It's times like these that make game bloggers and journalists like myself cry. Mostly, it's because magazines are the format that brought the love of gaming to the forefront of many gamers' hearts. That is why it saddens me to say that the US version of "Official PlayStation Magazine" will be printing its final issue in January 2007.

According to a statement by Ziff Davis, its American publisher, it seems the magazine doesn't fit the strategic vision of the company. Known by many readers to be the magazine that always has a demo disc of goodies inside, the PlayStation 3's online capabilities have apparently made the idea of demo discs obsolete.

Scott McCarthy, President of the Ziff Davis Game Group, explained the effect of the PS3's online capabilities on the market. "With this next generation of game consoles," he said, "the days of having to bundle a disc with a magazine to distribute games-related content are over. And the disc has clearly been a major driver for consumer interest in premium-priced, platform-specific magazines in the past, when the magazine disc was the only way gamers could get such content."

We're all going to miss the American "Official PlayStation Magazine". Hopefully, it's charm and words might still live on through the PS3, as the Ziff Davis Game Group is going to work with Sony to bring original content specifically for the PS3. Whether that means we'll see a PS3 version of the OPM remains to be seen, but it's a nice thought nevertheless.