Playable UMD Demo Discs with the New “Official PSP Guidebook”

Fancy a magazine with playable UMD demos discs? Robin Parker from MediaWeek reports that Future is to publish a bi-monthly magazine – “Official PSP Guidebook” dedicated to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) beginning April 27, 2006.

By Robin Parker
MediaWeek. 2006-03-17 12:03 PM

Official PSP Guidebook replaces a series of irregularly-published PlayStation 2 magazine specials, largely covering the PSP console, which recorded an average ABC of 31,859 last year.

On sale from 27 April, this is the third magazine dedicated to the console. Imagine bought the monthly title Go Play from Highbury last year while in January, start-up publisher Evolve Publishing launched the four-weekly title Pure PSP with a print run of 40,000.

Unlike existing titles, the magazine will offer playable demos of new games on a cover mounted UMD disc.

Future is also in the process of overhauling its ailing unofficial PlayStation titles, PlayStation World and PSM2, to cover the forthcoming PlayStation 3 console, following Sony’s announcement last week of a worldwide November launch.

In 2005, PSW’s circulation fell 37.6% to 70,077 and PSM2’s dropped 25.7% to 54,442. Future will re-launch both titles this summer, though Sony has yet to award a license for an official PlayStation 3 magazine to replace Future’s established Official PlayStation 2.