Richard Leadbetter - Deputy Editor
Rich joined CVG for issue 107 (October 1990). He actually contributed to Mean Machines from issue one – however because Gary Harrod didn't have time to create Rich in 'Manga' form, his comments were credited to Matt Regan. He joined MM properly in issue 9, after Matt’s departure. In his editorial for that issue, Julian had this to say about the new addition to the team:
"If you haven't ever heard of him before, Dick hangs out in Witham, Essex where he terrorises the populace with his fiendish phone-box frolics...He's a keen 'photographer', part-time gigolo and housewife's choice for the title of Witham Town Most Handsome Hair Award. What impressed the panel of judges from the local women's institute most of all was not just that his flick is beautifully sculptured, it is aerodynamically designed to have a drag co-efficient of only 1.4, so it doesn't slow him down when he's making that escape from an irate husband"
He sided with Mean Machines Sega after the split. It eventually changed it's name to Official Sega Saturn Magazine. Also during this time, Rich went on to publish Maximum (with Gary Harrod doing the designing). Maximum only lasted a handful of issues, which was a shame because it was a fantastic mag that concentrated on Japanese and American releases rather than official ones and devoted a huge amount of space to screenshots and general game information, whereas other magazines just tend to review the game and be done with it. Rich has revealed in the exclusive Mean Machines Archive Interview that EMAP was the main reason for the death of the publication.He joined Computec Media UK in 2000, and published Playstation World (PSW) the same year. The magazine was a runaway success, thanks to its low price point and inclusion of a DVD packed with all the latest news and video footage. In 2003, Computec Media UK was purchased by Future. Rich left and set up his own company Digital Foundry, who specialize in DVD production (something he got involved in with PSW – all the animations and menus on the free DVD were created by Rich). The company’s biggest job to date is the production of covermounted DVDs for long-running US magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly.
