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Former EGMers Launch Mysterious New Website

In the months since EGM folded and 1UP was downsized, we've seen quite a number of great projects emerge from the ashes; in fact, the amount of podcasts I've listened to has only increased since the whole UGO deal. But a few former Ziff-Davis employees have remained relatively quiet since the fiasco; namely, old-school EGMers Crispin Boyer and Dan Hsu, who both left the magazine mid-2008 to pursue other interests. So far, all we've seen from the two is a blog and an iPhone-centered Internet show; and while each of these projects have their own appeal, they've been a little underwhelming considering Hsu and Boyer's status as veterans of the industry.

But sometimes, patience is rewarded; based on a recent post from their Sore Thumbs blog, it looks like the public inactivity from Hsu and Boyer is about to pay off with the announcement of BitMob, a mysterious new web site that may indeed have something to do with video games. It's all pretty hush-hush right now, though Shoe has leaked a tiny bit of information about his work-in-progress.

Posted Mar 23 2009, 01:05 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments

Filed under: 1up, bob mackey, egm, crispin boyer, dan hsu, ugo entertainment, bitmob, sore thumbs

Worth Reading: Joe Rybicki's Ziff-trospective

I know, I know; the whole Ziff-Davis/EGM/1UP thing is old news. By this point in time, you've probably heard quite a number of behind-the-scenes accounts of the antics behind Electronic Gaming Monthly, so much so that you may actually feel like you once worked for Ziff-Davis yourself. Rest assured that these feelings are natural and will pass with time. Until then, I must admit my intentions for revisiting the UGO-Gate well are pure, and actually inspired by the recent release of Retro Game Challenge. If you weren't aware (and you really should be), RGC features several issues of a fictional, in-game magazine very much inspired by the unprofessional (in the kindest sense of the word) enthusiast mags that made up the gaming press from roughly the late 80s til the late 90s. And, with the end of EGM just a month ago, RGC couldn't have come at a better time; it's a great reminder of the childlike wonder video games used to be about before we'd seen everything and become so jaded. So what better time than now to read an account of a ragtag bunch of professional enthusiasts with a penchant for property damage during the heyday of the gaming press?

Posted Feb 20 2009, 04:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments

Filed under: 1up, bob mackey, egm, games journalism, ugo entertainment

Watcha Listening to: Myself (Technically)

Even though I've been at this Internet writing game for close to eight years now, I'm about as minor of a net celebrity as you can get. This means that if you somehow recognize my name, you're either extremely cool or hard at work on a Bob voodoo doll with movable parts--and I'm desperately hoping you 61FPS readers fall into the former category. Since my Internet popularity is roughly the equivalent of my high school popularity, I'm always completely flattered and taken aback when anyone recognizes me for the work that I do. So it goes without saying that I nearly plotzed (yes, plotzed) when podcaster Kole Ross recently invited me onto his Stand Under the Don't Tree and Riddle Me This program as a special celebrity guest. And now that I've been identified as a celebrity, I plan on immediately starting a vicious heroin addiction that will leave me dead before I reach the age of 30. God, the things I do for podcasting.

Posted Jan 15 2009, 03:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments

Filed under: 1up, bob mackey, egm, games journalism, podcasts, ugo entertainment

1UP and the State of Games Journalism

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.

Posted Jan 07 2009, 11:00 AM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments

Filed under: 1up, journalism, bob mackey, jobs, ugo entertainment, economy

Dear 1UP: This Girl Loves You

By now, if you:

a) enjoy video games, and

b) are able to read, you know about the bad juju currently haunting Ziff Davis Media. 1UP was sold off to UGO (Yu-Gi-Oh?) Entertainment, and the long-running EGM Magazine is headed to the Big Recycling Bin in the sky.

The layoffs were quick and murderous. GameVideos.com, the 1UP Show and 1UP Yours are effectively dead. Dogs are marrying cats.

The person I envy least in the world right now is Sam Kennedy, the unfortunate messenger who must keep a brave face for his remaining staff while 1UP's “community” pumps him full of arrows and wrongfully accuses him of selling out his employees for thirty pieces of silver.

Even as game journalists Internet-wide strip naked and run through the streets in a panic, I am reminded that Britain once advised her citizens to “Keep Calm and Carry On." It's good advice, and I think that applies here, too. When you kick over an anthill, you get a hell of a mess; but when you visit that hill a couple of weeks later, you see it's been rebuilt. No doubt the ants whose lives you upset still curse the tread on the bottom of your shoe, but in the end, the little beasties turned out all right.

Posted Jan 07 2009, 02:21 AM by Nadia Oxford with | with 3 comment(s)

Filed under: 1up, nadia oxford, ugo entertainment, layoffs

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.