Future reviews

I worked at Future US for more than a decade, rose up the management chain, and quit when it became clear the UK-based leadership was incapable of making a successful transition from print magazines to online. The company seems to believe that digital magazines will be its salvation--which defies all conventional wisdom about the future of games, tech and enthusiast media. Digital magazine editions do nothing more than bandage print magazine wounds. They're an exit strategy. Not a growth strategy. The most fatal series of decisions involved the UK leadership pouring investment into internationalized online start-ups (Gamesradar, Techradar) instead of helping established US-based magazine brands (Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, Maximum PC and Maclife) make the transition from print to web. The two "radar" properties have zero name recognition in the US market, and employ some of the most craven strategies you'll find online to monetize content. They blur the lines between advertising and editorial, and use obscene search-engine tricks to garner page clicks. The two radars may eek out revenue for the UK parent company, but they will never be major players with their current content plans. Meanwhile, the magazine brands have been gutted, and so the world watches to see these once-proud brands fade off into nothingness. Future would call this putting a brand into "maintenance mode": not investing, grabbing what revenue it can, and waiting for a war of attrition to come to an end. Other cons: Incompetent US management (though it appears they have all been sacked, and the UK runs everything now). Widespread employee contempt for the company. A building location in the middle of nowhere, accessible only by car and shuttle, and miles away from San Francisco's thriving games and tech media center. Finally, the company has zero name recognition. It means nothing on a resume.