Future US
Encyclopedia
Future US is a United States media
corporation
specializing in targeted
magazine
s and website
s in the video games, music
, and technology
markets
. Future US is headquartered in the South San Francisco
with offices in New York City and Los Angeles. Future US is owned by parent company, Future plc, an international publishing
company based in the United Kingdom.
Its magazines include:
Future also publishes Cheat Planet, the largest cheat code database
on the World Wide Web
, as well as Next Generation, a US video game industry news website. In January 2006, Future launched GamesRadar
, a video and computer games site, in the United States and the UK.
(not to be confused with the Chris Anderson, Wireds Editor-in-Chief and author of the The Long Tail) Future Publishing was the fastest growing UK publisher of the nineties. From a start in computer and video games magazines, Future successfully diversified into sports, entertainment, computing and general interest magazines eventually becoming the UK's fourth largest publisher.
Anderson wanted to expand Future into the US, and bought struggling Greensboro NC games mag publisher GP Publications, publisher of Game Players magazine. The company launched a number of titles including PC Gamer, and relocated from North Carolina to the Bay area, occupying various properties in Burlingame and South San Francisco. When Anderson sold Future to Pearson PLC he retained GP, now renamed Imagine, and operated it as his sole company for a few years. However when Future bought itself out from Pearson in an MBO, Anderson came back on board, and when Future floated on the stock exchange in 1999 Imagine's print magazines were merged with Future Publishing to form the Future Network PLC, a company floated on the London Stock Exchange
(symbol FUTR). The on-line properties, including IGN
, were put into a separate company snowball.com.
Buoyed by the Internet economy and the success of Business 2.0
in the US (and subsequently in the UK, France, Italy and Germany), Future rode the boom of the late nineties. During this period the company won the exclusive worldwide rights to produce the official magazine for Microsoft
's Xbox
video game console
and cemented its position as a leader in the games market.
In the spring of 2001, buffeted by economic factors and the market downturn, Future Network USA went through a strategic reset of its business that included the closure of some titles and Internet operations and the sale of Business 2.0 to AOL/Time Warner
.
By early fall 2002, Imagine Media had refocused on its core business, publishing five games and technology magazines: Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, PSM - 100% Independent PlayStation 2 magazine, Maximum PC and MacAddict. It was then that Imagine became Future Network USA, adopting the name of its parent company, Future plc.
Future used this strong portfolio and its strength in creating media for young men as a platform for growth into the action sports and music markets. In December 2005, after three years of organic growth and strategic acquisition, Future Network USA became Future US, to reflect its diversification into markets beyond games and technology.
In 2005, Future US made its first venture into the women's market with the launch of Scrapbook Answers and with the addition of Women's Health & Fitness, Pregnancy, and Decorating Spaces, to its portfolio of titles with the Future plc acquisition of Highbury House plc.
On September 19, 2007, Nintendo
and Future announced that Future US would obtain the publishing rights to Nintendo Power
magazine. This came into effect with the creation of issue #222 (December 2007).
On October 1, 2007, it was announced that Future US would be making PlayStation: The Official Magazine
, which ended up replacing PSM and first hit newsstands in November 2007. With this launch, Future US is the publisher of the official magazines of all three major console manufacturers in the US.
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
corporation
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
specializing in targeted
Targeted advertising
Targeted advertising is a type of advertising whereby advertisements are placed so as to reach consumers based on various traits such as demographics, purchase history, or observed behavior....
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s and website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s in the video games, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
markets
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
. Future US is headquartered in the South San Francisco
South San Francisco, California
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area...
with offices in New York City and Los Angeles. Future US is owned by parent company, Future plc, an international publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
company based in the United Kingdom.
Its magazines include:
- Official Xbox MagazineOfficial Xbox MagazineOfficial Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
- Maximum PCMaximum PCMaximum PC, formerly known as boot, is an American magazine and web site published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs...
- PC GamerPC GamerPC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
- Guitar WorldGuitar WorldGuitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
- Mac|Life (formerly MacAddict)
- Nintendo PowerNintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
(formerly published by Nintendo) - PlayStation: The Official MagazinePlayStation: The Official MagazinePlayStation: The Official Magazine is a magazine originally known as PlayStation Magazine . After Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine was canceled, Sony Computer Entertainment announced on October 1, 2007 that PSM would become "PlayStation: The Official Magazine"...
- Pregnancy
- RevolverRevolver (magazine)Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
Future also publishes Cheat Planet, the largest cheat code database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, as well as Next Generation, a US video game industry news website. In January 2006, Future launched GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
, a video and computer games site, in the United States and the UK.
History
Founded in 1985 in the UK by Chris AndersonChris Anderson (TED)
Chris Anderson is the curator of TED , which hosts conferences in the US and Europe each year and an open-access website where TED talks can be viewed by the public. Previously he founded Future Publishing....
(not to be confused with the Chris Anderson, Wireds Editor-in-Chief and author of the The Long Tail) Future Publishing was the fastest growing UK publisher of the nineties. From a start in computer and video games magazines, Future successfully diversified into sports, entertainment, computing and general interest magazines eventually becoming the UK's fourth largest publisher.
Anderson wanted to expand Future into the US, and bought struggling Greensboro NC games mag publisher GP Publications, publisher of Game Players magazine. The company launched a number of titles including PC Gamer, and relocated from North Carolina to the Bay area, occupying various properties in Burlingame and South San Francisco. When Anderson sold Future to Pearson PLC he retained GP, now renamed Imagine, and operated it as his sole company for a few years. However when Future bought itself out from Pearson in an MBO, Anderson came back on board, and when Future floated on the stock exchange in 1999 Imagine's print magazines were merged with Future Publishing to form the Future Network PLC, a company floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
(symbol FUTR). The on-line properties, including IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, were put into a separate company snowball.com.
Buoyed by the Internet economy and the success of Business 2.0
Business 2.0
Business 2.0 was a monthly magazine publication founded by magazine entrepreneur Chris Anderson, Mark Gross, and journalist James Daly in order to chronicle the rise of the "New Economy"...
in the US (and subsequently in the UK, France, Italy and Germany), Future rode the boom of the late nineties. During this period the company won the exclusive worldwide rights to produce the official magazine for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
and cemented its position as a leader in the games market.
In the spring of 2001, buffeted by economic factors and the market downturn, Future Network USA went through a strategic reset of its business that included the closure of some titles and Internet operations and the sale of Business 2.0 to AOL/Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
.
By early fall 2002, Imagine Media had refocused on its core business, publishing five games and technology magazines: Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, PSM - 100% Independent PlayStation 2 magazine, Maximum PC and MacAddict. It was then that Imagine became Future Network USA, adopting the name of its parent company, Future plc.
Future used this strong portfolio and its strength in creating media for young men as a platform for growth into the action sports and music markets. In December 2005, after three years of organic growth and strategic acquisition, Future Network USA became Future US, to reflect its diversification into markets beyond games and technology.
In 2005, Future US made its first venture into the women's market with the launch of Scrapbook Answers and with the addition of Women's Health & Fitness, Pregnancy, and Decorating Spaces, to its portfolio of titles with the Future plc acquisition of Highbury House plc.
On September 19, 2007, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
and Future announced that Future US would obtain the publishing rights to Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
magazine. This came into effect with the creation of issue #222 (December 2007).
On October 1, 2007, it was announced that Future US would be making PlayStation: The Official Magazine
PlayStation: The Official Magazine
PlayStation: The Official Magazine is a magazine originally known as PlayStation Magazine . After Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine was canceled, Sony Computer Entertainment announced on October 1, 2007 that PSM would become "PlayStation: The Official Magazine"...
, which ended up replacing PSM and first hit newsstands in November 2007. With this launch, Future US is the publisher of the official magazines of all three major console manufacturers in the US.
Defunct Titles
- Daily RadarDaily RadarDaily Radar was a news aggregator and portal site for Future US's male-oriented content, including sports, film and television, and video games....
- Decorating Spaces
- Do!
- Future Music
- Future Snowboarding Magazine
- Guitar One
- Guitar World Acoustic
- Guitar World Legends
- Guitar World's Bass Guitar
- Maximum Linux
- Men's Edge
- Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine
- PC AcceleratorPC AcceleratorPC Accelerator was a personal computer game magazine that was published by Imagine Media . It was known for its Maxim-like humor and photography. Its last issue was dated June 2000. After the split up of the magazine, editor-in-chief Mike Salmon went on to start the Official Xbox Magazine...
- PSMPlayStation: The Official MagazinePlayStation: The Official Magazine is a magazine originally known as PlayStation Magazine . After Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine was canceled, Sony Computer Entertainment announced on October 1, 2007 that PSM would become "PlayStation: The Official Magazine"...
- RevolutionRevolutionA revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
- Scrapbook Answers
- Skateboard Trade News
- Snowboard Trade News
- T3T3 magazineT3 magazine is a UK-based technology magazine, which specialises in gadgets, gizmos, and other technology.Originally, T3 stood for Tomorrow's Technology Today, but this isn't used anywhere in the magazine or on the website anymore. It's exclusively referred to as T3 or T3.com. The magazine is...
- The Net
- Total Movie
- Women's Health & Fitness