Comments on: UGO swallows 1up and spits out the shell http://checkyourhud.com/ugo-swallows-1up-and-spits-out-the-shell/ No one knows where a ninja goes... Fri, 18 May 2012 02:23:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: 桐生尤里 http://checkyourhud.com/ugo-swallows-1up-and-spits-out-the-shell/comment-page-1/#comment-6166 桐生尤里 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:00:21 +0000 http://checkyourhud.com/?p=1766#comment-6166 I just hope gametrailers doesn't go under aswell, I love that site I just hope gametrailers doesn’t go under aswell, I love that site

]]> By: Mike Kurz http://checkyourhud.com/ugo-swallows-1up-and-spits-out-the-shell/comment-page-1/#comment-6160 Mike Kurz Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:57:07 +0000 http://checkyourhud.com/?p=1766#comment-6160 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. 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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