 14:48 Chaz says:
Sad to see as I was an avid reader of PCZ back in the day, but sadly not a surprise these days. Times are tough for the majority of the print media in an age where more and more people are turning to the internet for their news and reviews etc. I lost my job myself when Northcliffe Newspapers merged with Associated Newpapers under the umbrella of the DMGT.
14/07/2010 at 14:49 frosty840 says:
Well, what bothers me most is that it confirms PCG’s slide away from elitism and into the horrid mire of the mainstream. While PCZone survived, I could still believe in the dream :(
14/07/2010 at 14:49 Nick says:
A shame. I hope the staff get new jobs quickly and easily.
14/07/2010 at 14:57 RLacey says:
It was a bit of a wrench for me to cancel my PCZ subscription a couple of years back, when I decided that three magazine subscriptions per month really was enough (PCG, EDGE, Games™). Despite the obvious fall in quality – is it just me, or did the actual amount of text in an average article drop every time they did a redesign – it was the first magazine I bought and read regularly. I seem to remember the first issue I got my hands on having Daikatana on the cover… hmm…
I’ll be buying the last issue, just to reminisce a little. And I’m sorry to see it go, though it does seem to be rather the shadow of its former glory.
14/07/2010 at 14:58 Westie says:
Sad news. I loved PC Zone and spent a good couple of years obsessively playing the original Counter-Strike on the PC Zone servers. Good times indeed.
Clan Beef forever! :D
14/07/2010 at 15:01 squirrel says:
It’s both true and untrue that Internet drives traditional printed presses out of market. It’s true Internet has the competitive edge of daily update, which is unaffordable to most printed press publishers. However, the main reason for readers to switch to Internet game news site is that Internet is usually free of charge. If a printed game magazine is published free of charge, and provide the same amount of information as the paid magazines, it can immediately drive those paid magazines out of market too. Internet game sites win by their business model rather than by new technology.
I heard some game magazines would occasionally give out some outdated games as gift, and DRM free too. I guess those good old days have gone forever.
14/07/2010 at 15:04 CloakRaider says:
Though I didn’t read PC Zone, always a shame to hear of things like this.
14/07/2010 at 15:05 The Sombrero Kid says:
I was always a PC Gamer man myself, but it’s still bad news the few times i got PC Zone it seemed like an excellent publication. ( I Hope people take this as a death of print mags and not PC Gaming, as it’s clear this is part of Future focusing it’s efforts to move to the web)
14/07/2010 at 15:09 Peter Radiator Full Pig says:
Saw this one coming from quite far away. Read both PCG and PCZ, to see their difference of opinion. Both were strong.
Went of the magazines for a while, when out of the country.
Came back merely a year later, PCG had alot less, but still good.
The writers who PCZ always joked were the kids, the young ones who were fectching tea were editors!
Editors! They lost so many writers, their junior staff were editors!
Man, that was a dark dark day, and i never bought it agan.
14/07/2010 at 15:11 Gillesv says:
End of an era indeed. Been reading it since November 1997 (had a Quake 2 preview and Fighting Force on the cover) and subscriber for nearly a decade now. My attic’s stuffed with almost every issue since then.
In truth, the quality of writing was going downhill a bit. Granted it was never going to reach the heady heights of the Charlie Brooker days, but David Brown in particular irked me. Nothing he wrote ever seemed to interest me much.
In the old days I’d re-read the entire magazine back-to-front several times before the next one came out (even the Championship Manager (p)reviews, which I had zero interest in playing whatsoever), but nowadays it’s rare for me to read every single article/preview/review in an issue.
The stuff that kept me subscribing in recent years was Jon Blyth’s stuff, Wandy’s column (even though his irrational hatred of Apple was getting a bit tiresome) and Steve Hill’s contributions.
Will Porter and Steve Hogarty kept the mag going admirably when some of the original writers left (Charlie Brooker of course, but lets not forget David McCandless, Paul Presley, Chris Anderson & Richie Shoemaker), but I think when Porter left the mag suffered.
Maybe if they’d taken my advice and dropped the DVD they might have been able to keep going for longer. I haven’t touched a single cover disc since I got broadband.
14/07/2010 at 15:35 Navagon says:
I used to buy it back in the day. Must be about a decade ago now. Charlie Brooker was hilarious back then. I remember the cover disc with recordings of him trolling the hell out of game support centres to see how far they could be pushed.
14/07/2010 at 15:36 H says:
Absolutely gutted, totally gutted. I love PC Zone and it’s quirky humour; I think it brought something much needed to the industry, something which PC Gamer just fails time and again to deliver. Only RPS now has that same feel to it, but sadly it’s not in print form.
You have to wonder, I guess, if all PC gaming mags will go the same way eventually. Well I say all of them, I mean PC Gamer.
14/07/2010 at 16:21 Damian says:
Buying that crusted-yellow coloured, Half-Life emblazened edition, truely changed my life.
The preview still bounces round my head when I ponder the seed of my obsession with the medium. I still have a scary amount of the demo disks. Indeed they are all that remain, I wish I’d kept just one or two copys, but alas, my battered school text books remain, while PCZone is gone forever (bar Ebay).
Goodnight sweet prince..
14/07/2010 at 16:26 Cunzy1 1 says:
Oh Jesus Christ! Do people still play games on those desktop PC things?
Why don’t you enjoy patches, crashing and the wonders of DLC from the couch?
14/07/2010 at 16:35 Jimmeh says:
I stopped reading it a while ago (around 2003), but this was blatantly the best PC gaming magazine. The fact that this shutdown and not PCG is a sad day. I will definitely be buying the last one though.
14/07/2010 at 16:41 Dolphan says:
I subscribed for about 3 years in my mid-teens, from the last few months of Brooker and Sick Notes, to a bit after Chris Anderson left as editor IIRC. The mag seemed to grow up a bit as I did, and was a big part of making me a PC games enthusiast; I’m sad to see it go, although it’s been coming, and I’ll be sure to buy the last issue.
14/07/2010 at 16:47 Cnnn says:
Yeah, same here. I still have all the mags I bought. The oldest ones I have are from ’94, if I remember correctly.
Awesome mag, “too bad” the Internet killed paper zines.
14/07/2010 at 16:54 oceanclub says:
Sad to hear, though I’m a PCG man myself. I did think that Future having two relatively low-sub magazines meant the writing was on the wall for one of them.
Of course, the reason why they’re low-sub is partially due to the fact that the Future sub dept is shit (I let my subscription lapse a few months ago as it’s far less bother, even though a few quid dearer, to buy the mag in the shop rather than have to wait weeks for it or/and ring to enquire why it’s gone missing yet again).
P.
14/07/2010 at 17:16 Mike says:
Aww, no more will I get to deliberate over buying PCG or PCZ based on their covers alone :(
14/07/2010 at 17:37 Tei says:
As a Internet Man…. I feel I have to say… sorry. We, the internet men, created this thing (the internet). I think we have a idea that is grandiose, fucking cool, and full of free porn. I feel bad that as a side effect, we are killing the radio star, the PC magazines, and lots of other things :-(
I hope that what we hare creating here, on the intertubes, will be make for everything we are losing.
We all have to blame Sid Meier and Mc Luhan. Mc Luhan invented the idea that wen a human achievement is created, two other things become obsolete. Sid Meier applied this idea in Civilization “wonders”. I think the Internet is a proff of this idea at work. Internet is killing a lot of things!.
–
Internet Men.
postdata:
I must repeat it: Infinite ammounts of free porn. We have fixed the porn shortages for males of all ages. The world will never be again hunger of porn. Internet saved us from porn shortage. You don’t have to look again at a real women, ever!.
postdata2:
I think the next thing to murder is TV. We are going to kill TV, with a infinite ammount of streaming movies and fun cats clips.
14/07/2010 at 17:41 oceanclub says:
Am I really the odd one out in that I still buy a few magazines a month? (In my case, PC Gamer UK, Fortean Times, Retro Gamer and an Irish political mag). When I read threads like this I feel like some kind of luddite because I don’t bring the laptop to the loo or bed with me.
P.
14/07/2010 at 20:05 Chaz says:
The last time I bought a game mag was about this time last year when I went on holiday. My main reason for not buying game mags are:
a: They’re expensive. What are they, about £8 or more now?
b: A lot of the information is already available online.
Given those 2 points I personally find it hard to justify the expense of buying a magazine, as money has been tight for quite a while, when I can go to a free site like Eurogamer and get a daily fix of gaming news for nothing.
On the other hand it is nice to lie back in bed or on the sofa and have a nice relaxing read of a magazine but it’s a luxury I can live without for the moment.
15/07/2010 at 15:55 Malibu Stacey says:
I’ve had an EDGE subscription for quite a few years now. It’s been £9.99 every 3 months for as long as I can remember (at least 5 years subscribed, used to buy it from a shop before that) & you get 13 issues a year as they publish every 4 weeks as opposed to evey calendar month (they do a December & Christmas issue at the end of the year).
£40/13 = a little more than £3.07 each issue. Cover price is £4.50 as of the August 2010 issue on my desk as I write this.
So £8 is a little bit of an overstatement. Obviously that’s EDGE not PCZ/PCG but with them all being Future titles I expect the pricing to be similar across the board.
14/07/2010 at 18:03 Zapatero says:
Landing a job on PC Zone was a dream come true for me as I bought Issue #1 even before I had a PC. It was an honour to serve (97-02). Kinda wish I’d stuck it out a bit longer, but when Future were in control soon after I left, whenever I went to the office it all seemed a bit dour and depressing. I would have been a shit editor anyway.
As for the Zone v Gamer Rivalry, I think it took it more seriously than most. I bought an issue of Gamer once, and immediately felt dirty.
Bye Zone, and thanks. Loves ya.
Shoe
15/07/2010 at 21:31 Frosty says:
@Richieshoe
I always liked your reviews, especially the time they let you preview a Total War game instead of Korda. It was hilarious.
14/07/2010 at 18:08 JohnnyMaverik says:
Awww, bugger. I’ve always been more of a PCG man myself but I enjoyed the odd PCZone… massive shame.
14/07/2010 at 18:10 user@example.com says:
:(
I liked PC Zone. I always thought PC Gamer was better, but now I’m sad that PC Gamer doesn’t have its faithful slightly less good rival which I still bought. :(
14/07/2010 at 18:16 Wooly says:
Actually they’ll be moving to a micro-transaction model.
14/07/2010 at 18:48 TooLegitToRageQuit says:
I remember comparing Brooker to Eusebio in a letter that I sent (yes, PHYSICALLY sent) to the PC Zone offices. It got printed in the mag, and I was rewarded with a Microsoft gaming mouse for my brazen brown nosing. Happy days ^^
14/07/2010 at 18:58 Carra says:
I think I’ve got one or two magazines laying here bought when I went to the UK.
I’m still buying our only Benelux PC-Gameplay magazine though. Still fun to sit in the sun and read a magazine.
14/07/2010 at 19:01 Dan says:
Paper thin ad fest? When did the topic switch to PC Gamer all of a sudden? … Oh…
14/07/2010 at 19:02 Carter says:
Do exactly the same, rare month indeed when I don’t buy at least two magazines certainly sad to see this one go
14/07/2010 at 19:03 Carter says:
bleh that was in reply to oceanclub
14/07/2010 at 19:04 Kazang says:
PCZone died when Will Porter left imo. Steve Hogarty fought LIKE A LION to keep it alive but there is only so much one guy can do.
It had been going downhill since it was bought out by future publishing and since they publish PC Gamer too it was inevitable that PCZone (as the underdog in terms of sales) would eventually stop.
It was pretty damn stupid “sharing” exclusives with each other instead of competing to be the definitive british voice on pc gaming.
Where will Steve Hogarty go now? I love his writing and hope he finds a new place to practice his craft.
14/07/2010 at 20:52 The_B says:
Steve left about two weeks ago – before this happened. He’s now working as Editor in Chief of gamereactor.eu
14/07/2010 at 19:16 Adam Whitehead says:
PC Zone was my first PC magazine. It introduced me to HALF-LIFE and CARMAGEDDON 2, amongst many other games, and I got top advice from Wandy (albeit on his forums, not in the mag) when I last upgraded my PC.
A sad day indeed. PCG definitely should consider picking up Wandy’s column, as it is light-years ahead of any other gaming tech advice out there.
14/07/2010 at 19:23 Skusey says:
This is sad news. I might pick up the last one, but then if it’s good I’ll just be annoyed that I didn’t buy it before.
14/07/2010 at 19:29 Serenegoose says:
Since the topic of subscriptions was brought up here….
Is the only way to subscribe through paypal? I don’t trust it, and it wants me to register my acct using my card details. As I’ve said elsewhere, I do not want under any circumstances to be known as the name on my card, and this simply means I won’t use paypal. There an alternative, or can I simply not subscribe?
14/07/2010 at 19:44 Vinraith says:
IIRC the RPS guys have been working on alternatives but no, at the moment Paypal’s the only option.
14/07/2010 at 19:57 Jim Rossignol says:
Yeah, it’s all we can really manage at the moment. I’ve been shown a couple of alternatives, but they make management of the subs list much harder.
14/07/2010 at 20:15 Serenegoose says:
That’s unfortunate. Perhaps my partner will find it amenable for me to use her account instead.
14/07/2010 at 23:07 Hardtarget says:
In a roundabout way this article is what made me finally actually start subscribing to RPS, 2 bucks a month is basically nothing and hopefully it’ll support the site and keep these guys employed.
14/07/2010 at 19:36 Will Tomas says:
Very sad news. Like others have been saying, it’s kind of been inevitable for a while, but it’s still a shame when long-established champions of PC gaming vanish. But what with the last year (Borders going must have crushed the non-subs magazine market) and the Future ownership, it’s been coming. I just think it’s a very sad day.
14/07/2010 at 20:01 walk_star says:
What a shame.
14/07/2010 at 20:26 Sui says:
Your name is making me crave a greasy chip butty
14/07/2010 at 20:30 Sui says:
Huh, this was supposed to be a reply to SuperBladesman. As it is, just looks kind of random and silly, doesn’t it? Hmm.
14/07/2010 at 20:37 EBass says:
Oddly though I subscribed to PCG, whenever the two mags had a big reviewing discrepancy I generally found myself agreeing with PCZone. (Morrowind, Carmaggeddon 2, Mafia) to name a few. I gradually fell out of favour with both mags as they seemed to give more and more big games good scores by default but very sad to see it go.
14/07/2010 at 21:40 Initialised says:
Will be sorry to see them go, always one of the funnier, more irreverent gaming rags. I guess we should have all bought it instead of reading it here, bang up to date. This free content model is Darwinating the media.
14/07/2010 at 22:30 Hardtarget says:
Holy cow I can’t believe they are closing down. When I lived in the UK from 99 – 01 they were by far the best magazine in the business. You could tell it was written by adults for adults, the humour and the level of intelligence of the magazine was great.
Sad day :(
14/07/2010 at 22:42 Mithent says:
While my favourite has always been PCG, I subscribe to both PCG and PCZ and have read both for years. I had wondered about how long Future would keep two PC gaming magazines, and PCZ was always the one with the lower subscriber numbers, so I can’t say I’m too surprised. The frequent changes of editors recently also hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Will be sorry to see it go! Hope the team will be okay.
14/07/2010 at 22:53 AZ says:
I did a free games magazine, and am surprised that there wasn’t more of an uptake for the concept when I launched it at the Eurogamer Expo last year.
You can read it at the following link below:
http://issuu.com/prankster101/docs/re-play_november
15/07/2010 at 00:00 kwyjibo says:
I think free is going to become an ever bigger part of print. There are tons of freesheets in London now, it’s still experimental, but I’m sure some are working. I believe Shortlist Media is doing quite well.
That said, I don’t see a free games magazine working. It’s just too niche, no matter what the blue ocean games execs tell you. Having a proper chunk of games reporting in a generalist entertainment freesheet could work though.
15/07/2010 at 15:21 TeeJay says:
I’m not sure free newspapers are that experimental – there have been free local newspapers around for years – posted through doors (full of real estate ads), left in cafes (full of event ads) and handed out around train stations in big cities. The problem with using this model for pc or video gaming is that you don’t have a high geographical concentration of readers (with maybe the exception of student areas) or a bunch of very local advertisers.
Maybe the best bet for a free print mag might be trying to get it into places stocking videogames, comics and music, bundled in with other orders by online retailers as an optional ‘freebie’ for customers or bundled in as a supplement with existing free or paid for newspapers/mags.
However, you have to ask exactly *why* you want to actually use print at all. Some people still do enjoy reading some stuff in print format, but maybe you’d need to strip away anything and everything that is done better online (all the topical/news stuff?) and identify the precise type of content that works better in print than online. This might be more ‘coffee-table’ type stuff – a series that turns into a kind of library, with really cool and high-quality lay-outs, graphics, photos, cartoons and box-outs that make it a mini ‘work of art’ in it’s own right, it might be a series re-issuing some classic online writing – a cross between a book and a magasine or it might be a kind of outrageous, edgy retro/punk ‘underground fanzine’-style sheet that gets photocopied by local student ‘members’ and inserted guerilla-style into local hang-outs / noticeboards / cafés / clubs / gig venues.
Personally I’d like to see someone forming a membership-based pc-gaming community / organisation / charity that represented the interests of its members (ie. consumers/end-users) and which linked together lots of different user-communities – or at least a magasine/website written purely from this point of view. It could be an umbrella or collection of lots of other groups, sites, blogs and individuals and based around a few key principles (eg supporting certain standards, backwards compatibilies, stances on DRM or elements of game design etc.)
14/07/2010 at 22:58 mbp says:
I was a long time subscriber but I finally cancelled my subscription last year. I feel a bit guilty but it was clear even then that the magazine was on its last legs.
I am sad because it was in its day a great magazine. It guided my early forays into the world of PC gaming and it had so much more character than any of its competitors. There was a string of terrific writers back then and while I didn’t always agree with them I felt I got to know them. Their previews of upcoming games were always the best in the business.
14/07/2010 at 23:12 XM says:
I stopped my subscription a few years ago I had it from day one and loved it. But the last few years when everyone was leaving and went freelance it lost it’s way. They will blame the internet but the mag lost it’s sole a long time ago.
The reviews you could trust but they did start to score games low for some reason. I missed out of some good games and that’s why I no longer buy it. Thanks to Steam sales you can wait for games to be cheap and not gamble if they are good or not.
14/07/2010 at 23:55 kwyjibo says:
Thank fuck for that, it’s dead. Let’s move on.
I had absolutely no idea why Future ran both PC Gamer and PC Zone, when they essentially did the same thing. Both included a ridiculous cover price with a cover disk as justification, a cover disk in the era of bittorrent – what a scam. A ridiculous cover price with a freefalling page count.
I know Total PC Gaming has already gone, but I hope that its short lifespan helped to exploit Future’s incompetence, and hastened PCZ’s demise.
I really hope PC Format dies as well. It’s given up on doing its own thing, and for the last couple of years has just desperately ripped off Custom PC, albeit with stupid Future pricing.
15/07/2010 at 02:23 4PLAYuk says:
I read Zone from 2000 until about 2006, I still lug around all of those issues from house to house and I’ve moved so many times. I read the original Half life 2 review, and could feel the pure excitement in the editor Dave woods at the time I believe. Before I got the internet PC ZONE was my connection to other people who loved and had the same passion for the PC in this console centric world, I really connected with everyone. The humour in the articles was priceless as well.
I read a few issues of PCG now and then but I always found that Zone was more honest and down to earth, I wish Gamer was dead and Zone lived on!
I saw that Zapatero – Mr shoemaker posted here, thank you so much!
Thanks to all whom contributed to such a great magazine!
15/07/2010 at 03:29 Ape says:
I wonder if P.C.Format will be next. It’s really deteriorated over the last few years
15/07/2010 at 04:32 TeeJay says:
“Free” online media -versus- “paid for” print media, is only one aspect of why many vast numbers of people switch…
The best online sites also have lively forums, a strong and active community, run servers and local and national events, have various levels of membership account for showcasing pictures or other creative work as well as special ‘guest accounts’ (in effect acting as ‘celebrity blogs’).
Whether it is based around providing quality writing, a hobby, shopping or some other activity there is an additional dynamic going on beyond just “free” versus “paid-for” – many people want to be involved, they want things to be updated minute-by-minute, they want portability in many formats (from print to desktop to mobile phone). They like special offers and discounts, they don’t mind advertising if it is about the type of products they are already interested in. People are often willing to make subscriptions and/or donations if payment is quick and easy and if there is a ‘rationale’ provided (eg a flashy avatar, extra perks, more storage/downloads, etc).
There is a good argument for the paper format to continue to exist as one type of “outlet” but not as the primary focus that treats it’s “online version” as an annoying afterthought or stick-on advert.
I have a strange sensation of boredom now when I look at newspapers and a feeling that they are immediately ‘dated’ compared with my “normal” online version. I can’t jump around loads of hyperlinks – it isn’t just a difference in price – I am not that bothered by the price of a newspaper in a shop – I just don’ really want to carry it around, can’t post comments and discuss the articles or do a whole range of other stuff.
Sorry to ramble on – it’s just that this all this applies to pc gaming magasines as well. Future plc are about 5 years too late in sorting out their PC Gamer website & forum and over this period appeared utterly clueless compared with eg Eurogamer, or any serious website for that matter. I’m not even sure what they had in mind when they bought PC Zone in the first place – what was the logic of running two pc gaming mags in the UK?
15/07/2010 at 06:18 Red Avatar says:
Someone needs to collect all the old issues and scan them all. I got to love Amiga Power like that as well.
15/07/2010 at 15:44 TeeJay says:
It would be even better if Future plc (and/or the writers who hold the copyright) made use of their back catelogue rather than burying it.
(Stuart Campbell has put some of his PCZone stuff online but it just has the text without the original layout etc http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/world/pczone.htm )
People have been asking PC Gamer to publish some of their classic old reviews for a long time, but I seem to remember there was a legal rights issue involved.
15/07/2010 at 16:15 oceanclub says:
It’s frankly bizarre that PC Gamer haven’t sorted out the rights thing, because I can’t be the only one for whom access to online back-issues of the mag would be a big draw to resubscribe.
P.
15/07/2010 at 06:26 Dude says:
Sniff. I remember my very first PCZ issue, the one with the Carmageddon review. The idea of piledriving an old woman into a mad cow with a shiny red car and earning points for it forever warped me.
RIP.
15/07/2010 at 07:33 Matt says:
I haven’t bought a PC mag in years, but PCZ and PCG were a huge, huge part of my formulative years – I’m pretty sure it’s not exaggerating to say that Zone inducted me into the wonderful world of snarky, filthy, and incredibly funny British wit and influenced all my writing since. Gamer was the big shiny friendly one, but Zone was the lovable, darker underdog.
My proudest moment was finding a framed copy of the issue of PCZ where they reviewed Carmageddon 2 (and Charlie Brooker had to eat his own arse with ketchup, if I recall) at the GameOn exhibition. Sent in a photo and won a graphics card, which was nice.
15/07/2010 at 07:45 9squirrels says:
Wow, I used to read it years ago, and subscribed for a while, I had to give up the subs though when I left the country and emigrated to Australia. I actually picked up a copy a few weeks ago (having recently bought a new updated gaming PC), but seeing as it cost me about $20 and was more than a month out of date, it’s not like I could justify the expense that often, even if I do read the thing cover to cover, unlike my partner’s vague flicking through the Home and Garden mags she buys. It’s a shame, the reviews were always well balanced and not afraid of giving a game a few kicks to the ribs while it was lying on he floor if they felt it deserved it, which is what I expect from a review (seriously, if it’s pants, just come out and say it!).
I’ll maybe go log on to the website and order the last issue and get it shipped over (at ludicrous expense no doubt), I actually went to the local Mag Nation store a couple of days ago to see if they had Augusts issue in yet, but they didn’t. :(
And I actually still appreciate cover disks, it saves me waiting hours for a demo to download, as some of those downloads are ridiculously large. I guess I’ll have to look to a local games mag now.
15/07/2010 at 08:31 King Dong says:
That sucks where can I go and find a copy right now?
15/07/2010 at 10:30 fizz says:
That will teach them to put a woman in charge
15/07/2010 at 10:51 AndrewC says:
Irony detector sweep: inconclusive.
15/07/2010 at 13:19 CMaster says:
I only bought PC Zone once, but that experience was bad enough that I literally never even once picked it up again.
It was trying very, very hard to be a “lads mag” at that point. Full of comments about tits and lager and adverts for actual lads mags.
Also, almost the entire issue was devoted to how carmageddon was the most amazing game ever because it let you run people over. No comment about the generaly rather poor handling, controls etc that everyone else (and even the demo) made clear. Just “OMG squashing people! Haha! Pass me another Stella!”
There were a couple of decent reviews, but the overall unbelieveably purile tone and outlook really put me off – and I was a skinny teenager at the time.
Maybe it was better at other points but then, well, couldn’t rate it.
15/07/2010 at 15:09 Daniel Carvalho says:
I can’t believe this! I loved PC Zone. I still have a beloved issue, one that features Unreal 1!
That issue had me breathless with awesome Unreal screenshots, super helpful level design tutorials for Quake II (if I remember correctly), while making me laugh and chuckle at the same time.
All the best to the witty folks at PC Zone. Sniff, wow, what a legacy, can’t believe it’s ending.
15/07/2010 at 21:39 Frosty says:
I used to read PCZone and some it’s best moments were when it was owned by Dennis publishing. Although a slight decline began when Future took over there were still some great moments as somehow PCZone managed to not only retain some good staff but also managed to hire some of the best new young buck’s in the gaming journalism trade (Steve Hogarty, Ed Zitron and Jon “Log” Blyth).
I loved it because it was perfect: Genuinely funny, not following the trend for reviews (started to suffer during the future era), honest and above all it never took itself too seriously. Unlike how I sometimes feel here (and people shouldn’t take offence at this) I never felt stupid, ignorant or like a peon when I read PCZone. In short: When it needed to be serious it was; at every other moment it was a pure barrel of laughs.
Goodnight Zone.
20/07/2010 at 10:16 fizz144 says:
none to be found my friend
26/08/2010 at 19:34 UK_John says:
The circulation of this and CGW in the States (CGW so more grown up and the one I preferred even though I was in the UK!) matches exactly the decline in PC game release quantities. I remember when I used to see all the PC games mags (at least 4) in the games stores along with PC games taking up 1/3 of the store, now PC games mags have gone just like the shelf space to those dwindling number of PC game releases….!
If PC Zone (and PC Gamer from that point of view!) had been a true advocate to gamers, taking on the gaming industry when they unilaterally decided to move from big boxes to DVD cases, or at least having a debate, their circulation may have stood up. If they took a different view from websites, for example giving just as much space to smaller European published games like Space Rangers 2 the circulation may have stood up, if they had brought in a policy of capsule re-reviews for games that had released patches and given a new score if needed would have helped them differentiate from the web and kept their circulation up, if interviews had been more hard hitting with questions about DRM and 12 hour games for $60 and such, they might have survived.
… But what they did was what all the media did that has now gone. They just said ‘if the industry says DVD cases are better than big boxes, it must be right!’, they started saying ’15 hours is normal for games nowadays rather than creating a discussion about games getting shorter’. They didn’t query how retailer in the UK could get away with charging $30 for HL2 Episode One a 5 hour gameplay game, they just gave it 90% and dais how great the 5 hours were!
All PC media is going to go the way of the dodo, because it has and continues to lick the boot of a games industry that is killing the format!
15/09/2010 at 01:49 hazzamanazz says:
I’m only aware of this now, so excuse me for beign shocked, PC Zone was really a great part of my early game years.
And I’m from Brazil, BTW.
It was 1995 and the only magazines we have here dedicated to games were pure crap, since Brazil was starting to grow as country after so many years of economic crisis.
The only two foreign magazines available was PC Zone and PC Gamer, from US.
I always prefered PCZ by kilometers.
I remembered reading about Quake I and laughing my ass off, the style of writing was very comic.
Ah, the good old days.
I stopped buying the magazine in early 2000, the writing was pretty bad by this time.
Nevertheless, is a great loss.