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The Final Bosman Show

Wow, he really raked his employer over the coals there, lol. "Try making a show that human beings might want to watch, and you might get better results."
 
"I'm worried only indies have new game ideas" is a nice, succinct summary of my current feelings towards the industry. When a game made by 4 people can steal all the headlines from games made by several hundred, something is not quite right. Someone at those publishers needs to wake up and take notice of how powerful genuine innovation can be.
Silver_DNA said:
Man, watching this made me feel bad for Keighley. I get the impression that he wants to do something great and impactful with the video game industry on the press side but he has these shadowy producers telling what he can't do and what he should do instead. Despite his career of success he still can't get the respect he needs to produce a show that he wants to make. And even if he did he would still have to invite on people who will just equate people watching for video games with people who like poop jokes.
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I agree with this. I think a lot of the hate aimed at Geoff is misplaced. He seems like a decent guy who is very knowledgeable about games and genuinely wants the show to be good, I doubt he is the one making the bad decisions with regard to how that show was put together, in fact I bet it would be a whole lot worse without him on board.
 
Somebody should splice that Al Bundy emote gif in with his, they're eerily similar.
 
AngryMoth said:
"I'm worried only indies have new game ideas" is a nice, succinct summary of my current feelings towards the industry. When a game made by 4 people can steal all the headlines from games made by several hundred, something is not quite right. Someone at the those publishers needs to wake up and take notice of how powerful genuine innovation can be.
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I definitely agree. The issue is that game budgets have become so big that publishers demand games that have broad appeal. It's much safer for them to repeat, or copy, what has already been successful. Indie games have much smaller budgets and therefore don't have to sell as many copies to make a profit. AAA titles need to sell many millions of copies to make a profit and therefore have to try and appeal to as many people as possible. That's why indie games more often serve niche audiences.

Game budgets have become so large because, generally speaking, the more money a developer puts into a game and promotion, the more sales will be generated. Obviously that's not always the case but GTA V is a good example of that. Ultimately, it comes down to 'opportunity cost'. Game publishers would rather spend £50 million to make back £100 million than spend £5 million to make back £10 million. This is a risky mentality though because it only takes a few bombas to sink a company, eg Grin.
 
yurinka said:
omg, just saw the VGX episode. It's perfect, just the same I thought about them. I wonder why there isn't more gaming journalists like him. With sense of humour, good taste and free of bullshit.
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There are a few things that I think work in Kyle's favor:

  • Kyle doesn't seem to want to get into the game development industry, in any capacity or form. This is best evidenced by the fact that...
  • ... although Kyle is clearly knowledgeable about games and has had an extensive history of playing them, many of his arguments do not try to evaluate a game much more than it being a game. That is to say, Kyle seems to largely evaluate whether or not he likes a game on the basis if he likes it or not; he usually doesn't seem to delve into things like "ludonarrative dissonance" because it doesn't really interest him.
  • He works under a company that is relatively large and can reasonably be said to apply quite a bit of policies over their daughter companies. He needs to be witty because he needs to make sure his opinions are never overt, to avoid offending anybody higher up.
  • He doesn't take his position as a 'journalist' seriously! For all intents and purposes, I think it's fair to say that Kyle doesn't see himself as a games journalist - he's not there to report on games, although what his capacity his at GamesTrailers while not doing the show is not known to me. That's not to say that he isn't good at what he does or that he doesn't have a passion about games; Kyle just seems more interested in games themselves, rather than the discussion and reporting of games.
  • He reads GAF. He has to. He knows how we think! :P
 
TheAbsolution said:
He's the Executive Producer of the show. So in theory, He is that shadowy producer. At least that's what I think he's saying.
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And you are WAY off. Geoff works extremely hard to represent games and gaming in a positive light and he has my full support. I've worked with him on multiple projects and I have the utmost respect for him.
 
This is actually my first time watching GT videos...why does this video player have the frame rate of a bad gif?

Edit: Nevermind, I guess it was just the first few episodes.
 
RichieRich said:
And you are WAY off. Geoff works extremely hard to represent games and gaming in a positive light and he has my full support. I've worked with him on multiple projects and I have the utmost respect for him.
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He does do a great job and he comes off as very genuine, I think he just gets reeled in and made to do things in ways he doesn't want to, but that's life. I hope he keeps working so hard.

The only emote I did that Kyle didn't was put my hands over my ears multiple times haha great video.
 
Sneds said:
^ Unless you can read thoughts, I'm not sure how you claim to know the inner workings of Bosman's mind like that.
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I don't! I'm juxtaposing it on the context of what he's done on his shows. He has a very distinctive style (which, as can be seen in this thread, many attribute to him and him alone) that I believe permits him to be as successful with his audience as he has been.

I should perhaps have clarified that the summary evaluates him on the basis of him playing a particular shtick or character; granted, that isn't to say he might not actually feel that way, but it certainly seems to be the plate he serves to us every Wednesday.
 
Sneds said:
^ Unless you can read thoughts, I'm not sure how you claim to know the inner workings of Bosman's mind like that.
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I3Ge3J3.png
 
RichieRich said:
And you are WAY off. Geoff works extremely hard to represent games and gaming in a positive light and he has my full support. I've worked with him on multiple projects and I have the utmost respect for him.
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Dude, I wasn't saying that was my opinion. I was just explaining what the other dude said. Sorry. I like Geoff too.
 
DMiz said:
There are a few things that I think work in Kyle's favor:

  • Kyle doesn't seem to want to get into the game development industry, in any capacity or form. This is best evidenced by the fact that...
  • ... although Kyle is clearly knowledgeable about games and has had an extensive history of playing them, many of his arguments do not try to evaluate a game much more than it being a game. That is to say, Kyle seems to largely evaluate whether or not he likes a game on the basis if he likes it or not; he usually doesn't seem to delve into things like "ludonarrative dissonance" because it doesn't really interest him.
  • He works under a company that is relatively large and can reasonably be said to apply quite a bit of policies over their daughter companies. He needs to be witty because he needs to make sure his opinions are never overt, to avoid offending anybody higher up.
  • He doesn't take his position as a 'journalist' seriously! For all intents and purposes, I think it's fair to say that Kyle doesn't see himself as a games journalist - he's not there to report on games, although what his capacity his at GamesTrailers while not doing the show is not known to me. That's not to say that he isn't good at what he does or that he doesn't have a passion about games; Kyle just seems more interested in games themselves, rather than the discussion and reporting of games.
  • He reads GAF. He has to. He knows how we think! :P
Click to expand...

Everytime I watch the show, I feel like he's talking on a stage in front of thousands of GAF members. It seriously feels like he's talking directly to us and no one else.
 
I didn't think the Cranky reveal was the disaster people made it out to be (mostly since nearly the entire show was a boring trainwreck), but I sympathize with Bosman's curiosity over whether that's all Reggie was allowed to show by NCL or if he seriously figured Spike's audience would be interested.

No Man's Sky did look like something special, but I do think it's amusing indies seemed to be the only source of contributors that bothered showing anything significantly new for the VGX.
 
AngryMoth said:
"I'm worried only indies have new game ideas" is a nice, succinct summary of my current feelings towards the industry. When a game made by 4 people can steal all the headlines from games made by several hundred, something is not quite right. Someone at those publishers needs to wake up and take notice of how powerful genuine innovation can be.

I agree with this. I think a lot of the hate aimed at Geoff is misplaced. He seems like a decent guy who is very knowledgeable about games and genuinely wants the show to be good, I doubt he is the one making the bad decisions with regard to how that show was put together, in fact I bet it would be a whole lot worse without him on board.
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I realized that the moment Reggie showed up. I realized that when I saw it in Geoff's eyes, that this wasn't what he wanted. He look absolutely miserable. And then I retroactively applied that to everything I've ever seen him do, and it all makes sense. He does care, and something is stopping him. Then again, that doesn't excuse any of the bad stuff that happens. So... yeah.
 
This is my weekly "another great episode" post.

I especially enjoyed the elephant music in the background as he was talking at the end.
 
Sneds said:
I stand corrected! Hey Kyle!
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I'm actually now wondering if he's chortling at how well he's got us under his thumb. The man is the sooth-sayer we've wanted for years!

(In case anybody is just reading Sneds' post on its own, no, I am not Kyle Bosman :(. How many Nintendo elephants would I have to feed to get that wish to come true?)
 
yurinka said:
omg, just saw the VGX episode. It's perfect, just the same I thought about them. I wonder why there isn't more gaming journalists like him. With sense of humour, good taste and free of bullshit.
Click to expand...

I like Kyle Bosman and I love this show, but ...

I don't want humor or any specific taste in games journalism.
 
For those who don't jnow, Kyle Bosman does indeed have a GAF account. His username is simply Bosman.

I've now revealed to you wjo the Batman is. Time to kill him. And by kill I mean ask for his autograph.
 
Shadow Hog said:
Something I realized while watching this episode.

In an earlier video, Kyle highlighted Starfighter as one of his "next-gen experiences" of sorts, back in the day. When he took his vehicle, decided to screw the rules, aimed it skyward and just flew straight up - and instead of being turned around automatically, he actually left the atmosphere of the planet the level he was playing took place on, and was free to return to it at any point.

So here's No Man's Sky, with a trailer where you go from an underwater adventure to the shores of an oddly-colored forest, where you have a spaceship parked on a nearby beach that you can hop into and then go flying clean out of the atmosphere to examine space battles and oddly-shaped asteroids. All, seamlessly, without any loading screens.

Of course Kyle was gonna "YEAAAAAH" that. It lines up with an old mind-blowing experience of his, only this one's a few magnitudes better.
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I thought the same thing when the trailer aired. I went "oooh kyle is going to love this one". I'm glad we have indies out there trying fill the voids left with games moving into action blockbuster status. I see it very similar to the movie scene where indies fulfilled a similar void when movies had to get safer and safer
 
Sneds said:
What do you mean by journalism?
Click to expand...

Facts, explanations, interviews, even reviews.
Bring the readers knowledge, bring them facts, that can help them make decisions, and draw conclusions, give them food for thought.

I don't want just opinions, I want the data and knowledge to validate that opinion.
If a writer leads with his opinion, that is fine,
but then make a case to back it up.

It's OK for me, if the interviewed have tastes, or even a bias,
it is even OK for me, if the journalists have a bias,
because they would have to write articles that proof their bias, or fail at it.

For those wondering about reviews without taste.
Of course the reviewer's taste will influence the review,
but a well written review is more then "I like this game, you should buy it".
A well written review gives me more informations about a game,
may describe something that turns me off, or raises my interest.

But to be honest, when you (Sneds) asked that question,
I realized, that I only had a vague idea in my head and never looked up a definition.
I learned my definition of journalism by being exposed of what I consider
journalism.
My definiton of journalism does not exactly fit the first paragraph in the English Wikipedia, but it is close, I guess.


As I said before, I love The Final Bosman,
it is entertaining, and he raises a few good points and I agree with him a lot.
But he does not totally follow through on all his points, and some good arguments may be overshadowed but the need to be entertaining.
I also believe he and I have similar taste in games,
but we defintely want different things from trailers.
 
So, someone's GIF'd his VGX reaction scene, right?

Kind of odd he never mentioned Witcher 3. I think that trailer made me go YEAAAH!

Also, I really love his stance on the word "gamer".
 
danielcw said:
Facts, explanations, interviews, even reviews.
Bring the readers knowledge, bring them facts, that can help them make decisions, and draw conclusions, give them food for thought.

I don't want just opinions, I want the data and knowledge to validate that opinion.
If a writer leads with his opinion, that is fine,
but then make a case to back it up.

It's OK for me, if the interviewed have tastes, or even a bias,
it is even OK for me, if the journalists have a bias,
because they would have to write articles that proof their bias, or fail at it.

For those wondering about reviews without taste.
Of course the reviewer's taste will influence the review,
but a well written review is more then "I like this game, you should buy it".
A well written review gives me more informations about a game,
may describe something that turns me off, or raises my interest.

But to be honest, when you (Sneds) asked that question,
I realized, that I only had a vague idea in my head and never looked up a definition.
I learned my definition of journalism by being exposed of what I consider
journalism.
My definiton of journalism does not exactly fit the first paragraph in the English Wikipedia, but it is close, I guess.


As I said before, I love The Final Bosman,
it is entertaining, and he raises a few good points and I agree with him a lot.
But he does not totally follow through on all his points, and some good arguments may be overshadowed but the need to be entertaining.
I also believe he and I have similar taste in games,
but we defintely want different things from trailers.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay. I see what you mean. I think that there's room for lots of different types of games journalism and commentary. It's great to have a mix of serious and light-hearted. Kyle is great at what he does with his show and there are other people producing more serious articles and videos.

I imagine that Kyle isn't always able to go into as much detail as you would like because of time limitations and, as you say, the need to be entertaining. Personally, I think he had it at just the right level.
 
Eh, I while I have issues with a lot of current-day game journalism I'm not really sure how relevant Bosman to it. He's more of a genuine gaming enthusiast who expresses his tastes and opinions both on games and gaming-related events eloquently and with a ton of clever yet surprisingly 'clean' humor.

I don't think having Kyle try and do some hardcore investigative stories or host the next VGA/VGX/whatever would be that great of a fit, especially when part of his appeal is how removed from all that and small-scale his show is.
 
"Just make a show that human beings want to watch."

It's kind of sad that this felt like a revelation, but such is the state of gaming award shows. Bravo, Kyle.

His comments on the Destiny trailer were spot on. It wasn't even really a trailer so much as a montage of random footage. It wasn't about anything.
 
Bosman went pretty easy on VGX. I didn't expect him to really lashout, butI thought he would at least complain about Last of Us not getting GOTY. I guess he makes it clear that he can't do any editorializing about anything other than the trailers.

Does anyone have a GIF of this supposed moment where Geoff realizes he's going to be doing a 5-10 minute interview on Cranky Kong?
 
Has to be the best episode yet. I like to believe that Reggie basically didn't have a choice and was forced to go and reveal Cranky Kong
 
RichieRich said:
Close.
Click to expand...

Oooh. You probably can't say anything so I'm just going to throw some guesses out. Publishers were playing hardball in part because they didn't want to spend a big part of their budget in a non-E3 venue where they may not be the biggest story, hence why the "commercials" weren't all that awe inspiring.

If you ever work with Keighley again could you ask him two things?
1) Is he getting enough sleep? He always looks tired. I imagine he's a workaholic but I hope he gets enough rest. But that may just be the way his face is and I'm just being a jerk. (sorry)

2) I don't know if he has the final say on his on-air wardrobe but he doesn't have to dress like J. Allard. He's handsome enough that he could pull off a business casual look with a button up, jacket, jeans, and no tie. Kind of like Bosman, he pulls off a professional look without looking stodgy.
 
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