You know, statistics can be made to say almost anything. For example 100% of women polled said I’m the handsomest man they’d ever seen (note – sample consists entirely of my mother). So when it came to light that Imagine Publishing’s figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) showed that their X360 magazine had risen over the past six months I was more than a little curious. I mean after all, isn’t print dead? Well not quite. For the past six months it seems that X360’s circulation has risen a stellar, wait for it, 0.1 percent. That’s right they’ve gained an extra 24 readers compared to the previous six-months rising from 26,068 to 26,092. Sadly this massive rise isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as the same figures also show a year-on-year drop of 13.6 percent. Oh dear, what did I just say about statistics?
At the same time it seems that there’s no hope for 360 magazine as it has lost 11.4 percent in its year-on-year figures with no silver lining. Their readership now sits at a meager 11,518. This makes me extra sad as I absolutely love 360 magazine, and am considering getting a subscription once I have some hard-earned cash in my pocket. If you care about 360 news at all I advise you go pick it up, it’s like TSA but in print form. Hopefully these figure don’t spell the end for either magazine, although I do predict a possible merger between the two with X360 absorbing its less successful sister publication. These frankly dreadful figures don’t exactly bode well for independent magazines in general, particularly given the news yesterday that Future Publishing’s PlayStation World title is no more. However with the rumours flying about of an EGM revival things may be looking up for print media in the near future. A man can dream can’t he?
Source: MCV