I was originally going to post up an entry on something else tonight because I have a lot of things I want to discuss here on the blog but unfortunately there was a commotion outside on the street which saw me lose an hour or so while I dealt with it. So instead, I am posting up a quick Tidbits post to talk about a few things.
1up's Problems - The biggest news to come from this week was the unfortunate demise of America's long-time running magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, or, EGM for short. Losing a magazine that has been running for almost 20 years is a big loss for the gaming industry and shows just how print media is changing. To call it the end of an era would be an understatement which is a big statement coming from me considering that, being Australian, I have never read an issue of the magazine. It makes me wonder about Edge's future, another well respected magazine that has been around for many years and also about Australia's own Hyper magazine. If such a big name magazine in EGM can become defunct, then what is the future of those two magazines going to be? Another unfortunate thing that coincides with EGM's demise is a lot of 1up's staff being let go and no longer having work. I am sure that everyone reading would be aware of the details but basically 1up was purchased by another company and as a result, lay-offs had to occur. When I first heard about this I was quite angry. Seeing all those names and knowing that they no longer were going to write for the site and more importantly, no longer had any jobs at a time when the economy isn't the best was, well, disheartening to say the least. I quickly came to my senses though and realised that there are two sides to every story, so I decided to not form any opinion of the ordeal until I knew more about it and had time to compose my thoughts. I have done that now and I realise that the site being purchased is actually a good thing because it gives it a well injected cash boost. I also realise that the staff who remain at the place are still going to try their best to create decent content for the site. It is unfortunate that all those people lost their jobs and that the site lost both the 1up Podcasts and The 1up Show as well, but I also have no doubt in my mind that their experience and the fact that they were well respected people in the industry will see them land on their feet and find work elsewhere. I of course wish them well in their future endeavors and look forward to reading/watching what they end up doing next. With that said, the loss of these people means that 1up as a website loses a lot of its personality and isn't the 1up that everybody knew and loved anymore. In namesake only, basically. That again is unfortunate, but what is done is done and now all I can say is that I hope that everyone affected - both those who lost their jobs and those who have to deal with the hasty hatred that the site is now receiving, not to mention the fact that they lost the opportunity to work with their friends - all can move on from this and continue to work in the gaming industry and write about the very thing they are passionate about, games. I wish everyone a brighter future and I look forward to seeing it.
Blog Notes - As I mentioned at the top of this post, I have a fair bit of content on the way for this place. I know, I know, I have been very inconsistent with my writing and have in the past mentioned my intentions to do something and then haven't done it, but this time it is different. I couldn't sleep the other morning and eventually found myself thinking about blogging. These thoughts gave me a whole range of subjects to discuss, as well as other content to produce and because I was wide awake I decided to write all of it down. Doing so made me think of more and the end result is a whole host of content to write and motivation to do so. The content begins next week, where I will have posts up every day about a certain subject that I won't reveal until the first post. Next week won't be the only week that I will theme posts around, with a few other weeks dedicated to a particular subject on my mind as well. That plus the continuation of my Always Connected series and quite a few other posts means that I am covered for content for quite some time and therefore can hopefully provide some interesting things for you to read and discuss. Look forward to it because I know I am.
Shout-Out - The last Tidbit for tonight is a quick shout-out to one of my friends who recently started up his own blog. This friend writes for Australian website PALGN so his experience from there should translate into some interesting things to read and I welcome him to the world of blogging. The Ordinary Gamer is only new so there isn't much content to read just yet, but give it a chance anyway. I know I will be.
And so another round of Tidbits is done. Have a good weekend guys and look forward to Monday, when my themed week begins.
1up's Problems - The biggest news to come from this week was the unfortunate demise of America's long-time running magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, or, EGM for short. Losing a magazine that has been running for almost 20 years is a big loss for the gaming industry and shows just how print media is changing. To call it the end of an era would be an understatement which is a big statement coming from me considering that, being Australian, I have never read an issue of the magazine. It makes me wonder about Edge's future, another well respected magazine that has been around for many years and also about Australia's own Hyper magazine. If such a big name magazine in EGM can become defunct, then what is the future of those two magazines going to be? Another unfortunate thing that coincides with EGM's demise is a lot of 1up's staff being let go and no longer having work. I am sure that everyone reading would be aware of the details but basically 1up was purchased by another company and as a result, lay-offs had to occur. When I first heard about this I was quite angry. Seeing all those names and knowing that they no longer were going to write for the site and more importantly, no longer had any jobs at a time when the economy isn't the best was, well, disheartening to say the least. I quickly came to my senses though and realised that there are two sides to every story, so I decided to not form any opinion of the ordeal until I knew more about it and had time to compose my thoughts. I have done that now and I realise that the site being purchased is actually a good thing because it gives it a well injected cash boost. I also realise that the staff who remain at the place are still going to try their best to create decent content for the site. It is unfortunate that all those people lost their jobs and that the site lost both the 1up Podcasts and The 1up Show as well, but I also have no doubt in my mind that their experience and the fact that they were well respected people in the industry will see them land on their feet and find work elsewhere. I of course wish them well in their future endeavors and look forward to reading/watching what they end up doing next. With that said, the loss of these people means that 1up as a website loses a lot of its personality and isn't the 1up that everybody knew and loved anymore. In namesake only, basically. That again is unfortunate, but what is done is done and now all I can say is that I hope that everyone affected - both those who lost their jobs and those who have to deal with the hasty hatred that the site is now receiving, not to mention the fact that they lost the opportunity to work with their friends - all can move on from this and continue to work in the gaming industry and write about the very thing they are passionate about, games. I wish everyone a brighter future and I look forward to seeing it.
Blog Notes - As I mentioned at the top of this post, I have a fair bit of content on the way for this place. I know, I know, I have been very inconsistent with my writing and have in the past mentioned my intentions to do something and then haven't done it, but this time it is different. I couldn't sleep the other morning and eventually found myself thinking about blogging. These thoughts gave me a whole range of subjects to discuss, as well as other content to produce and because I was wide awake I decided to write all of it down. Doing so made me think of more and the end result is a whole host of content to write and motivation to do so. The content begins next week, where I will have posts up every day about a certain subject that I won't reveal until the first post. Next week won't be the only week that I will theme posts around, with a few other weeks dedicated to a particular subject on my mind as well. That plus the continuation of my Always Connected series and quite a few other posts means that I am covered for content for quite some time and therefore can hopefully provide some interesting things for you to read and discuss. Look forward to it because I know I am.
Shout-Out - The last Tidbit for tonight is a quick shout-out to one of my friends who recently started up his own blog. This friend writes for Australian website PALGN so his experience from there should translate into some interesting things to read and I welcome him to the world of blogging. The Ordinary Gamer is only new so there isn't much content to read just yet, but give it a chance anyway. I know I will be.
And so another round of Tidbits is done. Have a good weekend guys and look forward to Monday, when my themed week begins.
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2 comments:
Hello matey! Always meant to leave a comment on this one (not touched the Fallout posts because... ummm... I don't do Fallout) and I just found it starred in Google Reader; what better time to comment than during a shitty work day?
I think it's fair to say that the games industry is massively underserved (in quality) by both print media and podcasts. There's precious few decent print mags - even EDGE seems to have disappeared up its fun-hating arse in the last couple of years - but that's easily explainable given the lack of immediacy of the medium, coupled with finite advertising dollars.
More puzzling, though, is the complete lack of decent gaming podcasts. I still listen to a few, but it really is under sufferance: with few exceptions, they - like many of the websites they represent - have the tone of the stereotypical internet dweeb; chock full of egoistic bravado and self-importance, none of which helps the subject matter at hand. At least the less-shit ones don't feature shouting matches. But that's a topic for a grumpy blog post of my own ;)
Unfortunately, these industries - like most - are driven by the almighty dollar, which (in turn) is almost entirely marketing driven. And marketing dollars are going where the eyeballs are - the high-traffic, rapid turnover, news-style blogs. I think we all know that they're hardly quality writing (and only just barely reporting), but this is further evidence that "you get what you pay for."
*sigh*
Mr Grumpy, signing off :}
Thanks for the comment "Mr Grumpy" as always.
I have to agree with you on Podcasts but with that said, I don't really listen to much anyway because I find it hard to do so. There are a few decent ones out there which I can point you to if you're interested?
My main 'loss' (if you will) from the stuff that happened with 1up was the 1up Show, a show I enjoyed watching every week because it felt like a group of friends getting together to discuss games in depth instead of just saying it was/is good. Thankfully the guys behind it now have another show up and running, so that looks like it will replace the 1up Show for me. We'll see.
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