Well, not quite, but they have shut down 1UP, GameSpy and UGO. IGN, which owned the three sites, was recently purchased by media company Ziff Davis, and apparently they were only interested in running one gaming website, not four.
You could argue that 1UP, GameSpy and UGO had been shadows of their former selves for a while, but nevertheless, it’s sad to see them go. I never really read UGO, but 1UP was still putting out quality, smart content despite only having a skeleton staff left, and I’ll always have an affection for GameSpy, since, well, I worked for them for a couple years.
Of course it’s somewhat ironic to have somebody in my position writing the eulogy for these sites. Blogs staffed by freelance writers are what’s killing off sites like 1UP, GameSpy (and eventually IGN). A system where you pay guys to go to an office, sit in a cubicle and write about video games just doesn’t make a lot of sense now that, you know, the Internet exists and stuff. Hopefully everyone who lost their jobs can land on their feet in this brave new world.
via Kotaku
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/photo/3998/thumb)
Artists often produce their best work under challenging conditions. Oppression and heartache being the opposites of freedom and love, all inspire creative passion equally. I submit that the despotism of the cubicle, the oppression of florescent office lighting, the tyrrany of being forced to wear pants, all contributed in their own valuable way to some writer’s imaginations begging for release. And finding it in their work as they long for higher framrates and less DRM, as their hearts yearn for more immersive gameplay and better level design, they seek relief from their office hell, and find it. In gaming.
Godspeed writers of 1UP and Gamespy, you shall have to wear pants no more for you have been freed from your denim prisons and your chino chain gangs, your khaki incarceration is over. You are now free, you are unbound, you are pantsless, you are now bloggers. Welcome.
Almost forgot…
::drops mic::
:claps:
Pantslessness FOREVER.
I vow to stand with our pantsless brothers and sisters
Robo, thank you for linking Breaking Bad to this. Breaking Bad should be linked to everything, always. July can’t come fast enough.
More on the first point…
Deadlines and high pressure situations can make better work, or conversely, lazier work. Maybe there is something to be said about only having the deadline and being able to work in a similar situation that one would experience if the writer didn’t have to write anything.
Sometimes working from home is a better situation. Less stress can mean a more focused writer, which in turn means a better end product. Obviously some people work better in the cubicle-induced stressful situation, but others can churn out the same high end work from the safety of their own couch. It is a crappy situation and always a downer when people lose their jobs, but perhaps the way to go here would have been to just eliminate the office space and let everyone contribute from home whenever possible.
There are certain situations, such as E3, GDC, etc., where the site must send people out, but for reviewing games; said game can be shipped to the reviewers home and he/she can play it and write up the review from home. This saves on operating costs (essentially shredding them down to salaries/per article payments, as opposed to those and leasing/buying a building, electrical and water and garbage bills, internet costs, et cetera) and allowing the writer to create work at a quicker pace (in theory) without the controlled environment. Perhaps this means a more focused writer.
Maybe the office-free office is really the future and should be embraced.
Did anyone see that Brendon over at WWTDD also got canned? It was a bad weak for blog writters.
How does a guy get fired from his own blog?