1up imploding again by the looks of it

Didn't see another thread on this, might have missed it.
 
Anyone still think a site can still survive on advertising revenues?
 
Ray Barnholt and Chris Plante from UGO canned today along with some chick from UGO I don't know.  Sharkey got binned a week or so ago too.  Not a lot of staff left, 90% of their stuff seems to be freelancers now.
 
Updated : Jade Kraus too.  Mostly production but did some writing and podcasting.  Jumping around on 1up staff twitter feeds it seems nobody below the top echelon had any idea.
 
Scooter and Paish about the only two decent in house reviewers left.
 
Updated 2 : RIchard Li too apparently.

Dang, Ray from In This Thread? I don't like the show TOO much, but it gave me something to listen to when all my other Friday podcasts were done.

It's becoming a yearly tradition .  

That's nuts. That place is run by children. I actually enjoyed In This Thread.

What the hell? 
 
 Are they just going to fire people every other week now?

At this point my only connection to 1up is watching old 1up show and broken pixels episodes and listening to old retronauts and GFW radio podcasts. 
To me, 1up is now stuck in a time loop from 2006 to 2008 where everything is perfect. sigh

And still hang on to that Sanches chick..? Oh dear

Is it possible that 1UP perhaps employed too many people which is why they seem to be sacking a couple of them every few months? 
 
Can't remember a publication having this many staff on the payroll that they could make redundant to begin with.

I once considered 1UP to be the closest thing in existence to "the upper crust" of video games new and commentary.  That day has long since passed.

Damn. They can't stop dropping people. I didn't really listen to In This Thread, but I liked Barnholt well enough,

Other than Ads,How are they bringing in money?

" I once considered 1UP to be the closest thing in existence to "the upper crust" of video games new and commentary.  That day has long since passed. "

" @HaltIamReptar said:

" I once considered 1UP to be the closest thing in existence to "the upper crust" of video games new and commentary.  That day has long since passed. "

Someone was said a similar thing when Scott Sharkey got fired. The website had a lot of passion and enthusiasm that made you feel they were doing something interesting. Till you stepped outside, and saw they really weren't. But then again, no use continually pummeling this rotten horse. "

Till you stepped outside, and saw they really weren't

" @HypoXenophobia said:

" @HaltIamReptar said:

" I once considered 1UP to be the closest thing in existence to "the upper crust" of video games new and commentary.  That day has long since passed. "

Someone was said a similar thing when Scott Sharkey got fired. The website had a lot of passion and enthusiasm that made you feel they were doing something interesting. Till you stepped outside, and saw they really weren't. But then again, no use continually pummeling this rotten horse. "

I'm actually really interested to pursue this conversation.

Till you stepped outside, and saw they really weren't

What do you mean by that? "

" Is it possible that 1UP perhaps employed too many people which is why they seem to be sacking a couple of them every few months?  Can't remember a publication having this many staff on the payroll that they could make redundant to begin with. "

" Other than Ads,How are they bringing in money? "

" @HaltIamReptar said:

" @HypoXenophobia said:

" @HaltIamReptar said:

" I once considered 1UP to be the closest thing in existence to "the upper crust" of video games new and commentary.  That day has long since passed. "

Someone was said a similar thing when Scott Sharkey got fired. The website had a lot of passion and enthusiasm that made you feel they were doing something interesting. Till you stepped outside, and saw they really weren't. But then again, no use continually pummeling this rotten horse. "

I'm actually really interested to pursue this conversation.

Till you stepped outside, and saw they really weren't

What do you mean by that? "

That someone was depressing wizard   By stepping outside, I mean going to a different site, or reading other magazines. "

" At this point my only connection to 1up is watching old 1up show and broken pixels episodes and listening to old retronauts and GFW radio podcasts. To me, 1up is now stuck in a time loop from 2006 to 2008 where everything is perfect. sigh "

I don't visit 1UP, but it's sad to see so many people lose their jobs.

I really love 1up so this really pains me. They got crippled last time, this time it's just pouring salt on the wound.

Could this explain why the Retronauts podcast was shut down a couple of weeks ago?

Though there was no mention of In This Thread ending in it's latest episode what I can remember.

 I'm assuming the "chick from UGO" the OP was referring to is Tracey John.  She used to work at MTV back in the glory days with Totilo and Klepek. 

As for Retronauts, nobody knew about the layoffs until recently.   Parish had been talking about ending the podcast for a while before. 

1up died ages ago. The site is now simply a tombstone, sat above the decaying corpse of the 1up show and 1up yours.

" @wasteguru said:

" At this point my only connection to 1up is watching old 1up show and broken pixels episodes and listening to old retronauts and GFW radio podcasts. To me, 1up is now stuck in a time loop from 2006 to 2008 where everything is perfect. sigh "

That is painful, but true. There was a golden age back then, and I am glad that Giant Bomb stepped in just in the knick of time to save me from having to find productive things to do.  "

" 1up died ages ago. The site is now simply a tombstone, sat above the decaying corpse of the 1up show and 1up yours. "

I used to visit 1up a long time ago (mostly because of EGM), but we had a falling out and now I don't even know who works there anymore. 
 
Either way, there's a ton of other sites and people that can fill in the void.

This is sad news, even though I agree with the general sentiment that 1up hasn't been great for a long time... In fact I think 1up never was great. It made great products- I think that it's fairly inarguable that their golden age podcasts and videos were the some of the best - but the actual site has never been better than mediocre in my opinion. It was hard to navigate, had a confusing feature set and not updated with enough interesting content considering how many damn people worked there at one point.  
I went to 1up because I loved the editors from EGM and GFW and tolerated the site design to see what they were up to. Those left at 1up are the weakest personalities of the bunch. 
 
On a related note, has anyone been reading the EGM relaunch? Is it any good? I have a soft spot in my heart for EGM since I was subscribed to it for over 10 years.

" At this point my only connection to 1up is watching old 1up show and broken pixels episodes and listening to old retronauts and GFW radio podcasts. To me, 1up is now stuck in a time loop from 2006 to 2008 where everything is perfect. sigh "

I used to listen to the 1up yours podcast with Shane, Garnet, John and Andrew before it all went sideways. Good while it lasted but I'm glad I jumped ship to GiantBomb.  Makes you wonder what's next if/when GiantBomb stops being a thing...

All hope is lost when/if they can Parish.

One day I bought an issue of EGM, and between the game ads I found a page promoting The 1up show. It was the first podcast I ever downloaded, and I was hooked. That was over four years ago.
 
I gradually picked up more and more 1up podcasts, and started visiting the site on a regular basis. 1up Yours, GFW Radio, Retronauts, EGM Live, Legendary Thread, and Broken Pixels became a part of my daily/weekly routine. Most weekdays I would have a new podcast to look forward to. 
 
After a couple of years, people started leaving.
 
1up slowly crept off my radar once GFW Radio died. 
 
The UGO takeover and massive layoffs put me off the site entirely. I made the switch to Giantbomb within the week.
 
Now... now I don't even want to think about it.

" All hope is lost when/if they can Parish. "

My podcast queue is getting decimated. Probably just as well. Bombcast!

1UP was my "go to" site for years but that was long ago.  Almost all the guys and gals I used to read, watch and listen to have moved onto other sites or careers.  It's too bad because after the last purge, I thought things would settle down, but alas they did not.  I listened to "The Oddcast" podcast because it was a good mix of humor and irrelevant chat but its crew has been cut in half and "4 Guys 1UP/In this Thread" has also lost a member of its triad.  Really, the only reason I visit the site these days is to read the occasional something by RPG specialist, Jeremy Parish.  
 
It's true that the offices might have still be structured as if they were publishing a magazine and not assembling a website, so perhaps cutting away the chaff will streamline the content.  Of course, a company can go too much in the other direction (Whiskey's AV) and rely on the community to provide content to a dwindling audience.  I have a feeling 1UP may eventually turn into a site which simply reposts press releases and wire-service news.
 
Oh well, I'm going to go listen to "Weekend Confirmed" now and recall the good ol' days.

Damn, it's a shame that so many journalists are losing their jobs.

" @MeatXbeatsXman said:

" All hope is lost when/if they can Parish. "

I think he might jump before he's pushed. Would you really wanna stay at a place where the majority of the people youve been working with have been let go? Just go do what is now known as 'a Giant Bomb' and set up your own site. "

I used to love 1up, I stayed after the first implossion because I think Garnett Lee is a good podcast host, but once him and David Ellis left I finally gave up.
 
The site hasn't had it's identity for a long time. It needs someone to come in a change the whole ethos, like John Davison did with GamePro.

I used to love 1UP, but after 1UP Show vanished along with the creators, like wise all the cool dudes from 1UP Yours, there has been little to no reason to visit anymore. I did listen to The Oddcast, but now without Sharkey that's just gone to shit too.

In This Thread is a terrible, terrible podcast and I don't really like the 1Up staff's personalities -- HOWEVER -- it's horrible that these people lost their job. They were clearly informed, and just because their opinions didn't jive with my own doesn't mean they weren't good at their job.
 
Sad news. :(

" @paradox121 said:

" @MeatXbeatsXman said:

" All hope is lost when/if they can Parish. "

I think he might jump before he's pushed. Would you really wanna stay at a place where the majority of the people youve been working with have been let go? Just go do what is now known as 'a Giant Bomb' and set up your own site. "

In a boom economy I think he would (ignoring that this situation would not have happened in a boom) but there are a glut of writers looking for jobs and while Parish is talented he is also niche.  Not many of the big sites will be looking for a retro/japanese/RPG enthusiast.  Also, if you look at it cynically, he gets a promotion (although I doubt a rise) every time they lay someone off.  He was in a cubicle at Ziff, now he has his own office.  I wouldn't be surprised if it was his increasing workload trying to cover stuff with less staff - along with his general ennui - that contributed to his killing off retronauts. "

" @alternate said:

" @paradox121 said:

" @MeatXbeatsXman said:

" All hope is lost when/if they can Parish. "

I think he might jump before he's pushed. Would you really wanna stay at a place where the majority of the people youve been working with have been let go? Just go do what is now known as 'a Giant Bomb' and set up your own site. "

In a boom economy I think he would (ignoring that this situation would not have happened in a boom) but there are a glut of writers looking for jobs and while Parish is talented he is also niche.  Not many of the big sites will be looking for a retro/japanese/RPG enthusiast.  Also, if you look at it cynically, he gets a promotion (although I doubt a rise) every time they lay someone off.  He was in a cubicle at Ziff, now he has his own office.  I wouldn't be surprised if it was his increasing workload trying to cover stuff with less staff - along with his general ennui - that contributed to his killing off retronauts. "

True. But from a purely moral/empathic level it must be hard. From what I could tell from the podcasts etc Barnholt and Parish were close and so, unless his firing was flagged up months back, its gotta be a blow to morale. A near empty office with only Tina Sanchez for company doesnt sound so appealing :P "

" 1up died ages ago. The site is now simply a tombstone, sat above the decaying corpse of the 1up show and 1up yours. "

Meh, I go to the site for all the news GB doesn't cover. It's been dead since the day UGO bought the place as far as I'm concerned.

I don't visit the site anymore, but I do have great memories of the site from a few years ago.

So many saying they've been dead for years - can't speak for the site which I've never really frequented, but their podcasts were amazing up until this winter or so, I loved 4 Guys 1UP, Active Time Babble and obviously Retronauts. after 4 Guys died in january or when it was, only ATB and Retronauts remained, both getting their episodes less and less regularly until Retronauts was killed off a couple of weeks ago.

ATB is still a fantastic podcast though, and I'll keep listen to it as long as they publish it. And I also listen to In This Thread and At 1UP occasionally, though they're not quite as interesting to me.

ATB is still a fantastic podcast though, and I'll keep listen to it as long as they publish it. And I also listen to In This Thread and At 1UP occasionally, though they're not quite as interesting to me.

"

Sadly with iTunes having a great podcast hardly even brings listeners to your site. 
 
Sad to see some cool folks lose their jobs, hope to see them land somewhere good.

Sucks they lost their job, but 1UP kinda sucks so not really surprised. 

1up died for me when they got rid of OPM, then it was reborn when I started subscribing to EGM, then it died again.