UPRC posted it in the SFIV thread but it's sort of a shock and I guess deserves its own thread. Electronic Gaming Monthly is dead.

UGO/Hearst Publishing officially bought the 1UP Network yesterday and I guess there was an internal email leaked that EGM was shutting down after the January issue (which is technically out I guess?)

The official UGO aquisition announcement is here: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172156

I don't think there's been official word on EGM being shut down yet, but I think it's a done deal.

I dunno. I haven't been reading EGM much since like 2004, but I've occasionally bought an issue when I've got time to kill and am near a newstand. It's the only videogame magazine I've ever bothered with, because it's the only one that wasn't afraid to give out bad reviews, and it used to have some funny writing. I bought an issue a few months back and was surprised how small (it was the November issue I think and these used to be huge) it was, as well as how BROAD it had become too. I guess they were desperately trying to appeal to a bigger market and were now previewing PC games and stuff too. I also didn't recognize nearly any of the editors, with the exception of the editor in Chief, James Mielke who I always thought was a doofus who liked Digimon videogames.

I know the general consensus is that gaming journalism is shit, but EGM was the least shit and now it's gone.

Edit:

The 1UP network will continue I think, but there is another story about them laying off like 30 people, which has to be more than like half the staff. Tough economic times!! This is one of the first magazines to go but I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing newspapers and others magazines dropping off too.

Man, I used to love EGM.  I got a subscription from god knows where (like, no one in my family signed up for it but for some reason it was coming under my dad's name so who knows) so I would read it all the time, it was really great.  I guess because of the internet they don't have as much of a business anymore.

Video game magazines nowadays are usually pretty terrible though, they never give bad reviews.  A few years ago I found some old early-90's GamePro magazines that were my brother's and I really liked how they'd just tell you if a game sucked really bad (using their smiley face/frowny face dude system).  I wish the magazines could be like that now.

The staff layoffs at 1Up are probably EGM's crew.  It's sad to see it close, I guess, but people who are interested in game news are not interested in buying magazines.  By the time a print magazine is out, a game is pretty old hat, so the news is pretty worthless.

EGM was a huge piece of dead weight on the 1Up network.  It costs so much money to run a print magazine for games because they have to pay top dollar to get information/review copies in advance of websites etc.  If it hadn't been for EGM, 1Up probably would have been able to avoid a buyout.

So yeah . . . it's a bummer to see the most respected game magazine shut down, but it's been long overdue.

Also I miss the gigantic 300-page EGM issues too!

No more Game Night. I am upset.

I remember EGM was where I got my first look at Pokemon Gold and Silver and it was like I was seeing THE FUTURE OF GAMING.


I miss those days...

Only magazines I got when I was a kid were Lego and some magazine where kids reviewed toys and games using smileys and made fun of commercials. So....

I remember EGM was where I got my first look at Pokemon Gold and Silver and it was like I was seeing THE FUTURE OF GAMING.


I miss those days...

Haha yes I think I have that one too. It was like HOLY SHIT, REAL TIME EVENTS IN A GAME???? and I remember being pretty excited about the prospect of it coming to North America.

Man EGM also had some pretty elaborate April Fools jokes too. There was one years ago about a system called the Phantom which would allow you to buy and download games to the console via the internet. This was like 9 or 10 years ago, and it's kind of neat because you can actually do that now, and in fact it's a massive and growing market (XBOX Live Arcade, Steam, etc). They had a massive "press release" about it I think, and even photoshopped pictures of the Phantom booth at some electronics expo.

I thought the Phantom was real it just bombed or something

I kind of had a thing against EGM to be honest because they were the one who always put their magazine in plastic wrap so you couldn't browse through it. Serves them right the bastards

I think this was before free demo CDs/DVDs too

So it turns out that the layoffs were not unneccesary crew - it was actually the entirety of the editorial staff (with two exceptions).  Who wants to bet they laid off expensive senior staff and will fill in with new, lower-paid people?  I have heard about this sort of thing happening and people being asked to re-apply for their old job at a lower salary (Circuit City comes to mind).

Also all of their podcast staff are gone, so I assume the podcasts are also.  That's a bummer because they reeally were the best podcasts out there for video games (esp. 1Up yours).

egm use to be one of my favorites, still have a bunch of old issues from '95 lying around.  i was actually thinking of looking for one of those sites that gives you a free year, but it looks like that won't be happening(and is possibly part of the reason they are no more...)

The Phantom is real. I pass Infinium's building downtown from time to time and get to laugh at it.

The concept of "gaming journalism" is already rather oversaturated; it is not surprising one of the less modern giants collapsed.

The recession leaks into Gaming.

Oh, I checked the wiki entry for EGM April Fools jokes, it was the return of the Intellivision that I was thinking of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGM_April_Fools%27_jokes#2000

Also yeah, the 1UP Show is dead too.

I remember how last year's joke was a Lego Halo, and as soon as I saw it I thought "that's way too obvious," then I saw an article for 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand or whatever and I wasn't so sure anymore.

1UP Yours. 

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
1UP YOURS WAS ACTUALLY A PART OF MY LIFE. Every saturday I'd chill out in the bath and listen to it...

SHIT.

EUGHHHHH!!!! NO MORE SHANE AND GARNETT. GOD DAMN IT.
THE LAST ONE IS THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. NO. THIS IS NOT RIGHT.

Sorry, this has GENUINELY upset me.