Potential Death of EGM/1up on the horizon
 

http://www.thelastboss.com/post.phtml?pk=1999

Ziff Davis Media is going under, and are selling off their assets to the highest bidders. Possible buyers of their gaming media section include MTV, which we all know is a bad thing.

Regardless of what many say, EGM has consistently been relatively unbiased in their presentation, blunt as hell in interviews, and have a habit of getting straight to the point when tackling topics. Read GamePro if you want to see some true unintelligible sh*t on paper.

Its possible that the entire staff could be laid off, or the format/guidelines the magazines/website follow going down the tubes in favor of something new at the whim of the new owner. It is fully possible the entire publication could go down completely. Whatever happens, the result cannot be good in the end. The death of EGM as we know it would mean the loss of a long standing and credible source of gaming news.

What's your opinions?

I first heard about this about two months ago, and it's a constant topic of conversation at 1up, and they really don't seem very worried. They're not going anywhere.

Here's the deal, 1up is one of the biggest gaming websites on the internet, and they're easily the focal point of this sale. They generate huge profits, so any company that does buy them will be making a safe bet. Therefore no one who works at 1up is in jeopardy of losing their job. That means such EGM standouts like Shane Bettenhausen and Dan Hsu. The thing Ziff is doing is packaging their print media, EGM, GFW Magazine, the now defunct OPM etc. with 1up. If a company is going to buy 1up, they've got to buy the whole group.

And here's the reason those magazines won't be going bottom up. It's a lot more expensive to completely fold up a company and stop production than it is to just keep pushing money in it to keep it being published. And EGM still makes money, there's no reason to shut it down.

The packaging of the print media is also exactly the reason MTV/Viacom will not be buying the 1up package. That company owns no print media, they have no interest in print media, this deal contains print property, this has been made very clear. If I'm not mistaken the whole MTV thing was washed down the drain about two weeks ago on Kotaku and various other news sites, anyways.

1up up and EGM are two of my favourite forms of gaming media, not just for their blunt statements and complete lack of bias, but because they produce some extremely entertaining and quality stuff. I'm not worried.

Hm. I don't read EGM or visit 1up, but I always hear that they're extremely biased. I guess those people are misinterpreting the blunt truth as bias.

1up and EGM have the most truthful editors you could ever hear. I mean...Luke Smith himself could simply turn all those nay-sayers into believers with one single interview. My favourite one in the last little while was his interview with Phil Harrison.

Luke: So, why should people buy a PS3? And don't say Resistance because Gears of War is clearly better.

Phil:*stunned silence*

They are brutally honest over there. If anyone is serious about games, you really need to listen to the 1up Yours podcast every Friday. It really is terrific. And honestly, no one has a better cast of characters than 1up/EGM. From the godly John Davidson, to the constantly confused Garnett Lee. Those guys are all great.

Agreed. I love EGM, I think they were starting to get even better, actually. The magazines I've been getting lately have been having lots of cool features. I haven't been to 1up very much, but the few times I've gone there, I've been entertained.

Also, people will say anything is biassed when they realize that games they like are getting crappy reviews.

Oh yea, and SeanBaby is awesome.

Linkage, please!! I need to see Phil Harrison getting owned. God, I hate that douche.

You'll have to search around all the episodes of the 1up Show on 1up.com, as it was featured on one of them. He also has a couple first hand reactions to that interview on an episode of the 1up Yours podcast.

Yeah, I heard that. That was the single greatest interview question ever done, period. I pissed my pants laughing. The media needs to lighten up like 1up and tell the sh*t like it is, even if it pisses off the PR people on both sides.

EGM hates Sonic the Hedgehog. Then again, lately, I been hating Sonic's games...so I'd have to agree with them lately.