There's big news unfolding in the world of video game journalism as UGO Entertainment has acquired The 1UP Network. Part of the sale involves the dismissal of some well-known figures in the industry and the shuttering of podcasts, video shows, and even the venerable and long-lived gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. With the way the economy has been souring lately this sort of thing shouldn't be too much of a surprise, but still, the 1UP team has put out some of the best news articles and special features in the business and EGM has been around for a very long time.
The magazine was one of three gaming magazines that I read religiously as a child and a young teen. I started with buying it from the newsstand each month at the local bookstore, then moved up to a subscription, then bought the special holiday guides put out at the end of each year under the EGM banner, and then finally on to buying the spin-off magazine, EGM2, from the newsstand. Then came the Internet and suddenly the magazines weren't as big a priority anymore. I let the subscriptions lapse in the middle of the Nintendo 64 era and tossed out my closet full of weathered and ratty back issues when I left my childhood home for college. I can't remember the last time I read a new issue of EGM. That may be part of why The 1UP Network was for sale in the first place. There are — and were — some talented folks working at 1UP and EGM. Here's hoping those sent away this week will find new places to bring us the news soon.
(March 1994 EGM cover from the 16-bit glory days via Star Trek Games)
