2009 was a tough year for both gaming professionals and games press. The trend has carried over into 2010 it seems, as IGN today revealed that it's cutting back its workforce. In a memo obtained by Joystiq, IGN president Roy Bahat explained that his company needed to reduce costs, even though he claims IGN is profitable and "doing well." The extent of the actual layoffs is unknown currently, but it appears that every division of IGN is affected by the cutbacks.
Here's Bahat's full memo:
"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"
29 Comments
March 16, 2010
Sounds like a excuse to me. The economy is actually starting to pick up. They are trying to hurry up, and take the ME TOO road. Because they know that pretty soon they will not be able to make that claim. And I bet they will still charge for content you can usually get elsewhere, even if you have to wait a week or two. What a business. Basically charging for E3 coverage, and advertisements. I mean video game trailers, and previews.
May 5, 2010
The only real downside to not having blu-ray or hd-dvd is that some games will have to be on multiple disc. But I didn't complain about that during the PS1 days so I won't complain about it now. driver update software
May 9, 2010
Thanks for sharing this interview.I had heard Peter Dille saying "We like to think that the migration path between Wii households and PlayStation households is a natural path"... online fax
May 13, 2010
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hanks for sharing this interview.I had heard Peter Dille saying "We like to think that the migration path between Wii households and PlayStation households is a natural path"...online fax
May 23, 2010
What a business. Basically charging for E3 coverage, and advertisements. I mean video game trailers, and previews. ecommerce website builder
May 24, 2010
What a business. Basically charging for E3 coverage, and advertisements. I mean video game trailers, and previews.online fax
May 24, 2010
I would go with staff firings everywhere.. my company lost roughly 2000 people last year, of which I merely skidded by, and am extremely grateful.. This year is the year of management.. 1000 more cuts by the end of the year with us... just rediculous. And what happens? All the work goes to Manila, or somewhere in India like our company is doing.. rush training, no tolerance, and paying people less than 1/4 what they pay us here, while workin in much poorer conditions with no benefits.. It's heartless out there man. My company makes billions off of Canadian consumers, yet they don't have the heart to keep canadian workers employed. Hawaii Luxury Vacation Rentals ITCSales Downloader Cebu SEO Specialist
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May 25, 2010
The only real downside to not having blu-ray or hd-dvd is that some games will have to be on multiple disc. But I didn't complain about that during the PS1 days so I won't complain about it now. online fax
May 27, 2010
What a business. Basically charging for E3 coverage, and advertisements. I mean video game trailers, and previews.credit theft protection
May 30, 2010
He says the PS2 type of consumer, which would be the whole family aka casual gamers, so really I think he means that they have IP for casual gamers. Not that they're bringing a PS2 game to Move/Natal.
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May 30, 2010
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June 8, 2010
This will give development studios looking to build motion games quickly and efficiently "the extended benefits of LightSpeed’s rapid prototyping and rapid iteration powers for development of motion controlled games that utilize the soon-to-be-released PlayStation Move, Nintendo's Wii Remote and the AiLive co-designed Wii MotionPlus attachment."Content Directory
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June 20, 2010
As for support for 3D from Sony Worldwide Studios, Bickerstaff said, "It's all a bit confidential, but [there'll be] a lot, let's put it that way.Web Hosting Reseller
June 21, 2010
Though we haven't heard much about Sega's feelings on the upcoming wave of new motion control technology. online fax
June 25, 2010
Joystiq has obtained an internal IGN memo sent by company president Roy Bahat announcing layoffs at the media site today. We currently have no accurate estimate for the number of people let go today, nor do we know if any divisions have been shut down entirely.
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June 25, 2010
The only real downside to not having blu-ray or hd-dvd is that some games will have to be on multiple disc. But I didn't complain about that during the PS1 days so I won't complain about it now.
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June 27, 2010
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June 27, 2010
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June 29, 2010
The company participated in a pre-conference meeting sponsored by Source Atlantique.online fax
July 2, 2010
t's admittedly been awhile since I've been to GameDaily, but I did very much enjoy that site. Shame to see the brand disappear like you said in your post, but here's to hoping for better things for everyone at GameDaily in the future with this consolidation. Good luck, folks!
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July 13, 2010
This is the new THQ. How far are we along? 50%. Because what we need to do is have these games start to work, start to fill our coffers with more money, so that then we can expand sort of our plan and our strategy.online fax
July 19, 2010
I will not argue about that because I can not understand how he could justify his conduct. This young man has lost his job and celebrate with you?
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