Compupress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compupress is a Greek publishing company formed in 1982. Originally the company was formed in order to publish computer magazines and books, through the years though it developed into an innovating little company that created a number of significant new projects helping the propagation of technology awareness mainly among the younger generation.
[edit] The computer magazines
Amongst the company's claims to fame is the publication in January 1983 of the very first Greek computer magazine: Computers For All (Computer Για Ολους) - which is still going strong and celebrated its 250th issue in June 2005. The magazine is currently licensing material from the well-known British magazines PC Plus and PC Answers published by Future Publishing.
Also very well known and fondly remembered amongst today's 30-40 year old crowd, is Pixel, the original Greek home computing magazine during the era of the 8/16-bit micros (Sinclair ZX81, ZX Spectrum, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga etc). During the 1980s the magazine was considered to be the gospel by the majority of the Greek computer users and gamers. (Amongst its other attributes, Pixel was one of the few Greek magazines to have a whole section dedicated to type-in programs.) Essentially Pixel served as the magazine that helped initiate a large number of young Greeks to the computer revolution of the 1980s.
The late 1980s saw the ascension of the IBM PC compatibles (as they were then known) in place of the 8/16-bit home micros and consequently in 1989 Compupress launched PC Master - a Pixel for the next generation machines and users. The new magazine took over where Pixel left and soon established itself as the Greek gamers' magazine for the new millennium. Today PC Master is the leading Greek magazine in the computer-games market, and celebrated its 200th issue in June 2006.
In 2004 Compupress launched bi-monthly editions of Future Publishing’s Linux Format and Computer Music. Although these magazines did not become runaway successes in the Greek market, they are currently in their fourth year of existence.
In 2007 the company launched Update an annual Business Software Guide aimed at the professional.
In 2008 Compupress launched yet another bi-monthly edition of a Future Publishing title, as Digital Camera made it's appearance at the Greek newsstands.
[edit] Spreading the word: The computer fairs
During the 1980s Compupress acted as a new technology evangelist spreading the word in many ways other than the magazines. The company organised a number of Consumer Fairs and Trade Shows pertaining various aspects of what was then considered to be the cutting edge of technology.
Among the various shows the company organised through the 1980s and 1990s, most prominent were the following:
- The Computer Show
- The DeskTop Publishing Show
- The CAD/CAM Show
- The Multimedia Show
- The Internet Show
[edit] Spreading the word: The computer books
Since the early 1980s Compupress had sporadically published a number of computer books, however in 1991 the company decided to launch a branch dedicated solely to this function. Thus was Anubis Publishing formed.
Undoubtedly launching a book publishing branch was not an especially innovative move on part of a magazine publisher. At that time there already existed at least two other well established Greek computer-book publishers. What differentiated Anubis from the rest of the pack though, was the fact that its competitors were strictly publishers of translated books whereas Anubis strived for a balanced publishing mix of original material written by local technical writers and translations of works originally published by well known foreign publishing houses.
During the next years Anubis published more than 200 computer books while later on it diversified into the area of business book publishing. With the advent of the millennium, in a wholly unexpected move, Anubis turned to publishing translations of well-known science-fiction and fantasy books...
[edit] Spreading the word: The TV shows
In 1991 Compupress struck a deal with ERT (Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi), the Greek National TV (at that time the only existing set of channels, given that there was still no private TV in Greece), through which it acquired the right to produce two 13-episode TV Shows promoting the use of computers and new technology. Show number one (Computers: Tools of the Year 2000) would deal with computers in the office and in everyday life while show number two (The Computer Show) would deal in computer games. Both shows would be fully financed by Compupress which would recuperate the costs by finding the required sponsors amongst the local computer companies.
The shows aired on time and (given the nature of the beast...) did quite well, although neither Compupress nor ERT were eager to renew the agreement for a second cycle... Apart from the financial aspect however, the two shows were the very first attempt to bring new technology and computers to the Greek masses through TV, and undoubtedly succeeded in creating awareness around the subject.
In 2008, celebrating 25 years of publishing "Computers For All", the magazine distributed the episodes of the two 17-year old TV series on the covermounted DVD-ROM.
[edit] Spreading the word: CompuLink BBS and the Internet
In 1992 Compupress launched CompuLink the largest and more sophisticated Bulletin Board System Greece had ever known. Initially CompuLink was just a large SCO UNIX-based BBS running CoSy (the same well-known system used by the British CIX) soon though it added a number of unique facilities for its users. The CompuLink team developed and/or purchased on-line services for various target-groups relating to the various computer magazines Compupress was publishing at that time. Amongst its services was a full-text searching facility for a large number of Greek magazines (apart from Compupress' own), a number of on-line games (most notably Air Warrior and Federation II), an online database with scientific and business news, online access to a daily newspaper custom-made according to each users' preferences etc.
CompuLink was initially designed as an Athens-based system with maybe 100 local telephone lines and (for that time period) state-of-the-art modems at 2,400 - 9,600 baud. It quickly became apparent that the success of the venture would lead on to a more widespread presence. Soon local PoPs appeared all over Greece and CompuLink Network was born.
CompuLink was essentially the way most Greek computer users came to have their first on-line experience. At that time it seemed to be a runaway success and nobody can really tell what its future would have been were it not for the rise of the Internet. In April 1994 CompuLink Network became the first Greek commercial dial-up Internet provider. This area however proved to be extremely competitive as, in the following years, a number of major players (Otenet, FORTHnet etc) entered the market. In 1999 Compupress decided to exit the Internet provider arena and sold CompuLink Network to a group of investors.
Unfortunately the new management failed to lead CompuLink Network to safe harbour and a few years later the fledgling company declared bankruptcy.
[edit] Beyond CompuLink: The digital content experience
In 2000 Compupress proceeded to launch a new branch under the name of Digital Content (or DigiCon as it came to be known) in order to continue having an active presence in the area of web development and on-line services. Through this branch Compupress managed the web sites of its own magazines as well as a number of new web services that, at the time, were believed to be promising.
Amongst the services DigiCon developed and/or acquired in the coming years were the following:
- On-line games: The 4th Coming (T4C)
- Auction sites: eBazaar
- e-book publishing: e-bookshop
- Content sites: GameWeb, CompuWeb
[edit] Beyond computers: The other faces of Compupress
Notwithstanding its own name’s prefix, Compupress eventually evolved into a publishing company that went beyond computer magazines. Following are a number of the company’s past and current ventures in other areas:
[edit] Business and trade magazines
In the mid-eighties the company created a branch named Business Press through which it published a number of magazines in the business area. Amongst these most prominent were Information and Today’s Enterprise (Σύγχρονη Επιχείρηση), two publications that urged the Greek companies of that period to abandon older concepts and enter the informatics era. Both magazines did quite well for a few years but eventually folded during the early nineties.
In 1989 Compupress published Touristiki Agora (Τουριστική Αγορά), a trade monthly in the area of the Greek tourism industry. Within the next few years the magazine became the market-leader - a position it still holds today. Amongst the special editions that Touristiki Agora created during the past 19 years, Meet In Greece should be mentioned as the only English-language Conference Guide currently published in Greece.
In 2001 the company launched Food Service, a trade monthly for the Food & Beverage market. The magazine is currently the market-leader and has established a number of successful annual editions amongst which Wine Review Guide is but the latest.
[edit] Science magazines
In the mid-nineties Compupress launched Millennium a science monthly that licensed material from Discover magazine. Notwithstanding the fact that the magazine was exceptionally well-made and had a number of hardcore devotees, it proved financially unviable and folded two years later.
[edit] Consumer technology magazines
In 2003 the company launched Digital Living, a monthly magazine licensing material from Future Publishing's Digital Home and Hi-Fi Choice and having a well known movie as a covermount DVD. Initially the magazine did quite well but in less than two years declining circulation forced it to fold as DVDs were now practically given away by the Greek newspapers.
In November 2005 Compupress launched Mobile Magazine aimed at the mobile telephone users. By early 2006 the magazine had been incorporated as a supplement to Computers For All.
In November 2005 the company also launched Play-On! a cross-console monthly for the video-games market which proved to be extremely short-lived as it failed to grab the public's attention.
[edit] Fantasy and science fiction
During the late nineties Anubis, the company’s book-publishing branch, turned to translating fantasy and science-fiction best-sellers in order to compensate for the declining computer-book sales figures. In the next few years the company gradually shifted its production from computer and business-related titles to fantasy and science-fiction. Amongst the classic authors that Anubis has introduced to the Greek public are Frank Herbert (Dune series), George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire series), Terry Brooks (Shannara series), Guy Gavriel Kay (The Fionavar Tapestry, Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, The Lions of Al-Rassan, The Sarantine Mosaic),Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth series), Robin Hobb (The Farseer trilogy, The Liveship Traders trilogy), David Gemmell (Drenai and Rigante series) to quote just a few. Apart from these classic works of fantasy and science-fiction, Anubis has also published more than 60 books of the classic RPG Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms series licensed from Wizards of the Coast.
In 2002 Compupress launched CineFan a monthly dedicated to fantasy and science-fiction film fans. This magazine also carried a well known movie from this genre as a DVD covermount. CineFan enjoyed a few relatively successful years before sharing the fate of Digital Living.
[edit] Comics and comics magazines
In 2005 Anubis Comics was created and formed a number of successful licensing agreements with DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and other major comic book publishers. Consequently today Compupress publishes DC Universe, (a monthly magazine incorporating two DC stories per issue as well as a number of articles produced locally), Batman, Superman, Superman/Batman, JLA, The Batman strikes!, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Conan the Barbarian, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Winx Club and Pixie Mag.
In June 2006 Anubis Comics launched Fantasy Heroes, a monthly dedicated to the fantasy genre, serialising the comic adaptations of both the Dark Elf Trilogy and The Hedge Knight by Devil's Due Publishing and DB Pro respectively. In 2007 Dragons of Autumn Twilight was added when the Hedge Knight story-arc ended, and in 2008 Anita Blake and Raymond Feist's Magician were introduced to the magazine.
[edit] Graphic novels
Since 2005, Anubis Comics has published a number of well-known graphic novels amongst which most prominent are Allan Moore's V for Vendetta, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Endless Nights, G.R.R.Martin's The Hedge Knight, Superman: Birthright, Batman: Hush, Ultimate Iron Man, as well as a number of classic B&W Conan the Barbarian graphic novels.
In May 2008 Anubis published 1453, its first original Greek graphic novel dealing with the fall of Constantinople. (Story by Orestes Manousos - Art by Nikos Pagonis). The publication coincided with the 555th anniversary of the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
[edit] Manga
In 2006 the company formed the Anubis Manga branch which launched AkaSuki the first shōjo manga monthly to be published in Greece, as well as Manga No Sekai, an introductory edition covering the basics of Japanese manga products and terminology. Manga No Sekai carried the well-known anime Ghost in the Shell as a covermount.
In 2007 Anubis Manga begun publishing manga in tankoubon format licensed from Tokyopop (Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy, Princess Ai Trilogy, Dramacon Trilogy, War Angels Trilogy) and Carlsen Verlag.
In 2008 Anubis Manga became the first Greek company to license a number of best-selling original Japanese manga from Shueisha and Kodansha. Among these are Naruto, Rurouni Kenshin, Shaman King, Love Hina and Blade of the Immortal.
[edit] Puzzle & crossword magazines
In the summer of 2005 Compupress launched the first Greek Sudoku puzzle magazine. Since then it has followed-up with two biweeklies, as well as a magazine for mind-games. In 2007 the company entered the local crossword magazine market launching the weekly Lytis (Λύτης) which proved to be extremely short-lived.
[edit] Military history magazines
In 2006 Compupress launched World Military History (Παγκόσμια Πολεμική Ιστορία) entering the -already crowded- Greek military history magazine arena. This magazine has since been complemented by a number of special editions carrying DVDs concerning various military subjects. In 2008, responding to declining sales, the magazine repositioned itself as a bi-monthly.
