More bad news for Ziff-Davis, the storied, and troubled, tech publisher: Two executives in its videogames group have left the company. General manager Ira Becker and editorial director John Davison announced they're departing to start a new venture, thought to be a family-oriented videogame site. Opportune timing considering Ziff's uncertain future. It's also sure to dampen any enthusiasm among potential buyers for the technology publisher's shrinking game portfolio, which have been on the block since late last year. Becker and Davison, you see, were responsible for the website 1UP.com, the only segment of the group that has shown consistent growth. Ziff-Davis has been trying to sell off its magazines (Electronic Gaming Monthly and Games for Windows) as well as 1UP.

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