Editor Liu Wei Frequency Monthly Publisher Popular Science Press | Categories Video games Circulation 185,000 First issue June 1994 | |
Play (simplified Chinese: 家用电脑与游戏; pinyin: Jiāyòng Diànnǎo Yǔ Yóuxì; literally: "Home Computer Game") was a Chinese game-and-software oriented magazine 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 games and console games. 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.
In October 2013, a tweet from Play's official microblog, announced that the November-December issue (Issue #231) would be released as a combined issue with a farewell-like statement. 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; and a general lack of a distinctive character. Following only one year after the closure of the prominent journal Diànzǐ Yóuxì Ruǎnjiàn, 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, GamePro, and Nintendo Power as an example of the global nature of the decline in printed publications.