JohnDavison
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'What They Play' keeps parents in the loop
When 1UP group mastermind John Davison and executive vice president of the Game Group, Ira Becker, bailed out of Ziff Davis Media in August, it was with the intention of starting up a new family entertainment website geared towards parents. "What They Play" is now accessible via the magnificent power of the internets and, as the succinct name suggests, aims to inform parents what interactive filth their kids are currently rolling their brains in. With an online video game glossary (or "videogame," as they seemingly prefer) and explanation of the ESRB rating system, the site aims to demystify some of the game industry's intricacies and back-of-the-box descriptors to an audience less versed in our M-rated 60fps FPS world.Most helpful is an objective analysis of a given game's activities, violent content and colorful language, presented in a concise and straightforward manner. You won't find reviews here, only a desire to better equip parents for deciding whether their kids should be playing Zack & Wiki or Manhunt 2. (Bad example, nobody in their mind should play Manhunt 2.)[Thanks, Jared]
PAX 07: 1UP Yours podcast still John's
As the special live PAX edition of the 1UP Yours podcast kicked off in front of a densely-packed crowd (hence the distance and over-some-guy's-shoulderness of the picture), the team (including Special Guest Luke Smith, for the classic 1UP Yours lineup) made an announcement that should be comforting for fans of the show. John Davison may be leaving the 1UP Network, but he won't be leaving the his most publicly visible task as a member of the team: the podcast. After he makes the big move (he says his new office is "a block away"), he'll continue to appear as normal on the 1UP Yours podcast. Bless his commitment to giving people things to listen to idly during work.Tonight's podcast isn't online yet, obviously, but look for it within a few days.
Bail out: John Davison leaving Ziff Davis Media to start a new website [Update - 1UP confirms]
Senior vice president of the Game Group and mastermind of the 1UP Network, John Davison, will soon be leaving Ziff Davis Media. A move that, while shocking, isn't entirely unexpected considering the media giant's struggles as of late. Davison doesn't plan on leaving the industry behind, however, as our sources indicate he is starting a new family entertainment site geared towards parents.The sinking ship that makes up Ziff Davis will actually be two lighter, as Ira Becker will be joining Davison in his new venture. The name may not ring a bell to most (Becker was not a part of the editorial process), but Becker is the executive vice president of the Game Group and with Davison, they represented the two key elements of power. Below them are the editors-in-chief of the respective Ziff brands – EGM, GFW Magazine, and 1UP.com – though none seem particularly groomed for the task.This is yet another huge loss for the Game Group, having lost their prized news editor Luke Smith to Bungie Studios back in April. We sincerely wish John Davison and his crew the best of luck with their new project.[Update - 1UP has confirmed this story, also noting that the original cast of 1UP Yours will be reunited for a podcast special at Penny-Arcade Expo this weekend. Attend it!]
Xbox 360 can't handle the PS3 heat
Toddlers are dangerous creatures. Especially when they get their hands on expensive gadgets. This life lesson comes to you via 1UP Editor John Davison, who recently discovered it for himself when his two sons woke up early one morning wanting to play video games. It seems Davison keeps his PS3 and his Xbox 360 in a less-than-well ventilated entertainment unit. Usually this is of no consequence as the two consoles are rarely running together. Davison also makes sure to keep the doors open whenever the PS3 is running. Unfortunately on this particular morning his wee-est nipper decided to play along with the older brother as he played on the Xbox 360. To make a short story shorter, the toddler pushed the PS button on the SIXAXIS controller (which was obviously the young lad's controller of choice when pretending to play - such good taste at such a young age), causing the PLAYSTATION 3 to fire up.And fire up it did. The temperature within the unventilated entertainment unit shot up, initiating some kind of Scandinavian sauna challenge between the two consoles. As the 360 started showing signs of its encroaching Red Ring of Death, the PS3 was still going strong. In the end Sony's behemoth emerges victorious. And the 360? Don't ask, it's not pretty. Oh well. I guess it's perfect timing. Time to go pick up one of those Xbox 360 Elite's I've heard so much about, right?[Via Joystiq]
RSS this!
Every week PSP Fanboy brings you a great new podcast that you can use your PSP's RSS feature to subscribe to. We like to call it RSS this! This week's spotlight is one that many gamers probably already subscribe to, but that doesn't make it any less worthy of praise. 1up Yours is 1up.com 's premiere weekly podcast. A typical episode can consist of developer interviews, rumors, news, community features and general conversation about games. The cast usually consists of John Davison, Garnett Lee, Luke Smith and Shane Bettenhausen. One of the most listened to and respected video game podcast around, 1up Yours is a passionate, informative and humorous journey into what makes gaming great and what it needs to do better. When the podcasters aren't attacking their separate viewpoints on gaming, they mock their sexuality. The best part though is since everyone is so honest, you get to know them and even if you don't agree with them, they stay endearing. If you haven't yet heard 1up Yours and you want to add it to your PSP's RSS, just bring up this site with your PSP through our mobile version at m.pspfanboy.com and click on this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/1up/podcast. Then you can exit your web browser and the show should be in your RSS channels. From there you can set a timer for auto-download of episodes or stream them so you don't take up memory stick space. Got something you have RSS'd and would like us to feature it? Just let us know in the comments, or let other readers know what you think of 1up Yours.
