Report: IGN and UGO to Merge and Become New Company

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Report: IGN and UGO to Merge and Become New Company

IGN is flying the News Corp. nest with the aim of hastening the site's growth.

IGN, one of the biggest videogame sites around, is reportedly about to merge with the smaller UGO. Once the merger is complete, the new entity will break away from News Corp. and Hearst - the original site's respective owners - and form a new company, technically separate from either.

According to Peter Kafka, who writes for All Things Digital [http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20110501/news-corp-s-ign-buys-hearsts-ugo-in-preparation-for-game-site-spin-off/], News Corp. and Hearst finalized details of the deal over the weekend, and will release an official statement in the next few days. Kafka said that unlike MySpace, which News Corp. is reportedly trying to offload for around one sixth of what it originally paid for it in 2005, IGN is a successful and profitable site, and that the belief is that IGN would grow faster as its own company. It's thought that it could take months for the new enitity to separate from its parents. It won't be completely separate however, as News Corp. will hold the controlling share. Presumably, Hearst will hold the other share, as it has been looking for a partner for UGO since last year.

In addition to the main IGN and UGO sites, this deal may also include several other sites that fall under the IGN and UGO umbrellas. GameSpy and Direct2Drive are both parts of IGN Entertainment, for example, and 1up and Game Videos are UGO brands. Of course, until there's official confirmation of the deal, it's impossible to know what - if anything - is happening to these satellite sites. It's hard to imagine that they'd be left out of the deal, but they might not survive the merger.

This is a pretty significant change in the landscape for gaming journalism. IGN wasn't exactly small to begin with - Kafka says that it expects to make around $10 million profit this year - and merging with UGO makes it even bigger still. With so much in the way of resources, the new entity could afford to offer a wide range of content across a wide range of brands. Unfortunately, we won't find out if that's actually the plan for quite some time.

Source: via Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/01/report-ign-and-ugo-to-merge-spin-off-from-news-corp/]






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KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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Ah the media conglomerate; tis only a matter of time before IGN ends up buying Activision or EA. Then IGN will get bought up by somebody bigger, and the cycle of life continues. :D
 

manythings

New member
Nov 7, 2009
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Scrumpmonkey said:
Maybe then their editorial content will improve from its current level of "Samefully Retarded"
I don't remember hyper-intelligent, space-faring aliens being listed as a part of this business transaction.
 

The Artificially Prolonged

Random Semi-Frequent Poster
Jul 15, 2008
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Hopefully the break away from News Corp we can expect a better quality of gaming journalism from ign and less hype mongering. Hey I can dream can't I?
 

cobaltfram

New member
Sep 3, 2009
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The fact that the man detailing this merger is named Kafka makes me wonder if perhaps it's not all a massive metaphor, representing both the fact that games have become a corporate matter and also that life is an endless series of unsettling encounters en route to the grave. But maybe that's just me.
 

DeadlyYellow

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Jun 18, 2008
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MiracleOfSound said:
As long as they don't try and buy us then it's all good :D
Very much so.

Hell, I can't even use IGN or it's subsites without getting red flags from my AV and Google Protection.
 

Simalacrum

Resident Juggler
Apr 17, 2008
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Eh, fair enough, although I doubt this will mean much for those who visit the site...

Also, this is just out of curiosity, but does anyone actually know how big The Escapist is in comparison to other videogame websites?
 

MiracleOfSound

Fight like a Krogan
Jan 3, 2009
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Scrumpmonkey said:
MiracleOfSound said:
As long as they don't try and buy us then it's all good :D
That would just be depressing, I just have visions of you singing songs about how great Kane and Lynch 3 is due to their editorial line. It makes me sad. But then i feel good, 'cause ive been mining all day long :p (seriously, i can't get that song out of my head! What have you done to me!)
The day I'm made to sing a song abut how good Kane and Lynch is, is the day I quit music!

Screw that shitty game and screw (insert whichever company it was here) for treating its staff like that.
 

Weaver

Overcaffeinated
Apr 28, 2008
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One part of me hopes that they're separating from their parent they'll hopefully gain at least a shred of jouranlistic integrity (no offense to Steve Butts, he was the best reviewer they ever had).

However, on the flip side I'm afraid the jouranlist there are just too indoctronated into the industry and used to bought review scores and conditioned exlucisves and this will only make them all the more powerful.
 

Jonny49

New member
Mar 31, 2009
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MiracleOfSound said:
Scrumpmonkey said:
MiracleOfSound said:
As long as they don't try and buy us then it's all good :D
That would just be depressing, I just have visions of you singing songs about how great Kane and Lynch 3 is due to their editorial line. It makes me sad. But then i feel good, 'cause ive been mining all day long :p (seriously, i can't get that song out of my head! What have you done to me!)
The day I'm made to sing a song abut how good Kane and Lynch is, is the day I quit music!

Screw that shitty game and screw IGN for treating its staff like that.
I thought that was Gamespot?
 

MiracleOfSound

Fight like a Krogan
Jan 3, 2009
17,776
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0
Jonny49 said:
MiracleOfSound said:
Scrumpmonkey said:
MiracleOfSound said:
As long as they don't try and buy us then it's all good :D
That would just be depressing, I just have visions of you singing songs about how great Kane and Lynch 3 is due to their editorial line. It makes me sad. But then i feel good, 'cause ive been mining all day long :p (seriously, i can't get that song out of my head! What have you done to me!)
The day I'm made to sing a song abut how good Kane and Lynch is, is the day I quit music!

Screw that shitty game and screw IGN for treating its staff like that.
I thought that was Gamespot?
Well screw them instead then.
 

GeorgW

ALL GLORY TO ME!
Aug 27, 2010
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I never got why so many people go to IGN. I guess it's not my thing, but could people explain what makes people gravitate towards them?
 

matrix3509

New member
Sep 24, 2008
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GeorgW said:
I never got why so many people go to IGN. I guess it's not my thing, but could people explain what makes people gravitate towards them?
For the same reason so many people used to watch Mtv back in the day, that so many people listen to Lady Gaga and Bieber now, that so many people watch Fox News: they are the biggest and most mainstream, and the common person usually trusts the biggest players in whatever industry the most, textbook herd mentality.