EGM Closes, 1up sold to UGO [Archive] - Retrogaming Roundtable

Trebuken

01-06-2009, 08:38 PM

Mags come and go but this is about the oldest running. These same people killed Computer Gaming World by selling it and I think there is an increasing perception that the internet is replacing magazines. I like magazines subscribe to a bunch and every time one goes away I want to find one to replace it. What's the last newly annouced gaming magazine that anyone can think of?

c0ldb33r

01-06-2009, 08:46 PM

Wow, I'm stunned. I haven't read EGM in years, but I used to LOVE it. I must have read the Virtua Fighter issue like twenty times.

bangtango

01-06-2009, 08:56 PM

I continued to read EGM up until my most recent subscription expired in mid-2008. However, I think things started downhill for them back when Ziff Davis first got control of the magazine. As do most people.

Lothars

01-06-2009, 08:59 PM

It's dissapointing but I suspect we will see a mass exodus from 1up unless UGO lets it run the same way but I don't know

It will really suck if this means that all the 1up podcasts are dead but it's still dissapointing to see EGM die.

geneshifter

01-06-2009, 09:10 PM

It will really suck if this means that all the 1up podcasts are dead but it's still dissapointing to see EGM die.

Yeah, I was reading in the comments over at Joystiq and the rumor is that all podcasts are history :(

Tupin

01-06-2009, 09:12 PM

EGM used to be really good, but I stopped buying it when I realized how little content there was in the magazine.

swlovinist

01-06-2009, 09:13 PM

I never like it when mags go out, espically one that used to be so dear to my heart. As a very longtime subscriber(since like issue #7), I have seen this one a longtime coming. The mag the last two to three years was just not the same, and with each more change that they did, it just got smaller and smaller. It just could not keep up with content and coverage. I also subscribe to Gamepro and Game Informer, but will miss the mag for its glory days in the 90s when it was the #1 source for game info I got. R.I.P. EGM, you had a good run.

icest0rm

01-06-2009, 09:16 PM

I miss the game reviews by "Sushi-X" of the early '90s.

bangtango

01-06-2009, 09:27 PM

I miss the game reviews by "Sushi-X" of the early '90s.

My favorite review crew was Steve Harris, Ed Semrad, Martin Alessi and Sushi X.

boatofcar

01-06-2009, 09:34 PM

This sucks. I loved the 1Up Podcasts and looked forward to them every week.

For those who pine for nice print magazines, Play and Retro Gamer are both excellent. Both are also from the UK which makes subscription a little pricey, but well worth it imo.

demen999

01-06-2009, 09:45 PM

Damn, the year started with a bang there. I actually liked EGM.

erik

01-06-2009, 09:50 PM

It sucks that EGM is gone now. My first issue that I read was #25 with the SNES on the front cover. I had almost every issue from 1992-1995 when they were over 300 pages! I thought it was the best mag ever. I even purched the yearly 'Video game buyers guide' that they put out as of yearbook of industry events. Very cool indeed.

Remember Issue 100(Nov. 1997) where they did their 'Top 100 Games of All Time' list? That was, without a doubt, the best issue to ever be produced by them. So much effort, thought and hard work was poured into it to make a true gamer's issue. They did another Top 100 list in Issue 150(Jan. 2002) and it was nearly as good, but not quite as in depth.

After Issue 150, the magazine quality started to deteriorate and just felt bland. The Video game buyers guides no longer even reviewed consoles anymore, which I felt was a letdown. The internet had begun to take its toll by then I suppose. I felt their Issue 200 with the 'Top 200 games of their time was lame and sloppily put together, but I will always remember te good ol' days of EGM greatness.

I still stop by and read their Top 100 lists and their Videogame Buyers Guides when I feel like jogging down memory lane.....

gepeto

01-06-2009, 09:53 PM

I remember this mag sold me on the genesis. There preview of the upcoming genesis system was awesome. I was there through there mega 200 page issues to sushi x and habeeb the torturer.
What happes to out subs that we have left?

PapaStu

01-06-2009, 09:56 PM

Shit!

I just re-upped last month. At least it wasn't TOO expensive. I'm sure i'll get something in the mail soon enough offering me a awesome selection of new mags to replace my current subscription with.

joshnickerson

01-06-2009, 10:07 PM

I was never a big fan of EGM, but it still sucks when people lose jobs.

Aussie2B

01-06-2009, 10:21 PM

While I can't claim to be a big fan of their recent issues, it's very depressing to have such a long-running magazine, that was basically the giant of its field, go under. Video game print magazines are dying left and right. What the heck is left at this point?

Online gaming news sites will NEVER replace print magazines. If all you want is "hey, so-and-so game has been announced, it'll be released at so-and-so date, and we give it a blah out of 10" great, but if print magazines disappear, say good bye to insightful, well-researched, well-written articles that delve into all aspects of gaming that take love and care, skill and talent, and, most importantly, time to produce. Most people take writing for granted because just about everyone can do it, by to write WELL and to be a good journalist is something most cannot.

Fuyukaze

01-06-2009, 10:25 PM

Havent cared for the mag sense the late 90's and I'll shed no tears from their parting. EGM had a good start but just failed to impress once they became nothing more then the great Sony hype machine.

Sudo

01-06-2009, 10:29 PM

Absolutely terrible news. EGM has always been the best videogame magazine IMO, even though they haven't been as good as they were the past couple years. I'm more upset over the fact that nearly everyone with any talent is leaving 1up, which means no more podcasts or 1up Yours. 1up produced the best gaming podcasts on the Internet, and had good reviews as well. I know I'll never be visiting the site again after this shit.

Cobra Commander

01-06-2009, 10:39 PM

I still have my EGM "In your face!" T-shirt from 57 years ago when I first subscribed.
RIP....:(

BHvrd

01-06-2009, 10:41 PM

EGM used to be really good, but I stopped buying it when I realized how little content there was in the magazine.

You gotta be kidding. There were plenty of ads to read! :D

Jorpho

01-06-2009, 10:45 PM

I wasn't aware there were still people with fondness for EGM in its current state. I never paid much attention to it, though.

I'd hate to see 1Up go the same way as Gamespy or Gamesdomain - but then, I wouldn't really miss it much given how little attention I paid to it. Still, on those rare occasions, I found it to be a source of nifty, clever, well-written articles. Where the heck is Solid Sharkey these days, anyway?

NEOFREAK9189

01-06-2009, 10:45 PM

There goes my subscription for 3 years
you mo..... fu....
welcome GAMEPRO

Streetball 21

01-06-2009, 10:49 PM

This was the only magazine I actually bought and read. It's sad to hear this, but like others stated, I saw it coming. The magazine was just getting thinner and thinner every month. I still remember buying my first issue, #29 at the mall. Thanks for the memories...

2Dskillz

01-06-2009, 11:19 PM

If you think it was nothing but fluff, you probably have not read any from the last year or two. Seriously the state of gaming in Japan issue released earlier this year was one of the best realized magazines I have read. From cover to cover it follows a wonderful cohesive theme and offered many insight you would have never seen otherwise.

DrKwack

01-06-2009, 11:21 PM

Sad to see it go. It did have a good run.

Icarus Moonsight

01-06-2009, 11:24 PM

Good riddance. :fist:

Damaramu

01-06-2009, 11:34 PM

Damn. I enjoy listening to the podcasts at work. The magazine, in it's current state, made for good toilet reading. Ah well.

Rob2600

01-06-2009, 11:40 PM

I remember in the late 1990s, there was EGM, Game Fan, GamePro, Next Generation, Game Informer, and Gamers' Republic. What's left?

(Not that any of them were ever that great.)

Push Upstairs

01-06-2009, 11:58 PM

Who knew Gamepro would outlive them?

I can't say I'll shed a tear for them though, they haven't really been all that great since circa 1994.

Fuyukaze

01-07-2009, 12:00 AM

I remember in the late 1990s, there was EGM, Game Fan, GamePro, Next Generation, Game Informer, and Gamers' Republic. What's left?

(Not that any of them were ever that great.)

I considered Gamers' Republic and Next Generation to be the better of the lot. GR tended to give reviews I found spot on and didnt pull punches just because it was from a popular company of for a popular system. While I believe that led to their downfall, to me it had better cred then EGM had for the past 10 years. I know many of the staff went on to join up with other gaming mags, many of which are no longer in print, but it has always remained one of the few I considered worth reading.

Rob2600

01-07-2009, 12:06 AM

I considered Gamers' Republic and Next Generation to be the better of the lot.

You're right. I know the staff at both magazines tried to cover video games in a more intelligent and mature manner. Sometimes they succeeded.

If I remember correctly, the staff of GamePro used goofy avatars and pseudonyms in the magazine. I hated that.

kedawa

01-07-2009, 12:09 AM

I stopped reading EGM when they got greedy and started splitting their content across two monthly mags (EGM and EGM2) in order to sell more advertising.
I stopped reading game mags altogether after Next Generation and Gamefan when tits up.

Policenaut

01-07-2009, 12:31 AM

I will miss this mag, for me it's sad to see it go. I have been an avid EGM reader since issue 9 and did read EGM until it ended. The days of the review crew of Senrad, Harris, Alessi and Sushi-X were splendid, I also think that Hsu did a magnificent job, sadly Mielke did not had enough time as editor-in-chief with EGM but managed to pull out some great issues, specially #232 (Japan Special!). A good trip while it lasted, now I sadly have to say Good Bye Electronic Gaming Monthly.

skaar

01-07-2009, 12:55 AM

It's all the Wii's fault.

Somehow.

DigitalSpace

01-07-2009, 01:12 AM

Well, this is the third gaming magazine that's folded while I was a subscriber (the other two were Tips & Tricks and OPM). Fortunately, all of my subs were from free offers (and the remainder of my OPM sub was added to my EGM sub).

And it makes Maxim the last magazine I have a subscription to (another free sub that doesn't expire until January 2012 - well, as long as that magazine doesn't fold first).

But I have to admit that, while I'll miss EGM, I don't carry much nostalgia for it due to the fact that I rarely read it back in the day. However, as I said in another thread, I liked reading EGM during work breaks and on the bus. I almost always flipped to the retro section first, followed by the rumor mill, the reviews, and then whatever else caught my eye.

So long, EGM, and thanks for the memories.

CelticJobber

01-07-2009, 01:40 AM

I started reading EGM around 1991. I used to love the International coverage of Super Famicom games.

It was great at one point, but it really went downhill in the last few years, and I hated it when they switched to an alphabetical rating system.

My subscription ran out after the Japan special (my favorite issue in years) but I didn't renew because I had a feeling it was about to fold. Since it was one of the most established and respected gaming mags, I wish Ziff Davis could've sold it to another publisher.

Fans of EGM might be interested in former editor in chief Dan "Shoe" Hsu's blog (sorethumbsblog.com) currently he's running the "Ex-EGM Awards" where several former EGM writers pick their year end favorites.

G-Boobie

01-07-2009, 02:38 AM

This sucks. I loved the 1Up Podcasts and looked forward to them every week.

Me too.

UGO fucked up. What kept most people interested in the 1UP media business was the people who worked there.... Who have all been fired.

Sam Kennedy gets to try and keep a website built by the personalities of people who no longer work there going. I wish him luck, but I think I'm outta there. No Milky, Shane, Fitch, Kolar or Suttner? No thanks.

boatofcar

01-07-2009, 02:40 AM

Anybody want to recommend some good VG podcasts? By good I mean as good as the 1Up Podcasts.

Richter Belmount

01-07-2009, 02:46 AM

Anybody want to recommend some good VG podcasts? By good I mean as good as the 1Up Podcasts.

Mega64 is one of my favorite podcasts however sometimes its more about the crew and their sketches than games , but they give some good opinions on games movies and music. And Cheap Ass Gamer but of course I don't think there is anything much thats on the same calibur as the 1up show.

G-Boobie

01-07-2009, 02:50 AM

Anybody want to recommend some good VG podcasts? By good I mean as good as the 1Up Podcasts.

Giant Bombcast is pretty good. Gamer's With Jobs is also pretty decent.

That about covers it.

rbudrick

01-07-2009, 02:56 AM

I've never missed an issue since issue 1. I'll never forget seeing the first issue in Toys R Us and drooling over the 16 bit stuff. This mag was so dear to my heart in the beginning and into the mid to late 90s. I never liked the mag as much from around the late 90s onward, but I still always read it. In the mid 90s the mag got progressively worse, but I still just couldn't let go, although the content was largely not there.

I think the maverick quality of the early issues is what made me fall in love with it.

RIP indeed, EGM. You were an aging old man and now, sadly, you're dead.

-Rob

j_factor

01-07-2009, 03:57 AM

I remember in the late 1990s, there was EGM, Game Fan, GamePro, Next Generation, Game Informer, and Gamers' Republic. What's left?

(Not that any of them were ever that great.)

Your list is missing a few -- remember EGM2 (which became Expert Gamer), Ultra Game Players, Intelligent Gamer, and (especially) Tips & Tricks? I really liked Next Generation, Game Fan, T&T, and Gamers' Republic.

Right now we have Game Informer, Gamepro, Play, and Hardcore Gamer. None are great. I enjoy Play for the layout and some of the writing, but they're not nearly critical enough (seriously, Halverson hasn't disliked a single game since Sonic the Hedgehog 360/PS3). I like a lot of the people involved in Hardcore Gamer, and they have some good articles, but on the whole it doesn't totally do it for me. Gamepro is atrocious. They sucked back in the day, and then somehow became decent for a while (I want to say '99-2003 or so), and now they suck again. Game Informer reads like a magazine on autopilot -- every issue's the same, just with different titles.

Icarus Moonsight

01-07-2009, 04:53 AM

Non-specific gaming print periodicals died, to me, when Gamer's Republic closed. Maybe it was just the trauma, but nothing seemed the same after that. Underground/PSM, ODCM and NP were all that was left afterward...

JSoup

01-07-2009, 05:30 AM

I've never really had good luck with gaming magazines.

I stopped reading Nintendo Power when they started using clip art instead of creating the covers from scratch. Sega Visions was great, but short lived. T&T was good until I realized I was being ripped off (what with over half the book being the same database of cheats every month).

I really liked EGM2, but it went straight down the shitter after changing to Expert Gamer.

josekortez

01-07-2009, 05:46 AM

I'm happy about this since the magazine has sucked hard since it went completely mainstream in its game coverage. I remember the days when I happily looked forward to EGM when they used to include news about import games and such. Then, they got sucked under the bus and tried to pander to the masses like Gamepro and that was the beginning of the end for me. I still cherish those Dreamcast-era issues that I have in my collection, though.

boatofcar

01-07-2009, 06:07 AM

Giant Bombcast is pretty good. Gamer's With Jobs is also pretty decent.

That about covers it.

Downloaded both of those tonight. I'll give them a listen tomorrow.

Trebuken

01-07-2009, 06:31 AM

I agree the content was light but hell you could get a subscription for little to nothing. Even a bad issue of EGM is worth a dollar. Newstand price might be a stretch...it was good for what many of us were paying.

Also, I'm not much for podcasts...and the only one I have watched much of is this one:

http://www.onnetworks.com/videos/play-value/gaming-and-copyrights-extended?autoplay=true

OnNetworks. It's mostly retro, but professional and informative.

Rob2600

01-07-2009, 07:18 AM

Who else remembers the 1990 EGM Buyers' Guide? It featured the 16-bit showdown, with a side-by-side comparison of the Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, and...the Konix Multi System, which I recall had some sort of a chair peripheral.

kainemaxwell

01-07-2009, 07:49 AM

That's horrible. So Game Informer is like the last one standing?

Oobgarm

01-07-2009, 08:17 AM

Still got it in the mail and did enjoy reading what was there, even if it wasn't as good as the older stuff.

Fuck. :(

G-Boobie

01-07-2009, 08:46 AM

That's horrible. So Game Informer is like the last one standing?

Ain't THAT some serious shenanigans?

2Dskillz

01-07-2009, 08:53 AM

Hardcore Gamer is for sale on Ebay of all places right now. You can actually buy the copyrights, employee contracts, back issues whatever. It is starting at $42,000

bangtango

01-07-2009, 09:39 AM

That's horrible. So Game Informer is like the last one standing?

The irony here is that Game Informer was a complete joke during the heyday of EGM (the Steve Harris era) and Next Generation. They used to have cheesy issues that were about 35-40 pages which looked like a fanzine. I remember they also used to give issues away for free in a few different toy store chains. Reading those early GI issues, you would have never believed they'd still be around today. I thought they would have folded a long time ago.

Anyone who read the first few years of Game Informer (or longer) knows exactly what I'm talking about. They have come a long way from then and actually look like a professional magazine.

Oobgarm

01-07-2009, 09:53 AM

Isn't the Jason Wilson listed on the layoff list that's been floating around our very own DreamTR?

If so, that's no good.

Gentlegamer

01-07-2009, 10:19 AM

I'll miss the 1Up Yours and Broken Pixels podcasts. :(

Xian042

01-07-2009, 11:01 AM

joedick

01-07-2009, 11:36 AM

I'm happy about this since the magazine has sucked hard since it went completely mainstream in its game coverage.

That's fine if you didn't like the magazine in its current state. Just don't read it. I'm not sure why you'd be happy about lots of people losing their jobs though.

Nebagram

01-07-2009, 11:46 AM

I've only ever bought one copy of EGM but still this feels like the end of an era- and the beginning of the end for print gaming magazines. :-|

NEOFREAK9189

01-07-2009, 11:56 AM

Rob2600

01-07-2009, 12:15 PM

So nobody remembers the Konix Multi System?

bangtango

01-07-2009, 02:07 PM

That's fine if you didn't like the magazine in its current state. Just don't read it. I'm not sure why you'd be happy about lots of people losing their jobs though.

Agreed 100%. "Celebrating" the end of EGM and their employees being canned is simply embarrassing.

EGM was never the same after Steve Harris left. However, all of the people who worked on the magazine from then until today did work hard on it, whether or not you like the direction they took the magazine in.

Just because some of their writers were obvious fanboys or a little immature doesn't mean they didn't put in long hours/days getting the issue together each month.

They still had good articles, colums and interviews from time to time, usually at least one or two good pieces an issue. I particularly liked the interviews they did with head honchos from each of the three console makers regarding the battle between the Wii, 360 and PS3.

Aussie2B

01-07-2009, 02:20 PM

Hardcore Gamer is for sale on Ebay of all places right now. You can actually buy the copyrights, employee contracts, back issues whatever. It is starting at $42,000

Wow, it started as depressing, but now this situation is just getting pathetic. I could tell there were problems with Hardcore Gamer as they tried to move things more and more online, but I didn't think it would come to that. So of the mainstream magazines, now we're losing both the longest running and the highest quality one. I wasn't a huge fan of Hardcore Gamer, not enough to extend beyond my free subscription at least, but I always read each magazine cover to cover, which is far more than I could say about EGM and Game Informer and what have you. I actually know a few of the writers from various sites, so I hope they don't lose their jobs. At the very least, I hope DoubleJump keeps them around for strategy guide writing or something.

eskobar

01-07-2009, 02:34 PM

I have very fond memories of the Ed Semrad's EGM.

I still have the first numbers and almost every issue up to the Dan Hsu's era, where i feel the magazine took the wrong way.

EGM was my favorite magazine :D

zemmix

01-07-2009, 02:58 PM

I'm still more sad about Computer Gaming World (err Games for Windows) being gone. PC Gamer is all I have left now. Hope that one can survive!

RCM

01-07-2009, 03:03 PM

Isn't the Jason Wilson listed on the layoff list that's been floating around our very own DreamTR?

If so, that's no good.

I could be wrong, but I think it's a different JW.

Regardless, it sucks that these folks are losing their jobs, but I've never been a fan of EGM or 1UP. There are few writers with real appeal out there, which is sad.

j_factor

01-07-2009, 03:08 PM

Hardcore Gamer is for sale on Ebay of all places right now. You can actually buy the copyrights, employee contracts, back issues whatever. It is starting at $42,000

Wow. I hope whoever buys it keeps it going. If they don't, all we have left is GI, Gamepro, and Play. I'm actually really surprised Play is still around.

neist

01-07-2009, 04:21 PM

I havnt missed an issue of EGM since #7.
Even if the mag went downhill I still enjoyed getting them in the mail. Well worth $1 an issue.
What sucks the most is they axed pretty much the whole key staff of 1up. They didn't deserve that.
They say one last farewell issue is going out. At least they got to do that, most rags just stop once they are done.

Yea, that's what hit me hard. As someone who has a vested interest games journalism, this hits really close to home. There was some serious talent that they lost, and I really hope they can find jobs somewhere.

Granted, there's thousands of layoffs in every part of the country, but this it the first one that really 'hit' home with me. It wasn't just 40 odd people, they were a symbol that a group of talented people can do incredible things. Some of the features that 1up and EGM published--written by the very people laid off--are among my favorite video game writings of all time.

I better stop rambling though before I get myself depressed again.

2Dskillz

01-07-2009, 04:39 PM

The january issue (one with Wolverine on the cover) is the last issue. Those let go were escorted out by security, so I do not think we are going to see any kind of farewell.

I havnt missed an issue of EGM since #7.
Even if the mag went downhill I still enjoyed getting them in the mail. Well worth $1 an issue.
What sucks the most is they axed pretty much the whole key staff of 1up. They didn't deserve that.
They say one last farewell issue is going out. At least they got to do that, most rags just stop once they are done.