Gamertell

We are sorry to interrupt (or at least emotionally hijack) CES coverage but our earlier report about UGO acquiring the 1UP network has been officially confirmed.

Properties sold include: 1UP.com, MyCheats, GameTab and GameVideos. FileFront will reportedly become part of the PCMag Digital Network.

Unfortunately, however, things won’t be going over as smoothly as we first thought. Gamasutra got a hold of an internal email in which Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young says that “more scale is necessary to effectively compete in this market segment”. 

To start with, Electronic Gaming Monthly, better known as EGM, will officially cease printing. This is something a lot of people were expecting since Ziff Davis made little attempt to hide the fact they were looking to bring the monthly magazine online. According to a report by GameSetWatch, the January 2009 issue will be the final print issue with the already finished February 2009 issue being distributed via PDF. No word on what sort of compensation people will be offered that had subscriptions to the magazine.

While it would’ve been sad to think that a few people would be losing their jobs, the reality is far more gruesome than thought. Numerous people have been laid off including very key people to 1UP’s current persona.

Joystiq is reporting that ex-members of the 1UP network have indicted they have been let go, the list includes:

• 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

Forty people lost their jobs in a move that was supposed to save jobs. Irony sucks. While 40 people doesn’t compare to the thousands of people who are losing their jobs every day, the ground here is a bit different in that these are people who in some way interacted with us on a personal and profession level.

As far as I know, Jeremy Parish will be staying on but forum reports seem to suggest that Garnett Lee, Sam Kennedy, Tina Sanchez, Matt Leone, and David Ellis will be staying on as well. No word on Ray Barnholt or the seemingly vanished Scott Sharkey yet, but I’m guessing if MyCheats is still around, he will, too.

With Andrew “Skip” Pfister gone, it will also mean the end of all 1UP podcasts including the 1UP Show. The last 1UP podcast to go live was the second part of a two part holiday special, that unfortunately had an ominous promise of big things to come. This is a huge loss to the gaming community as a lot of great gaming content has seemingly vanished for now.

While fans do often say rash things in a time of sadness, many are thinking of simply pulling out of 1UP altogether, which makes me wonder just how much longer the 1UP “flagship” can sail? We’ll see in time. I guess while video games might be recession-proof, people will never be. In the meantime we’ll just have to wait for more reports on the sudden news.

Our best wishes go out to those without jobs right now, we know you’ll land back on your feet soon and we look forward to seeing you guys do it.

P.S: They found Sharkey! On the Retronauts blog, Jeremy Parish has confirmed that the previously unknown fates of both Ray Barnholt and Scott Sharkey will indeed remain at 1UP, where they do plan to continue running both the Retronauts blog and the podcast. 

Read [Gamerttell] Also Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Gamasutra] Also Read [1UP] Also Read [GameSetWatch]