While it was deemed inevitable by many to occur, a highly-respected and long-running magazine shutting down is indeed a mounful time. The ease and speed at which information is relayed on the internet continues to cripple the print world, and no publication can no longer be considered free of worry.
Personally, I am going to miss the emphasis on thought-provoking articles that magazines like EGM and Games for Windows provided. The preview/hype/review cycle is well-established on the internet, and those two magazines evolved in a positive way by focusing more on the culture, history and business of gaming. That type of content can certainly flourish on the 'net, but one also had to wade through the loudness of that aforementioned cycle in order to get to the good stuff.
As for 1UP, major questions surrounding the placement and retaining of the 1UP editorial staff and the network's various media functions (podcasts, weekly shows, etc.) are likely to arise in the coming days, and it will certainly be interesting to see who stays and goes.
"Many of our employees will travel with this business and become part of the UGO team."
So, does that mean that members of the current 1UP crew are going to be assimilated into the UGO family? Or perhaps it is a mix of business and editorial? I, for one, hope UGO sees the value in the cohesion of the 1UP staff and lets things ride out.
With all that said, all I can hope for is that job cuts are minimal and that the proud, hard-working crew of EGM and 1UP are taken care of.
[ Edit: "Most of Gamevideos and the entire crew of The 1UP Show" are not making the leap to UGO, according to Matt Chandronait. Noooo. :( ]
[ Edit 2: Oh God. 40 folks are getting pink slips. Terrible news. ]
Best of luck to you all.
And here is to you, EGM.
*raises glass*
