ABC Jul – Dec 2001 Computer, Gaming And Internet Magazines

The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 14 February 2002. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date, and will thereafter be amended in MediaTel’s Press database. For full notes on how NewsLine’s reports are compiled please see Important Notes: ABC Jul-Dec 2001.

The increasingly overcrowded computer magazines sector fell by 9.3% overall, with all of the major titles seeing circulation decline. VNU’s market leading title Computeractive and Dennis Publishing’s PC Pro bore the brunt of the downturn, the former fell 15.1% to 278,570 and the latter saw circulation slip 13.7% to 134,101.

Among the smaller circulating titles Paragon’s PC Home and VNU’s What PC saw the most significant decreases in circulation, both dropping 23.8%. Future Publishing’s PC Answers was one of only three titles to increase its circulation, adding 10.4% to 41,111.

The sector saw a number of new additions, with VNU’s Computeractive Web Guide reporting an initial circulation of 26,033 and Paragon Publishing’s PC First Aid entering with an ABC of 14,557.

Despite only managing a modest 2% increase in overall circulation the gaming sector saw a significant amount of movement, with titles attached to newer consoles benefiting at the expense of those relating to older ones. This was made clear in the case of Future Publishing’s Official Playstation 2, which saw a 53.7% increase in circulation to 125,895, while Official Playstation magazine slipped 52.5% to 102,332.

Further growth in the sector is expected over the next year with new launches, including one from Future Publishing (see Future Promotes Xbox Launch), being planned to tie in with the release of Microsoft’s Xbox console.

The internet magazine sector saw circulation rise by 5.5% overall, with the increase in the level of internet connectivity prompting the launch of IPC’s Web User, which reported an initial circulation of 70,508 and VNU’s Web Active, which debuted at 40,145. However, the appeal of the niche market appears to be limited with all but one of the existing titles seeing circulation fall.

The sector’s worst casualties were Emap’s Internet, which saw a 46.3% decline in circulation to 25,072 and Paragon’s Internet Made Easy, which fell 32.8% to 17,361.

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