Is a membership still worth it?

Recently, I was really considering throwing some of my very limited disposable income at Whiskey Media for a membership. I've been following GiantBomb and Tested religiously for years now and feel they deserve my money. With Whiskey Media being sold off, is a membership still worth it or will these sites going their separate ways effect the content members receive?

Depends on why you signed up. If you signed up to get premium content, HD videos, and no advertisements then it is probably still worth it.

If you signed up to support an small, independent video game website because you believed in the guys and wanted to support what they did in the manner they did it, then you've got to decide whether or not they still fit that description.

I will be doing some soul searching to determine exactly the later when it comes time to renew by subscription.

We'll see I guess... Personally I didn't think it was worth it before the buyout so I doubt it will be in the future.

I never thought a group of websites breaking up would make me so sad. =(

@ProjectMayhem said:

Recently, I was really considering throwing some of my very limited disposable income at Whiskey Media for a membership. I've been following GiantBomb and Tested religiously for years now and feel they deserve my money. With Whiskey Media being sold off, is a membership still worth it or will these sites going their separate was effect the content member receive?

If you paid for a membership for MORE than just one of the WM sites, then I don't know if its worth it. Its your call.

All the Bricked videos on Tested are now free, and I'm assuming anything else Premium Content related is now free over there now too, so it depends on if you want all the Premium Giantbomb stuff.

I had a year membership and didn't renew because of all the bills I had to pay at the time, but I'm still considering getting another membership sometime down the road. Its just a bit sad it wont go towards seeing all the sites interact with eachother. However GB might also be making more money now through CBSi, which means they could put more funds into making even more amazing Premium content.

I'll keep subbed if we still get jar time, random pc game, load our last save and breaking brad (We are well overdue one of those)

IMHO, the content they put out for free, is worthy of a donation.

But, Random PC game and Jar time With Jeff makes the deal a whole lot sweeter.

If the GB content keeps coming the way it was before the buyout, it's still worth doing. For now i'd wait and see if anything changes over the next few months before getting a yearly sub. Also, Jeff and Dave said that more subscribers will allow them operate more independent within CBSi.

It would be cool if they lowered the price, since it's just going to be a Giant Bomb subscription now. Even though the other sites had almost no subscriber content anyways, there was always the promise.

If you enjoyed the video series they were producing -- and we have no reason to believe they won't keep doing them -- then yeah, it's probably going to be worth it.

...is what I was going to say until I noticed you aren't currently a premium member. Well, they've been regularly producing a number of good video series since September. If you like Giant Bomb, you can get more of it this way. And you'll have a backlog of almost 150 subscriber videos to sift through.

Of course it is! The awesome subscriber content that GB puts out is worth the 50 bucks alone. I never subscribed because of the other sites anyway.

Definetly, the time and effort they put into all of their content is worth dropping some cash on and will also stop you from seeing any of those annoying ads. It all depends on how much you frequent the site though, if i was struggling for cash personally id wait until i was in a position to support them long term, they dont put many restrictions on the content but only you know yourself if you think the content the do provide is worth the money. I definetly do, and im on it at least a dozen times a day...even at work lol.

I subscribed to support the site both GB and tested now it's owned by CBS I don't think they need my sub to keep going.

HD videos and ad-free website? It's worth ALL the money.

The premium content for the other sites was always a bit lackluster imo.

@ProjectMayhem: I signed up to support the community of websites, but the additional content is enough to keep me subscribed. If it hadn't of happened this way I don't know if I would have started a subscription, but now I know what is behind the pay wall then I'm okay with it. I'd recommend a monthly subscription to see what it's like at least so you can make the decision yourself.

If you wan Giant Bomb to keep existing as it always has--and get even bigger and better, then yes it's worth it. If you don't care about GB and wouldn't be sad to see it down sized, rolled into GS, or shut down, then no, it's not worth it.

It's $5 a month. That might as well be a dollar. I don't plan on canceling because it still supports Giantbomb.

@kagato: Honestly, every time Im on my laptop, Im on giant bomb. The bad thing is I use my laptop in all my classes. Passing college is for square anyway.

I subscribed to support the site both GB and tested now it's owned by CBS I don't think they need my sub to keep going.

I am sure with this new situation the guys are trying to figure out new ways to give more to members. To be extremely honest, with the limited funding they did have I find it impressive they gave members as much as they did. I am sure one of the reasons they switched to putting a lot of stuff on Youtube was to reduce server costs. Which is extremely smart in my opinion. Now they are owned by CBSi they have a lot more wiggle room. I am sure this first year will be a big transition since CBSi will see if their investment was worth it, but after that I am sure a slew of new features will come. If there is anytime to support the crew it is now.

So I am happy with my membership. They've giving me a ton of extra content/features with the limited funding they had. Plus, it really did keep them afloat until this buyout happened. Now that they have a great source of funding I am sure the perks will increase. Remember that membership is still a way to show CBSi that Giantbomb was a solid investment. Things like "membership" are an amazing barometer to display viewership loyalty. Which in turn means leverage for advertising, which means money, and mean CBSi is happy with their investment. Even if member do not get ads it does do a lot of things "business" wise we do not see on the site. So while they may not need the money to keep the lights on any more they do need it to ensure that CBSi does not put a squeeze on their agreed funding next year.

So, trust the GB crew guys/gals. There is still a ton of reasons to get membership, and there is still a reason why this still supports them beyond just keeping their lights on. Finally the GB Crew has mentioned a ton of times they were things they wanted to do, but couldn't due to funding. So I won't be surprised if things later this year get really exciting for members.

Unless they tear down the pay wall on archived premium content, I'll say it's still worth it. I need my "CHAN CHAN CHAN PLYLON CHAN CHAN CHAN FINGER" regularly.

No.

Yes. Giant Bomb is no different now then it was a week ago. It will be a few weeks before they prove it again, as a lot of people have lost faith due to the realities of capitalism, but I don't think anything will really change.

5 dollars a month is a no brainer for me, so worth it

@BrockNRolla said:

Depends on why you signed up. If you signed up to get premium content, HD videos, and no advertisements then it is probably still worth it.

If you signed up to support an small, independent video game website because you believed in the guys and wanted to support what they did in the manner they did it, then you've got to decide whether or not they still fit that description.

I will be doing some soul searching to determine exactly the later when it comes time to renew by subscription.

I would say this is fairly accurate. I will also admit that as far as support, the basic difference now is that memberships provide the editors a level of autonomy from a business unit. That was true at Whiskey Media, and it's still the same at CBSi. From that standpoint, it's deadly important for us to keep subscription numbers up. To fit that need, we'll continue to add cool new stuff to premium memberships. Some of it will come in the form of content, but we're also planning some more long term goals on the feature side as well.

Well my membership runs out in october which is plenty of time to see how things are after the dust has settled.

@snide: That is reassuring. Honestly I really just want my money to benefit you and your coworkers to keep up with all the amazing content you provide. Ive regretted not having a paid subscription before and I don't want to continue to regret it.

It's too bad they're locked into having memberships, now, even though it obviously didn't work out. Now it's just going to hang around, like someone you invited to a party and can't get rid of.

I subbed to support the site but even though that's not as important now, the subscriber content is more than enough of a reason to keep going. Jartimes, Breaking Brads and Random PC game are some of the best content, aslong as they continue going, I'll continue supporting.

@ProjectMayhem: I'd definitely wait it out a bit. Gamespot doesn't hide any actual content behind money walls and it would seem weird if Giant Bomb kept doing that.

I'm in it for the premium videos, and even if it doesn't make a difference, it feels right throwing money at them for all the entertainment I've gotten.

The premium content on Giant Bomb alone is well worth my money.

I never thought a group of websites breaking up would make me so sad. =(

$50 is worth it for Phantasmagoria alone.  That was legendary.  And Jar Time is amazing too. I will  be resubscribing for sure. I need my fill of Random PC Games and if I need to pay for it I  will happily.

Not something I have to consider until September 12th (like a good number of these people I imagine), but we'll see where the site is by then and if they're even doing annual memberships still. If the site doesn't change much, absolutely.

Sometimes I wonder why there has been so little content recently on Giant-bomb... I know that there haven't been that many huge game releases this year, but surely they could have done another scrub league, another Endurance Run, something... I wonder if the CBS negotiations have taken up a large chunk of their time?

One week they only posted like, 3 Quick Looks and 1 review in a single week, and I thought to myself, these guys must, must, be doing this part-time.

I think the guys will pull through though, eventually. They just need to communicate that this isn't Giant-bomb running at it's maximum capacity.

@Gizmo said:

Sometimes I wonder why there has been so little content recently on Giant-bomb... I know that there haven't been that many huge game releases this year, but surely they could have done another scrub league, another Endurance Run, something... I wonder if the CBS negotiations have taken up a large chunk of their time?

One week they only posted like, 3 Quick Looks and 1 review in a single week, and I thought to myself, these guys must, must, be doing this part-time.

I think the guys will pull through though, eventually. They just need to communicate that this isn't Giant-bomb running at it's maximum capacity.

Considering they themselves were probably involved in the business dealings, moving shit out of their old office, and moving into their new office, I'd say yeah thats probably why there hasn't been too much content.

I for one would love more scrub leagues. I think being in the GameSpot office would make it way more possible to do so as well because people there probably game a little more.

It remains to be seen. No one can really answer that until we see if there's any change in content amount and quality, for better or for worse. If it stayed the same, then absolutely. Giant Bomb was always my priority Whiskey Media site, and the only reason I paid a subscription. The content from this site alone was worth the subscription to me.

50 dollars a year for the amount of premium content you get is a great deal IMO. I pay more than that monthly for TV that I hardly watch.

@ProjectMayhem: Why don't you judge for your self? Why is it that hard to spend five bucks and find out if you're worried about it? Are you that cheap?

The answer is going to vary from you to me, to the next guy, so you have to figure that out for yourself.

Just sign up for the $5/month plan. I bet you've spent $5 on something worthless in the last month.

The impression I got was that they're still going to make premium content, but I also got the impression that it would be around long enough until people's subscriptions ran out. So they could make good on existing members. I don't necessarily have any expectation that it's something they'll continue beyond September (which would suck, because I took advantage of the holiday sale and subscribed up through 2014).

Also, they would have to drop the prices. $50 was already a lot, considering I didn't want the tee-shirt. I still haven't opened mine (it is in the mailing packaging that it arrived in - stamps and all). Now take away all the other websites and mix in the grossness of GameSpot and CBS and . . . you really have to sell me on this.

@bcrt2000 said:

@Drazat

I subscribed to support the site both GB and tested now it's owned by CBS I don't think they need my sub to keep going.

You couldn't be more wrong. GB got bought because they have a good subscriber base. If you all cancel your subs then who would pay for GB? CBS isn't in the charity business. This whole deal is about GROWING their base, not losing it. I don't mean to pick on you, but in general it seems like gamers need some business lessons. From how DLC is made, to stuff like this, a lot of people assume this content can be made for free.

At best, GB brings in about a million dollars a year on subscriptions and that's before you strip out the $15 for shirts or store credit and transaction fees (so it's probably more like $700k). They did not buy GB for a whopping $700k (that would then be consumed entirely by the staff salaries). They bought it because of the platform and because of the potential eyeballs they could advertise to. Look at GameSpot. They've even spent months (or more?) trying to mimic what GB has done, with what seems like little success. So, buy the guys you can't properly imitate.

GB is successful, but it is very unlikely that they're looking at making CBS big bucks through GB subscribers. They're looking at the crowd it can continue to draw if it gets GameSpot's (and CBS's and CNET's) assistance in promotion and the value those eyeballs have in selling traffic (advertising). This is about buying GB because it helps them deliver a product (you) to their customers (advertiers). It is not about CBS saying "gosh, you know what we need to do? Buy that GiantBomb site, because we really want to focus on making the gamer our customer, instead of the advertiser". Old media. Old models. Simple as that.

Subscriptions might continue. After all, even GameSpot had subscriptions of some sort. Maybe they still do. That isn't where they get their revenue from, though. It's just a tiny little extra drop in the bucket to milk every ounce they can get alongside their real money-maker -- screenspace for ads.

I'd keep subscribing just for Jar Time, but I'm weird. I think it'll take some time to see how many resources they have at their disposal and what will change on their financial front. Maybe in a year all the subscription will get you is a slick icon and a shirt every six months.

...

Who am I kidding, I'd pay for that.

@hwy_61 said:

Just sign up for the $5/month plan. I bet you've spent $5 on something worthless in the last month.

Why waste another five bucks, though.

That shit adds up.

@CornBREDX said:

Yes. Giant Bomb is no different now then it was a week ago. It will be a few weeks before they prove it again, as a lot of people have lost faith due to the realities of capitalism, but I don't think anything will really change.

I don't know how they can prove it to me. Like I've mentioned a number of times in the past week, I've seen how these things go and I've see how the talent gets treated. They usually don't know everything they think they know (because they're being mislead) and a lot of hopes and aspirations turn out to be pipe dreams. I have an inherent trust in Jeff and Ryan and Dave and everyone, but that trust doesn't mean a whole lot when the power over everything is ultimately in the hands of the entity that owns them. Therefore, no matter how things continue, there is always the threat of the other shoe dropping and things taking a very drastic turn overnight.

If it were all up to Jeff and Ryan and Dave -- it'd be a no-brainer. They're stand-up guys who give a fuck. But a lot of stand-up guys who give a fuck get fucked by suits all the time.

However, things could always be worse. This could be tested.com. Things here at GiantBomb are sort of in a state of "okay, shit seems to be fine... shit seems to totally be like it always was . . . so unless shit goes bad, it's all good for now", while Tested seems to be a case of "HOLY FUCK WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!".

@amir90:But $50 sweeter?

If I wasn't a subscriber already, I'd totally subscribe now just to watch the next Jar Time video. That should be really interesting with recent events.

@snide: That's EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I was really on the fence until I got this straight answer, thanks man. I'll keep my yearly membership now.

@MattyFTM said:

If I wasn't a subscriber already, I'd totally subscribe now just to watch the next Jar Time video. That should be really interesting with recent events.

You mean, 60 BombMinutes featuring Jeff Gerstmann, brought to you by the new Ford Focus? :P

Seriously, I want to see Jeff roll with this. Come to the next video-anything on GB completely adorned head to toe in CBS crap and pimping CBS sponsors. I'd laugh (on the outside).

@hwy_61 said:

Just sign up for the $5/month plan. I bet you've spent $5 on something worthless in the last month.

Why waste another five bucks, though.

That shit adds up.