Ziff Davis games division cost too much?
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Feb 4th 2007 at 7:00PM }
Doesn't look like the potential buyers for Ziff Davis's games group, which includes EGM, Games for Windows and 1UP, are willing to pay the three times revenue price for the group that Ziff Davis wants. Asking for three times revenue, on a division that brings in mid-$20 million, but still breaks even on earnings is, as one source puts it in Foliomag.com, "Very, very over-the-top."Kevin Gifford explores the sale and the Ziff Davis corporation in his latest Magweasel column at GameSetWatch. Avoiding the pitfalls of dumping on how print is a "rapidly diminishing" presence -- going so far as to say he thinks EGM is doing a "very good job at proving why they should exist." -- he comments more on the turn of events at Ziff Davis. A company which profited from enthusiast publications is finding their business eroding by the ultimate enthusiasts publication tool -- the internet.
See also: For Sale: EGM and 1UP
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
adam @ Feb 4th 2007 7:17PM
It's only going to get worse, before it gets better.
SSBR @ Feb 4th 2007 8:26PM
EGM was a great magazine back in the 90's, early 2000. But the magazine has lost it touch and decided flashy graphics and over advertising would make a great mag. Hopefully there sale will equal a better magazine. Anyone remember the Sheng Long April Fools joke? hahaha classic!
http://www.rolesor.com
GhaleonQ @ Feb 4th 2007 9:21PM
Unfortunately, when EGM moved much of its content to 1-Up, it stopped being a must-have magazine.
LongshotX @ Feb 4th 2007 10:52PM
Game Magazines are a lost cause nowadays with the "internets".
WTF-Chuck.com @ Feb 4th 2007 11:11PM
Man if only the Ziff-Davis gaming group could simply poach all stories and news from other more reputable outlets, they might be able to run at the P&E ratio that would be acceptable to its existing owner.
Goober @ Feb 4th 2007 11:15PM
I stopped reading ZD magazines when they started sending them to me with ads on the front over the covers. Right away that told me what was more important to them.
Kane @ Feb 5th 2007 10:07AM
EGM is complete shit. I'll be glad to see it go if it does. It was a fantastic publication in the early 90's, as it was a preferable alternative to Gamepro (the only other somewhat respectable non-game company magazine with any kind of distribution) that was much more adult in tone and execution. It treated gaming respectfully and they fit a TON of stuff into every issue. Throughout most of the 90's it was very good. But over the last several years, it has become a complete joke. All they do now is try to entertain themselves and try to prove to us how cool they think they are. Very, very little "journalism" in those pages these days.
Chris Porter @ Feb 5th 2007 11:04AM
While I agree there's a little too much "personality" from the editors in the pages of EGM these days, the quality of their features, previews and reviews makes it the only gaming mag I'll pick up anymore.
Sure, the mag's not as heavy as it used to be, and I can read through the whole thing in the better part of an hour, but it's still by far the best of the best as far as I'm concerned. Compare EGM's quality features with the drawn-out screeds in Game Informer — one tells you what you need to know, while the other is simply a travel feature by a reporter.
And, I'll say this for them — they're design's the best in the business.
Keymaster @ Feb 5th 2007 1:42PM
Primary news sources like 1UP aren't hurt by blogs, they're helped by them. On the contrary the "enthusiast press" wouldn't exist without quality features/reviews/previews/op ed pieces to post about.