IGN is being sold?

Just reading WSJ online before going to sleep. I think you might need an account to fully read the article. Does anyone know this has been a public ongoing process?

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20121015-712650.html

Must be to pay for Rupert Murdoch's trial.

It's not surprising because News Corp is an idiotic company that has a history of overpaying for something they will later sell at a loss. They did the same thing with Myspace. Stuff like this happens all the time and it always reinforces the fact that people who get to be in high ranking corporate positions are usually just big fucking morons that managed to know the right people, kiss the right ass, or be in the right place at the right time.

I know it doesn't show positive signs for video game focused news/review resources like GB and the dying game magazines, but really, fuck IGN. So I really don't care if they aren't doing so hot. In fact, I think it would benefit the industry as a whole if whoever bought IGN either runs it straight into the ground, or turns it into something respectable that isn't equally embarrassing to the video game industry as something like the VGAs, which is where it currently stands.

I'd love for IGN to just be dismantled and tossed in the trash. What a gross site.

This started poorly and won't end well

@kishinfoulux: I don't see anything awful with the way IGN works. To a more casual/boarder audience they do their job well. I just find that the website just has a lack of personality, which is the main reason I frequent the sites I do.

I don't like IGN but I respect that they have the guts to invest in IPL. Not a lot of companies would use resources for something like that.

I never liked IGN. I hated the fact that GameSages.com turned into IGN since I loved GameSages.com. That's when I discovered videogames.com (now GameSpot).

It's not surprising because News Corp is an idiotic company that has a history of overpaying for something they will later sell at a loss. They did the same thing with Myspace. Stuff like this happens all the time and it always reinforces the fact that people who get to be in high ranking corporate positions are usually just big fucking morons that managed to know the right people, kiss the right ass, or be in the right place at the right time.

I know it doesn't show positive signs for video game focused news/review resources like GB and the dying game magazines, but really, fuck IGN. So I really don't care if they aren't doing so hot. In fact, I think it would benefit the industry as a whole if whoever bought IGN either runs it straight into the ground, or turns it into something respectable that isn't equally embarrassing to the video game industry as something like the VGAs, which is where it currently stands.

You can claim a company is terrible and should not exist anymore At their current state of shititude without that equating to wishing lots and lots of people are rendered unemployed.

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

You can claim a company is terrible and should not exist anymore At their current state of shititude without that equating to wishing lots and lots of people are rendered unemployed.

Then say you hope they become better without wishing the site folds

I used to like IGN a whole lot, back when I didn't really know other websites and it didn't seem like it was stacked to the brim with garbage. I believe it was around the Hilary Goldstein/Erik Brudvig era of it (and that guy Dave whose last name I can't remember, who did the XBox podcast with them). For what it did, it did quite well in some respects; I thought its news section was adequate, I felt like the reviews made some sense in places, and the people behind the scenes, besides some noticeable exemptions who still work there, were respectable and knowledgeable people who gave good arguments.

Since then, clearly, I've left them behind; a lot of good people left, the bad people stayed, and the content quality, to me, went steadily downhill. However, I can still respect it for at least continuing to provide for its (young) audience, and covering just about everything out there. If it does get sold, I hope it's still intact and doesn't get changed too much by new corporate overlords, at least so people can look at it and say "What a pile of crap website." when compared to others, like this one. Plus, better that these people have their jobs and that people have, like me, a starter gaming site.

Diatribe over.

But you cant claim a company is terrible when...its not. It has done nothing but report gaming news in its own way and have its own (maybe not the same as ours) opinion. And when said company employs so many people in the field wishing it dead unless they have done something really bad, and not just score a game how you would not have scored it, then i strongly believe that if you wish doom at that company, and in turn the workers (who chances are will not find many spots open in the field of game reporters to get a new job) that you are a sub human who thinks they are better then everyone else. Below us normal folk i say! Below us!

@MariachiMacabre said:

@DoctorWelch

It's not surprising because News Corp is an idiotic company that has a history of overpaying for something they will later sell at a loss. They did the same thing with Myspace. Stuff like this happens all the time and it always reinforces the fact that people who get to be in high ranking corporate positions are usually just big fucking morons that managed to know the right people, kiss the right ass, or be in the right place at the right time.

I know it doesn't show positive signs for video game focused news/review resources like GB and the dying game magazines, but really, fuck IGN. So I really don't care if they aren't doing so hot. In fact, I think it would benefit the industry as a whole if whoever bought IGN either runs it straight into the ground, or turns it into something respectable that isn't equally embarrassing to the video game industry as something like the VGAs, which is where it currently stands.

You realize that IGN, like most businesses (big and small), employs people...right? You know that those are people's jobs your wishing away right?

IGN obviously employs robots and nothing bad will come out of it being run into the ground! I'm almost expecting him to say "If you work for IGN you don't deserve a job in the industry!".

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

You can claim a company is terrible and should not exist anymore At their current state of shititude without that equating to wishing lots and lots of people are rendered unemployed.

Then say you hope they become better without wishing the site folds

@kishinfoulux said:

I'd love for IGN to just be dismantled and tossed in the trash. What a gross site.

Agreed. I've never liked the way the site was designed. Favouriting a game and searching for articles and stuff is so confusing and their game reviews are horrible. They either score games too high or too low.

The only thing I like about IGN is the news and the girls. Jessica Chobot, Naomi Kyle - they're better off at GameTrailers or even GiantBomb. :D

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

@Animasta

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

You can claim a company is terrible and should not exist anymore At their current state of shititude without that equating to wishing lots and lots of people are rendered unemployed.

Then say you hope they become better without wishing the site folds

Some places can also be beyond redemption. I'm not talking about IGN specifically, but restructure is not always enough

me too.i think so.

When you factor in that News Corp. is being split next year into it's publishing (Books, Newspapers) and it's entertainment (movies, TV) parts, IGN was one of it's parts that doesn't really fit into either of those categories so I guess that the corporate higher-ups decided that it makes sense to sell the company before the split and get some money to put towards building the new companies.

I like their TV and Movies section. I get my game news here but I enjoy the UK ign podcast and no and don't want those people unemployed.

Opinions man...

I never liked IGN but I hope they do okay in the future.

It'd be funny if CBS bought them and just monopolized the video game website industry (well, not quite, but you know what I mean).

Yo them muthafuckers deleted a missing childs last voicemails to her family to make their newspaper mo interesting.

Not liking ign is one thing, but to wish disaster upon it is a little extreme. I never visit the site, but there are plenty who do--and like it there--or it would not have become so big.

Fuck, I hope Greg Miller continues his show, he's a cool duder.

@MasterHelion said:

@kishinfoulux: I don't see anything awful with the way IGN works. To a more casual/boarder audience they do their job well. I just find that the website just has a lack of personality, which is the main reason I frequent the sites I do.

Oh, there is plenty to hate. The way their marketing team works is pretty gross, and the number of articles I've seen that have just existed to cause clicks because the title was "rumor of highly controversial decision from major party" or somethign to that effect is pretty disappointing. Good place to scan headlines to see what's up, but there are also better places to go for that. ie the Bombcast, Gamespot, forums, etc.

Also, the idea that all people deserve their current job no matter how shitty what they produce or take part in is pretty silly. Make better and less disgusting bullshit and maybe I'll give a fuck. Sure, there are plenty of people that don't contribute to the bullshit, but at the end of the day, they are a part of a company that does these things. I wish them the best, and I'm sure if they are capable people they will find work elsewhere.

I don't like IGN because they're for the mainstream consumer, which I am not, but their audience is mostly the generic people who are slightly tied into the game industry, but not into it enough to know what NeoGAF is. Which really, I rarely use news sites for news anymore, I only use GiantBomb because I like the crew and I respect their opinions on games. News wise I just go to NeoGAF; NeoGAF has all the news from pretty much every news site just aggregated into one convenient page. No muss and fuss, just getting the information outright.

I respect sites like IGN for the service they provide to people, but I'm just too wired in to everything happening in the industry for their site to be worth the extremely slow pace at which it runs and the never ending advertisements. If it's not intrusive "Click to enter" ads, it's the ads at the top of their front page that fold down and actually cover up the news. It's just too slow and filled with bullshit for me to bother going there. But I certainly don't think they should go out of business, and I hope they continue to contribute their resources to the medium.

Also, just as an aside, I feel their reviews are absolutely terrible. Recently they just keep giving top and bottom scores, almost no grey area in terms of their scores. Especially when the bulk of their reviews don't seem to match what scores they give out. Really makes me question their integrity when they just throw around 9.5's and 2.0's to any average game.

I never understood how people can hate something as trivial as a website with such passion. If you don't like IGN....well don't go to IGN. Problem solved.

The only thing I like about IGN is there PC coverage they have pretty good PC editors I like how sometimes they review multiplatform games on the PC separately.

Maybe it the 1up curse.

getting out from the newscorp umbrella can only be a good thing.

@JEC03 said:

The only thing I like about IGN is there PC coverage they have pretty good PC editors I like how sometimes they review multiplatform games on the PC separately.

especially since they got Steve Butts back. now if they could just hunt down Jason Ocampo and get him back.

Heh, Butts.

Wow the comments in this thread are ridiculous! I don't get how people can hate a website so much.

Thought EA bought them years ago.

@zombie2011 said:

Wow the comments in this thread are ridiculous! I don't get how people can hate a website so much.

God Hand review.

@algertman said:

@zombie2011 said:

Wow the comments in this thread are ridiculous! I don't get how people can hate a website so much.

God Hand review.

So a guy who hasn't worked there for years didn't like a game you liked, and now your gonna cry about it forever.

Yeah let's fire everyone at IGN! Fuck Greg Miller!!! It's not like he has cancer or anything. You may not like IGN and that' fine(I don't either) but to wish their demise I'd a heartless thing to wish for. Some comments on here are just sickening to read. Shame on you.

Yeah let's fire everyone at IGN! Fuck Greg Miller!!! It's not like he has cancer or anything. You may not like IGN and that' fine(I don't either) but to wish their demise I'd a heartless thing to wish for. Some comments on here are just sickening to read. Shame on you.

A lot of good hard working people seem to work at IGN, I hope things turn out ok for all of them.

@Animasta said:

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

You can claim a company is terrible and should not exist anymore At their current state of shititude without that equating to wishing lots and lots of people are rendered unemployed.

Then say you hope they become better without wishing the site folds

So if someones doing a crap job and running a crap website and providing crap content they should be allowed to continue shoveling out crap just cause there somehow entitled to a job?

And this is how GargantuanBomb.com started.

Even though I think IGN hasn't been the same, I do wish the best of luck for people like Greg Miller to continue working.

Terrible for most of the last decade. The first sign of its downfall was Jeremy Dunham leaving, then over time the Nintendo dudes left. Hilary Goldstein was a horrendously bad editor-in-chief but I am absolutely sure they found a worse replacement. I wouldn't know, kicked the joint long before that.

I know Jeff ironically likes that man child Game Over Greggy, he is bitingly idiotic.

So will this be the final nail in the coffin for 1Up.com?

So now we can expect strange conservative angles on all of IGNs stories? Hoo boy, the next Mass Effect game is gonna get steamrolled for being too gay or sexualized.

Also every time Fox News says something ridiculous and untrue about video games, IGN should have to justify it. Just to watch them squirm a bit.

@J12088 said:

@Animasta said:

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

You can claim a company is terrible and should not exist anymore At their current state of shititude without that equating to wishing lots and lots of people are rendered unemployed.

Then say you hope they become better without wishing the site folds

So if someones doing a crap job and running a crap website and providing crap content they should be allowed to continue shoveling out crap just cause there somehow entitled to a job?

Well yeah as long as they're making them money, of course. That's how business works.

IGN has amazing SEO power though.

I used to love IGN, back when the old crew was still there (Dreamcast/Gamecube days). That was an amazing time for gaming.

@DarthOrange: @Gonmog: @MariachiMacabre: @Cloudenvy:

This is mostly my fault for not clarifying my statements while assuming there's an understanding that a company employs hard working people that don't decide the direction of the business, but I guess this is the internet so there is neither a pretense of knowledge on the part of the poster, nor reading comprehension on the part of the responder.

In other words, I understand there are tons of decent people that work at IGN that don't play a role in the shitty business practices and philosophies of the company. I assumed, since I was talking about News Corp specifically actioning off IGN as a company, that there was an understanding I was talking about the company and not the individuals. There are definitely a bunch of people at IGN that work hard and do the best they can in the position their in. People who write about video games get paid pretty terribly in general, and I don't wish these people out on the street or out of a job.

There seems to be an assumption that when I say "fuck IGN", I'm saying fuck you to the people that work there, but I'm not. Instead, I'm speaking to how they operate as a company and represent the gaming industry. They are basically the biggest outlet for games news and reviews, and as such they have a huge impact on the perception of the gaming industry, and they do a pretty shitty job of representing it in a mature and positive light.

So yes, it would suck for the employees if IGN went under and it'd obviously be much better to see them go in a different direction(which I said in the original post), but I'm saying it would ultimately benefit the industry if IGN died, even if they have some decent hard working employees.