Hoecs Games

Oh boy. Looks like the sale of 1UP to Hearst hasn’t gone as smoothly as you’d expect. Rather than simply move house, it seems most of the site’s most experienced/popular writers have instead been let go.

Looks like when Ziff CEO said “Many of our employees will travel with this business and become part of the UGO team”, he actually meant “we’re taking the interns and tea lady and that’s about it”.

According to twitter posts, GAF posts and phonecalls to MTV, around 30 staffers were let go today, including Skip Pfister, Ryan O’Donnell, Philip Kollar, Jay Fresh, Cesar Quintero, Nick Suttner, Anthony Gallegos, Matt Chandronait, Shane Bettenhausen and former EIC James Mielke.

Also cut were most of the Gamevideos.com team, as well as production of the 1UP Show.

Leaving, what, Sam Kennedy and Garnett Lee? That’s a day of long knives if ever we’ve seen one.

EGM Shuts Down, More Than 30 Ziff Davis Employees Laid Off [MTV]

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What began as a rumour last month now seems to have escalated into full-blown fact; several sites, and sources, are reporting that Ziff Davis have sold the 1UP network to competitors Hearst.

Hearst - who own UGO, many of the nation’s biggest newspapers along with ownership stakes in ESPN and the History Channel - will however only be taking ownership of the network’s online presence.

According to sources at GameSetWatch, this means long-running print magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly won’t be along for the ride (though What They Play, run by former 1UP man John Davison, say further details will be disclosed tomorrow). This will be the last month the magazine is published, bringing to an end nearly two decades of independent, influential games editorial.

If this pans out - as seems likely - RIP, games magazines.

Ziff Davis Gets Out Of The Game: Sells 1UP Digital Net To Hearst; Shutters EGM Mag [socialmedian, reprinted from paidcontent.org]
Magweasel Extra: EGM Reportedly Closing, Sorrow Ensues [GameSetWatch]

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Yay! It’s The Sun! Let’s check in, see what they’ve got to say about video games today. And it’s…not about crime. Not about parenting. It’s all about…hospital!

Yes, according to the Sun’s team of crack medical experts, the Nintendo Wii is putting ten Britons a week into hospital for injuries sustained while playing the console. The number - quoted only in the headline - is of course totally unsubstantiated, but hey, where’s the fun in substantiating!

They do get one bloke in on record, though. Dr Dev Mukerjee, of Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex. He reckons:

There has been a 100 per cent increase in patients complaining of Wii-itis. I’ve seen many patients aged between eight and 13 — and I’ve seen adults.

It’s possible that Wii-itus may lead to rheumatism and arthritis in later life. Patients often have inflammation of the shoulder or wrist.

Oh. Emm. Gee. Treatment for these grievous injuries includes cortisone injections and anti-inflammatory painkillers, so at least there’ll be some drug-induced light at the end of the play-your-gran-at-Wii-Tennis-for-the-third-year-running tunnel.

Wii puts 10 in hospital a week [The Sun]

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In a feature titled, “The Zombies Look Better Every Year,” the New York Times has named Spore as its biggest disappointment for 2008.
“If Electronic Arts has learned anything from its experience with Spore, it ought to be that a software company should just let its games do the talking, rather than relentlessly hyping a game […]

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In a feature titled, “The Zombies Look Better Every Year,” the New York Times has named Spore as its biggest disappointment for 2008.
“If Electronic Arts has learned anything from its experience with Spore, it ought to be that a software company should just let its games do the talking, rather than relentlessly hyping a game […]

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This week’s Famitsu has an interview with Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear Solid Touch producer Yasuyo Watanabe. The headline for the story is very careful to accentuate that Watanabe is female. How careful, you ask?

So careful that, literally, the headline reads: “Interview with Metal Gear Solid Touch creators Hideo Kojima and its first-timer FEMALE producer”.

The red font is not just our emphasis. Look at that photo. Those two kanji, in red, are “josei“, meaning “female”.

Let’s back up and go over this again: the Cliff’s Notes version of the title of the article is basically “New Game Made by a Man Named Hideo Kojima and a Woman Whose Name We Will Mention in the Story Itself, Though Not in this Title”.

Is this the, uhh, nicest way to report this? Probably not. Maybe they could approach it a bit differently, say “Interview with Hideo Kojima and Some n00b Producer”, and then in the article, it could just come out naturally that she’s a woman. I mean, there’s a photo of her in there, and everything.

Famitsu is typically read by schoolboys in convenient stores before school on Friday. Is this kind of nigh-subliminal sexism really the kind of thing we should be exposing them to? And thus open a thousand avenues to discussion of Japanese society.

[via Famitsu]

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Zero Punctuation review man Yahtzee’s made a TV show pilot with some Australian buddies called GameDamage.
The 30-minute show’s embedded after the link.
It features the Brit down under being told to “settle down” by a co-presenter, a trip to see Edge of Twilight and someone dressed as Master Chief walking round an Australian city.
See for yourself.

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Zero Punctuation review man Yahtzee’s made a TV show pilot with some Australian buddies called GameDamage.
The 30-minute show’s embedded after the link.
It features the Brit down under being told to “settle down” by a co-presenter, a trip to see Edge of Twilight and someone dressed as Master Chief walking round an Australian city.
See for yourself.

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You see what happens when you interview Hsu and I on national TV? You get a promotion, that’s what!

G4 just named X-Play co-host Adam Sessler as their Editor-in-Chief of Games Content. That means on top of overseeing editorial content for X-Play, Sessler will be charged with overseeing all game content for the entire network. He will also remain on TV with Morgan Webb.

“Adam is an incredible resource and has helped position G4 and “X-Play” as the center of the gaming universe,” said Neal Tiles, President G4 TV. “We are lucky to have an industry expert with his experience, wisdom and passion, as well as his strong relationships throughout the gaming community, leading our team.”

Let me be the first to say congrats Adam, you’ve certainly got the brow for editor in chief. I’m still working on mine.

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Famitsu’s given up a meagre 29/40 score for White Knight Chronicles, as relayed by NeoGAF.
The review summary through there doesn’t make it sound like the most thrilling thing in the world. Apparently is has patch-worthy chat issues and is “the same” a every other Level-5 RPG in that “sadness befalls the land”.
Still. It looks pretty. […]

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