UGO Buys 1up: EGM Officially Canned

Remember how I recently reported that Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) might “go the way of the dodo”? Well, it looks like that has finally come true. UGO Entertainment has purchased 1up from Ziff Davis, and while they may have claimed that 1up would “stand beside UGO as a flagship brand.” (as quoted from UGO.com), that appears to not be the case as they’ve laid off an enormous amount of 1up’s previous staff. Also, to add insult to injury, Ziff Davis has canned EGM in the process.

What’s aggravating about UGO acquiring 1up is that they essentially purchased it and killed it off around the same time. It appears as if UGO simply wanted the 1up name in order to drive more attention to its site (which currently isn’t a major force in the internet world). Also, even though it’s no secret that EGM has been a magazine of questionable quality for the past six years, I still hate to see a magazine I grew up reading be put to an end.

Oh well, that’s the way the business world runs. The popularity of print magazines have been declining for years now in our Internet age, and I’d expect some of the few remaining U.S. game-based magazines to suffer the same fate within the next couple of years. As long as Europe continues to provide us with quality video game magazines then I’ll still be a somewhat satisfied man…

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EGM - Going the Way of the Dodo?

Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) is one of the longest running gaming magazines in North America. While most print video game-based magazines went down under over the past few years (starting around 2005, when Xbox Nation, an independent Xbox Magazine, was among the first of many gaming publications canceled) EGM and a few others (such as GamePro and Game Informer) managed to survive.

EGM may be the next American gaming publication to get the boot, however. UGO Entertainment is reportedly a potential buyer of Ziff Davis' 1up Network, but they're apparently not the least bit interested in acquiring EGM with it. Add to the fact that Ziff Davis has been having a difficult time selling ad space for EGM lately and you have a recipe for a scrapped magazine.

While EGM has certainly gone downhill since its 2003 redesign (each proceeding year after that we would find a more watered down magazine that lacked overall substance), it's still disappointing to see veteran magazine such as this possibly go out the door. The future doesn't look bright for print media, and it doesn't help that the quality of most established magazines today are far below what they were years ago.