Salute: 1UP Acquired By UGO, Downsized; EGM Shuttered

Rumors around the sale of 1UP.com and the future of legendary magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly are no longer rumors. Ziff Davis Media has announced the sale of 1UP.com and its web site subsidiaries to UGO Entertainment and decided to close down long-standing game publication EGM. “We believe this is a smart transaction for Ziff Davis Media that places these market leading assets and teams in a great environment poised for further success,” said Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young in the official release. “The transaction allows us to pay down debt and shift our full focus to our core PCMag Digital Network business. We thank our 1UP team members for their contributions and wish them the best of success into the future.” In addition to these moves, a series of layoffs have hit Ziff Davis. MTV Multiplayer has learned from multiple sources more than 30 people were laid off as part of the transition, including much of the GameVideos.com team. 1UP Show creator Ryan O’Donnell and producer Matt Chandronait announced that popular video podcast The 1UP Show would not be produced any longer on their Twitter feeds. Other notable layoffs include podcast producer Andrew Pfister.

Rumors around the sale of 1UP.com and the future of legendary magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly are no longer rumors. Ziff Davis Media has announced the sale of 1UP.com and its web site subsidiaries to UGO Entertainment and decided to close down long-standing game publication EGM. “We believe this is a smart transaction for Ziff Davis Media that places these market leading assets and teams in a great environment poised for further success,” said Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young in the official release. “The transaction allows us to pay down debt and shift our full focus to our core PCMag Digital Network business. We thank our 1UP team members for their contributions and wish them the best of success into the future.” In addition to these moves, a series of layoffs have hit Ziff Davis. MTV Multiplayer has learned from multiple sources more than 30 people were laid off as part of the transition, including much of the GameVideos.com team. 1UP Show creator Ryan O’Donnell and producer Matt Chandronait announced that popular video podcast The 1UP Show would not be produced any longer on their Twitter feeds. Other notable layoffs include podcast producer Andrew Pfister.

Rough beat indeed

:^(  Farewell 1up and EGM :^(

:(

I wish them all the best of luck.

I never really visited 1Up's site, I only recently listened to their podcasts because the GB crew were guests.  Still its too bad to see anyone lose their job in these economic times.

Its a sad time when a team of writers as talented as the 1up staff cant stay afloat. I can only hope that all of these talented journalists can find work elsewhere.

First Gamespot, now 1up.  This really hurts.  I hope to see those guys on another gaming website in the near future.

This is worse than the reason GiantBomb was made.

God this sucks.

Good luck to everyone that lost their jobs.

Wow ,with all the familiar faces and personality's that 1up had to offer gone there really isn't much incentive for me to visit the site any more.

Although my feelings to 1UP are not as strong as my ones back in the good gamespot days, I still feel a heart wrench oh so familiar to the one a year ago. Those were good editors with good personalities, it's too bad that I got into 1UP only recently. The writing industry has suffered another blow.

"We'll pour out a 40 or two for those chaps tonight, which--if you know us--is really the fondest farewell we could bestow."

May I ask who they would be?

sad day for the videogame journalist industry

With 1up gone, I hope to find a new home here, at GiantBomb. To all those affected: May luck find you and fortune help you land on your feet. It's a sad day. 2009 starts with tears for the industry. 

man who really knows whats going on now anymore

Farewell, 1up. UGO-gate: 1/6/09.

A great magazine is dead, and a whole bunch of people lost their jobs... look on the bright side, it's probably not going to get any worse.  Plus, people are the most creative when they have nothing else to do or work on, so maybe the now unemployed can take a fresh look at what a gaming website should be instead of what it evolved into.  I mean, I absolutely love Giant Bomb, but there's probably a market for a new website done right.

what a sad day. This start of this whole year has been rough for me, this doesnt help it much. I was hoping to wake up to this friday with a good laugh while watching the 1up show, but now thats gone. i hope the laid off staff form a site like giant bomb

I'll miss you shane, fitch, chuff, skip, cesar, giancarlo, greg, milky, jay freche, matt, donahoe, nick and phil (still group you kids table guys together), rynan, ryan scott, and all of the others who never received large time in front of the camera or mic but still made 1up what it was.

shane please pull a john davison and guest on "his goddamn show" every week when he starts doing it again.

Wow...I guess the recession is going to hit the gaming industry hard for a couple years. Wouldnt be surprised to see more websites and magazines getting closed or smaller.

seriously guys stay afloat do whatever you need to to keep going

because in my opinion giantbomb has literally become the outer haven of gaming journalism

ill pour a 40 in honor of those guys and keep big boss as my display pic in honor of the shane b

Farewell 1UP & EGM. You gave me hours upon hours of entertainment. Good luck to those who stayed and those who moved on to greener pastures.

man im seriously in need of some new podcasts now that 1upFM and 1upYours are gone

I was just listening to that podcast and wished that you guys would return on the show. It was a blast to listen to. This sucks. Although I didn't agree with everything they said on the show (who could?) they seemed like a bunch of cool guys. Best of luck to them.

They're not gone, believe u me, they will be back, in some way, shape, or form, im just sorry ill never ever get to read a NEW issue of EGM. Good bye EGM AND R.I.P. 1989-2009.

wow, horrible news. EGM was hands down the best mag out there for games. Sad day indeed.

Best of luck to all these people, hope they can get through these tough times and are able to find a new job quickly.

You guys show up, and not only does the show get cancelled, the entire network gets raped and pillaged and the magazine shut down.

"We'll pour out a 40 or two for those chaps tonight, which--if you know us--is really the fondest farewell we could bestow."

Recession keeps getting worse and worse.

Its really sad to see this happen. 1up was a great website with great personalities. To see their podcasts and the 1up show go is a terrible shame. I'm definitely going to miss Shane the most.

Man this sucks.  I guess the Giantbombcast is the new podcast of the industry.

This is bullshit.
UGO blows.
Hire Shane and Skip.
Back to fetal position.


=(

The loss of EGM pretty much means the death of good American game magazines.  We gotta rely on Britain now for gaming magazine goodness (well, we can rely on them as long as EDGE remains in print.  If EDGE goes down, I will cry bitter, bitter tears.)

I'll miss EGM, it was a good magazine

Dude yes, I am totally devastated that the 1UP employees had such bad luck on the start of the new year. Hopefully all of the people affected will find a new home. Will miss you, 1UP.

After the mass Gamespot exodus, I flocked to 1UP for coverage. When GiantBomb was launched I devoted most of my time spent there, here. But I still checked their site a couple times a week, I felt like I was getting to know their personalities and beginning to respect those editors as I do the GB crew. And now this? This is sad, it really is. As someone who has followed this industry closely for so long, it's always sad to hear about one firing, but when you have mass firings like this because of a corporate takeover, it really brings you down a level. I have a feeling these industry experts knew for awhile this was coming, which makes it all the more saddening, they'll be sorely missed and I do hope this will not be the end of those talented professionals.

Spencer, don't jinx it. This is 2 great 2 depressing we're talking about here.

I'd pour a 40, but 40's are illegal in Florida for some odd reason.

::pours two 20-oz bottles of Pepsi::

::salutes::

Hire Shane and Skip.

Thats a bummer. 1up and EGM were one of the better video game news sources.

My long, heart-felt response got deleted accidentally, so I'll just say this....

Someone over at UGO didn't do the proper research.  You expect to acquire 1up with its faithful user and fan base, lay off a significant portion of the staff and expect to retain that user and fan base?

<Kevin Pereira>  Really?..... really?.....  come on!!! </Kevin Pereira>

I anticipate the user comments section at 1up being shut down before morning.  There's a veritable shitstorm taking place.

i left gamespot after gerstmann-gate. guess i must say farewell to 1up. man, this is sad.

Hey Giantbomb hire them all!

You can all take massive pay cuts, buy a year round timeshare and all live together to make it happen in some sort of hippie commune, but you know its the right thing to do!

Don't get me wrong .. I loved 1up and am very devistated that there will be no more podcasts ... but ... this is going to be HUGE for giantbomb readership. So many of us left Gamespot when Jeff and crew did, went looking for other sites, found 1up, and now will be leaving it too. Long live Giantbomb.com ... its a website!

I'm going to really miss the 1UP Show and the specials produced for Gamevideos.com. IMO Gamevideos.com and 1UP FM were the jewels of the network. It's really quite sad. A toast to the greatest gaming legacy ever!

"because in my opinion giantbomb has literally become the outer haven of gaming journalism"

I couldn't agree more. Considering Giant Bomb is essentially a group of friends who share their love of gaming with the world by creating a site for other gamers to do the same, I don't really think GB will be going anywhere unless the crew decided it's over.

I really understand how these folks must feel because today I was also hit with my first layoff. Let me tell you, it feels like crap :(

Everything that was great about 1UP has now been destroyed. I now feel that I don't have a video game home on the web. Maybe i should give this whole "Giant Bomb" thing a try. And this "Bombcast" I've been hearing about...wonder if it's any good?

I loved the 1UP Yours podcast. This is really a sad day to see such a great medium and production go away.

Even worse to see such people lose their jobs and wake up to much uncertainty the next day.

Wishes go out to them that they can find something new in the very near future.

this was dumb. why do these people make these cuts, they have a fanbase man

This is definitely a sad thing to see.  I have always enjoyed 1UP and EGM and the podcasts.  I wish for the best of their employees.