RIP EGM (And most of 1UP too)
For the past 24-48 hours, gamers tuned into the internet have found some major upheaval in the Ziff Davis/1UP Network part of the ether.
Hearst-owned UGO publishing bought the gaming-based editorial and community-based 1UP network, which includes related sites like gamevideos.com. Immediately, under whose orders it is still not clear, over 30 staff members (including some long-standing EGM/1UP staffers like Shane Bettenhausen) were dismissed, left to clean out their offices the next day... today.
1UP, which had been under the umbrella of Ziff Davis publishing (whse flagship print publication, Electronic Gaming Monthly, still did well in newsstand sales), had been unofficially put out on the market by ZD for well over a year now, so it was no secret a move was likely to be made. I seem to get the vibe that the staffers knew something was in the water, considering many of the uppers in the EGM/1UP heirarchy were starting to jump ship, like Jenn Tsao and Dan Hsu. Though, that may be perfectly circumstantial. Ziff did declare Chapter 11, which is a detail kind of being missed by the general gaming public, a portion of who are out for some sort of UGO blood.
EGM has been terminated, like many of their sister publications in years previous. They will cease with their next issue.
If you want to follow any of the 1UP staffers (former or still hanging on) on Twitter, there are four that I have found. David Ellis is still there (might have some tidbits for moving forward), while Anthony Gallegos, Nick Suttner and Phil Kollar are now on their own. (Note: Anthony, NIck and Phil were chief craftsmen on the now-defunct 1UP FM podcast that was available on iTunes, and they're starting a new podcast entitled Rebel FM. Check Twitter for updates on that.)
UPDATE: Gallegos' site, Eat-Sleep-Game will be another good place to check for the podcast.
Also on the Twitter front, go into the backlogs of Shanewatch if you want some humor about resident loudmouth and humorist Shane Bettenhausen.
Here's a few links to flesh it out these developments:
Washington Post Article
Ars Technica article... good sum up of the proceedings thus far
Final Phillip Kollar 1UP Blog Entry (On 1UP Network... will be interesting to see how that page will change in the future)
UGO Chief tells his side of the story
1UP Director Sam Kennedy says UGO "Not the bad guy"
The (un)offical 1UP/EGM Casualty List
It's a real bummer. I used to subscribe to EGM until about 2 years ago, and would pick up issues occasionally since. Never really got onto 1UP's community, but listened religiously to the 1UP Yours and EGM Live/1UP FM podcasts. It's sad to see 'em go.
Here's hoping for Rebel FM.
Godspeed, EGM + the purged 1Uppers.
Hearst-owned UGO publishing bought the gaming-based editorial and community-based 1UP network, which includes related sites like gamevideos.com. Immediately, under whose orders it is still not clear, over 30 staff members (including some long-standing EGM/1UP staffers like Shane Bettenhausen) were dismissed, left to clean out their offices the next day... today.
1UP, which had been under the umbrella of Ziff Davis publishing (whse flagship print publication, Electronic Gaming Monthly, still did well in newsstand sales), had been unofficially put out on the market by ZD for well over a year now, so it was no secret a move was likely to be made. I seem to get the vibe that the staffers knew something was in the water, considering many of the uppers in the EGM/1UP heirarchy were starting to jump ship, like Jenn Tsao and Dan Hsu. Though, that may be perfectly circumstantial. Ziff did declare Chapter 11, which is a detail kind of being missed by the general gaming public, a portion of who are out for some sort of UGO blood.
EGM has been terminated, like many of their sister publications in years previous. They will cease with their next issue.
If you want to follow any of the 1UP staffers (former or still hanging on) on Twitter, there are four that I have found. David Ellis is still there (might have some tidbits for moving forward), while Anthony Gallegos, Nick Suttner and Phil Kollar are now on their own. (Note: Anthony, NIck and Phil were chief craftsmen on the now-defunct 1UP FM podcast that was available on iTunes, and they're starting a new podcast entitled Rebel FM. Check Twitter for updates on that.)
UPDATE: Gallegos' site, Eat-Sleep-Game will be another good place to check for the podcast.
Also on the Twitter front, go into the backlogs of Shanewatch if you want some humor about resident loudmouth and humorist Shane Bettenhausen.
Here's a few links to flesh it out these developments:
Washington Post Article
Ars Technica article... good sum up of the proceedings thus far
Final Phillip Kollar 1UP Blog Entry (On 1UP Network... will be interesting to see how that page will change in the future)
UGO Chief tells his side of the story
1UP Director Sam Kennedy says UGO "Not the bad guy"
The (un)offical 1UP/EGM Casualty List
It's a real bummer. I used to subscribe to EGM until about 2 years ago, and would pick up issues occasionally since. Never really got onto 1UP's community, but listened religiously to the 1UP Yours and EGM Live/1UP FM podcasts. It's sad to see 'em go.
Here's hoping for Rebel FM.
Godspeed, EGM + the purged 1Uppers.