Where’s My Torch and Pitchfork?

January 7, 2009 on 12:30 pm | In Column, News | No Comments

By now you’ve probably heard the news, and the news is grim. Ziff Davis, owner of popular video game properties “Electronic Gaming Monthly” and 1up.com, has sold those assets to entertainment company UGO. As part of the sale and merger, “Electronic Gaming Monthly” will cease publication after the January 2009 issue. I’ve been a fan of the mag for quite some time now and it stands out as one of the industry’s leaders, but my sadness was further compounded by the fact that massive lay-offs have also been initiated on the online side as well at 1up.com.

You can read the full story here and puruse through the official bullshit, but I warn you, there’s a dizzying amount of hypocricy to be had. Over the past year, 1up.com has emerged as the place to go for fun and entertaining podcasts and videos. They regularly produced a couple of weekly 30-minute TV shows that have revolutionized the way video games are covered. Key to the success of these shows and the Web site as a whole were the personalities behind them. In fact, according to UGO, those “strong personalities” and unique reader loyalty they inspire are the reason it purchased the site.

Look, I’m no financial expert, but even I have the basic business acumen to realize when you buy something for its personalities, you should probably keep the people. It’s like buying a cow for milk and then slaughtering it for meat instead; The beef (i.e. cost savings) might be tasty, but you just killed the means of production.

I can understand shuttering EGM, though I loved the mag dearly. Print is a hard business for anybody to be in these days, no matter what they cover. It’s okay, I understand, you’ve got to cut some excess, slim down operations. However, don’t wield a chainsaw when a scapel will do. UGO overnight took a shotgun to one of the Internet’s most popular Web sites and blew it to pieces. Why should I go back? When I read 1up.com I actually remembered the names of the people who work there. At the risk of sounding socially inept, it felt like UGO fired my friends. Vengence, not Web site visits, is what’s on my mind now. Let the boycott commence.

For 1up’s sake, I hope someone at UGO reads forums because they will realize there’s a lot of angry people out there. The damage has been done, but let’s at least hope they realize it. For all those that are suddenly unemployed, rest assured that your talents didn’t go unappreciated and we will follow you wherever you go next.

I apologize for the excess of metaphors and similes wielded haphazardly throughout this entry. I guess magazine foldings and massive lay-offs just bring out the (shoddy) poet in me.