Gamertell

Man, what a week to go on vacation. I returned back to the states yesterday, all rested from a nice little tropical getaway, and what do I find - that my favorite magazine of all time has been abruptly canned, along with a huge portion of the network that it was part of. I know that everyone has heard about the demise of Electronic Gaming Monthly, and about the massive firing of 1Up Network staff (among them, most of the people responsible for the phenomenal podcasts and video content on the site), a result of the network being bought by UGO (part of the Hearst company).

I can’t even tell you how shocked I was, despite the swirling rumors. Well, I’m not the only one upset about the changes - Gus Mastrapa over at gamedaily has written the magazine - and the 1Up Network as we knew it - a proper, mournful eulogy.

From the piece:

“We’ve lost a great intangible – something that can’t be manufactured or replicated. EGM and the many blogs, podcasts and videos that grew from it managed to distill the new gaming zeitgeist – something that built a bridge between the competitive frat appeal of hardcore gaming, the intense ‘dorkiness’ of fandom and a growing hipness, a geek chic.”

I couldn’t agree more. 1Up was, without a doubt, always been my favorite source of podcasts, since each one had such a unique, entertaining and interesting flavor. I constantly hum the tune to “The 1Up Show”, and I look forward to each and every episode of 1UP Fm, 1Up Yours and Retronauts each week. I work out to them actually, and my very first thought upon hearing the news was “what the hell is going to entertain me on the treadmill now?”

That’s not even touching what I felt for EGM, of which I’ve been a subscriber for well over ten years, with every issue since 1997 stacked in my house. I go back and read the old ones, glorying in those fat 200-page issues of the glory days. We all heard the rumors, we all saw the magazine waste away, getting skinnier and skinnier. And yes, we all watched season editors depart - so we smelled this coming. But not so soon - or so abruptly. Or, honestly… so unceremoniously.

So to all the amazing writers and editors and artists who lost their jobs last week - I just want to say thank you. Thank you, and the best of luck to you in the future. To the rest of the folks left at the network, I wish you the best in your endeavors as well. It’s been a crappy week for games journalism - and I’m flying my little flag at half mast right now.

Read [gamedaily] Read [Joystiq] Read [gamertell]