EGM Is No More, 1UP Sold To UGO
I got home from a nice dinner to find possibly the most shocking and disheartening news of the season. Publishing company Ziff Davis has sold gaming website 1up.com to UGO and has ceased publication of EGM. Even typing that seems completely surreal to me. Let's get the details out of the way first:
-EGM will end publication after 20 years with the January 2009 issue
-30 members of the 1up staff (including EGM employees) have been dismissed
-The 1up Show will no longer be produced
-As of now, UGO will continue to use the 1up brand to expand and move forward their games coverage.
Now my own two cents. I have mentioned it in passing on GayGamer and my friends, family, and coworkers know that my interest in games journalism began with EGM. I remember reading my first issue of the magazine when I was barely 6 years old, and reading every issue since then. What began as a childhood hobby grew into a dream which is actually coming true for me, and it can all be traced back to EGM. I knew the writers, or I felt like I knew them, their taste in gaming, their writing styles. These men and women made it into the business, and I was going to follow in their footsteps.
EGM can be credited with why I am able to write this very entry, on this amazing game site that has given me the opportunity to connect with so many awesome gamers. Before working for GayGamer I wrote a weekly video game feature for a pop culture website, and in a moment of sheer insanity I sent one of my articles to our wonderful editor-in-chief Fruit Brute. The article was on games journalism with a specific focus on the staff of EGM. Brute loved, or at least I think he did, and it would be a few months later when I would become a full time writer on GayGamer.net. Before I wrote this post, I went back and reread that article. I know my take on this story is probably the least professional you'll read, but beyond the facts are all the people this affects, a far reaching circle of people. My heart goes out to everyone at EGM. Thank you for everything, and for making me who I am today. Know that these past 20 years have been a golden age in gaming, and EGM will be revered for years to come.
Breaking: Ziff Davis Sells 1UP To UGO/Hearst, Closes EGM [gamasutra]
TheDoctor
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 6 January 2009
· Comments (11)
Other stuff like this: 1up, egm, news, opinion, ugo
This sucks.
Sad news, indeed. I hope everyone at EGM moves on to bigger and better things.
Thank god. the magazine died 5 or so years ago and I haven't bought an issue since. The quality went way down hill and the snarky comments to all who wrote in wasn't needed. Plus their reviews got later and later. Holiday games reviewed in January? LOSE.
So good riddance
Really makes me extremely sad. My boyfriend and I listened to the 1up Yours podcast every week in the car to and from work, and I really loved a lot of the writers (many of whom are now gone). It really is such a shame... does UGO not understand why people went to that site? All that work 1up did building up a community and pushing the industry... knocked down in one very small news post on their site. :/
affects.
What pisses me off is that such a great magazine like EGM is being canceled, while pieces of crap like Game Informer, with horrible writing, and biased and obviously paid-for reviews, stay strong.
Well, now GayGamer really has to get back to their Podcast - 1UP had some of the most entertaining listening out there.
Thank you hephaestus
I loved 1UP Show... :(
I have always maintained my EGM subscription...I think this is truly a sign that the gaming industry is starting to fail. With almost zero publications and websites being sold or shut down...games will get harder and harder to sell. How do you advertise a new game without publications to advertise them in?? I have always disliked Ziff Davis and await their refund or explanation of what they're doing with my subscription. I want my money back from their greedy hands.
Oh man. This is really depressing. Granted, I get a lot of my gaming news from internet sources... but I really do look forward to getting EGM every month (Game Informer... not quite so much). D:
Anyone know if they're offering refunds to subscribers?