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