Premium Info

Hey guys, Im seriously considering a Premium membership but I just want some feedback from existing members. How do you find the service? Do you have yearly or monthly memberships? I generally just listen to the Bombcast and Bombing the A.M, I also have the Quick looks running as background noise while Im at work. Do you think the Premium stuff would be worth it for me?

Thanks Dudes

So it sounds to me like you mainly use the site for audio. If that's the case, the best thing in premium would probably be Jeff's periodic Jar Time videos, which consist of him answering questions sent by users.

I personally find my annual premium account to be a great purchase, but I watch a lot of videos. If you're mainly looking for more things that would make good background noise, I'm not sure if a premium membership would do a lot for you. Jar Time videos certainly aren't on a consistent schedule like Bombing the A.M. is. Still, you could always try dropping 5 bucks on one month of membership to see if you like it.

How do you find the service?

It's perfect for me, I have buyers remorse about most purchases I make for entertainment but never for my GB premium.

Do you have yearly or monthly memberships?

I only have the monthly myself, as a college student it's just easier for me to prioritize that 4.99, but I have been meaning to upgrade it to the annual and I am sure I will soon.

Do you think the Premium stuff would be worth it for me?

Sounds like we use the content similarly, for me I like to keep quick looks running while i'm studying and working on other things. The longer videos and premium live shows I usually like to be active and involved in so I can chat and read what the community has to say. It sounds like you enjoy the site, so my question would be. Would you like to enjoy more of the site? if the answer is yes then I say dive in at the monthly rate and see if you find it worthwhile.

They have a lot of premium podcasts if you are into wrestling, Formula 1 and movies. Otherwise it's not worth it if the video side of thing is just background noise.

Premium Content is pretty video heavy. I love getting to support the guys in what they do, but if video content isn't your thing, I don't know if premium would be that meaningful to you. Have you watched a lot of their videos? Game Room? Endurance Run? The classics? There are some great videos and video series that are premium.

If you're on the fence, I'd suggest putting down $5 for a month, try it out, and then consider a yearly membership. It's cheaper to go yearly. You can even get it for $35 on sale. So, give it a shot and see, duder. :)

Honestly, being able to browse the site ad-free and knowing I'm supporting the guys directly is enough for me. Everything else is just gravy. That said, premium content is usually really good even if it has been understandably light in recent weeks. If you're on the fence, you could always go monthly and cancel if you're not happy.

Giant Bomb should really get a premium Anime podcast. Just them sharing their thoughts on the latest series.

The flow of content has its ups and downs, but on the average it's been quite worth it. I'm a monthly member only because of my current financial state, where it's way easier to justify $5 a month instead of finagling enough for a yearly out of my budget.

It sounds like the content provided may not be the perfect fit for you, though, as it's mostly video. Still, if you're even slightly interested and already like the site and personalities, I think you'll get at least $5 worth. The Random PC Game videos are fantastic background noise - as in, you'll keep looking to see what they're reacting to. =D

I get yearly memberships to support the site. They could do no special content for it and I'd still do it.

If you want to do it for content you should consider how much you want to watch their videos and occasionally get a wrestling or movie podcast. When they're full board with premium content there can sometimes be so much video you cant keep up with it. If you don't feel you need that then it may not be worth it to you. If you think the guys are funny and want more of what they do, it's very much worth it.

You can also go monthly first to see if you like the premium content at all. Good way to demo what they do with it I suppose.

Just my thoughts on that.

I'm my experience, once you get into the regular groove of watching upf every week and catching the random premium streams then it will be hard to imagine you ever lived without premium.

I've never had a regret about signing up.

I prefer audio stuff for my commutes, but if I'm not doing anything on a weekend afternoon I'll end up watching a couple streams from the week. If anything, I'll have it on in the background if I'm playing a game that isn't story driven.

But go for a month first just to try it out.

There may not always be new premium content that frequently but I find the vast majority hilarious. The madness that ends up from UPF alone makes it worth the 5 bucks a month.

I've had a monthly sub for 2 to 3 years now and it's been pretty good. I, like yourself, have videos playing while I do other things (like eating a meal or exercising), so it's pretty awesome to have more videos to do that with now that I'm a subscriber. Going back to old TNTs, Souls videos with Vinny and Brad, their old school game marathons, etc. is pretty nice.

I've been annual since, I think, the first Big Live Live Show Live and definitely find it worth it. I like knowing that I'm helping the site grow and the extra content is great.

Just sub for a month for 5 bucks and see if you like it for yourself. You can cancel at any time. To me, the flow of premium content could be better (and by the sound of things, it's gonna get better soon), but there is a huge backlog of premium content that is worth going back to and checking out.

So it seems like you guys have sold me. Thanks for the speedy replies duders!

I've been a continuous monthly subscriber since May 2011. Maybe I just need to feel like I could cancel, but I never do. It's worth it to me.

its absolutely worth it. there are hours upon hours of subscriber only material that is just priceless

They should first definitively decide who the true anime editor is. I feel this week especially that the position is very much contested.

Also so this post remains pertinent to this thread: I am sure you won't be disappointed @friendlypossum -- content is awesome and has been awesome since its conception in 2010. (I've been a yearly sub this whole time) Peace, ♥, and <>.

And maybe watch Random PC Game: Police Quest: SWAT or Phantasmagoria to celebrate after you make your sub purchase!

@equitasinvictus: Dan is the normal anime editor, Vinny is the Persona editor, Patrick is Dangan Ronpa editor and Jeff is the eroge editor.

@friendlypossum: join up for pups

I think they should have an Anime tournament to decide who is the true anime editor. A Battle Royale, as it were.

I have a yearly membership and I have never once felt like I didn't get my money's worth out of it. The Premium content is some of the best on the site (the Pathfinder stream and Vinny's foray through Dark Souls stand out) although as others have said it is pretty much all video and with the exception of UPF the release schedule has been sporadic.

I also like the extra benefits you get like an ad-free site (without needing to resort to ad blockers) and being able to download videos have been great. I would say check it out for a month and hop around the archived Premium videos up on the site to see if its something you would be interested in.

@rorie said:

friendlypossum marked this as the best answer

@friendlypossum: join up for pups

Ok so I did....pups in the mail?

@friendlypossum: if i chomp a pup in the next year i will think of you while i chomp is that sufficient

hahaha, that'll have to do my friend

Thread keeps reminding me i need to pick up a 2nd monitor one of these days to make good use of my subscription.

I honestly don't know how people compute these days without a second monitor. Even a cheapy $100 Dell secondary monitor is worth well more than that considering the productive gains. The TV watching alone while you Hearthstone or Warcraft it out is immense. Get a second monitor!

Ugh really tempting me. Just thinking about how much I listen to videos playing in the background when instead i could have it blasting right next to my monitor...would need to get a new desk though...or a weird stand.

@rorie: yeah at work it's pretty much necessary and handy as fuck so i'll most likely take the plunge soon. Just afraid i won't resist splurging on a 2560x1440, as if i've even got room for it...

I've been a subscriber since the beginning and have had absolutely no regrets. I have no idea what I would do without Unprofessional Fridays.

TBH one of the best things about premium is the fantastic backlog of premium stuff. I have spent so much time going through all the old TNTs/UPFs/Flight Clubs/RPCG and Breaking Brads that it's pretty freaking ridiculous.

Dude completely agree, I have been lost in delicious backlog vids. Anyone buy the GiantBomb hoody? what are the sizes like? True to size? Slightly smaller, slightly bigger?

I feel it's worth it. I mostly have videos running in the background while I'm exercising or playing a game light on story. But I just get so much stuff for the subscription, man. Some amazing moments when I sit down and watch with full attention, too.

I also really enjoy the premium podcasts for my commutes, even on topics that I don't follow at all.

Been subscribed yearly since the start. Occasionally, I wonder if I should subscribe again. But I can't imagine skipping some of the best content GB puts out.

The premium stuff is definitely worth it. I pay the yearly cost, and the extra content more than pays for itself. Figure for the cost of seeing three movies at a theater you get access to an ad-free version of the site with a ton of extra content. I watch a lot of the old stuff, like Jeff's jar videos and they're still great, even when time has passed.

I like what the crew does, so I feel great about supporting them. The access itself is just a bonus.

I got the hoodie, I got Large as I normally do (6 foot 3) but it was too big for me.

In the words of Jeff Gerstmann, premium memberships..."are so good, you guys"

But I can understand your reluctance if you're mostly an audio guy and not a video guy. I look at the premium audio stuff as a bonus to the video content, but I have access to both so I don't have to wonder what the world would be like without the PowerBombcast or weekly ALT+F1 podcasts. Do you like Drew and Danny? They have a podcast. Do you like to hear Jeff in a constant state of agony? Listen to him talk about podcasts.

I give them money to support the site, but I don't even listen to the premium Bombcasts. Small Business Man was great.

Except for the part where not a single person on the site actually respects what anime is, and the person who is exposed to the most of it (Patrick) actively resents it's more risque elements. So what, you want a podcast where they spend a half-hour shitting on anime?

@slindz:

We don't do exchanges, alas, but the store people will do returns if you feel like something doesn't fit. Email orders@socialimprints.com if you have a concern about anything you've ordered from the store!

Thanks Rorie, but I bought it ages ago. Plus a oversized hoodie is always nice when your room doesn't have heating. Appreciate the thought though!

@neonie: it could just be jason oestreicher (sic?) alone in a room <3

I don't think they'd just ridicule it. They'd fumble around a bit while Jason tells em how it is. And judging by Patrick's past with being exposed more to something he doesn't quite understand, I think he'd come around to appreciating anime. I was mostly joking with the suggestion, but it could still be quite interesting and fun if they did it. :)

the back catalog is great, you should check it out if you get premium. And it seems there are new features in the way. So well worth the investment.

Yeah I got a membership. Im happy with purchase already.

Every time an anime game gets put in front of them they ridicule it, much the same way they ridicule sports games. Jeff actually makes sense in his disdain for it (and his possible obsession with Miku), considering he's color blind and I can perfectly understand how that might be irritating, when the medium makes use of a much wider color palette then video games (which are either brown or gray) or even real life (which is kind of dull). I can't imagine watching something like No Game, No Life while being color blind, that'd be the worst lol.

Like I said before, I don't think Patrick would ever come around to animes more risque elements, you have to enjoy or at the very least be able to understand/put up with/embrace that stuff, or you just kind of wind up in this weird spot where you hate 80% of anime because it has "too much fanservice", which Patrick was already kind of bitching about Danganronpa. With him being heavily SJW and feminist oriented, he's likely to just write it off as a lot of misogyny or whatever.

Also has Jason actually been in a quicklook yet? I've been very touchy about the quicklooks I watch lately since I ignore most of the ones that don't come out of Beast since a lot of them lately have had Dan in them, and I just feel like once Dan is in a quicklook it's not worth watching because I don't find Dan's specific brand of commentary (humor? Does he actually try to be funny?) appealing.

Also I understand you were joking, I just have/had nothing better to do then think about this while typing it out in my head, I'm not trying to argue with you or anything, just turned it into more of a though process/conversation lol.

http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/whiskey-media-happy-hour-111910/2300-3518/ ;)

I wasn't sure about Dan at first, but he has grown on me as I've gotten to see more of him. Some great moments lately thanks to him. And as far as Patrick, I don't believe that represents Patrick at all.

All I know is, he used to be down on many Japanese games due to preconceptions, but he gave them more of a shot and ended up getting into games like Dark Souls, Monster Hunter, and Fire Emblem. I think a similar change of heart may come if he gave anime a chance. There are plenty of anime which don't have a ton of fanservice, and there are even some which use fanservice as a meaningful part of the story. With the right suggestions, he could easily enjoy a great deal of anime, from movies to whole series.

Patrick isn't even likely to be on such a hypothetical podcast anyway, but if he was, I think he'd bring a cool angle to it. Jeff, Brad, Jason, Dan, and maybe even Rorie could probably have a good time with it.

I guess it's possible if you got Patrick into the right stuff.

Also I figured since this was purely hypothetical may as well include the whole crew as possibilities for the hell of it lol.

I honestly don't know enough about Dan to say one way or the other, and I know actually nothing about Jason, is he actually into anime beyond western animation like Avatar and Kora?

Jeff I still say wouldn't go for it, Brad maybe,and Rorie I think could actually be pretty amused by it. And like I said, hypothetical, so whole crew: Vinny yes, Alex maybe. Alex likes movies, and anime are just a longer form of mature story telling, so I think he could see the value in it.

From what I understand, Jason could challenge Brad as anime editor. I mean, he likes stuff like Trigun or Voices of a Distant Star, not just mainstream Avatar. He has even made AMVs.

And Dan, well, I think we would actually love anime. He seems to dislike part of it just by appearance, while also expressing great excitement at everything that is actually in anime. So, if someone just showed him awesome shonen series with big transforming robots and explosions, I think he'd dig it quite a bit. His only issue is that he hasn't seen or eaten anything. heh.

I am also of the opinion that Jeff appreciates plenty of anime but just hasn't been exposed to much of it in recent years. When most of his main exposure is bad or questionable anime games, I can understand where he's at. But there is plenty out there that would appeal to almost all of his interests. Even if he was snarky at times, I think he could get hyped about many cool things in a lot of anime.

Honestly, there's a lot of potential here!