Blast Magazine» ign

Sweeping Layoffs Hit Industry Site IGN

Eddie Makuch — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:15:48 +0000

Mega-entertainment Web site IGN, a division of FOX, suffered layoffs recently, an internal document says.

The internal memo, obtained by trade site Joystiq, cites IGN President Roy Bahat revealing the sackings at the entertainment site.

No mention was made concerning how far-reaching the layoffs are, but they are said to have affected multiple divisions of the Web site.

Part of the memo read:

Unfortunate, definitely. Check out the full internal memo, which outside eyes were never supposed to see, below.

“Today’s a hard day at IGN. We’ve had to reduce the size of our organization and are eliminating roles today in every part of the company. We are making every effort to be compassionate and fair to the people whose roles we’ve eliminated.

“We’re doing this to reduce costs. While we’ve been doing well — we’re profitable and our audience continues to grow — we’re still feeling the effects of the economy, and we need to make sure we can invest where there is opportunity. Over the past couple of years, we have been focusing IGN on areas where we can not only grow, but be best in the world: serving gamers online, and serving advertisers looking to reach men. To do that successfully, we have to be as efficient as possible in our core businesses. The difficult actions we’re taking today get us to where we need to be.

“We are losing colleagues who played an important role getting us to where we are — #1 in games and men’s lifestyle, and growing 40% over last year in the total size of our audience. We are deeply grateful to our colleagues for everything they’ve done. We as a company are absolutely headed in the right direction, and while today will be hard, it won’t stop us.

“We’ll have an All-Hands meeting later today to discuss this, and give you a chance to ask questions. Greg will be sending out a note with the exact timing, please be on the lookout for that.

“It probably goes without saying, but please keep this absolutely confidential to IGN. If you are approached by any member of the press, please direct them to Kris Sharbaugh.

“Thank you,
“Roy”

Source: Joystiq

The Beaterator Band Challenge!

David Smail — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:40:13 +0000

Got your copy of Beaterator? Mastered all the skills yet? Awesome. We have good news for you! Rockstar Games is announcing the Beaterator Band Challenge, a competition that offers millions of artists and bands on Myspace the chance to win $5,000 (!) by creating a track using the song crafting tools provided in Beaterator. To enter, just go and fill out an entry form. Rockstar Games will choose up to 100 bands for the semi-finals. These bands will be provided with a PSP system and a copy of Beaterator. Each semi-finalist who submits a track will be showcased on the website and then people who visit Mypace and IGN will have the chance to vote for their favorite songs. In addition to winning $5,000, the winning track will be featured on the PlayStation Network and Myspace homepages. So get cracking!

Fallen Earth inks deal with IGN’s Fileplanet for stress test

Eddie Makuch — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:12:08 +0000

Fallen Earth LLC, the guys behind the MMO of the same name (sans LLC) today announced a partnership with IGN’s Fileplanet download service in preparation of the games’ impending launch.

Beginning June 23 (tomorrow), but available for pre-load now for Fileplanet members, the Fallen Earth official stress test by way of hopeful increased usership will commence and will allow the development team to confirm launch capabilities of the network infrastructure. So what it sounds like to me, is that if all of you screaming MMO fans race to the expanses of the FPS/MMO hybrid and it crashes and burns, we might just be due for a delay of sorts.

Our own Joe Godlewsky was granted early access to the title, and his hands-on preview can (although you really should) be read here.

A note: you have to be a paying member of Fileplanet to enjoy the beta, so either open that wallet, or miss out.

Fallen Earth stress test/beta signup page

http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/fallen-earth/

First gameplay footage for Gladiator A.D. is bloody awesome

Eddie Makuch — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:34:41 +0000

High Voltage revealed two games this week via IGN but until today they were all talk and no motion. Well, today that all changes with this first look at the gore-fest of a title that is Gladiator A.D.

In the trailer you’ll hear an emotionally heavy introduction to the Roman gladiatorial circuit and then some glorious depictions of just how violent the “sport,” which often ends in death, can be.

More Gladiator A.D. News & Previews

Twilight … do it for the chicks

Terri Schwartz — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:04:12 +0000

In two weeks and four hours, the “Twilight” movie will be released to the general public.

In a week and a day, Blast will have posted their one-on-one interview with “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson.

Boys, you may call this a “girly” book, based on the thousands of 14-year-olds and their mothers who make up a large portion of Stephenie Meyer’s fan base.

But Ben from IGN.com has found a new reason for men to read the four book long Twilight saga.

Do it for the chicks.