Exclusive: UGO in high-level talks to buy 1UP; EGM not part of deal

by Kyle Orland on Dec 10th 2008 12:00AM

Multiple sources in and around Ziff Davis Media have told Joystiq that UGO Entertainment is on the verge of finalizing a deal to buy parts of Ziff's 1UP Network, including 1up.com, GameVideos.com and MyCheats.com.

The sources, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the talks, confirmed to Joystiq that the companies were in "very advanced talks" regarding the sale of many of Ziff's popular gaming web sites. 1UP Network editorial staff were reportedly informed of the potential sale in an all-hands meeting Tuesday and UGO executives will reportedly be flying out to meet with the Ziff staff as soon as Wednesday. Few details of the potential buyout plan are known at this time, but UGO reportedly plans to keep the Ziff sites operating independently as separate entities with their own branding, rather than subsuming them fully into the UGO Entertainment Network.

Our sources also report that UGO has little to no interest in purchasing either Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine or FileFront.com, two wavering pillars of Ziff's increasingly shaky Game Group. Ziff has had particular trouble selling ads for upcoming issues of EGM, suggesting that the February issue might be the final one for the long-running magazine, our sources reported. This adds credence to recent reports that Ziff may be looking to transform EGM into an online-only property. Ziff has been looking for a buyer for the beleaguered Game Group for at least two years.

UGO Entertainment started off in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online and currently attracts over 35 million unique monthly visitors to its general lifestyle portal at UGO.com. In July of 2007 the UGO Network was acquired by mega-publishing conglomerate Hearst Corporation. The network's current properties include GamingTarget.com, GameCheats.com and RPG-focused site GameBanshee.com, as well as celebrity-focused sites like At Pictures.

Tags: 1up, breakingnews, EGM, electronic-gaming-monthly, exclusive, GameCheats, GameVideos, GamingTarget, MyCheats, rumor, UGO

Reader Comments (39)

Wow.

...What?

D.amn

Guess it was bound to happen but UGO? ugh. hope that 1UP can get some better servers out of the buyout.

And produce more video.

Huh?
...

EGM is the last journalistic, authoritative, and well-written gaming magazine out there. It'll be a damn shame when it finally goes. I only hope the 1UP network can maintain its similar high standards, regardless of ownership.

I enjoy the magazine for sure, and I like their rating system. Personally, the last two subscriptions to game mags I had were EGM and GameInformer. Both were free. I've never paid for a game mag subscription and never will. Outside of the freebies, I'll buy one when I'm flying for work or vacation.

Not surprised, I can't imagine many of these mags will survive.

EGM is only surviving on the contributions of 1UP writers, if they go the mag is doomed.

God knows why Ziff is selling up, unless they know the company is a bust and are cashing out while they can.
I just hope the 1UP Yours podcast goes on!

Bullshit. EGM has been garbage since around 2001. They're more concerned about trying to seem cool and funny and putting snappy answers in their letter column than doing any real journalistic work.

Loved it when EGM took their job seriously, but now if it goes out of print? No big loss at all.

I'm sorry Kizzle, but I'm gonna disagree. You oughta check out what James Mielke has done with the magazine since he took over the EIC spot from Shoe. It's become much more features-oriented and interesting to read. I don't care so much about news, previews and reviews in print because those are timely things that should be read online instead of waiting to hear about them once a month, and EGM has adapted pretty well to cover other things about the industry as a result.

UGO? No, no, no. Their site is one big Chilli's ad - it's hideous, and it indicates a lack of understanding and respect for the target audience.

In related news, I want my baby back baby back baby back baby back....... yea, you get the joke... I like ribs.

Huh, all this time I've been on the internet and reading gaming websites and I've never heard of UGO.

I can't say I'm impressed by my first glance.

If they fuck up the podcasts - I'll .. I'll.. probably just be upset and helpless to stop it. *Sigh*

Too bad, EGM was the only decent game mag in the US. I'll have to spring for an Edge subscription now, I guess. Will they even deliver them here?

You can, but since it's imported it costs a lot to subscribe to it. =/

That's what Christmas is for! :D

Never heard of them.

You're not alone. Never heard of UGO either.

UGO has been around for several years. It was one of the first big gaming networks online. If you have not heard of them, pay more attention.

Pay attention?

I've been around for decades in the gaming scene.

If I've not heard of them it's their problem.

Or maybe you don't dig deep enough to find what's out there?

That said, UGO is pretty awful.

UGO certainly brings back some memories...but then again, so does Nintendo Power, and at the time, I didn't really care about journalistic integrity or writer bias.

This is a real shame, firstly because EGM is the first non-biased video game magazine I've ever read, but secondly because 1up is one of the last non-mega-portal video game news sites left (obviously there are plenty of blogs left, such as the one we are all reading right now, but it's not the same).

Meh. The bad news just keeps coming in. If EGM closes, I'll have lost EGM, Computer Gaming Monthly (or games for windows, whatever it was called when it died), and PC Magazine, all within a year. What is next? Maximum PC? Will Ziff have any print media left? What am I supposed to read on the crapper? If I have to stoop so low as to read Joystiq off of my Iphone as I take a dump, I am going to be pissed.

Correction, Maximum PC is Future US not Ziff. I know I have another ZD magazine sub, but I can't think of what it is....

"UGO certainly brings back some memories...but then again, so does Nintendo Power, and at the time, I didn't really care about journalistic integrity or writer bias."

Why would you question UGO's integrity? Is it just that you haven't read the site in several years? UGO shifted focus to content-driven output more than two years ago. There's still ad-supported content there, but that's a given on the Internet.

It's just too bad UGO's site layout is so clunky. All of the daily games content now just appears on their blog.

"If I have to stoop so low as to read Joystiq off of my Iphone as I take a dump, I am going to be pissed."

Dude, what's wrong with that? I do it every night! Just look up the address for joystiq mobile, or turn your iPhone sideways and read the full site that way--it works surprisingly well. Just don't drop your iPhone in the crapper while you're dropping off the kids!

Mostly I just have no faith in the large portal sites being anything close to unbiased. Then again...1up did feature the new Lara Croft game on the 1up show 2 weeks in a row, at the same time as Lara Croft was a full page ad on 1up's home page, an ad before 1up videos and gamevideos.com videos, and the back page ad of EGM (with insert ads throughout) so I don't know if the EGM I'm defending right now is the same EGM from the Dan Shoe days or not.

Oh, and I have no problem reading off of my Iphone. I just find taking my electronics into the bathroom to be disgusting, especially an electronics device I hold so close to my face for so many hours per day.

If UGO buys 1UP, they better keep Garret, Shane and David in some position on the website so that they can still do the podcast
Because if EGM DOES become an online mag and UGO ISN'T buying EGM, then that means that EGM will keep their writers and editors and they won't be part of 1UP anymore. And that would fucking suck. So fuck EGM Online, just keep the editors for 1UP
And they better keep 1UP Yours.
Or else I'll fucking cry.
Man I should've bought more EGMs...T_T

UGO is an entirely forgettable website. Who knows what they'll do with 1up which is probably the best gaming website from top to bottom.

I know print is dead, but damn I've really enjoyed having EGM to leaf through on the can. There's just something about the physical medias that [make me feel like an old man in a new world]

If Ziff really does sell 1up, EGM is as good as dead. A few months ago they re-orged their game group and pretty much did away with the distiction between online and print in terms of content generation. I don't even see how they could do something online only without a gap while they restaff the group.

Wonder what they'll do for those of us with current subscriptions. :|

This is a bummer, but I knew it was coming. Times have changed; just look at most of us--instead of eagerly awaiting our copies of EGM in the mail to keep us up-to-date on all things gaming, we anxiously check joystiq (or 1up) every day. As gamers, our reading habits have changed.

I remember back in the day (mid 90's) when some issues of EGM would clock in at about 300 or more pages (especially the holiday issues-talk about huge!), but for a while I've noticed that most current issues are barely 100 pages; it's obvious that Ziff's been putting their eggs in another basket and EGM's become a mere afterthought, not to mention the ridiculous amount of staffers they've lost.

*Sigh* I think someone else mentioned the last 2 game subscriptions they had were EGM and Game Informer; same here. Game Informer, however, still makes for a fairly interesting read... Except for the stupid jokes in the NPD top ten list, and the piss-poor "Classic" section where they review tripe like "Taz" for Genesis (note: if any Game Informer staff is reading, PLEASE do a retrospective on Silent Hill games 1-4; I'd consider them classics by now).

Classic.

Dark Days. If they don't keep the entire staff it's a tragedy. That's always seemed like the Rolling Stone of games journalism, the place you imagine getting a job one day, and that's largely due to the staff they've collected. Good luck, guys.

Didn't Ziff consolidate their gaming group so that everyone was under 1UP, including mag staff? If so, what would happen is UGO would get all staff and web assets, including EGM management. Ziff would close the magazine but retain the name, in the event they want to relaunch down the road (or perhaps make an EGM-branded gaming site?).

UGO still needs the staff from 1UP, and they were already operating pretty lean, so I don't see anyone going anywhere.

I knew this was going to happen eventually, but now that it actually is, its depressing as hell.

FileFront is a "wavering pillar?" I always liked FileFront MUCH better than File Planet, and personally I liked FileFront loads better before 1Up bombarded the site with their "branding" and I hope both EGM and FileFront get better buyers because both rock in my book. Neither need 1UP to maintain their fan base just a good owner

What's that you say? More bad news for Ziff Davis print media? Sign of the times as print loses ground to emerging media in the digital age? We could have taken a huge clue from the fact that a good number of the editorial heavyweights at EGM and 1UP departed in the past two years?

I'm already looking forward to Simon Cox's next blog post assuring me that nothing bad is happening and the future of EGM is safe.

Thank god. Die EGM die. Hasn't been a worthwhile magazine for two console generations.

I just got the first issue of my 12 month EGM subscription. Lame!

EGM probably has trouble with ad revenue because it doesn't have a focused audience. Who knows what platform a reader prefers spends their income on?

Print isn't dead yet, Ziff seemingly wants to jettison their gaming group and that is depressing.

It amazes me that with the gaming industry at an all time high that videogame journalism & reviews are struggling. There seems to be a disconnect be the industry (games mags) and the market.

No more EGM? I'll have to find another toilet paper alternative. Everything that EOM/1up provides I get from Joystiq in a wittier, less elitist fashion. Good bye mediocrity. Good riddance.

Looks like Shane Bentenhousen is going to have to change his name to Shame Aintgotnohouse-n. Yes flame away at my insensitive rant. But truly I feel sorry for the newest staff they hired, Nick Suttner and Phillip Kholer. Their "journalism" is less mired than the hardened fanboyism that Shane, Milky and the others instill in their writing and Reality Review Show (1up).

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Exclusive: UGO in high-level talks to buy 1UP; EGM not part of deal

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