Posted January 7, 2009 Following repeated rumors to the effect, Gamasutra has learned that Ziff Davis has sold its 1UP division to Hearst's UGO Entertainment, and is shutting long-running print magazine EGM in the process. According to a statement received by Gamasutra, Ziff Davis Media has now officially announced the sale of the 1UP Digital Network to Hearst's UGO Entertainment division. The sale includes 1UP.com, Mycheats.com, Gametab.com, and GameVideos.com, and specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In association with this, Ziff Davis Media's EGM Magazine, a consumer game print mainstay since 1989, will be discontinued. The January 2009 issue will be the final printed issue. "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. 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", said Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young. "Since we started UGO 11 years ago, we have served the gamer community and built a world-class online publishing platform," said J Moses, CEO of UGO Entertainment. "The acquisition of 1UP, with its authentic voice, tenured editorial personalities and bustling user community, allows us to expand our base of quality content and represents a major step forward in UGO's mission to become the leader in the games space." [uPDATE: According to information obtained by Gamasutra, around 30 employees of Ziff Davis' Game Group were laid off immediately following today's announcement, including the staff of EGM Magazine, but also some elements of the 1UP Network's web staff, including podcast and video producers. In addition, Gamasutra has obtained a copy of the internal email sent to Ziff Davis employees by CEO Jason Young following the announcement, as follows: "Team: We are announcing today the sale of our 1UP digital business to UGO Entertainment, a dvision of Hearst Corporation. Over the course of the last 4 years we have built the 1UP sites into a top tier gaming digital destination. While our growth has been sharp, it has become apparent that more scale is necessary to effectively compete in this market segment. We made the decision that the best path to putting our award winning 1UP brand and content in a more competitive position was to combine it with the operations of another publisher. We received much interest from other parties. After a comprehensive process, this morning we completed a deal with Hearst Interactive, the owner and operator of UGO Entertainment. 1UP.com, MyCheats.com, Gamevideos.com, and Gametab.com will now all be part of the UGO Entertainment business. Many of our employees will travel with this business and become part of the UGO team. With this transaction happening, we have also made the decision to discontinue publication of EGM. The January 2009 issue will be the final issue of the publication. With demand for print continuing to decline amongst both advertisers and readers and the content being produced by 1UP no longer available for use in the publication, it simply did not make sense for us to move forward with this business any longer. We will continue to operate the Filefront business as a part of the PCMag Digital Network. In the coming months we will determine the best ways to leverage the scale and functionality of this digital property to expand our business position. The Ziff Davis position in the gaming market has been significant and important to our company and the market itself. While many of our assets in the PCMag Digital Network (including Filefront now) will continue to cover this market, it's important that we celebrate all that we have achieved over the last 25 years. Our leadership in print for decades with titles like Computer Gaming World and EGM which in turn translated into the build out of one of the leading digital gaming media assets in 1UP are prime examples of the skill, passion, and expertise of our teams.and what they achieved. It's incredible to compare the 1UP.com of today versus that of 12 months ago. I want to thank everybody in our Game Group for their important contributions over the years. For Ziff Davis Media, our attention and focus now shifts squarely to the PC Mag Digital Network. The proceeds from this transaction will be used to pay down debt. One of the primary objectives of our business plan is ensuring that we have plenty of room to service our debt obligations into the future, and manage for growth in what will be a challenging year in the advertising market. While the market will be tough, we are confident our position is well aligned to where the demand is most active. We move forward as a 100% digital business with tenured brand position, and powerful capabilities to drive results for our customers. I look forward to sharing more updates in the coming weeks. www.gamasutra.com Going: Adrian Frieg Amy Mishra Amy Moran Andrea Garcia Andrew Fitch Andrew "Skip" Pfister Anthony Gallegos Cesar Quintero Christina Rosa CoyLou Steel Derek Chinn Doug Parsons Eric Ellis Giancarlo Varanini Greg Ford James "Milkman" Mielke Jason Bertrand Jason Wilson Jervilyn Jaramillo Justin Frechette Leslie Gelfand Marci Yamaguchi Matt Chandronait May Tong Meredith Stowe Michael Donahoe Monique Convertito Ndubuisi Madu Nick Suttner Norris Boothe Philip Kollar Rey Serrano Robert Bowen Rosemary Pinkham Ryan O'Donnell Ryan Scott Shane Bettenhausen Simon Cox Tammy Ross Tipler Ubbelohde Staying: Garnett Lee Tina Sanchez David Ellis Matt Leone Jeremy Parish Sam Kennedy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 7, 2009 I read this earlier, it's terrible! I really hope that those that were laid off get new jobs. R.I.P 1up, R.I.P EGM. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 7, 2009 Yeah pretty gutted about all this used to get 1up Yours and the 1up Show every week for about 2 years now. That was one thing that got me back into games. Hope we hear from them again soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 7, 2009 UUUHHHHUUUUU!! Fuck you Shane! How's that for world economic collapse? Bet being unemployed isn't chic now, huh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 7, 2009 Gutted the network is dead...cannot believe all those people are gone! I have been a massive follower of 1up Yours for years now and cannot believe so many people have been layed off. From the list have bolded who I will miss; Going: Adrian Frieg Amy Mishra Amy Moran Andrea Garcia Andrew Fitch Andrew "Skip" Pfister Anthony Gallegos Cesar Quintero Christina Rosa CoyLou Steel Derek Chinn Doug Parsons Eric Ellis Giancarlo Varanini Greg Ford James "Milkman" Mielke Jason Bertrand Jason Wilson Jervilyn Jaramillo Justin Frechette Leslie Gelfand Marci Yamaguchi Matt Chandronait May Tong Meredith Stowe Michael Donahoe Monique Convertito Ndubuisi Madu Nick Suttner Norris Boothe Philip Kollar Rey Serrano Robert Bowen Rosemary Pinkham Ryan O'Donnell Ryan Scott Shane Bettenhausen - man god noooooo!!! Simon Cox Tammy Ross Tipler Ubbelohde Not surprised to see this happen the magazine (buy it from borders quite often) in my eyes hasn't been as good since James Mielke took over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 7, 2009 ex-GameVideos: "You can add me to the list of those fired. GameVideos Intern here... There is no doubt that this is a sad day for many people (my friends) and for gaming journalism in general. I know my buddies will continue to succeed in the future and prove how incompetent UGO is. They lied to our faces a month ago, and have tarnished one of the best websites on the internet. 1UP still retains a good group of guys, (Sharkey, Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, Mike Nelson, Alice Liang, Scooter, and the remnants from GameVideos, David, Rich and Nelson. That being said, it will be up to them to decide what will happen to 1UP. UGO has shot themselves in the foot quite early into their reign and I know more than a few of those that remain are pissed, confused, and upset over the loss of their coworkers and the assault on the website they pour love into on a daily basis. -Peter Brown" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 7, 2009 Have to admit never heard of UGO went on their site and it looks like a poor man IGN... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 8, 2009 Well apparently UGO has basically 'saved' 1UP from just going under. This was the only option. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 8, 2009 Well apparently UGO has basically 'saved' 1UP from just going under. This was the only option. Yeah it is the gos going round and its well known that Ziff Davis have been losing money and did fire for a form of bankcrupcy... I still think though that they have ripped the core out of what made the 1up network, it was and always has been the personalities. They put themselves out there and were out in the for front of the podcast movement and the 1up Show was definitly the best video podcast out there. I think they benefited from putting their personalities out there... No the site will be running with just a few of the staff that got it where it is and likely populated with UGO staff who don't get the 1up vibe and will turn it into what they want. I hope the guys all club together and make their own site giantbomb style. Mielke had the following to say; Despite what the internet might tell you, EGM's circulation was holding steady in the 550-650 thousand range, with around 550,000 paid subscriptions and 100K issues printed to distribute on newsstands. That's a lot of genuine, desired reach. There was no decline. EGM going away was simply a matter of UGO wanting a website, not a magazine, and the Ziff Davis corporation unwilling to remain in the costly print business. Simple as that. If we had had, say, Anyway some form guys from 1up are on here; http://www.eat-sleep-game.com/news/ along with a new podcast Rebel FM. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 8, 2009 This is fucking appalling. They were my favourite gaming news network, especially the 1up Show and the podcasts. First Jeff and Shawn went, probably two of the greatest gaming journalists I know of, and now this shit. Looks like I'm gonna have to find something other than podcasts to fill my time with now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 8, 2009 Yeah it is the gos going round and its well known that Ziff Davis have been losing money and did fire for a form of bankcrupcy... I still think though that they have ripped the core out of what made the 1up network, it was and always has been the personalities. They put themselves out there and were out in the for front of the podcast movement and the 1up Show was definitly the best video podcast out there. I think they benefited from putting their personalities out there... No the site will be running with just a few of the staff that got it where it is and likely populated with UGO staff who don't get the 1up vibe and will turn it into what they want. I hope the guys all club together and make their own site giantbomb style. Totally agree mate. I never went on the site, but I loved 1Up Yours and the 1Up Show. It was never quite the same after Luke Smith, and Mark McDonald left and a few others had also left, but it was still great. Apparently Shane was already leaving. I'm really gonna miss those shows. I'm just glad GiantBomb was formed, cos I felt like this about Gamespot this time last year when Gerstmann got the sack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 11, 2009 Totally agree mate. I never went on the site, but I loved 1Up Yours and the 1Up Show. It was never quite the same after Luke Smith, and Mark McDonald left and a few others had also left, but it was still great. Apparently Shane was already leaving. I'm really gonna miss those shows. I'm just glad GiantBomb was formed, cos I felt like this about Gamespot this time last year when Gerstmann got the sack. Was never into Gamespot myself, but love GiantBomb now, they are quite friendly with some of the 1uper's so wonder if there is space for them there. Nice to hear on Rebel FM that Matt and Ryan still want a weekly show and are going to work on something. They said they knew they were going to get dumped as the ads on 1up Show had dried up and therefore they were costing too much money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
