Paragon to launch gaming titles

Paragon Publishing is launching three games magazines - Pokemon World, Strategy Player and a PlayStation 2 magazine P2.

P2 debuts on 27 September and joins a stable that already includes Play, PlayStation Pro and Planet PlayStation.

The magazine will compete with Future Publishing's Official PlayStation 2 Magazine, which launches on 20 October to coincide with the UK arrival of Sony's new games format on 26 October. Another rival is Engine from Engine Publishing.

The glossy P2 will be published 13 times a year with a 100,000 distribution, a cover price of pounds 3.50 and a sales target of 60,000. Most issues will be promoted with DVDs and other covermounts.

The 132-page first issue carries 13 pages of ads, which are expected to build to 20 pages.

P2 is hoping to appeal to early adopters who are desperate for information on the new format and keen to upgrade their existing consoles.

Strategy Player, which launches on 28 September, is dedicated to strategy, role-playing and adventure games - the biggest selling genre of PC games.

It is hoping to appeal to ABC1 males who are keen gamers and spend more than 20 hours a week playing mind-taxing games such as Civilisation 2, Command & Conquer and Homeworld.

The 116-page monthly magazine will have a print run of 45,000, a cover price of pounds 4.99 and will be covermounted with a CD featuring game demos.

The first issue contains 14 pages of ads for games manufacturers.

Editor Geoff Spick would not reveal the sales target but said Strategy Player would compete with Crimson Publishing's PC Strategy Games, which launched last year and sells around 25,000.

The monthly Pokemon World also debuts on 28 September, aiming to capitalise on the popularity of the game among seven- to 14-year-old boys and girls.

The first 52-page issue carries seven pages of ads. The print run is 100,000 with a sales target of 70,000 and a pounds 2.50 cover price. Each issue will contain stickers, posters and competitions.