Ex-1Up Editor Talks 1Up Takeover, Layoffs

Former Games for Windows guru Jeff Green has expressed his disappointment in the events following EGM and the staff of 1Up’s demise.

Last night, Jeff Green, who left 1Up parent company Ziff Davis after his division was significantly shrunk, rode his bike from his office at Electronic Arts to San Francisco where a collection of 1Upers, surviving, jobless, long-gone and recently released, congregated for an evening of drinks and nostalgia.

The night, according to Green, only emphasized how shameful the mass layoffs that followed the UGO takeover of 1Up are.

“No matter how fucked up and ill-managed of a company it was—and, boy, was it–they always managed to hire great people who stick together even years after their departure,” wrote Green on his personal blog. “Alumni of that company always feel the same bond. Maybe because it was so fucked up and ill-managed. Those who get out are kind of like ex-convicts–survivors who laugh and shake their heads at their former incarceration and feel for those left behind. Or maybe that’s too dramatic and unfair. It’s hard to say when it comes to something like layoffs. Emotions run high.”

Following the announcement of the Hearst deal and the subsequent firings, current 1Up head Sam Kennedy posted his own politically-correct response to the news, a statement Green felt was a slight disservice to those who worked at Ziff Davis.

“Now, Sam is an incredibly nice guy, one of those guys who never, ever has a bad word to say about anyone,” assured Green. “And there is no doubt in my mind that he’s as bummed out as everyone else. He’s in a horrid position here, having to put a brave face on what is an unequivocally ugly mess. So I wish no ill-will on the guy, and, more important, those following this story need to know that none of this is his ‘fault’…. Still. That blog post? Not a good call. It reminds me a bit of George Bush, to be honest, in its tin-eared, feel-good myopic offensiveness (‘You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie!’).”

Instead, he offered his own alternative statement: “Our website is decimated. Our new owners failed to recognize the talent we had, which comes as no surprise since their own website values lowest-common-denominator pandering over quality content. We will do our best to do what we can, despite the fact that they gutted us. This fucking sucks.”