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Ziff Davis today: 1UP sale, layoffs, EGM shutdown

Posted Jan 6, 2009 at 2:57PM EST by Mabie A.

Listed in: Tags: EGM, Electronic Gaming Monthly, MTV, podcast, Ziff Davis

It's official. Ziff Davis has sold 1UP to UGO Entertainment and has closed EGM. This was confirmed by no less than an official press release from both camps earlier today.

1UP Digital Network's sale includes the website 1UP.com, MyCheats.com, GameVideos.com and GameTab.com. Unfortunately, the 1UP podcasts' fate remains uncertain at this point. Creator Ryan O'Donnel and producer Matt Chandronait have announced that the show will no longer run, but on the other hand, 1UP site director Sam Kennedy refuses to confirm said announcement.

"We're going to try and maintain a lot of the audio and video going forward," he said in a phone interview with MTV Multiplayer.

Will we have as many shows as we have in the past? Probably not, but we have - we've had - a lot of ideas for future shows and we're pretty excited about what we'll do in the future. Right now, we're going through the process of really figuring out what kind of shows and products we want to keep going in the future. Our intention is to keep as many going as we can.

As for the Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine (EGM), it is also another unfortunate blow to the industry as its January 2009 print issue will be its last.

In a statement released by Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young via the press release:

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 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.

Apart from the said transaction, it has also been revealed that Ziff Davis has been wracked by a series of layoffs. So far, reports claim that more than 30 people have already been sacked to make way for the transition into the new company, including most of the GameVideos.com team. Andrew Pfister, 1UP podcast producer, was also part of the layoffs.

As for the acquiring party, UGO Entertainment, the Hearst Corporation unit promises to continue serving the gamer community with their new ownership of 1UP.com. J Moses, CEO of UGO Entertainment, said:

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.

Ken Bronfin, Hearst Interactive Media president, chimes in:

In this difficult marketplace and at a time, when many companies are scaling back their businesses, UGO Entertainment continues to grow and expand its position in the games space. We remain dedicated to supporting UGO's growth in this category.

It's not the best way to start off the year, especially for those laid off. We wish them the best of luck, and we thank them for their contributions to the gaming industry.

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Why the hell did they cancel the magazine? WHO THE HELL WOULD READ ONE ONLINE?! Can I take my virtual magazine into my bedroom to read? NO! Can I take my virtual magazine on a trip? NO! Can I bring my virtual magazine with me to show my friends at school/work? NO! WHY DID THEY DO THIS? TERRIBLE IDEA! They are just ignorant people thinking about money and not about people. Not everybody has a computer and internet to be able to read the virtual "magazines" (which will soon be copied for people to get for free, so PWNT THERE) and have they never heard of other sites with FREE information? Apparently not.

# And... — Kcdeath94 2009-01-06 16:56

Also, what about people who would buy EGM for kids/people in a hospital? Poor kids won't get to read their magazines now, all thanks to ignorant publishers.

# That sucks.. How the hell can a magazine with 80% ads lose money?! — s*****man 2009-01-06 17:05

I have been collecting EGM since issue #1 in 1989 and it had a great run. It really hit it's stride in the mid 90's. I saw this coming for a while, but it's kinda sad to see them go. I just figured they could have kept this going if they really wanted to. I think they took on too many writers.

# .... — Tyrant156 2009-01-06 17:14

Why can't you take a virtual mag to your bed on a trip or to school?

# hmmmm. — ConXept 2009-01-06 19:12

Here's an idea, same some money and buy a laptop.

Then you can show your virtual mag, along with your virtual porn to all your virtual friends.

# ... — Tyrant156 2009-01-06 23:32

A iphone is even cheap +)

# @Kcdeath94 — Guest 2009-01-07 03:19

Rather unfortunate news, indeed. But it's not much of a surprise. Back in November, Ziff Davis already announced the ceasing of their biggest and longest gaming print publication, PC Magazine. And even at that time, they were already debating on the lifespan of EGM.

http://www.qj.net/PC-Magazine-ceasing-print-going-online-only-EGM-may-follow/pg/49/aid/126536

# This sucks — dra6onfire 2009-01-07 06:00

Bummer ... I just renewed in october ...

# So sad, so inevitable — Daistaar 2009-01-07 21:57

The answers are actually pretty obvious. Sad but obvious. Print cost significantly more to produce and distribute. It was not cost effective to hire multiple designers, have printers that roll out the mags, proofreaders, editors, reviewers, and distributors. Not to mention that the info was ALWAYS OUTDATED as print could NEVER EVER compete with web which is near instantaneous. Not to mention the fact that you'd have to flip through 5-6 ads to get to a column or review. My wife worked in the ZD building in NY and has friends there so we knew about this since the summer, sadly. Expect others to fully suit. Where in a digital age where everyone wants instant gratification; not to mention the current economic woes. This was clearly the best route for all parties except those unfortunate souls that didn't survive the transition.

# Make sure to call EGM to get a refund on your subscription! — s*****man 2009-01-08 16:15

I just renewed for 2 years a few months ago. I already called and the refund is on it's way.

At least they are being cool about refunding our money.

I now have a complete set of all 237 EGM magazines.

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Ziff Davis today: 1UP sale, layoffs, EGM shutdown

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