''Play'' () was a Chinese game-and-software oriented
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 ...
founded in October 1993
[ and first officially published in June 1994 by Popular Science Press (科学普及出版社; Kēxué Pŭjí Chūbănshè). The magazine was originally named ''Jiāyòng Diànnǎo Yǔ Yóuxìjī'' (家用电脑与游戏机; lit. "Home Computer and Game Console"), and focused on both ]PC game
A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...
s and console game
A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...
s. In January 2001 it was renamed to its current name and its coverage shifted to focus on PC games exclusively, making it the first specialized PC gaming magazine in China. Subsequently ''Play'' became one of the most important gaming magazines in mainland China.[) would be released as a combined issue with a farewell-like statement.]
Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...
. 8 October 2013 According to Gamersky.com, the stoppage in publishing came due to both human and environmental factor: Reader preference for quantity rather than quality of information; Too much advertisement content; The increased role of internet-based video game journalism
Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicat ...
; and a general lack of a distinctive character.Diànzǐ Yóuxì Ruǎnjiàn
''Diànzǐ Yóuxì Ruǎnjiàn'' (; also known by the Portmanteau#Chinese, portmanteau abbreviation ''Diàn Ruǎn'' (电软; lit. "Electro Soft")) is China's earliest video game magazine.Staff.电子游戏软件 - 期刊简介" 中文科技期刊数 ...
'', the shutdown of ''Play'' after nearly 20 years of continual publication has been regarded in context with the earlier shutdown of big-name Western magazines like ''Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'', ''GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'', and ''Nintendo Power
''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...
'' as an example of the global nature of the decline in printed publications.[
]
Historical timeline
*October 1993 - State Science and Technology Commission
The Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, formerly the State Science and Technology Commission, is the central government ministry which coordinates science and technology activities in the country. The office is ...
approves the founding of ''Jiāyòng Diànnǎo Yǔ Yóuxìjī'' (家用电脑与游戏机; lit. "Home Computer and Game Console") as a Popular Science Press publication.[
*June 1994 - The magazine's premier issue is released and publications continue bi-monthly.][
*January 1995 - Release schedules are increased to make the magazine a monthly publication, and growing circulation figures place the publication among the top 10 most widely read Chinese periodicals.][
*January 2001 - The magazine is renamed to ''Jiāyòng Diànnǎo Yǔ Yóuxì'' (家用电脑与游戏; lit. "Home Computer Game") and shifts emphasis solely to the PC game market.][ At this point it also adopts its English moniker, ''Play''.
*January 2002 - The magazine becomes a full-color publication.][
*2003 - The magazine is honored by ]GAPP
GapP is a counting complexity class, consisting of all of the functions ''f'' such that there exists a polynomial-time non-deterministic Turing machine ''M'' where, for any input ''x'', ''f(x)'' is equal to the number of accepting paths of ''M'' ...
who award it prestigious Jin Ling Awards for Best Game-Related Media and Chinese Game Industry's Most Influential annual game-related media. The magazine is subsequently granted exhibition space at the prestigious ChinaJoy
ChinaJoy or China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference () is a digital entertainment expo held annually in Shanghai, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of c ...
conference.[
*October 2013 - The magazine announced its final issue for November-December 2013.][
]
References
External links
* {{in lang, zh-cn
1994 establishments in China
2013 disestablishments in China
Chinese-language magazines
Defunct computer magazines
Defunct magazines published in China
Home computer magazines
Magazines established in 1994
Magazines disestablished in 2013
Magazines published in Beijing
Video game magazines published in China