Giant Bomb Thread 2: A thread on a popular internet message board
- Thread starter randomlyrossy
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I think it was severance pay, not a settlement.
Nah, somebody asked him on formspring and he said "How much severance money do you think editorial staff get?" (or something to that effect) It's not like he sued them or anything.
slaughterking
Member
I'm currently watching the Olympic video from last Friday and Brad is annoying the hell out of me. He's just sitting there watching Youtube videos, starts talking about random shit like the Samsung/Apple case, asks dumb questions like how you win pole vaulting and is completely oblivious of what Ryan is doing. The best response Ryan gets from Brad is usually "Oh, yeah?" while Brad is clearly absorbed in whatever the hell is doing on his laptop.
Don't ever give Brad a laptop while he is riding shotgun in a video feature. lol
Don't ever give Brad a laptop while he is riding shotgun in a video feature. lol
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
That's how I felt at the time. Brad was in his own little world. Plus Ryan seemed preoccupied for the entire video. It was weird.
I don't mind Brad manning the chat, but he was clearly not as enthralled by the olympics games as Ryan was.
I can't really blame him, these games are rather boring. I still enjoyed the hell out of the feature though.
No, I don't think he payed attention to the chat at all. When they played the very first Olympics game and Ryan had trouble with the controls, Brad just came back with 'I can't find anything on the internet.' Meanwhile, about 200 people were @-messaging him in the chat with links to a full list of controls. That's when I just turned it off.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
I feel like, in general, Brad and Ryan are just the worst combo for anything. They're not terrible together - I enjoyed parts of the Olympics streams very much - but they're never as good alone as when Patrick, Jeff, Vinny, Dave or Drew are there too. I also think that Ryan is playing way too much on the streams, like on last weeks TNT when resident "expert" Will Smith was just on the sofa watching him. Variety is good and watching Ryan play all the time gets dull.
I really hope that CBSi get their shit together soon so GB can go back to pumping out content like they used to. The Whiskey days when you had a Breaking Bad, Random PC Game, Load Your Last Save, etc etc all in the same week so seem long ago. The premium content has been pretty much like a wasteland since they went to CBSi and I feel bad about that because I was one of few people who was positive about their move there when it was announced and saying they could do SO MUCH MORE. So far, this is probably the worst GB has been. I don't really think it's their fault, but it's getting to the point where it doesn't matter. My girlfriend and I used to love trying to keep up with all their videos and now there's really not much there outside of Quick Looks. It's not even a matter of "huff I'm paying for this so pull your fingers out", I just love the site and want that quality content to return.
Also, I wasn't here for the whole Patrick's dad/marriage thing, but I definitely realised in that time that Patrick has fully become a Duder to me and I missed him a lot. Good to have him back; the site wasn't the same without him.
I'll also say the Bombcast has been fucking brilliant lately, regardless of their video situation. I feel like it's been the highlight of my week on more than a few occasions over the last few months. That's probably what's stopping me from raging too much about the subscriber content.
I really hope that CBSi get their shit together soon so GB can go back to pumping out content like they used to. The Whiskey days when you had a Breaking Bad, Random PC Game, Load Your Last Save, etc etc all in the same week so seem long ago. The premium content has been pretty much like a wasteland since they went to CBSi and I feel bad about that because I was one of few people who was positive about their move there when it was announced and saying they could do SO MUCH MORE. So far, this is probably the worst GB has been. I don't really think it's their fault, but it's getting to the point where it doesn't matter. My girlfriend and I used to love trying to keep up with all their videos and now there's really not much there outside of Quick Looks. It's not even a matter of "huff I'm paying for this so pull your fingers out", I just love the site and want that quality content to return.
Also, I wasn't here for the whole Patrick's dad/marriage thing, but I definitely realised in that time that Patrick has fully become a Duder to me and I missed him a lot. Good to have him back; the site wasn't the same without him.
I'll also say the Bombcast has been fucking brilliant lately, regardless of their video situation. I feel like it's been the highlight of my week on more than a few occasions over the last few months. That's probably what's stopping me from raging too much about the subscriber content.
Agreed. Even throwing Jeff in there doesn't make things much better, dude's are just way too jaded sometimes and it feels like they're phoning it in (this is more and more prevalent on TNT).
It's a shame the Vinny/Drew/Dave presence is so rare on live streams (and in other general content in Drew and Dave's case) because those guys seem like the only ones left with an apparent excitement for games.
SmellyHands
Member
I don't know, Ryan seemed pretty damned enthusiastic about it to me. At least from the outside it looked like it was his idea and he went out and bought all the games to put it together. Dude had Olympic fever and this was it's only cure.
That's true, Ryan was pretty great for the most part. The topic of Ryan/Brad being a bad pair for live streams just reminded me of my bigger issues with some of their live streams on the whole.
Yeah, I felt the same way. I could barely finish watching it, while I really enjoyed the first part of the Olympiad.
Even when forced to start playing, Brad would look away ASAP (like during the load screens that told you the controls). It wasn't really Ryan and Brad doing Olympics stuff, it was Ryan doing Olympics stuff and Brad pretending to pay attention once every few minutes
vitaminwateryum
corporate swill
From twitter it seems Ryan finally played The Walking Dead episode 2. Can't wait to hear his thoughts on the bombcast. Maybe he'll finally push Jeff to playing it?
BMW M6.
Arcade escapades: The flyback transformer in my MVS cab failed on Sunday. It's arcing on the monitor chassis. A replacement flyback costs about $30 plus ~$150 to get a tech to my house to replace it. I'm not at all comfortable with doing anything relating to high voltage, not after reading up about what a flyback does (25k-30k volts and more than enough amperage to kill).
THIS NEEDS A WILHELM SCREAM SO BAD
Typographenia
Member
I don't think we're ever going to see Jeff play it. He seems all too firmly against even the notion of giving it a chance, which I can understand, but it's still unfortunate.
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't get any walking dead talk until next week, after episode 3 plays, but I'm crossing my fingers.
Haunted
Member
Honestly, the whole point why Olympic games are still fun despite the mind-numbing "gameplay" is the local multiplayer. Having two people on the couch and one looking on behind and just one guy playing most of the time was mindboggling.
Didn't even finish the video despite loving olympic games because it just wasn't much fun.
This could've been a 4 player local multi extravaganza like Fortune Street or something.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
I would have preferred it if they did it scrub league style, but I enjoyed the format of a retrospective with brad asking olympic related questions (which he did quite alot) and occasionally shooting the shit, while ryan comments on the events they are playing.
Not really true, he engaged in quite a number of olympic related questions and talked about chat stuff.
Not really true, he engaged in quite a number of olympic related questions and talked about chat stuff.
slaughterking
Member
Yeah, his questions were truly eye-opening and I liked the part where he seriously had to ask the chat if he should play multiplayer with Ryan, because "he liked the thing he had going on." Who know's what that thing was.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
It didn't have to be eye-opening, just casual chatter about the olympics, as well as stuff being brought up by the chat. If there were actually more than 2 people I'd love to see more of a scrub league thing but seeing that the thing was a live community thing I can't see how it would be sustainable, which I think it's the fault of the format.
Eh, I enjoyed it. Fun to have it on the background while doing work.
Eh, I enjoyed it. Fun to have it on the background while doing work.
slaughterking
Member
While it's true that Brad occasionally had the courtesy to brainstorm a silly question every now and than, I'd say that is hardly enough for a four hour video.
But whatever. I'm over it. I still kinda enjoyed the olympic stuff despite Brad's lack of contribution.
But whatever. I'm over it. I still kinda enjoyed the olympic stuff despite Brad's lack of contribution.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
I think the problem is that it is 4 frickin' hours, 5 if you count the break. If they condensed it they probably could make it alot more focused and fun. I still liked the mellowness though.
The Dutch Slayer
Member
Ah right, I forgot about the BLLSL...sigh it annoys me everytime I think about it.
To think that, instead of actually working on making decent content (quality and quantity) for the website they actually go and wast a ton of hours working on a 8h infomercial for a product that practictly doesn't exist anymore (the Whiskey Sub). What's the fucking point of talking for 8 hours about the Giantbomb sub alone now that Tested and Screened are gone? Ugh, such a waste of time and ressource. The site went to shit since the buyout (except the podcast) so maybe they should start by fixing that before doing stupid things like that?
Hot Coldman
Banned
The site is identical. The BLLSL will be another 8 hours of idiocy, and that is very much welcome.
vitaminwateryum
corporate swill
What's not the same is last year I had no issue with paying $50 for Giant Bomb and Tested (and a t-shirt!). My subscription is up in about a week with the BLLSL, and I'm still undecided if I'll renew...
slaughterking
Member
Yeah, same for me. The BLLSL should be a good opportunity for them to show how they intend to make Premium content worthwhile again.
What kind of baby would you say that is?
We have gotten substantially less premium content since the purchase.
Last save/random pc game things that make pefect sense in a slow release season are basically gone.
What if the BLLSL is a bunch of live Random PC Games, Flight Clubs and Last Saves. I mean, I have no idea who would be filming whatever the fuck they'd be doing in between (Ryan on a sofa talking to Harmonix dudes?) but that'd be kind of cool.
And disastrous once a bunch of people subscribe for those features and there's another five months before they put any up.
And disastrous once a bunch of people subscribe for those features and there's another five months before they put any up.
Yep, and it's not hard to imagine the premium content being thrown to the wayside even more as the crazy busy fall/holiday season comes up. There are tons of AAA games coming out not to mention the launch of the Wii-U, and I doubt they'll even be able to cover all of that.
I wish they'd be as transparent as they promised at the time of the acquisition, at least to assuage some of the fears people have about their commitment to content. Sucks that things are still like this nearly half a year later, despite all the 'this won't change us/we'll be able to do more stupid stuff than ever' talk back in March. CBSi done screwed up, and at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if things coast along as they have until early 2013.
illmatic19
Member
A BLLSL in those tiny offices is going to terrible. I think this is going to be one giant train wreck (and not the good one).
What's the excuse for not doing Load Our Last Save, Random PC Game, and Breaking Brad? Don't give me the "we're not settled in yet!" excuse. There are people on YouTube who can do commentary over a video game. Sorry for ranting but the site sucks now, the only thing I look forward to is the bombcast.
What's the excuse for not doing Load Our Last Save, Random PC Game, and Breaking Brad? Don't give me the "we're not settled in yet!" excuse. There are people on YouTube who can do commentary over a video game. Sorry for ranting but the site sucks now, the only thing I look forward to is the bombcast.
4 hours of this is probably going to be Comic Vine since they no longer have Tested and Screened to have segments for.
ashbash159
Member
As much as I love the subscriber content, the lack of it has made me decide that they will not be getting any more of my money come this September.
I'm fed up with their excuses, with them not having equipment yet. What equipment are they waiting for anyway?
I'm trying to think of why there is a lack of content and I can't find any good excuse.
There is literally no reason for me to resubscribe.
I'm fed up with their excuses, with them not having equipment yet. What equipment are they waiting for anyway?
I'm trying to think of why there is a lack of content and I can't find any good excuse.
There is literally no reason for me to resubscribe.
brianmcdoogle
Member
Jeff on Twitter: "We probably wouldn't have sold the company to CBS without @jwhdavison being here, but there's a deep crew in place here to run thangs."
I believe Vinny, Drew, and Dave said they would all be flying different planes from the DCS Simulator games during the BLLSL. So we should at least get some GBFC.
Yeah I was giving them the benefit of the doubt and being optimistic renewing it through the summer, but I think I'll be cancelling in September as well until they get their stuff together.
i agree with this. i still love the site and the free content, but its no longer worth paying for it.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
BLLSL needs to focus on games, returning premium features and new premium features... not some boring guy on a bass etc.
As cool as the idea of the show is, the majority of the segments were bad.
As cool as the idea of the show is, the majority of the segments were bad.
brianmcdoogle
Member
I agree with this. I want Breaking Bad, I want Load Our Last Save, I want Random PC Game (only if they return to The Ripper!), I want Quicklook Throwbacks, I want the world premier of the new season of WUTANG (since they said a year ago that they had stuff for it), I want the world premier of Jeff's Hall of Fame (since they said a year ago that he had ideas for it), etc.
ashbash159
Member
If they done all of that in the BLLSL, to showcase what premium subscription is all about, it would be a great show and a great advertisement.
Mr. Enigma
Member
The reality is that Giant Bomb should have had premium memberships from day one. I have no idea why they basically waited until all their investment capital was gone to start memberships. Unfortunately for them, they are now stuck in the trap of not being able to monetize their most popular content because of user backlash. Remember the digital riot that started when they discussed locking away an hour of the Bombcast for subs only? The backlash for withholding 720p videos from non-subs even when they moved all their content to YouTube? If they had done this immediately, people would have thrown money at anything Gerstmann did after what happened at Gamespot.
All they had to do was be honest and say, "Look, we have this pile of money to start this thing with but after a while, it's going to run out. Want to support the site? Premium memberships, bro. Trust us, you'll get cool stuff for it."
There was so much of an army behind Jeff that Giant Bomb really didn't need to "establish" anything. They could have zoomed right into premium memberships and people wouldn't have been able to throw Jeff enough money. They could have made a website devoted entirely to Jeff's old "POINTS!" videos and made mad bank.
But now they are stuck and it's become very clear in the past two years that they are incapable of creating consistently new, fresh ideas that anyone feels is worth $50/year or $5/month. I really hate saying that, but it's reality. The first year, they essentially had nothing for premium users other than Happy Hour (which was a weekly trainwreck). They didn't even really start trying to do anything with substance until it was time for all those yearly subs to expire. Even then, what they've done this second year has been really underwhelming as well. They started off strong, but it's really lagged behind in recent months. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the CBSi acquistion, but it's been over five months now. When you're taking money from people, you've got a responsibility to produce for those people.
Then naturally, there is the question of "Do these guys really need the money now that they are owned by a mega-corporation like CBS?" While I'm sure CBS' coffers have not been swung open for Giant Bomb, it's still a valid question.
It's hard to find people that really feel like they are getting value for their money. A lot of subs are mostly people paying just because they like the guys. And that's fine. But at the end of the day, it's more of a donation than it is a geniune desire to get whatever's behind the paywall. All the real good stuff is free and everyone knows it.
I fully support these guys, but I've been continously baffled as to why they waited until their investment capital was almost completely gone to start premium subs.
Of course, this is just my opinion and you are free to disagree with it. I'm sure someone out there really did like Happy Hour.
All they had to do was be honest and say, "Look, we have this pile of money to start this thing with but after a while, it's going to run out. Want to support the site? Premium memberships, bro. Trust us, you'll get cool stuff for it."
There was so much of an army behind Jeff that Giant Bomb really didn't need to "establish" anything. They could have zoomed right into premium memberships and people wouldn't have been able to throw Jeff enough money. They could have made a website devoted entirely to Jeff's old "POINTS!" videos and made mad bank.
But now they are stuck and it's become very clear in the past two years that they are incapable of creating consistently new, fresh ideas that anyone feels is worth $50/year or $5/month. I really hate saying that, but it's reality. The first year, they essentially had nothing for premium users other than Happy Hour (which was a weekly trainwreck). They didn't even really start trying to do anything with substance until it was time for all those yearly subs to expire. Even then, what they've done this second year has been really underwhelming as well. They started off strong, but it's really lagged behind in recent months. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the CBSi acquistion, but it's been over five months now. When you're taking money from people, you've got a responsibility to produce for those people.
Then naturally, there is the question of "Do these guys really need the money now that they are owned by a mega-corporation like CBS?" While I'm sure CBS' coffers have not been swung open for Giant Bomb, it's still a valid question.
It's hard to find people that really feel like they are getting value for their money. A lot of subs are mostly people paying just because they like the guys. And that's fine. But at the end of the day, it's more of a donation than it is a geniune desire to get whatever's behind the paywall. All the real good stuff is free and everyone knows it.
I fully support these guys, but I've been continously baffled as to why they waited until their investment capital was almost completely gone to start premium subs.
Of course, this is just my opinion and you are free to disagree with it. I'm sure someone out there really did like Happy Hour.
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