It's True: 1UP has Reached Its End

[buzz_n64]

"It's True: 1UP has Reached Its End
A message from the now-former editor-in-chief.
By Jeremy Parish, 02/21/2013

The corporate version:

Today, Ziff-Davis announced that as part of a restructuring of its new property IGN Entertainment, three of IGN's smaller secondary sites -- namely, 1UP.com, Gamespy.com, and UGO.com -- would be "winding down." As is often the case with such reorganizations, some of 1UP's staff was laid off while others will be moving over to work as contributors at IGN.com. No timeline was given for 1UP's closure or if its servers would continue to run indefinitely.

The human version:

As of today, 1UP will be entering the sunset into which all former websites eventually must ride. This comes as huge disappointment for me -- not because I'm editor-in-chief of the site, but because I've been with it since the beginning. That's nearly 10 years of my life invested in this website through all its ups and downs... and ups... and dooooowwwwwns.

It's been a fantastic (almost) 10 years. Even in its most frustrating and even dispiriting moments (there were some pretty dark times before IGN bought us in 2011), 1UP has always been fueled by the sincere enthusiasm of everyone writing for the site. Dozens upon dozens of people have moved through the various doors of our assorted offices, and each of them brought passion and talent to their work. I'm proud to have been a part of something so much larger than myself, and to help guide it as gracefully as possible to its slow halt since taking over the role left behind by my predecessors, Sam Kennedy and James Mielke.

Read through the site's archives and you'll find some truly amazing content. In-depth interviews with legendary developers, insanely detailed explorations of the niche and obscure, brilliant coverage of the top news of the day. You'll find revolutionary video programs and trendsetting podcasts. Incisive reviews and comprehensive blogs. God, there's so much here we need to archive in case someone does pull the plug on the servers.

But most of all, 1UP has always been fueled by passionate readers. No, you guys are more than readers -- you're participants. You've called in for podcasts, shaken our hands at trade shows and conventions, flagged us down on the street, berated us in comments, and chimed in to express your own take on the topics of the day. 1UP has played a huge role over the years in changing the perception and nature of the gaming press from broadcast to conversation. And the outpouring of memories and affection today on forums, on Twitter, and in our blogs has only served to reinforce the impact 1UP has had on countless people. You guys are awesome."

http://www.1up.com/news/true-1up-reached

[Parodius Duh!]

Wow, ....gamespy and UGO I can see, but 1UP? Seriously?! a grillion people use that site. Ign is making a foolish decision if you ask me.

[Tanooki]

I said it a bit already in the G4TV goes byebye thread in another part of the board, but really, it's no loss and perhaps it's a strong lesson to be learned. The gaming media isn't media and it has taken a long time for people to catch onto it. They're paid fanboys who hate for senseless reasons or suck up with blinders on. Pretending to be objective only lasts so long, same with having paid for reviews when people keep scooping up A-rated D quality garbage. Perhaps a lesson can be learned here by IGN and the rest that not being objective and honest can only go so far before people tune out, you go under, and people seek amateur efforts with a more honest track record.

[pseudonym]

I said it a bit already in the G4TV goes byebye thread in another part of the board, but really, it's no loss and perhaps it's a strong lesson to be learned. The gaming media isn't media and it has taken a long time for people to catch onto it. They're paid fanboys who hate for senseless reasons or suck up with blinders on. Pretending to be objective only lasts so long, same with having paid for reviews when people keep scooping up A-rated D quality garbage. Perhaps a lesson can be learned here by IGN and the rest that not being objective and honest can only go so far before people tune out, you go under, and people seek amateur efforts with a more honest track record.

That's not really fair, 1up in particular was one of the better gaming/news sites out there, and personally I'm sad to see it gone.

[G-Boobie]

I said it a bit already in the G4TV goes byebye thread in another part of the board, but really, it's no loss and perhaps it's a strong lesson to be learned. The gaming media isn't media and it has taken a long time for people to catch onto it. They're paid fanboys who hate for senseless reasons or suck up with blinders on. Pretending to be objective only lasts so long, same with having paid for reviews when people keep scooping up A-rated D quality garbage. Perhaps a lesson can be learned here by IGN and the rest that not being objective and honest can only go so far before people tune out, you go under, and people seek amateur efforts with a more honest track record.

Says the dude who has a tattoo of Miyamoto riding Yoshi on his scrotum.
You're 0 and whatever your post count is for worthwhile contributions so far; that's even worse than Aswald and Diskoboy for whatever it's worth.

1UP was a Hell of a site that produced some of the best of the new games journalists, podcasts, developers, and personalities. If it wasn't what it used to be during the EGM days, it at least still had an original voice. It'll be missed.

[Griking]

Wow, ....gamespy and UGO I can see, but 1UP? Seriously?! a grillion people use that site. Ign is making a foolish decision if you ask me.

Personally I'll miss Gamespy more than 1UP because of their PC gaming news.

[Berserker]

That's not really fair, 1up in particular was one of the better gaming/news sites out there, and personally I'm sad to see it gone.

I'm sad to see them go as well. 1UP seemed to be one of the first mainstream sites to pay much attention to the indie gaming scene, and while I've never followed them terribly closely or regularly, I've always thought they were well ahead of the curve as far as the big name outfits go.

Can't say that I feel the same about Gamespy or UGO though. To my mind they were basically the IGN of the late 90s/early 00s, paving the way and setting the example for huge monolithic networks that swallow up and homogenize better sites and produce little of value themselves.

[Bojay1997]

I said it a bit already in the G4TV goes byebye thread in another part of the board, but really, it's no loss and perhaps it's a strong lesson to be learned. The gaming media isn't media and it has taken a long time for people to catch onto it. They're paid fanboys who hate for senseless reasons or suck up with blinders on. Pretending to be objective only lasts so long, same with having paid for reviews when people keep scooping up A-rated D quality garbage. Perhaps a lesson can be learned here by IGN and the rest that not being objective and honest can only go so far before people tune out, you go under, and people seek amateur efforts with a more honest track record.

The game media is as much a part of the media as any other entity covering pop culture. There are some good journalists and some bad just like in all media. It's sad that you are so blind to the difference that you lack any objectivity at all in the matter and frankly, your opinion shows just how uninformed you are.

[homerhomer]

I'm not going to start going to IGN anytime soon or anyother Ziff Davis company.

Screw them!

[danawhitaker]

I'm not going to start going to IGN anytime soon or anyother Ziff Davis company.

Screw them!

I had been using Gamespy's release date list as a way to keep track of new releases for my personal database. I guess I'll have to find an alternative. Does anyone have any suggestions? Joystiq has a weekly thing that I get in my RSS feed, but I've noticed that there's stuff that shows up on Gamespy that never shows up on there. IGN seems to have a list, and it looks fairly thorough, so maybe I'll just migrate to that. But if anyone has any other suggestions, I'm all ears (or eyes, as the case is here).

[Trumpman]

1UP had some great features, especially before EGM melted down (the first time?). And I used to love Gamespy way back before IGN bought it (in 2004? man I feel old). They had a unique voice back then.

I will definitely miss 1UP, although I'm sure the talented writers will find another place to publish.

The real lesson here is: be careful if you sell to a larger company, because you're always at their whims.

[kedawa]

I still miss FGN Online.
I haven't checked game news regularly since they shut down.

[xelement5x]

Yeah, makes me wonder what will happen to all their content. Presumably Ziff Davis still owns it all, but i hope it doesn't just disappear into a puff of smoke. They had some quite nice editorials and articles.

[The 1 2 P]

I'm not going to start going to IGN anytime soon

I occasionally use the IGN app on XBL but I don't go to their site and I don't think I've ever really used the 1UP main site for any extended amount of time. I usually ended up there while tracking down game info. Same thing with Gamespy, just ended up there in the midst of game searches.

[RCM]

I didn't realize 1UP was still around until recently. Parish will likely land on his tiny feet. Nice dude, but small!

[Kitsune Sniper]

Yeah, makes me wonder what will happen to all their content. Presumably Ziff Davis still owns it all, but i hope it doesn't just disappear into a puff of smoke. They had some quite nice editorials and articles.

I contacted some members of Archive Team and let them know about this. They said that they're working on how to save all their content.

IGN is the site that needs to be shot in the head. 1Up had a lot more heart than IGN has had for years.

[Aussie2B]

I'm not terribly surprised by this. I had already noticed the agglomeration of game media going on in the last few months. j2 Global acquired Ziff Davis, then they acquired IGN, which had already acquired 1UP, Gamespy, and UGO. With all these companies merging into one, they're going to cut out the perceived redundancy.

It's a shame, but it won't affect me much. I don't really visit any of the big gaming news sites, outside of Googling for some info or being linked to something by somebody. When I did read something on 1UP, though, it seemed to be of higher quality than the average article on similar media sites.

[Tron 2.0]

I'm gonna miss the retronauts podcast :(

[Az]

I'm gonna miss the retronauts podcast :(

That was my exact thought upon seeing this thread title.

[Tron 2.0]

That was my exact thought upon seeing this thread title.
Yeah that was the only thing i liked about 1up.Sure there podcast were not all ways correct far as facts go,but i enjoyed listening to it.

[Tanooki]

The game media is as much a part of the media as any other entity covering pop culture. There are some good journalists and some bad just like in all media. It's sad that you are so blind to the difference that you lack any objectivity at all in the matter and frankly, your opinion shows just how uninformed you are.

Uninformed hardly, look at the stories over the years of people exposing paid for reviews and manipulating scores for ad dollars such as Gerstman being fired for panning a game that was being advertised on Gamespot a few years back. I used to work in this media and it sickened me to the point I separated myself from it due to all the childish behavior. I'm well aware there are good and bad people who cover stuff, but the sad reality I was exposed to was that there was more bad than good in doing "honest" even handed reporting depending on the writers preference to X console or genre over Y. It's not hard to go digging at all and find immaturity around M rated games, systems with too many all ages stuff, anti-"insert console maker" news and reviews slants, etc.

[G-Boobie]

Uninformed hardly, look at the stories over the years of people exposing paid for reviews and manipulating scores for ad dollars such as Gerstman being fired for panning a game that was being advertised on Gamespot a few years back. I used to work in this media and it sickened me to the point I separated myself from it due to all the childish behavior. I'm well aware there are good and bad people who cover stuff, but the sad reality I was exposed to was that there was more bad than good in doing "honest" even handed reporting depending on the writers preference to X console or genre over Y. It's not hard to go digging at all and find immaturity around M rated games, systems with too many all ages stuff, anti-"insert console maker" news and reviews slants, etc.

Where did you work? Links or you're another GameFAQs liar.

[Daltone]

Where did you work? Links or you're another GameFAQs liar.

I look forward to seeing this branch of the conversation develop.

[G-Boobie]

I look forward to seeing this branch of the conversation develop.

It won't. Tanooki is that most useless of internet conversation polluters: the kind that invents expertise to back up his terrible opinios. His brother works for Nintendo, or Midway, when he needs to defend the Wii-U, but when I ask for a name? He ignores me. When he needs to lump 1Up into the same group as G4 TV and other defunct sites? He's worked in the industry, trust him! But will he provide evidence? Nope.

He's just another internet guy, but one should always provoke them. Eventually they post something you can disprove through basic research and send them packing in shame. Assuming they have any.

[Daltone]

It won't. Tanooki is that most useless of internet conversation polluters: the kind that invents expertise to back up his terrible opinios. His brother works for Nintendo, or Midway, when he needs to defend the Wii-U, but when I ask for a name? He ignores me. When he needs to lump 1Up into the same group as G4 TV and other defunct sites? He's worked in the industry, trust him! But will he provide evidence? Nope.

He's just another internet guy, but one should always provoke them. Eventually they post something you can disprove through basic research and send them packing in shame. Assuming they have any.

It saddens me a litle that there has been no comeback at all, and yet, it is not expected.

[G-Boobie]

It saddens me a litle that there has been no comeback at all, and yet, it is not expected.

Agreed.

[Daltone]

Agreed.

Unfortunately it was the fact that I used a shitty Dell keyboard at work with a load of stiff keys that got me sacked as the editor of Gamespot. Too many typos. It's ok though. I got a job as editor at IGN but left after I realised that a career in Automation and Control Engineering would be more satisfying.

True story (apart from the lies).

[Tanooki]

Where did you work? Links or you're another GameFAQs liar.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/gamecube/defender- (my real name is Jeff Kennedy) I also had worked on NHL Hitz 2002 PS2+Xbox, Legion Legend of Excalubur for PS2, Slugfest for Xbox all credited. Primarily worked just in testing, but also did technical standards evaluation on a couple projects, back-up lead on a pair, and helped with some controller/gameplay layout alternative controls for GC Defender and that's it. Uncredited Gauntlet Dark Legacy GC-PAL, Dr Muto all systems, and a few others but they wouldn't credit people for overtime work on those systems, just the primarily assigned staff. And then as far as the media went GCAdvanced.com which in turn was converted to AMN Advanced Media Network, which eventually yet again re-branded to Kombo.com which still exists, but is under an entire new ownership, staff and named gamezone.com now (old records removed unfortunately.) While at that media company I did a few editorials and special stories, and most the time previews and reviews of handheld titles for the GBA and DS. The old internet wayback machine hasn't many records left that work, but here's one review I finally found for Ultimate Spiderman for GBA -- http://web.archive.org/web/20051228104148/http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6031 and a FF4 Advance preview too -- http://web.archive.org/web/20060203223256/http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6137

I don't see a reason to lie about working on stuff like that in the past and it would be pretty pathetic to do so especially on a gaming board where anyone could potentially remember a media outlet or have a copy of a game I have listed and just thumb the manual to see if I'm lying or not. I don't have any credits as far as I know on gamefaqs though which really shouldn't matter as mobygames has a better credited listing system. I also am not lying when I say I have a brother still in it, look up Sean Kennedy (currently at pipeworks, formerly of Volition, Sega Sammy, EA San Diego, Rockstar Games) and if he passes stuff on I can talk about I do.

I have no idea why you have to always be such a dick to me. I have no idea who you are and I've never taken a shot at you either so what the hell is the problem? Just needed a random person to be shitty at to feel better about yourself? Sorry if I didn't come right back at you so you could have some more cheap fun, but I don't read this board every day.

[G-Boobie]

http://www.mobygames.com/game/gamecube/defender- (my real name is Jeff Kennedy) I also had worked on NHL Hitz 2002 PS2+Xbox, Legion Legend of Excalubur for PS2, Slugfest for Xbox all credited. Primarily worked just in testing, but also did technical standards evaluation on a couple projects, back-up lead on a pair, and helped with some controller/gameplay layout alternative controls for GC Defender and that's it. Uncredited Gauntlet Dark Legacy GC-PAL, Dr Muto all systems, and a few others but they wouldn't credit people for overtime work on those systems, just the primarily assigned staff. And then as far as the media went GCAdvanced.com which in turn was converted to AMN Advanced Media Network, which eventually yet again re-branded to Kombo.com which still exists, but is under an entire new ownership, staff and named gamezone.com now (old records removed unfortunately.) While at that media company I did a few editorials and special stories, and most the time previews and reviews of handheld titles for the GBA and DS. The old internet wayback machine hasn't many records left that work, but here's one review I finally found for Ultimate Spiderman for GBA -- http://web.archive.org/web/20051228104148/http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6031 and a FF4 Advance preview too -- http://web.archive.org/web/20060203223256/http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6137

Ha ha! Now THAT is a response! Well played! None of the links to your reviews on the Wayback machine work, and you're not on LinkedIn so it's impossible to verify your claims, but I like your spirit.


I have no idea why you have to always be such a dick to me. I have no idea who you are and I've never taken a shot at you either so what the hell is the problem? Just needed a random person to be shitty at to feel better about yourself? Sorry if I didn't come right back at you so you could have some more cheap fun, but I don't read this board every day.

Nah.

I'll admit that some of your posts have a whiff of that which annoys me most; self-identification with products and companies that don't know you exist; in this case, Nintendo. This might also be the first post in which you use proper grammar and spelling, for whatever that's worth. Also, your opinions? Kinda on the extreme side of a seventeen year old NeoGAF user. Your complete dismissal of 1UP as an entity based entirely on the supposition that since SOME websites have had scandals involving payouts for positive reviews, then clearly ALL of them must be on the take, for example. Which is terrible logic, by the way. It shows a remarkable lack of compassion and empathy for the people who lost their jobs, and annoys the folks who have positive memories of the 1UP community. Kinda like telling people at a funeral that you thought the deceased was kind of a dick because you heard third hand that he was kinda racist, and then wondering why people call you out.

Still, I am the asshole in this equation, and I have been humbled. You have my apologies.

[Tanooki]

Ok well they work for me on this end, and I just double checked and they still do from off of this site. If you wish I can supply you with my backups of the original reviews in MS Word format and you can pull the info from that as if it would do any good. But, you can view them here if you download a zip file: http://tanooki.home.insightbb.com/AMN-Reviews.zip

How is it exactly that I self-identify with Nintendo in some way I'd think they'd give two shits about who I am? Opinions are like assholes you know and you know how that goes. NeoGAF I've never registered to and I've barely read anything from that site. The pompous stupid shit I have had linked to me from there before I find entirely unappealing in any way, about on the same level as slamming your finger in a car door. My dismissal of 1UP goes back to my entire digust with their original roots with EGM and I've rarely if ever valued their opinions because as someone who grew up with Nintendo products I got fed up with their blind contempt and ratty reviews they did back in the 90s. I've read pieces on 1UP over time and when they're not opinion or review based they did fine enough work, but when it came to reviews I just didn't trust it much and used them along with various other sites to get a blanket feel on a game not trusting just one source. I feel bad for anyone who has lost their job, and perhaps it didn't show that empathy in the post, but that's just not where I chose to take it when I made the post as it was about 1UP the entity, not the individuals.

[Bojay1997]

http://www.mobygames.com/game/gamecube/defender- (my real name is Jeff Kennedy) I also had worked on NHL Hitz 2002 PS2+Xbox, Legion Legend of Excalubur for PS2, Slugfest for Xbox all credited. Primarily worked just in testing, but also did technical standards evaluation on a couple projects, back-up lead on a pair, and helped with some controller/gameplay layout alternative controls for GC Defender and that's it. Uncredited Gauntlet Dark Legacy GC-PAL, Dr Muto all systems, and a few others but they wouldn't credit people for overtime work on those systems, just the primarily assigned staff. And then as far as the media went GCAdvanced.com which in turn was converted to AMN Advanced Media Network, which eventually yet again re-branded to Kombo.com which still exists, but is under an entire new ownership, staff and named gamezone.com now (old records removed unfortunately.) While at that media company I did a few editorials and special stories, and most the time previews and reviews of handheld titles for the GBA and DS. The old internet wayback machine hasn't many records left that work, but here's one review I finally found for Ultimate Spiderman for GBA -- http://web.archive.org/web/20051228104148/http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6031 and a FF4 Advance preview too -- http://web.archive.org/web/20060203223256/http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=6137

I don't see a reason to lie about working on stuff like that in the past and it would be pretty pathetic to do so especially on a gaming board where anyone could potentially remember a media outlet or have a copy of a game I have listed and just thumb the manual to see if I'm lying or not. I don't have any credits as far as I know on gamefaqs though which really shouldn't matter as mobygames has a better credited listing system. I also am not lying when I say I have a brother still in it, look up Sean Kennedy (currently at pipeworks, formerly of Volition, Sega Sammy, EA San Diego, Rockstar Games) and if he passes stuff on I can talk about I do.

I have no idea why you have to always be such a dick to me. I have no idea who you are and I've never taken a shot at you either so what the hell is the problem? Just needed a random person to be shitty at to feel better about yourself? Sorry if I didn't come right back at you so you could have some more cheap fun, but I don't read this board every day.

So, assuming you're not lying, your entire industry stint consisted of being a tester (i.e. a minimum wage position that generally requires no experience or specific qualifications) and working for completely unknown/non-professional websites and writing stuff that has been wiped from the face of the Internet. Not exactly the kind of background and experience that would support your outrageous and ridiculous opinions about what was a fairly professional and well read news and review website. That's like some guy who has only ever worked on his own website complaining that just because he's unprofessional and dishonest that somehow everyone who works for a professional website would be as well. It just doesn't work that way.

[Tanooki]

Wow nice troll post. Did that take you a long time to think that up on your own? You seem a bit too emotionally compromised by your love for a dying website to act like a rational and normal human being. I guess it really isn't hard to say stuff like that on a message board like an internet tough guy when you can hide behind a monitor. Just let it go as there's far more fun things I bet in your life to worry about than if I'm telling the truth or not.

[kainemaxwell]

This sucks, I enjoy their podcasts...

[substantial_snake]

Its depressing to see another gaming website fall to the wayside. I used to visit their site more often but dropped off a year or so ago when they seemed to only repost from others so I ended up just going to those sites instead. That and putting up a vita page link and never actually making a vita page helped push me off of their site.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Ha ha! Now THAT is a response! Well played! None of the links to your reviews on the Wayback machine work, and you're not on LinkedIn so it's impossible to verify your claims, but I like your spirit.

Not to butt in the uh, discussion, but the links work fine for me as well. What error did the site show you? Have you checked that you don't have the Wayback Archive blocked by accident or a jerky ISP / sysadmin?

[Griking]

Ha ha! Now THAT is a response! Well played! None of the links to your reviews on the Wayback machine work, and you're not on LinkedIn so it's impossible to verify your claims, but I like your spirit.

All of his links work for me as well.

[Gameguy]

Ha ha! Now THAT is a response! Well played! None of the links to your reviews on the Wayback machine work, and you're not on LinkedIn so it's impossible to verify your claims, but I like your spirit.
The links are also working fine for me.

[YoshiM]

Links work on my iPhone as well.

[chilimac]

Good riddance! Bunch of castrated sissies ran that place. You couldn't say anything even slightly controversial without some oversensitive priss throwing a fit and telling you what a lousy person you are for not kissing everyone's ass and trying to fit in with the rest of them. Basically what I was told by some mods there was this: This is a game site for people who suffer with hypogonadism. If you are not sufering with hypogonadism (and obviously you are not), then you should leave! And so I did. Not surprised they crashed and burned. Probably from a lack of quality leadership. You got to have balls to be a good leader.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Good riddance! Bunch of castrated sissies ran that place. You couldn't say anything even slightly controversial without some oversensitive priss throwing a fit and telling you what a lousy person you are for not kissing everyone's ass and trying to fit in with the rest of them. Basically what I was told by some mods there was this: This is a game site for people who suffer with hypogonadism. If you are not sufering with hypogonadism (and obviously you are not), then you should leave! And so I did. Not surprised they crashed and burned. Probably from a lack of quality leadership. You got to have balls to be a good leader.

... I thought we were talking about 1Up, not GameFAQs.

[Tron 2.0]

The staff for 1up retronauts is having a kickstarter to keep the podcast going.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2005831476/revive-retronauts-your-favorite-classic-gaming-pod?ref=card

There making money so far which is some thing just for a podcast.