UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in

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, United States.

History

The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online, billed in directories as a "hand-picked network of professionally managed gaming sites and services." In 1997, founder Chris Sherman hired Ken Margolis Associates to manage sales and marketing to the Game Industry. Chris sold UGO to Actionworld, Inc., a subsidiary of InterWorld, which incorporated the company in the state of Delaware in April, 1997. That same year, InterWorld spun off the company "in order to permit UGO Networks to build a separate management team...and to position UGO Networks to seek private parts equity financing." In 1998, UGO—then described as "the largest independent gaming community on the Internet"—created the prestigious UGO E3 Awards, now the Game Critics Awards, to recognize high quality

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

entertainment. In 1999, UGO changed its name to UnderGround Online as part of its efforts to expand its target audience. The company streamed various forms of media entertainment on its website as well as offering articles on topics of interest to its target audience. Topics included comics, television, music and film. Its main competitors included CNET Networks,

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

, and

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

. On July 24, 2007 it was announced that Hearst Corporation would acquire UGO Entertainment to expand its interactive media division. On January 6, 2009, UGO Entertainment acquired 1UP.com and its associated sites from publisher

Ziff Davis Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. Founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology- and health-oriented media websites, online shopping-related servi ...

. In May 2011,

IGN Entertainment ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

announced that it would acquire UGO from Hearst in a cash and stock. At the same time, its parent company

News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...

also announced that the profitable IGN division would be spun off into a new company. In March 2012, UGO ceased to exist as a staffed website and was dormant for a short period. Later in 2012, UGO.com relaunched as a self-described "pop culture comedy site", which focused on producing original videos about movies, comics and videogames with a humorous tone. On February 4, 2013, UGO.com was purchased as part of the

network of websites acquired by

, and was shut down on February 21, 2013.

The network

The UGO Networks featured websites such as Hero Machine, a Flash-based website allowing to create one's own superhero and share it; Studio UGO, featuring exclusive live music performances; Actress Archives, a website focusing on actress and female entertainer related news, photo galleries, and videos; and Caster's Realm, a blog that featured news and information on MMORPGs.

References

External links

* - still online , but last w February 2013 {{News Corporation Entertainment Internet forums American gaming websites Defunct websites * Internet properties disestablished in 2013 Internet properties established in 1997 Video game websites 2007 mergers and acquisitions 2011 mergers and acquisitions