61 Frames Per Second

The news of 1UP's buyout and the end of EGM hit me pretty hard yesterday; thankfully, I had the appropriate amount of whiskey left, and the chance to sleep in this morning.  It wasn't just the fact that I do a lot of freelancing for them that got me down in the booze-soaked dumps--as far as I know, the duties of rogue writers like me have been left untouched. The reason this little turd of an event ripped my heart out--along with a whole helluva lot of other readers-- is that 1UP is a site that basically grew out of the idea of fostering relationships between readers and writers. So when an assload of 1UPpers got thrown out onto the street yesterday, it was sort of like watching a drive-by shooting take down most of your family at a Christmas party.

Still, there are many talented people left at 1UP, and I think it's a little insulting to these folks if we suddenly declare the death of the site; I think a good approach is to sit back and see how well the staff can recover and function under the new guard.  Sam Kennedy basically stated that 1UP couldn't continue without being bought out, and I think a reduced 1UP is better than no 1UP at all--especially for the people who were able to hang onto their jobs.  But the cynical side of me (which makes up the majority of my body) can't help but feel how much this whole debacle speaks about the importance of integrity in games journalism. From the very beginning, 1UP (and EGM, under Dan Hsu's rule) made a very big deal about not being sellouts to the point where they would fill their audience in on industry dirt; the group's belief in honesty even caused them to get blacklisted Ubisoft, a major publisher in the industry. It's soul-wrenching to see just where this loyalty to their readers landed them.

Of course, yesterday's bad news wasn't completely related to the death of honesty in games journalism; our right dickhead of an economy had a lot to do with it. Publishers have less to spend on advertising, which means less money for web sites and magazines; and obviously, this means the amount of games journalists the economy can sustain is shrinking. While following multiple threads on the 1UP brouhaha yesterday, I couldn't help but have my spirit crushed like a tiny kitten when I saw many fans devastated because their dream was to one day write for EGM and 1UP. It's been no secret that I, too, shared this dream; after getting my foot in the door at 1UP in 2007, I've been trying in vain to land a full time gig with my favorite writers, and actually came close enough to have an interview roughly a year ago.  What I've slowly learned since then is that the full-time games journalist who makes a living wage is seemingly a thing of the past. And for those looking to break in, it's going to be mighty difficult with all of the more qualified (and before you think this post is about self-pity, more deserving) people out there that are currently sans employment.

Ugh. It's probably a good thing that I'm all out of whiskey.

Related Links:

Dear 1UP: This Girl Loves You
Kenji Eno Is a Mule of Epic Proportions
Serious Business: Dennis Dyack Blames the Internet