It is with great regret that I inform you that CU Amiga Magazine will be ceasing publication, the October 1998 will be the last ever issue.
CU Amiga has been around ever since the C64 days when it was called Commodore User, ever since then it has gained itself an excellent following even selling as much as 100,000 copies a month back in the boom days for the Amiga. However, recently, these numbers have dropped massivly and despite the fact that it is currently the best selling Amiga magazine, it wasn't making a profit.
The magazine will be sadly missed, the cover CD's were something thay were enjoyed by lots of people and the general contents of the magazine couldn't be beaten.
This is, and there is no point denying it, a big blow to the Amiga. We only have one major print magazine going now and that itself says a lot about the current state of the market. The full implications of this are still yet to be seen, however, I'm sure a lot of games publishers especially won't be quite sure what to do.
I personally, would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at CU for all the hard work they have put into it to make it the magazine that it was and one thing is for certain, they will certainly be missed by me and many others.
The full statement issued by CU can be found below. Please read all of it, all of your questions will hopefully be answered:-
It is with great regret that I have to inform you that the October 1998 issue of CU Amiga will be the last ever published. CU Amiga Magazine recently dipped into a state of unprofitability, from which it looked unlikely to emerge. The decision to close the magazine was taken by EMAP in light of the magazine's overall financial performance and the lack of prospects for any immediate or short term recovery.
It is ironic that CU Amiga should close as the world's best selling Amiga magazine, but recently its financial returns have started to outweigh its overheads. While it has been customary for costs to be cutin order to stave off the closure of magazines, it was decided that CU Amiga would be laid to rest without suffering the indignities of having half its pages removed and the remaineder printed on toilet paper in black and white. Neither will it be sold off to another company to be published on a shoe string and run into the ground.
The CU Amiga editorial team were obviously very sorry to hear the news and would like to pass on their sincere thanks to everyone who has helped make CU Amiga such a success and so much fun to work on over its many years of existence.
Further details can be found on the CU Amiga website:
< HREF="http://www.cu-amiga.co.uk">http://www.cu-amiga.co.uk
Q: Why is CU Amiga closing?
A: Because it is no longer making a profit and therefore cannot continue to be published.
Q: How can the best selling Amiga magazine not make a profit when other smaller magazines manage to do it?
A: Smaller magazines have different publishing set-ups, different costs and different distribution channels. Many are run at a slight loss or at break-even by dedicated people as extended hobbies. CU Amiga is published by a major magazine publishing company (EMAP), and as a Publicly Limited Company (PLC) EMAP must show its shareholders that it is making their money work, which means they cannot publish magazines that make a loss.
Q: Why are costs not cut in order to save the magazine?
A: We feel it is better to leave on a high note than continually reduce the size of the magazine, remove the disks, reduce staff and investment in the title to keep it going regardless of quality.
Q: Surely though something can be done?
A: We could reduce the magazine to a low quality pamphlet that was poorly researched and written but then it wouldn't be worth the £4.50/£5.99 cover price.
Q: Why don't the staff all take a pay cut?
A: Would you do the same?
Q: Why have you lead us to believe the magazine would not close?
A: We never did that. We have always been honest and said that there would come a time (if things did not pick up) when the magazine would no longer be profitable. No-one knew when that time would be. Only very recently did it become apparent that the time was now.
Q: Is this a ploy to get Amiga users to buy PCs?
A: No. CU Amiga's publisher has no PC magazines anyway.
Q: Will "CU Amiga" be turned into "CU PC"?
A: No.
Q: I have a subscription. How do I get a refund on issues I will not get?
A: See updated website FAQ for details.
Q: Why isn't the magazine sold to a publisher who can make a profit from it?
A: Sacrifices would have to be made by any pubilsher that would compromise the magazine so that it would no longer be the CU Amiga you currently know.
Q: Will CU Amiga return when the new Super Amiga is released?
A: We hope so, although we cannot make any promises on that one. That decision will be in the hands of our (ex) publisher (EMAP).
Q: Can I take this opportunity to thank the team for their dedication to the magazine and the Amiga community?
A: Of course you can. Thank you.
Q: And what about us?
A: Well, there's always Amiga Format (as far as we know at this point anyway). Nick and Ben will look after you. We really are very sorry to have to leave you like this. We would all love to go on working on the magazine well into the future but it's just not possible. One way or another we'll be around when the Super Amiga surfaces, even though it most likely won't be a Class of 98 style reunion of the whole team under the old banner.
Q: So is it time to pack the Amiga away for good?
A: No! Keep on keeping on and we'll see you soon in happier times.
Tony Horgan - Editor, CU Amiga Magazine
