UGO swallows 1up and spits out the shell
January 7th, 2009
With the recent news of the acquisition of the 1up network by UGO and it’s parent company, the Hearst Corporation, the death of another historic publication has come to pass. When the “Games For Windows” magazine published it’s last issue April of last year, the signs that former 1up holder, Ziff Davis Media, was in trouble were definitely there, but who would have guessed that less then a year later the entire network would be sold to another company leaving a majority of the staff lost in transition? While certainly whenever an acquisition or merger takes place there is going to be redundancy that will usually be resolved with the firing of employees, the way in which Hearst has handed out pink slips seems rather counter intuitive on their part.
In both the official press release, as well as a front page news story on UGO, an emphasis is put on the talent that is being gained in the acquisition as 1up is known for it’s “personalities,” and “authentic voice.” Certainly the best way to keep the quality of a website known for it’s personalities and authentic voice is to fire a majority of the staff day one, right? While I have no business telling Hearst how to run their company, one would think if you tout the editorial staff in your press release it would behoove you to keep them. It is sad to see such a great team being fired just like a McDonalds Employee with no regard for anything but the bottom line.
While this situation brings to mind the firing of Gamespot personality Jeff Gerstmann, the fallout from these mass firings could have much more of a profound effect on both the readership and perception of both UGO and 1up. Gamers are a discerning bunch, and I am unsure if UGO and it’s staff really had much to do with the staffing decisions, or if it was Hearst simply treating 1up as it would any of it’s other publications, such as Cosmo, Good Housekeeping, and Seventeen. While the changing of a staff, especially those responsible for the voice of the content, may not be an issue for the readership of a majority of their other magazines or publications, with the 1up network this will not be the case. Through the 1up show, the weekly podcasts, and the many editor blogs a certain familiarity has been built with those that work at 1up that created an interesting brand association, which has now been subsequently eliminated.
While I would be lying if I said I could cover this as an objective observer, and not someone who just realized he has a two hour listening block to fill on Fridays, the fact remains that once again, “the man” proves that just when something is really coming into it’s own and providing a service that is fantastic, he will come and take it away like the bully on the playground. I sincerely hope that all those that lost their jobs in the acquisition go on to do bigger and better things in an industry where they should be seen for what they can bring to a company instead of how much they cost the company each year.
-Eric Wall
Tags: 1up, Game Industry, UGO
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January 7th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Ugh. When I heard the news that the Hearst Corporation would definitely be buying 1UP, I was concerned for the future of my favorite gaming site. Then I heard the news about the many, many lay offs, and concern turned to disgust. Not strictly because lay offs occurred - that’s business. I’m disgusted by who got cut. Many of the 1UP staffers now finding themselves in the unemployment line were extremely talented writers, and they were the reason I went to 1UP daily. They made the site worth reading, and the podcasts worth listening to. They weren’t just faceless drones putting words on a website - they were unique individuals with interesting personalities, perspectives, and opinions. They were the heart and soul of 1UP, and without them, 1UP is just a name, void of all the journalistic value it once held.
I’m also deeply disgusted with the way the Hearst Corporation via UGO presented their side of the acquisition. From their own news story about the purchase:
“1UP is all about its personalities, and its fans are awesome, passionate and willing to fight to the death over whether Final Fantasy X2 was an abomination or a triumph. It’s an honor to bring that passion into the UGO fold. We are like-minded in our love of video games and I plan on welcoming them to the family by kicking their collective asses in Street Fighter IV.”
All about the personalities? Really? If that’s why you bought 1UP, then why did you fire most of those personalities you were so fond of? It’s underhanded to talk about the personalities at 1UP and the dedication of the staff, and then turn around and have a good old fashioned mass firing. UGO, and Hearst spit in the faces of every 1UP fan out there when they made that statement.
Over the years, 1UP has served as a source of information to me as a gamer, and as an inspiration to me as a writer. To see it broken down and dismantled like this is extremely disheartening. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything more from the Hearst Corporation. With such distinguished holdings as Seventeen, Redbook, ecrush.com, and kaboodle.com, it should come as no surprise that they would take a pillar of the video game enthusiast press, and tear it down.
It’s hard to feel any sort of optimism for the future of 1UP.com when I look at the Hearst Corporation’s other gaming site, UGO. If you go to their main page (and I recommend against it) the first thing you’ll see is an ad that takes up roughly 70% of the screen. Nestled snugly in the lower left hand corner of this ad is the beginning of their content. As the owner of CYH, I completely understand the need for ads, however, it’s clear from their advertising methods that ad revenue is the first concern over at UGO, and content is a distant second. The articles all feel sort of bland and homogeneous. It’s hard to understand how they ever managed to achieve any level of success.
Hopefully, everyon from 1UP who now finds themselves jobless will go on to do bigger and better things in the near future. We here at Check Your HUD would like to wish
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
the best of luck in whatever they wind up doing with themselves in their post-1UP careers.
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January 7th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I just hope gametrailers doesn’t go under aswell, I love that site
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