Three letter acronyms! (Sorry.)
There have been rumors surrounding Ziff Davis’ financial problems (Uh, Digital Life?) for months now, but the axe fell today. They announced via the site that they’re selling all of the 1UP Digital Network (1Up.com, Gamevideos.com, McCheats.com, and Gametab.com) to none other than UGO. UGO seems like they want to keep things mostly as they are, but according to MTV Multiplayer more than 30 people were laid off- mostly from GameVideos team. Fans of the 1Up Yours Podcast should reach for their nearest forks, as it’s officially done.
But the biggest fatality was EGM. The magazine’s last issue will be the January 2009 edition with Wolverine: Origins on the cover. Didn’t even give them a chance to say goodbye…
As a longtime reader of the mag it’s really sad to see it go. There’s nothing left for print mags now- Gamepro’s always been a joke, and Game Informer only survives because Gamespot pushes it onto gullible customers. EGM had its ups and downs, of that there’s no doubt. But under James “Milkman” Mielke’s new spot as editor in chief, the mag was looking up. Actual journalism, fantastic interviews, interesting articles- it had it all. Except, perhaps, length. The last few issues were pretty damn slim.
But anyway, it’s just strange to witness the end of an era. I grew up reading Gamefan and Ultra Game Players and the like, absorbing every little bit of info I could find and keeping a massive stack of back issues under my bed. Without them, I probably wouldn’t be writing about games today.
1UP will continue to function as its own site, but you can feel everyone hurting right now, all around the net. Good luck to everyone over there.