As A GB Fan, I Gotta Say That The Last 2 Years Haven't Been Great

All of this is just my opinion, and I look forward to reading the inevitable disagreements. I expect to catch a lot of flak for this post, but I think that this is a discussion worth having.

My "History" With The Staff (so that you see where I'm coming from)

• I visited Gamespot on a daily basis from 2000-2008.
• When the the firing happened, I "migrated" to GB and have been visiting every day (usually multiple times a day) since. I visit other gaming sites, but GB is easily my favorite.
• I used to be the type that watched just about any video on here due to my general interest in gaming and for the entertainment value. I got pretty involved with the community as well, helping run the short-lived community magazine.

What is the Purpose of Giant Bomb?

• I'm operating under the assumption the purpose of GB is to be informational and humorously entertaining in regards to video games. That Too Human video set the tone pretty well, but obviously a dude like Jeff has a vast knowledge of games.
• To serve as consumer guides, to some extent. Aren't reviews just buyer guides at the end of the day? The staff are telling you if, in their opinion, you should buy certain games or not.
• Another purpose for GB is to serve as a premiere wiki for gaming (though I will not be focusing on that in this post).

My Beef (moooo)

• The 2011-2012 period has seen a significant drop in the informational and entertaining aspect of the site, and a general lack of effort.

• Quick looks are more misinformed/unprepared than ever. Don't get me wrong, it's hilarious when the guys don't know something "obvious," and I understand that the crew don't always have time to brush up on all aspects of all games. However, I feel that the last 2 years have gone from "funny unprepared" to legitimately misinforming the public (whether through incorrect statements or omission). I'm not usually the type that goes "HHRRRRRRR, YOU'RE NOT PLAYING IT RIIIIIGHT!!!," but I do get frustrated when games get misrepresented.

• The general jadedness about games and the industry has been steadily increasing. I think this point is nearly inarguable, and that comparing coverage from say 2009/10 to 2011/12 will demonstrate it. I get it, this console cycle has really gone on for too long. There are too many sequels. There is too much gross DLC. There have been six hundred Call of Duty games. The list goes on! But if the point of this site is to be humorously entertaining as well as informative, it would be unprofessional to not be entertaining. I argue that part of the staff's job is to entertain us regardless of their opinions on a specific game. To be a little more specific, a Battlefield 3 quick look full of sighs and disinterest tells me that Jeff is not stoked about that game like he was for Battlefield 2. He can also write that on Twitter. How do you make such a video with such feelings entertaining? Well, I really don't have an answer to that, that's for the staff to figure out (like they have in the 2008-2010 period). At the end of the day it's their job to do this. I know that this might sound cold hearted or that I'm an entitled prick, but that's just how it is, and I'm sure the staff would agree based on how they present themselves at least.

• The discussions and opinions presented through video, audio, and text are starting to not match the scores given to games. The most recent example of this is Halo 4. On one of the recent (if not the most recent) Bombcasts, they spend quite a big chunk of time talking about the negative aspects of the game, only to conclude that it's pretty good. This isn't the first time this has happened, and I find it baffling. Yeah, it's always easier to talk about the cons, but there should be a balance. That or give the game a lower score to reflect your opinions. What's even weirder is when the podcast discussions don't match the review text.

• I feel that the staff have fallen into this hole of having an increasingly growing fan base which mostly understands their opinions (at least the die hard ones do), so the staff don't have to try as hard.

• This is more for 2012 than 11, but the amount of premium content has been rather poor. I'm a fan, on some level I want reasons to subscribe.

These are just my general points, I have a lot of other nitpicks which don't really warrant too much discussion. I think that the only two people that has been putting in the same effort and attitude have been Vinny and Drew (I am not counting Dave or Alexis in any of this because they are very rarely involved in video/audio/text productions). If I were to review 2011 and 2012 (thus far), the former would get 3 stars and the latter would get 2. I just want my favorite gaming site to stay awesome! I know the main weakness of my argument is that I barely give any super specific examples, but that's only partly because I'm a lazy bastard. The other reason is that I feel this way about the site in general (over the past 2 years), and not just regarding specific pieces of content here and there.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree that GB has not been so hot over the last 2 years? Why or why not? As I said, I'm expecting to catch a lot of flak for a post like this, but I'm interested in the response regardless. My secret hope is that a staff member will read this and agree, if partially at least.

Edit: some folks are telling me to go to other sites, I do already. This happens to be the best one in my opinion, despite my complaints. I'm not saying the site sucks overall. In fact, I'm glad that a site like GB exists to begin with.

Edit 2: November 19, 2012 (400 posts in): I've read over every single post so far, and I feel that both sides have presented most if not all of their arguments in general. A lot of what I would reply with has been said by others. I just want to pipe in again and say thanks to every person that respectfully contributed to this thread, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with my points. We've given the staff some fantastic feedback from paying and non-paying users, and hopefully some of them will have read a post here and there. These sorts of discussions are not easy to have on an anonymous message board, but they can definitely be of significance.

There's only been 9 original Call of Duty titles, and a couple of expansions and mobile titles. Not quite 600.

Edit: There seems to be lots of these whining posts. There are also lots of other gaming websites. Coincidence?

@IceColdGamer: I am aware of this. I was clearly exaggerating. Edit to your edit: I have stated that I go to other sites. This one happens to be my favorite, hence my concerns.

An interesting take indeed.

I present to you my rebuttal:

Giantbomb is still awesome and continues to become more awesome as the guys find new ways to do awesome dumb things.

I mostly disagree with you. I feel that they've been getting better in the entertainment side of things but I will agree with you on their general jadedness over most games. They still have passion for games but I feel that they're criticisms of most games aren't a big of issue to me. My general problem with GIant Bomb is the lack of conflict and differing opinions. They need some new blood to challenge their stances on MMO's and other games that they dislike for reasons that can be challenged. I still feel that you're overreacting with this post, but I can see why you'd feel this way. Giant Bomb isn't perfect but it's easily my favorite game site. These guys feel real and despite my anger at some of their opinions I still like them. I can still notice and agree with people's criticisms. If you feel disappointed in them than perhaps you should go look for other game sites and see whether the grass is greener on the other side.

@adam1808: Dayuuuum, that's a pretty good rebuttal! My post is now invalid, haha, this week's ILM is hilarious. But just to be clear, I'm not wishing that the site is WWE crazy all the time. I'd just like to see more of a balance.

@Phatmac: I agree that the lack of differing opinions is kinda weird. And yeah, there are a bunch of other sites, but I like this one the best despite my moaning.

Your points are all valid. And I agree with most of them. But I think some of it was that, back in 2009 they wouldn't quick look every single big release, but now they do. I still think that, If they don't want to call it a review, they shouldn't share their opinions on it during the video.

I'd agree in some respects.

Quick Looks are kind of a catch 22: Know too much and be boring, know too little and be frustrating. That said, there have been some pretty bad ones. IE: The infamous Brad Shadow of the Colossus Quick Look.

As for the jadedness (that's probably not a word), I think it's probably less reflective of a problem with Giant Bomb and more of a problem with the industry. I'm finding myself getting more and more negative about games of late, maybe it's just getting older, but I think it's due to the way the industry is treating the community right now. That's a bigger discussion for another time, the point is, I don't know that GB are to blame for that, if anything it's nice to see honest opinions of stuff that isn't the IGN 'EVERYTHING IS THE NEW BEST GAME EVER' crap.

I understand your opinions, and respect them completely; but I don't entirely agree.

Some of my favorite content of the whole Giant Bomb site has been created in the past couple of years. Building the Bastion, Spookin' with Scoops, a lot of the recent TNTs, Team Brad, Encyclopedia Bombastica, et cetera.

Of course there are Quick Looks that are lackluster, and there are some moments where you can feel the palpable strain the guys are going through; but I don't mind. The guys went through a complete change of environment with the disbanding of Whiskey Media - that can't be easy. I also realize that Jeff, Ryan, Brad, etc have all been in the industry for well over a decade now. They have personal lives, they have stress, and they have moments where they don't want to be at work. I can understand because I've been in the situation, and my own love for video games has tapered in the latter part of this generation as well.

The thing is that I really believe the guys still love the site, and they still take it seriously. I still have a great time listening to their banter, and I still love hearing their dumb stories.

I look forward to what the future brings, and will support the site until the end.

Point one: I'm in the same boat. The first two years I watched the entirety of every single quick look and now I don't even click on them all and most I do I skip out or skim through. I think this has to do with how much longer they have become often times after 10ish minutes the staff has run out of comments and the quick look drags. Quick looks now feel more informed then ever, Patrick for instance gives information about the game non stop when he is in the helm of one. Someone like Vinny still messes around.

Point Two: You are right about a tone change but I like it. The site feels more balanced. It can be goofy like the above video but they have serious discussions like the talk on games journalism two weeks back. Not all games are good and I don't expect them to be positive about games they don't like. For something they truly like they can get ecstatic about it. Look at Saint's Row the third or XCOM.

Point Three. Agree completely. I noticed this as well, I feel the way scoring and reviews on the site should change. Listening to Jeff talk about Halo 4 it sound like he is mostly passive about it and would have given it a Three star rating. The reason he did not I think is the lingering reviews as buyers guild mentality so 4 stars because many people may be fine with unchanged halo.

Personally, I enjoy Jar Time, Encyclopedia Bombastica and Random PC Game more than... what did they used to have, Happy Hour?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure my rebuttal is *poop noises*.

I find that the content lately is just too long and lacking direction. Think of how many ql's have been about an hour long recently? That's not quick, and it stops being informative after a point. But my bigger issue is the bombast. I wish they would try and reign it back two a 2 hour-2.5 hour length. But beyond that, the discussion used to be more spirited and fun during the podcast, and they would never stay on one topic for too long. The tangents can be fun, but 30 minute discussions about bbs' and cable providers aren't compelling. Someone needs to just keep things moving so that nothing drags on

It doesn't bother me so much if the guys don't know a specific tidbit about a game or are bit uninformed, as long as they ACKNOWLEDGE it. It drives me fucking crazy when (most often Patrick or Ryan) so confidently assert or assume things that are just totally false. If you don't know, just say so, or that you aren't sure, or that "you think such and such". With how small the staff is, they can't be expected to know every detail of every game they are showing off...but I can expect them not to state uninformed assumptions as facts.

I agree that the content on this site isn't near as good as back in the whiskey days but it's still one of the better gaming sites out there. The worst thing about this site these days is the constant god damn memes that certain people will never get over.

@adam1808 said:

I present to you my rebuttal:

Giantbomb is still awesome and continues to become more awesome as the guys find new ways to do awesome dumb things.

I imagined this would be just about everybody's rebuttal, followed by the Sleeping Dogs: Nightmare in Northpoint QL and the slew of really great content in the last couple weeks.

Are your complaints valid? Maybe, but I don't agree that the things you're pointing out are inherently negative. The reason there is less information in QLs is because there's so many more of them. There are games I'd never have heard of if it weren't for uninformed QLs, and I imagine that they were still enough to garner some interest. The jadedness about the Triple-A industry reflects my own feelings, and I really enjoy the conversation about it, along with the highlights of the indie and downloadable community. And I simply don't agree that the review scores don't match the podcast, though I'll agree that Jeff's reviews are starting to reflect audience reception rather than personal involvement.

In the strangest way. I completely agree. My story with GB almost reads like yours exactly. I just find it so odd of the lack of cool features like "This No Game" and so many others from the early era. ain't

More than not I feel like what made the early site to great was the "Whiskey Media" aspect of it all. It felt like we were all a part of something, an inner circle of cool people and awesome sites that worked well apart but were just awesome together. After the CBS move, it just feels a little dower. Earlier this year I actually pulled my long running 5 buck per month subscription. Oddly, I felt terrible about it because I felt like I had developed some sort of relationship with the guys. Yep, I know this all sounds crazy to say about game reviewers on a video game site.

However, if there is something that is up with the guys, or the business structure of the site I just wish one of the guys would say something. I just feel like we would all pitch in financially to help make the site awesome again.

Okay okay, whine over. I still love this site and the bombcast is still one of the brightest parts of my week. Also, for the record Klepek did not ruin anything, I find his work to be some of the best anywhere, I just wish some of the site design would reflect how great it is similar to how news stories are laid out on Polygon. (and yes, I know the new design is on the way)

The only thing I have to say on the matter is that since the move happened, I love Mondays has been pretty weak. Each seems completely off the cuff and unprepared, which is okay I guess, it's easier for them to make, but I used to like the old ones because they were punchy and started the week on a high note. Now it feels more like, should we be seeing this? Note pad jotting and off the top of your head stuff, and I don't feel it gives the audience a solid understanding of what to look out for during the week also.

Just to clarify, even though it's free I think the podcast is worth the administration fee alone.

But hasn't that been the period when my blogs started getting better? I mean, if the stuff I wrote now and the stuff I wrote in 2010 met in a dark alley, 2012 stuff would gut 2010 stuff without a second thought.....I have no clue where any of this comes from. Now then, time to actually read the post...

• Wait, wasn't there a thread not too long ago where a guy was complaining about how much research was put into Quick Looks? So what is it, Giant Bomb community? Are they too prepared or not prepared enough? Make up your mind!
• I don't know, man. It's probably just a general malaise tainting the gaming public, or at least something affecting Giant Bomb as a whole. Sometimes, I can't tell if I'm part of it or reacting to it.

And that's about it, really. Not a lot to say outside the temporal blog stabbings.

@McGrittles said:

Blame Klepek

or don't, because that's what people who aren't complete assholes do

also ITT: THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also pt2: i've only been really visiting this site for the past year-ish, and i've enjoyed pretty much everything that's come out of it, Bombcasts probably the most. i dig their older stuff too but as a relative newbie i can definitely say they're staying the course in delivering my very favorite gaming site.

They just need to get used to the new offi-

Ahem, I do agree that there have been periods over the last 2 years when content has been lighter than normal. But I also think that there are some reasonable explanations for at least some of those situations. In all seriousness, the stretch from the big office move up until about the Big Live Live Show Live 3 was a bit of a dry spell.

But I do think that the crew recognized this, and I noticed a marked increase in content- premium and otherwise- once they didn't have the BLLSL dangling over their heads. I was quite relieved to see segments like Random PC Game come back. What I think is the biggest reassurance that Giant Bomb is still committed to their honored tradition of doing stupid shit for our amusement is the upcoming Raid.

You're not crazy with your criticisms, but the only thing that bugs me about unprepared Quick Looks is when they miss obvious text and blame it on the game. Patrick's usually prepared, but then people complain about him anyway (undeserving).

The jaded thing is mainly due to the long generation and seemed to become more pronounced around Gears 3 and Uncharted 3. Jeff seems to project that more than the others, and even though I disagree with him a lot I respect where he's coming from (I friggin' loved Mass Effect 3, for example).

Premium content has been great since the live show so that dark period seems to be over. Hopefully they staff up regardless because it's no secret that the CBSi factor has led to more meetings and other clogging of their pipeline.

With that being said, today's ILM was the pinnacle of games journalism.

@Bucketdeth said:

I agree with you, and I really hate to be THAT guy, but I just generally dislike any content when Patrick is involved. This may sound silly, but I just feel like a lot of the content has lot the soul it used to have.

I can kind of agree with this. It isn't even Patrick "hate" or anything like that...I usually really enjoy his writing features and pieces. The fact of the matter is, I come here usually for entertainment first, game information second. This isn't even meant to insult Patrick at all, he just simply isn't nearly as funny as Jeff, Vinny, Ryan, and Brad. He does really great work, he just isn't as entertaining for me.

As someone who has been here since the start I too feel pretty much the same way. The thing for me however is that I don't know if it's the guys doing something wrong or if my interest in what they offer is just not as strong as it used to be. Up until around two years ago I almost religiously watched every item of content they put out. No matter if I was interested in the subject or not I watched it from start to finish and enjoyed it all. These days however I find myself watching 5-10 min of a lot of their videos then just shutting them down out of boredom.

I think a lot of it has to do with the guys getting complacent or feeling like they made it so now they don't have to give the 110% they used to in everything and can coast by on 70%-80%. On top of all that it's been a big few years for pretty much all of them in their personal lives, let alone all the selling/moving to different owners, and they gotta spread some of that effort other places now that they didn't have before. So it's a bit more understandable. For examples: Patrick, Vinny, and Dave all got married. Vinny has a kid, Ryan is going to be getting married, Patrick lost his dad, Jeff has had family in the hospital and I'm sure they got a ton of other things going on in their personal lives that we don't and shouldn't know about that means they can't always be giving their all.

That said however, I think that something I remember Jeff Green always saying about developers complaining about people trashing a game they worked hard on applies here too. No matter how justified their reasons may be for the product not being the best it could be, none of that matters and shouldn't matter to the consumer. At the end of the day we pay our money and choose to spend our time here and no matter how good the excuse is all we should care about is if the end product is good or not.

The staff might be more jaded, but not trying as hard? Come on. That's some nonsense.

I appreciate you taking the time to actually think about what is bothering you and writing this out though. Most of the complaints on here are fucking retarded, but I can respect what you're saying here, even if I don't agree. I think the premium content has been fantastic. Quick Looks are definitely different, but not fore the worse in my opinion. I could write more, but to address one thing about the review scores: I think that the reason the scores don't seem to match the talk about the game is because with a game like Halo 4, the good things about that game are the things that have been good about Halo since Halo 1. They don't need or want to talk about those things yet again. I don't think the game deserves a 2 star review for only being at least as good as the previous game(s).

@Thompson820: I agree with your point about the industry in general getting jaded. A lot of my friends are like this as well. I do my best to remain excited about games, but I also think that things are getting a little overly negative. Just my take.

@ImmortalSaiyan: To build on our point of disagreement, in my view, the site is less balanced. We've gotten some kick ass content recently, some humor, some deep talk, but not throughout the whole year. Of course, we aren't the same person so we react to various content in different ways.

@TooWalrus: Fair enough!

@MildMolasses: I disagree about the length point ( just because I'm just a fan of longer videos usually), but I agree that they haven't really had a balanced direction recently.

@laserbolts: <>! (sorry).

Can't say I agree with the time period (would actually say things were going pretty well when they were in the big office), but I've said before and I'll say it again, they seem understaffed since the last move.

@Nitrocore said:

The only thing I have to say on the matter is that since the move happened, I love Mondays has been pretty weak. Each seems completely off the cuff and unprepared, which is okay I guess, it's easier for them to make, but I used to like the old ones because they were punchy and started the week on a high note. Now it feels more like, should we be seeing this? Note pad jotting and off the top of your head stuff, and I don't feel it gives the audience a solid understanding of what to look out for during the week also.

Just to clarify, even though it's free I think the podcast is worth the administration fee alone.

The old format also took a great deal of time and effort to produce, which they don't always have, and which could honestly be better spent producing the actual week's content. The current format is also just as accurate in foretelling what content is coming during the week, if not moreso.

Still loving it, but I see your point.

Kind of feel like the site could use a new feature or something to give it a shot in the arm, especially since Spookin with Scoops and Encyclopedia Bombastica aren't all that much fun to watch (they remind me of the old solo quick looks, just sort of dull).

I see where you're coming from with these complaints, Goran. However, I don't feel that GB has really lost any steam when it comes to quicklooks, The Bombcast, or any of the other content they produce. The only problems I have with the site is ILM not being representative of the week ahead as @Nitrocore mentioned, and I while I enjoy reading his articles and appreciate what he brings to the site news-wise, I feel Patrick is in far too many quicklooks. I just don't really enjoy having my ears bombarded with constant facts about the game that's being presented. Other than that, I feel the GB is regaining their footing after breaking off from Whiskey and I'm looking forward to the next year.

I've pretty much had the same history with the crew and I can't say I share your experience at all. Almost pont for point I either don't feel that way or somewhat disagree. I can see how you can say that but like I said, have no complaints really.

@Bucketdeth: Yeah, the "soul" thing is bugging me too. I pin that to being too much of a fan, at least for myself.

@ripelivejam said:

@McGrittles said:

Blame Klepek

or don't, because that's what people who aren't complete assholes do

also ITT: THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also pt2: i've only been really visiting this site for the past year-ish, and i've enjoyed pretty much everything that's come out of it, Bombcasts probably the most. i dig their older stuff too but as a relative newbie i can definitely say they're staying the course in delivering my very favorite gaming site.

This is very interesting. As the site grows, more people will jump in at various points. Do you find a difference in the value of the old vs. new content (apart from the newer stuff being relevant to current times of course)?

@csl316: People will probably complain forever (as I am doing today), haha. I agree that premium content has definitely picked up in recent times, and hopefully it continues. Now bring the NDX back (kidding).

@crusader8463 said:

As someone who has been here since the start I too feel pretty much the same way. The thing for me however is that I don't know if it's the guys doing something wrong or if my interest in what they offer is just not as strong as it used to be. Up until around two years ago I almost religiously watched every item of content they put out. No matter if I was interested in the subject or not I watched it from start to finish and enjoyed it all. These days however I find myself watching 5-10 min of a lot of their videos then just shutting them down out of boredom.

I think a lot of it has to do with the guys getting complacent or feeling like they made it so now they don't have to give the 110% they used to in everything and can coast by on 70%-80%. On top of all that it's been a big few years for pretty much all of them in their personal lives, let alone all the selling/moving to different owners, and they gotta spread some of that effort other places now that they didn't have before. So it's a bit more understandable. For examples: Patrick, Vinny, and Dave all got married. Vinny has a kid, Ryan is going to be getting married, Patrick lost his dad, Jeff has had family in the hospital and I'm sure they got a ton of other things going on in their personal lives that we don't and shouldn't know about that means they can't always be giving their all.

That said however, I think that something I remember Jeff Green always saying about developers complaining about people trashing a game they worked hard on applies here too. No matter how justified their reasons may be for the product not being the best it could be, none of that matters and shouldn't matter to the consumer. At the end of the day we pay our money and choose to spend our time here and no matter how good the excuse is all we should care about is if the end product is good or not.

I've asked myself similar things as well. For me, my interest in gaming is only growing. I'm interested in all aspects of the industry and have even started a small game company. I want to watch the latest GB content and enjoy it. At the end of the day there are a trillion factors for why you or I feel this way, but I think Jeff Green's point here matters the most.

@dennisthemennis: And I appreciate you taking the time to write a respectful response! You're right about the specific Halo example. Maybe that wasn't the best one for me to give, but I also think that there are ways of explaining these things without beating a dead horse. "Yo it's Halo," is a great way to immediately say how the game plays to people that know about it, but in my view, it's kind of the easy and maybe lazy way out.

I mostly agree.

I'm finding myself skipping more and more Quick Looks without even giving them a glance.

Maybe it's the "intimate, indie" feeling that's vanished. I used to be a big fan of the Rooster Teeth guys, back when they were six man-boys recording audio in a closet. Now that they have an office building and forty employees all charm has been lost. Back when I first showed up here it was four guys who had been in the game long enough to know games inside and out, and it was like I was discussing video games at Denny's over the worst breakfast in the world, and having the best time. I loved the interns. I love Patrick. But we had to pull a few extra tables together when it happened. CBSi has worked out fine. But the coffee isn't refilled as often now.

I still trust their integrity and opinions, but that charm has been fading.

It's like South Park.

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm getting older. Maybe everybody has to get over things in four- to six-year rounds. Maybe I'm expecting too much. Maybe they're tired. Maybe their hearts aren't in it anymore.

Maybe a lot of things.

All the indie games just get boring after a while unless they're taking the piss with them (Vinny is great at this). That's why, I think, Patrick gets so much hate. That being said, he could be a bit less automatically biased against anything that ISN'T indie. I notice that he knocks things like Halo 4 before even playing them... journos should NOT do that.

The general negativity and misinformation I agree is a problem.

@coakroach said:

Still loving it, but I see your point.

Kind of feel like the site could use a new feature or something to give it a shot in the arm, especially since Spookin with Scoops and Encyclopedia Bombastica aren't all that much fun to watch (they remind me of the old solo quick looks, just sort of dull).

I'll completely agree, the idea of having one person talking into a camera about games is pretty bland, the best part of quicklooks is the dialog between multiple people.

Think everything stems back to the lack of exciting games and the hope that the next gen consoles will finally happen.

I disagree for the most part. The one part I definitely agree with is how jaded they've become. I know I should think for myself, but I consider the crew to be my bros in a way, when they're excited for a game, it makes me excited. Unfortunately it doesn't work the other way around. Since I trust Jeff's opinion so much and respect him as a person in general, if I'm stoked for a game and he's bummed on it, it really puts a damper on my excitement. That just really sucks..

Looking back at it all, we were ridiculously spoiled with the amount of excellent content that was put out on a daily basis. Persona 4 ER, Matrix MMO dying, TANG, bunch of random ass videos Vinny would just post on the site, video reviews, news stories written by Jeff/Ryan/Brad, well-produced ILM's and as always, Quicklooks. For 5 guys in a basement, that was a ton of stuff to put out on a weekly basis. Considering that these days the staff still seem relatively busy and occupied with the content they put out today, it's safe to assume that they overworked themselves in those initial few years. Maybe they feared being shutdown if they didn't meet a monthly rising quota of viewers? Who knows.

Anyway, I'm satisfied with the quality and amount of content Giantbomb puts out. I've noticed I've visited the site a hell of a lot less these days then I used to. I used to visit Giantbomb multiple times during any hour I could get on the Internet. If there wasn't something new I'd read the forums or check out someone's blog. Giantbomb was the first site I visited and now it's something I check back every few days or so. I often miss TNT's, but I never really enjoyed them in the first place. The last good TNT was the Dead Island one, fucking amazing that. They need to play coop more often.

Yeah, I hate to say it, but I tend to agree with most of the points made by the OP.

In general, it feels a bit like they're struggling to figure out how to expand the site without losing the very informal and personal spirit that made Giant Bomb feel so special in the early days. The site has undergone a lot of changes during the past 1-2 years, including the addition of Patrick and the move to CBSi, and I don't think the guys have really managed to adapt quickly and effectively to those changes. It's not entirely their fault, and I think there are times when you can hear a little frustration and dissatisfaction with the current state of things coming through in what the guys are saying (such as Jeff's recent comments about being disappointed about not delivering a DoA5 or New Super Mario Bros 2 review).

In spite of the issues though, I still prefer GB to any other video game website, and I'm willing to have some patience while the guys continue to figure things out.

I kind of feel the same way. The only content that I consume regularly is the Bombcast. I've hardly watched any Quick Looks this year, and there has been a distinct lack of subscriber content. The Happy Hour alone used to make me happy to subscribe, but lately, I've been kind of bored with the site.

I think you should really go the extra mile and blame everything on Patrick and/or the CBSi merger. That's what all the cool kids do.

I certainly agree with you. It's just that I find Giant Bomb far more entertaining than any of the alternatives, despite the cynicism and misinformation present in a lot of the content.

One thing on the review scores not matching the discourse:

I don't review games, but I imagine alot of it has to do with recognizing that a game is not total garbage, but still finding it personally boring. Just about any talk about of first person shooter on the podcast will be 30 minutes of saying why its "boring me to tears", and then ending with "but hey its still a competent shooter". Expect a 3-4 star review.

It's hard to say, because I don't come to this website for everything. I can't really expect them to entertain me on a constant basis, but I keep coming back because I know what I like. weither they're informed or a bunch of buffoons, they have their charm. They're going to have misses just as much as hits.

I agree on the Jaded ness a bit. I irks me every-time Alex seems to open his mouth. my opinions may clash with theirs and I'll want them to do better sometimes, but meh. I established for myself why I come, and if things change then things change.

Damnit CBS.

Reading through this thread I get the sense that a lot of you love the underdog. Once they go corporate, they lose something that made it cool. Best analogy I can think of is how a band's first or second album tend to be their best.

Anyway, I've been watching a lot of old quick looks today. And I got to say, it's really not that different from the new stuff. From a content perspective, this site is about each person's personality about what games they like or not. Yes, Jeff is super jaded about first person shooters yet he is almost the only one that reviews them.

At this point in my life, I still watch every video and listen to every bombcast. Because frankly, even when it's boring, it's still better than most tv shows.

Damnit Patrick.

I agree, but I think, like with everything else, you can just get tired of the site every once and a while. It just like a game you can play for 50 hours and love every second of it but then all of a sudden hour 51 you start to feel like you don't want to play anymore because you are kinda bored with it and need to take a break. A lot of things in life are like that. There are so many articles, quick looks, reviews, subscriber videos, TNTs, that if you try to spend your time watching them all I feel like it is impossible not to start to get annoyed or disappointed in certain things. Maybe you just need to not force yourself to watch the videos and only watch stuff if you are really interested or are in the mood for some GB content, that's what I do.

Yes the point about reviews not matching up to the bombcast discussion is spot on. Also Patrick needs to stop throwing his opinion about everything all the time, it's especially grating when his points are misinformed or just pointless (see Assassin's Creed 3). Nevertheless I still get excited every Tuesday because I'll get my weekly dose of "Chris with the white car" and "Babar the elephant" crazyness :)

Also, clean up the office guys, it looks like a house you see on a TV special about hoarders.

@GoranP: DLC isn't gross, a lot of it is great, no more or less than any other media that we purchase. The number of sequels hasn't increased. The only relevant number that has actually changed is that there are more games being made by an order of magnitude than before, and marketing has kept up.

Reviews don't mean crap these days, I don't read the reviews, and based on what Jeff has said in the jar time videos, few people do. It would be no surprise to hear that they only do the minimum number of scored reviews required to be a listed sight for meta critic and no more.

The level of premium content is way higher than before, at least in my opinion the Friday live shows were really shoddy compared to what they do now. Random PC game is a personal favorite.

The key factor to remember is unlike other game/review sites Giantbomb is a personality site first. Reviews, quick looks, everything else comes second to the personalities on the site. The game selection they look at is so varied and inconsistent that if you come here as your first stop for video game news and reviews you're not going to be satisfied. Why do a quick look of Farm Simulator or obscure russian flight sims? There is no way watching that quick look will help you decide if you want to buy a Farm Sim 2013, it's not break the game down in a single percentage to fill meta critic. It's simply to be entertaining and they succeed at that with grandeur.

As far as going into quick looks blind? That can be frustrating but on the other hand it's the most raw way people experience games. Having a practiced, researched, planed out tour of a game is boring to me, I don't want a talking head reading the back of the box. I want to see what kind of an experience a gamer would have popping the disk in and just playing, because that is what I'll do.

As far as others with their hate of Patrick, I don't understand it myself, I enjoy his work as much as any of the others.