Associated Media
In addition to the magazine itself there are several websites that are closely linked with it. The official PC PowerPlay website was launched in 2001, was taken offline following the collapse of the online division of publishing company Next Media, then lay dormant until July 2006.
The current website includes features and news, but most traffic on the site goes to the PC PowerPlay forums.
The forum database has been largely preserved across a number of technology migrations. It first began on a ColdFusion-powered site in 2001, then moved to phpBB and was converted to vBulletin in 2007.
The forums provide an environment for the discussion of gaming and computer related software and technology. Within the forums there are also sections dedicated to general chat and banter, serious discussion regarding Australian national, regional and international issues and a section for discussion of TV shows, films and music. This site is designed to allow the organization of multiplayer games amongst the PCPP readers and forum members.
The "general chat" section of the PCPP Forum is titled "Rhubarb", because of editor Anthony Fordham's love of the old British joke of having extras in movie crowd scenes say "rhubarbrhubarbrhubarb" to simulate incidental conversation.
A website re-launch occurred on the 22nd of April 2009, consisting of a customised Joomla install and layout and featured regularly updated blogs, news and features. The site again entered a period of disuse shortly thereafter.
On Wednesday, March 12, 2010, the PCPP website and forum software were replaced with a CMS provided by CyberGamer. This software also powers the cybergamer.com.au website. PCPP is now listed as a 'Media Partner' of CyberGamer whilst CyberGamer now receives advertising space within PCPP and PCPP's sister magazine, Hyper. A press release was issued on March 18 detailing the arrangement between both parties. As part of this online merger, PCPP's established community were incorporated within the CyberGamer Network. The CyberGamer Network acts as a single-sign on service for all CyberGamer-powered sites. Hyper Magazine was due to migrate their web presence to a CyberGamer network powered system on April 8, 2010.
The transition to the CyberGamer forums have generally been considered to have been handled badly by many short and long term forum participants and it remains to be seen if the level of forum participation will return to its former heights.
On the 12th August, 2010, PC Powerplay's then-editor, Anthony Fordham, announced that the PCPP Forums would be reverted back to the old vBulletin software, stating that the PC Powerplay community were not happy with the current CyberGamer software.
This conversion has stopped, as of the start of 2011, and community support continues to dwindle.
Read more about this topic: PC PowerPlay
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