Paragon Publishing Ltd (or Paragon for short) was a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

in the UK, which published

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

s and other entertainment titles from 1991 to 2003.

Brief history

Paragon Publishing Ltd was formed in a small office in Trowbridge, Wiltshire by ex-

Future Publishing Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

staff Richard Monteiro and Diane Tavener. With a small team of staff they began work on their first publication ''

Sega Pro ''Sega Pro'' was the first publication from Paragon Publishing and catered for the Sega consoles: the Master System, Game Gear and the Mega Drive. Early editorial staff included Dominic Handy (editor), Les Ellis (games editor), Dave Perry (de ...

''. With the success of ''Sega Pro'' the company began expanding and launched several other titles, hiring more staff to produce these new titles. It was not long before the company moved into new premises in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. The company continued to publish magazines for the video games market as well as other areas for the next decade. In July 2003 Paragon Publishing and its 30-odd magazine titles were sold to Highbury House Communications for £32m.

Imagine Publishing Imagine Publishing was a UK-based magazine publisher, which published a number of video games, computing, creative and lifestyle magazines. It was founded on 14 May 2005 with private funds by Damian Butt, Steven Boyd and Mark Kendrick, all we ...

, which was formed by ex-Paragon staff Damian Butt, Steve Boyd and Mark Kendrick, would buy back most of these titles when Highbury themselves went into liquidation in early 2006. Later, in 2016 Imagine Publishing itself was acquired by Future Publishing.

Key titles

Paragon published many titles during its decade run, mainly computer or video games based, but later moved into other areas of entertainment.

''Sega Pro''

The company's first magazine publication and a big success. Covering the early 90s explosion in popularity of

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

as well as the Master System and

Game Gear The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...

. Well-known names on early issues included Dominic Handy, Les Ellis, Dave Perry, James Scullion and Damian Butt. Ran for many years up until

themselves disappeared.

''Mega Power''

Following the success of ''

'', a new title focusing on the

and in particular the

Mega-CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Jap ...

was launched in 1993. The magazine was the first console publication to include a covermounted CD.

''Console XS''

A bi-monthly games console tips magazine launched in 1993. Featuring game cheats, tips, and guides for the consoles of the early 90s. After four issues, the title was split into two: ''Sega XS'', which focused solely on Sega platforms, and ''Super XS'', covering Nintendo games.

''Games World: The Magazine''

Games World ''Games World'' was a British entertainment programme that aired on Sky One originally from 1 March 1993 to 10 March 1995 with Bob Mills as host, and then revived from 9 March 1998 to 1999 with Andy Collins as host. Format The main body of t ...

'' was a video games based TV show broadcast on satellite in the early 90s. The show's producers, Hewland International, gave the rights to produce ''Games World: The Magazine'' to Paragon. The multi-format magazine content was generally centred on

and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

's consoles.

''Nintendo Pro''

As with ''

'', ''Nintendo Pro'' focused on the

range of consoles. It was originally known as N64 Pro and was one of the titles Paragon Publishing acquired with the acquisition of the Macclesfield-based titles of IDG Media.

''Play''

Launched in 1995 by Paragon with Dave Perry as editor. One of the first

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

magazines released covering

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

's PlayStation products, later including the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

, PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 3. It is the UK's longest-running PlayStation magazine, and final issue released in 2016 under

''PowerStation''

Originally a

magazine and now a

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

tips magazine launched at the same time as sister title ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'' by Dave Perry. As with ''Console XS'' content included games cheats, tips and guides. Along with its sister title, ''PowerStation'' was bought by

in 2006.

''Saturn+''

A short-lived

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

magazine that ran for six issues, from Christmas 1995 to February 1997.

''X Gen''

A short-lived multi format magazine in the style of ''

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

'' and ''

EDGE Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

''.

''64 Magazine''

Launched in 1997, ''64 Magazine'' covered

's N64 console.

''Dreamcast Magazine''

Covering

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

, ''Dreamcast Magazine'' was launched in 1999.

''DVD Review''

Launched in 1999 and later purchased by

''CUBE''

Launched in 2001 to cover

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

console.

''Windows Made Easy''

A beginner's guide to Windows, including step-by-step guides and tutorials about using the platform.

''Web Pages Made Easy''

A beginner's guide to creating web pages, including step-by-step guides and tutorials..

''Digital Photography Made Easy''

A beginner's guide to digital photography, launched in 2000, covering camera skills and photo editing.

''PC Essentials''

A quarterly title, launched in 2000, devoted to software that can be downloaded from the internet.

''PC Home''

Launched in November 1992, PC Home provided articles and tutorials for creatives and gamers on a PC.

''PC Basics''

A magazine dedicated to computing, software and hardware, including step-by-step guides, reviews and features.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Dave Perry talks about his time at Paragon Publishing.
(

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

copy)
Imagine Publishings website
Computer magazine publishing companies Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1991 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom 2003 disestablishments in the United Kingdom