It's the end of an era. Since 1989 Electronic Gaming Monthly, or EGM as it would later be commonly referred, has been entertaining video gamers, detailing stories of the constant rise and decline of various platforms and the games on them. Many of us who grew up on video games in the late 80s and early 90s knew of or had a subscription to EGM. But the golden days are over. According to industry website Gamasutra, Ziff Davis has sold its 1UP network to UGO Entertainment, and EGM will now go the way of the dodo.

Here's a snippet from the official email sent out by Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young:

After a comprehensive process, this morning we completed a deal with Hearst Interactive, the owner and operator of UGO Entertainment. 1UP.com, MyCheats.com, Gamevideos.com, and Gametab.com will now all be part of the UGO Entertainment business. Many of our employees will travel with this business and become part of the UGO team.

With this transaction happening, we have also made the decision to discontinue publication of EGM. The January 2009 issue will be the final issue of the publication. With demand for print continuing to decline amongst both advertisers and readers and the content being produced by 1UP no longer available for use in the publication, it simply did not make sense for us to move forward with this business any longer.

This raises a very obvious question: Are print gaming magazines dead? It seems that every few months, another gaming magazine drops like a fly and a dozen websites spring up in its place. What are your thoughts? Are print magazines viable anymore? Let us know on the forums.