I was shocked today to read that long-time EGMer and guiding force Dan “Shoe” Hsu is leaving Ziff Davis Media and the 1Up Network for personal reasons. His last day will be April 25.
Shu is quick to point out that the decision was his alone and not one forced on him or dealing with any sort of lay offs, or connected in anyway to the recent news about Games for Windows. He says on his personal blog that after 11 years at the company it’s time to move on.
It’s with a heavy (and relieved) heart that I write this: I’ve tendered my resignation here at Ziff Davis Media and the 1UP Network. My last day here will be Friday, April 25.
This is my own decision; I’m not being forced out or laid off or anything like that. And this is not related to the recent news about Games for Windows: The Official Magazine (and I hope I’m not stealing any thunder away from those guys — that’s not my intention here). It’s just time for me to move on. I’ve been here, mostly with EGM, since April of 1996. That’s 11 years (taking off one year when I did a brief stint at Gamers.com)…quite a long time!
While Hsu doesn’t say where he’s headed he does that that we will hear from him again in the near future.
love the videogame business too much to stay away (plus, I’m too old to become a professional snowboarder). Besides, I will miss you guys too much. You all have been fantastic. I sincerely appreciate all the support you’ve thrown my way over the years — and that, I’ll never forget, either.
Thanks and good bye…for now.
I just hope it’s still as a writer. The game industry doesn’t need Hsu as much as we do.
Hit the jump for the official release naming Sam Kennedy as his replacement as Editorial Director for 1Up Network.
So, yes, the 1UP team (including EGM and Games for Windows) have ditched the 1-10 review scale. Whew, good! As we previously posted, in their place will be a school-like grading system, with titles ranked between A+ and F. The changes will take place during March on 1UP, in the April issue of EGM and the April/May issue of GFW. So if an “A+” is a “10″, what is a “B” or a “B-” on 1UP’s previous scale? Says 1UP Network editorial director Dan Hsu: We’re not publiciding the conversion scale because we want our readers to go with our new scoring system and not be constantly translating the new letters back to our old scores. We also don’t want our reviewers to be thinking about how they translate. It’s just easier for us to have everyone move forward and accept the new ratings. But most people can figure it out. Our old “average” in the 5 range roughly translates to the C letter grades (with plusses and minuses), for example.
Smart of them not to make a conversion table. What would the point of switching over be then? Shoe Interview [Level Up]