What were the confirmed new features for members?

@Venatio said:

If they ever decide to do another Endurance Run and make it exclusive to subscribers then that would suck Although it would make me consider membership even though I'm not crazy about the idea

And that is exactly why they'd do it.

I'm fine if nothing changes. I just wish I could watch the SNES marathon. I can't spend 5 hours on a Saturday watching a stream on the internet. I hoped as a member I would be able to download it at another time.

@Dany said:

Hugs from Drew Scanlon.

Sigh...if only.

I knew about the name change a while back as I pm'd Dave about it and he said it was one of the things they were trying to implement in the new back end of the whiskey media sites. Such a top bloke, but kept it under my hat as I considered it wasn't something announced to everybody, although since it was listed in the possibilities of the changes, figured it was okay to mention it now.

I can understand having specific shows for each site instead of a happy hour every week as a lot of members only tend to be interested in one or two of the sites (for me GB and Tested). A monthly happy hour would be great, but I would love to see more GB only shows on a Friday.

Beyond that I'm really happy with GB as it is.

@Daveyo520: only to people who don't have subscriptions. GB is a business.

@crusader8463 said:

@Wrighteous86: Each their own, but I would be against it. They already showed that they will break their word with the whole bombcast thing, and the only reason they changed it was because enough people made an uproar about it. If they did that to the ER then it would be the same thing all over again, but that would make it a second time that they have gone back on their word. Say what you will, but the main reason a large population on this site has stayed with them for so long is because they trust them, and feel that they can take them at their word. They keep going back on that word one too many times and that feeling of trust will go away and it will take a lot to earn it back.

I still disagree that they ever lied to us. First of all, they never wound up splitting up the Bombcast, so that weakens your argument. Secondly, their "word' was that everyone would get the same content they were expecting, and you would have. You would have gotten everything you wanted, just in a new format. People severely overreacted to that news. "You mean I get everything I want, but for the stuff that's not time-sensitive I'll have to wait a few days?! What an outrage you assholes! I deserve everything I want, exactly the way I want it, for as long as I want it, no matter the realities of the business world! Boo hoo hoo!" Fuck, they were nice enough to even split it, so you'd get all the "current events' portions of the Bombcast when it was still actually relevant. Most sites would've just said, "Take the whole podcast a week later or not at all, you non-paying bitch."

Doing it with the ER would be a bit closer to the "lie" people say they perpetrated (despite having never come to pass and not being totally true in the first place if it had), but considering the ER was never a regular feature, I wouldn't really get all up-in-arms about that either. That's like saying anything that's ever put on the site ever that is at all similar to anything they've ever done before shouldn't be a subscriber bonus. Essentially, using that logic, no videos could EVER be subscriber-only, because Video Things or Ask Me Anythings or any of the other random features they don't really do much could apply to literally anything they think of in the future.

A subscriber Endurance only run would be a good move, it would make people get a subscription.

@mike828:Vinny is working on it. It's a HUGE file though, but theyve said on twitter it'll be up soon.

I don't remember them saying an Endurance Run would be subscriber only but it would be a way to get people to subscribe. Maybe they can do something like rooster teeth back in the second or so season. They released videos a week early for subscribers and then the next week everyone could watch it. Subscribers could also watch the videos in HD. I wouldn't be opposed to that but i plan on resubscribing. Everyone gets to see it and there is that little extra if you pay to support them.

I think they wanted to make mini-podcasts for members like the radio Dave call in show. So you don't have to stream it on the net, you can bring it with you.

It might be worth noting to other people wah-wah-wah-ing in this thread about the Endurance Runs that a lot of both the Persona 4 and Deadly Premonition run was fucking boring in places. Watching Brad die for the umpteenth time got real old, real fast. Rose-tinted glasses indeed.

@rentfn said:

Maybe they can do something like rooster teeth back in the second or so season. They released videos a week early for subscribers and then the next week everyone could watch it.

They thought about doing that with the non-time sensitive section of the Bombcast... just the sections where it didn't matter when you listened to it, not the News or Current Events, and the entire non-subscribing GB community collectively wet their pants and had a hissy fit.

I can only imagine the threats of suicide if they threatened to withhold the Endurance Run episodes from the non-subscribers for a week.

@mutha3 said:

It would also make publishers send 'em a kindly worded letter, requesting to pull it down.

No one is going to let them put a full game behind a paywall..I mean, come on.

Also, this.

@mutha3 said:

So? It was still their best video feature.

Did they archive this thing at all? I wanted to watch it, but had to work.

Video Thing: 2Human

@Anwar said:

I don't get that HH are for all of whiskey media, so obviously you can't expect bigger segments from GB, but when GB does something all the others get cancelled? So what about those members who signed up, because of the other sites(not me btw)? Just a lil strange imo.

They have to suck it up, I'm afraid. Giant Bomb is the flagship Whiskey site, it has the most amount of traffic. I mean, if you look at the statistics on Quant Cast, Giant Bomb has more traffic then Screend, Tested and Anime Vice combined.

@TooWalrus said:

Did they archive this thing at all? I wanted to watch it, but had to work.

They said they were going to put up some kind of archive this week. Whether it will be the whole video or only the part about the subscription stuff remains to be seen.

This has really already been answered by several but I wanted to add that they will be archiving the SNES-athon (which they confirmed near the end of the show) so if you missed it you can catch up on what they discussed.

To re-iterate, though, nothing was set in stone they only threw out their ideas and what the numbers told them the people who answered the survey wanted.

They also re-iterated during the conversation NO OLD CONTENT WILL BE PUT BEHIND A PAY WALL EVER. That would obviously include the endurance run. They are only trying to come up with new content that is subscriber only. It sounds as though they want to restructure the happy hour and add some other things into the mix so they aren't burned out on ideas as they acknowledged the happy hour is sometimes stale because they do it too often. There is also talks about multiple pod casts but whether that is a subscriber only thing, they didn't say.

More ideas and thoughts on it than anything concrete. I suspect the concrete stuff will be laid out in Sept during the 2nd Annual Big Live Live Show (which I believe is on Sept 9th).

There was talk of a Vinny Cooking Show at one point during the SNES-a-thon

@crusader8463: Fair enough, I just don't see why there's an issue if you get something a week later for free that other people pay to get early. I understand that people took their phrasing to mean something like that would never happen, so they were surprised, but even if they did that, and I wasn't a subscriber, I guess I just wouldn't care.

I'm a subscriber, but I never watch the TNT or Happy Hour live. I have shit to do when they stream those videos, so I watch them a few days later. I get a lot of things days later. I don't pay for HBO or cable. If there's a show I want that I have to pay to see, I usually wait a few days and find it through alternative means... I just don't see why that would bother people. If I still got to see the Endurance Run, or get a subscriber podcast, just a week later, I'm still getting that content, so I wouldn't care that it was a few days or a week old. I don't think that's much of a sacrifice to get non-time sensitive content for free. If they did that with Reviews, or News, or Quick Looks, there'd be an obvious reason to freak out about it. I don't expect TV stations to have their new episodes up online the second they start showing it on TV, a day or two later is a suitable sacrifice, in my opinion.

I get what they said, but even if they wound up "lying" about it, I guess I just wouldn't care.

PS Oh, and I listen to a lot of podcasts on my way to work and during breaks, but I still wind up listening to most of them almost a week late. I guess I just don't need my content immediately upon availability, though I'm sure I'm not the norm, in that sense.

I'm just going to pay them because I want to. I love GB.

An Endurance Run behind a paywall wouldn't work anyway.  I doubt that new visitors to the site would even understand what they're missing.  It makes more sense to start a new Endurance Run with a high quality, hyped, new release to draw more people to the site.
That said, if they add anything for members, I would just like some more swag for my membership bucks.

And I'm kind of happy that we can have this civil discussion here, no resort to name-calling like 'haters gonna hate' etc. Another reason why I love the GB community :D

@crusader8463: Yeah, I understand being upset on principle. And I think "bending the rules and hoping people overlook it" is the best way to phrase what they were intending. I guess I just overlooked it. I understand why some people couldn't, but it didn't bother me. I do think the Bombcast would have been worse off for everyone involved if it were split though. It's clear they're not quite sure what to do to make subscriptions work, so there are going to be people getting pissed off and some growing pains, so it's good that people complain if something bothers them, but I think some people need to be a bit more flexible too if things aren't really that outrageous.

There are certainly things they can do to piss me off, and I'd rather they drop the Happy Hour or re-tool it (which it looks like they're planning) and focus on more specific site content except for relevant crossovers (like Comic Book Movies or PC Video Game equipment), but I don't think a delayed feature would bother me once my subscription dries up.

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

That's completely ridiculous. This is a video games website. Video games are a luxury product that currently cost $40-60 new, depending on the platform. If you have enough money to play more than one video game a year, then you have enough money to pay the $50 for subscription. You may not have the means (I know we have a lot of teens without credit cards on the site, and they obviously can't pay the subscription fee, and I know a lot of people feel unsafe putting their credit cards on the web) but if you're playing video games you have the funds. You'd just rather spend them on more games. I'm not saying that's wrong by any standard, but acting like we have folks really too poor to pay the subscription fee rather than "would rather pay for another game or, say, cable" is silly. Hell, this is a WEBSITE, which means its users are mostly paying for the internet. Note: if we have any users exclusively playing games from last-gen posting exclusively from a library who really can't afford subscription or the internet, you are the exception, not the rule. The website should not and will not ever be designed to cater to you, but enjoy what you can get out of the website, and welcome! Hopefully living vicariously through the Bomb Crew is satisfying.

Personally, if they wind up doing an Endurance Run specifically because a lot of users are requesting one and not because they actually found the right game for it, then I'd be okay with it being a subscriber-only feature. If they're doing it for people who are specifically whining at them for it, why not say, "Okay, we'll do another Endurance Run, but you have to give us something in return other than your whining?" Those that whine past that point will never have stopped whining or were never actually going to give the Bombers any money to begin with, so they'll leave, effectively leaving Giant Bomb with a net loss of zero. Maybe it's a bit of a Gordian way to think about it, but for those who were never gonna spend any money anyways, door's to your left.

@Little_Socrates said:

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

That's completely ridiculous. This is a video games website. Video games are a luxury product that currently cost $40-60 new, depending on the platform. If you have enough money to play more than one video game a year, then you have enough money to pay the $50 for subscription. You may not have the means (I know we have a lot of teens without credit cards on the site, and they obviously can't pay the subscription fee, and I know a lot of people feel unsafe putting their credit cards on the web) but if you're playing video games you have the funds. You'd just rather spend them on more games. I'm not saying that's wrong by any standard, but acting like we have folks really too poor to pay the subscription fee rather than "would rather pay for another game or, say, cable" is silly. Hell, this is a WEBSITE, which means its users are mostly paying for the internet. Note: if we have any users exclusively playing games from last-gen posting exclusively from a library who really can't afford subscription or the internet, you are the exception, not the rule. The website should not and will not ever be designed to cater to you, but enjoy what you can get out of the website, and welcome! Hopefully living vicariously through the Bomb Crew is satisfying.

Personally, if they wind up doing an Endurance Run specifically because a lot of users are requesting one and not because they actually found the right game for it, then I'd be okay with it being a subscriber-only feature. If they're doing it for people who are specifically whining at them for it, why not say, "Okay, we'll do another Endurance Run, but you have to give us something in return other than your whining?" Those that whine past that point will never have stopped whining or were never actually going to give the Bombers any money to begin with, so they'll leave, effectively leaving Giant Bomb with a net loss of zero. Maybe it's a bit of a Gordian way to think about it, but for those who were never gonna spend any money anyways, door's to your left.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH.

I owe you a beer, a coke, whatever you want. You have perfectley articulated my feelings on this.

Brilliant points all round.

something I think Vinny mentioned in passing was to load up a game save of where he was last in a game and just start playing.  jumping in cold from the last save of a game they shelved a while ago.  I thought it was a really cool idea.
 
Also things like the SNES marathon was a very cool idea and made a pretty great show.

Making something like an ER a subscriber only thing would be a dick move.

I don't need any new features I just want higher quality of current ones.

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

That's completely ridiculous. This is a video games website. Video games are a luxury product that currently cost $40-60 new, depending on the platform. If you have enough money to play more than one video game a year, then you have enough money to pay the $50 for subscription. You may not have the means (I know we have a lot of teens without credit cards on the site, and they obviously can't pay the subscription fee, and I know a lot of people feel unsafe putting their credit cards on the web) but if you're playing video games you have the funds. You'd just rather spend them on more games. I'm not saying that's wrong by any standard, but acting like we have folks really too poor to pay the subscription fee rather than "would rather pay for another game or, say, cable" is silly. Hell, this is a WEBSITE, which means its users are mostly paying for the internet. Note: if we have any users exclusively playing games from last-gen posting exclusively from a library who really can't afford subscription or the internet, you are the exception, not the rule. The website should not and will not ever be designed to cater to you, but enjoy what you can get out of the website, and welcome! Hopefully living vicariously through the Bomb Crew is satisfying.

Personally, if they wind up doing an Endurance Run specifically because a lot of users are requesting one and not because they actually found the right game for it, then I'd be okay with it being a subscriber-only feature. If they're doing it for people who are specifically whining at them for it, why not say, "Okay, we'll do another Endurance Run, but you have to give us something in return other than your whining?" Those that whine past that point will never have stopped whining or were never actually going to give the Bombers any money to begin with, so they'll leave, effectively leaving Giant Bomb with a net loss of zero. Maybe it's a bit of a Gordian way to think about it, but for those who were never gonna spend any money anyways, door's to your left.

@ESREVER said:

Corpse Runs!

They keep on playing the game until one of them dies.... IN REAL LIFE.

...or until they die in the game.

YES! Permadeath runs of some games would be awesome and function as miniature ERs. I want to see a permadeath run of Stalker; too bad only Dave likes that game and he's way too busy.

You can jugle your balls, but then select 1 of theme.... That's it. No more. :O

I used to buy gaming magazines every month.

GB costs me $5 a month.

Well woopty shit.

@KingWilly said:

@Little_Socrates said:

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

That's completely ridiculous. This is a video games website. Video games are a luxury product that currently cost $40-60 new, depending on the platform. If you have enough money to play more than one video game a year, then you have enough money to pay the $50 for subscription. You may not have the means (I know we have a lot of teens without credit cards on the site, and they obviously can't pay the subscription fee, and I know a lot of people feel unsafe putting their credit cards on the web) but if you're playing video games you have the funds. You'd just rather spend them on more games. I'm not saying that's wrong by any standard, but acting like we have folks really too poor to pay the subscription fee rather than "would rather pay for another game or, say, cable" is silly. Hell, this is a WEBSITE, which means its users are mostly paying for the internet. Note: if we have any users exclusively playing games from last-gen posting exclusively from a library who really can't afford subscription or the internet, you are the exception, not the rule. The website should not and will not ever be designed to cater to you, but enjoy what you can get out of the website, and welcome! Hopefully living vicariously through the Bomb Crew is satisfying.

Personally, if they wind up doing an Endurance Run specifically because a lot of users are requesting one and not because they actually found the right game for it, then I'd be okay with it being a subscriber-only feature. If they're doing it for people who are specifically whining at them for it, why not say, "Okay, we'll do another Endurance Run, but you have to give us something in return other than your whining?" Those that whine past that point will never have stopped whining or were never actually going to give the Bombers any money to begin with, so they'll leave, effectively leaving Giant Bomb with a net loss of zero. Maybe it's a bit of a Gordian way to think about it, but for those who were never gonna spend any money anyways, door's to your left.

You're a smart guy, so it upsets me to see that you're thinking that you can spend my money for me. There is no need for justification. If someone feels that $50, $5 or $1.00 a month is too much for their purses, then that is their prerogative. You don't get to dictate what is or what isn't worth someone's money. You also don't get to dictate how their money is spent. If I don't feel like my $50 a year is going to get me something worthwhile, I won't spend it, and I haven't. Yes video games are a luxury item. I spend my disposable income on video games because they net me quality entertainment. Great value for my dollar. I spend $50 on Whiskey Media (NOT Giant Bomb), and what does that get me? Some redheaded asshole with his own personal Short Round who act like douchebags? Comic book enthusiasts who never have anything to talk about so they write a bunch of what-if/elsewhere op-eds (not entirely their fault, very few comic-only sites survive for this reason)? Or how about Screened? A site that, while they produce excellent video content, doesn't produce it often enough to warrant frequent visitation of their site. Their freelance pieces are a joke with no content or opinion to speak of, and the film reviews I can get from a half-thousand critics elsewhere on the Internet. Or hell, even in my morning paper. The one thing that Screened had going for it was the video features. Video features that aren't produced often enough now because one of the staff members decided to flee to the other side of the country. Yeah, I'm really getting premiere quality for my money. Ah, but there is Giant Bomb. A site with great personalities, a site with extensive and timely video content, and a site where the opinions of its contributors is something I actually care about. considering they have extensive resumes that tell me WHY I should care about their opinion. Don't get me wrong, if my money was going to Giant Bomb I wouldn't hesitate. My money isn't going to Giant Bomb, it's going to Whiskey Media, and frankly, Whiskey Media isn't worth the trouble of PayPal work-arounds. It's a value judgment on my part, and it's one I stand by. That being said, good for them if they lock content behind a paywall. They need to make money somehow, since it's clear enough the rest of Whiskey sites can't draw a fucking dime.

Notice the specific part where I say it's not wrong if you don't want to spend money on a subscription. I merely take issue with those who claim they CANNOT afford a Giant Bomb subscription and therefore their content should be free. While I personally like Screened and Tested, I totally get why someone wouldn't buy a subscription for Giant Bomb alone, and that's fine by me. Just don't then make demands, as you're giving no money to the site and your traffic only updates their site hit rankings. Well, except now they have ads, which the free members complain about too. What, are they supposed to do this simply to serve others? Again, there's plenty of reasons not to buy a subscription, including simply wanting to buy more games to begin with, and there's nothing moralistic about it, but then don't act entitled when a business you don't fund acts like a business. Also, you're a racist for the comment about Norm, and I'm tempted to flag the post for it.

@Daveyo520 said:

@Little_Socrates: Who said I had money to buy games either? Really the QLs on this site are the closest I get to playing games a lot of the time, most of all new games. Nor do I have the ability to buy things online despite not being a teen, it is mainly this problem if I waited long enough I may be able to get 50 dollars but it would just live in my wallet being useless. I am not going to go into my financial details with you.

Understand then when I say you're not the demographic for the site; I'm glad you're here, and I don't think less of you as a user or a person, but if you cannot afford to help them, they are not entitled to help you. I'm not going to ask for the financial details (gosh, that would be rude) but know that modern games are a luxury product and this is a site about those. I'm glad you get something out of it; god knows I get nothing out of Tested and its luxury computer parts and tablets video content. I'd highlight the part where I specifically address this response, but I'm currently using highlighting to calm KingWilly down. Again, I'm glad you're here, but the website should be designed to cater to gamers who can make the most out of their content, which they largely consider purchasing advice.

@iAmJohn said:

@WilliamRLBaker said:

Making features pay for subsribers has the optiset affect on me it makes me not want to subscribe...

This is a total dick reply, I know, but wow dude, really?

this. and if i may? Hopwe we never see you again :) Feat "save" is again for us who actually work and enjoy this site. You work and don't enjoy, but still signed up? don't fucking whine about things you get for free when they play. gold members, we enjoy it after it's "gold" come on now.

@Venatio: SHUT THE FUCK UP!

I don't think there's anything they could add to make me subscribe. I have a phone that's perfectly capable of using the full site properly now. (unlike my old iPhone 3GS where I had to zoom in constantly + lack of flash)
 
Plus I just feel a bit sour on paying for HD videos when sites like Gametrailers have been doing that for free since what, 2005? I mean HD video is basically expected now, it just seems plain archaic that Whiskey Media has it as a subscriber only feature.
 
If hosting is an issue why not just host all the videos on YouTube? The YouTube video player is much better than the one this sites uses as well.

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

That's completely ridiculous. This is a video games website. Video games are a luxury product that currently cost $40-60 new, depending on the platform. If you have enough money to play more than one video game a year, then you have enough money to pay the $50 for subscription. You may not have the means (I know we have a lot of teens without credit cards on the site, and they obviously can't pay the subscription fee, and I know a lot of people feel unsafe putting their credit cards on the web) but if you're playing video games you have the funds. You'd just rather spend them on more games. I'm not saying that's wrong by any standard, but acting like we have folks really too poor to pay the subscription fee rather than "would rather pay for another game or, say, cable" is silly. Hell, this is a WEBSITE, which means its users are mostly paying for the internet. Note: if we have any users exclusively playing games from last-gen posting exclusively from a library who really can't afford subscription or the internet, you are the exception, not the rule. The website should not and will not ever be designed to cater to you, but enjoy what you can get out of the website, and welcome! Hopefully living vicariously through the Bomb Crew is satisfying.

Personally, if they wind up doing an Endurance Run specifically because a lot of users are requesting one and not because they actually found the right game for it, then I'd be okay with it being a subscriber-only feature. If they're doing it for people who are specifically whining at them for it, why not say, "Okay, we'll do another Endurance Run, but you have to give us something in return other than your whining?" Those that whine past that point will never have stopped whining or were never actually going to give the Bombers any money to begin with, so they'll leave, effectively leaving Giant Bomb with a net loss of zero. Maybe it's a bit of a Gordian way to think about it, but for those who were never gonna spend any money anyways, door's to your left.

@Meowshi said:

@Little_Socrates said:

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

@KingWilly:

If you don't help pay whiskey medias way, then why should they give a shit about what you want or don't want? You basically have no right to make demands to a business you don't give money to. I don't go call GE and tell them to make their light bulbs shoot fucking laser beams even though I just seen their bulbs at a store and never actually bought any. It's fine that you visit the site and I'm sure the WM crew appreciate it, but don't go around acting like the CEO trying to demand this and that and complaining when they just ignore you. They don't owe you anything.

@Meowshi: I still stand by my statement. If you're doing it by lack of funds rather than by choice, then you are the exception, not the rule. I'd respect it if it were by choice as the only game that even approached a must-play so far this year is Bastion, but if it's not, I apologize if I offended you, but you're just not the target audience. This is a website that has become focused on current releases and purchasing advice, though it sounds like survey responses may have convinced them to focus more on the Giant Bomb personalities rather than actual games coverage.

@Meowshi said:

@Little_Socrates said:

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

@KingWilly:

If you don't help pay whiskey medias way, then why should they give a shit about what you want or don't want? You basically have no right to make demands to a business you don't give money to. I don't go call GE and tell them to make their light bulbs shoot fucking laser beams even though I just seen their bulbs at a store and never actually bought any. It's fine that you visit the site and I'm sure the WM crew appreciate it, but don't go around acting like the CEO trying to demand this and that and complaining when they just ignore you. They don't owe you anything.

@Meowshi said:

@Jams said:

@Meowshi said:

@Little_Socrates said:

@Daveyo520 said:

@SamFo: Not everyone can have or afford a subscription even if they wanted one. And don't say "It is only ___ dollars", yes that is still too much sadly.

@KingWilly:

If you don't help pay whiskey medias way, then why should they give a shit about what you want or don't want? You basically have no right to make demands to a business you don't give money to. I don't go call GE and tell them to make their light bulbs shoot fucking laser beams even though I just seen their bulbs at a store and never actually bought any. It's fine that you visit the site and I'm sure the WM crew appreciate it, but don't go around acting like the CEO trying to demand this and that and complaining when they just ignore you. They don't owe you anything.

!? I'm not making "demands", I'm just giving my opinion. You know, as a fan. Didn't realize I had to pay someone for my opinion to have any merit.

You can give your opinion all you want, just don't expect them to listen to any of it. Edit: At least when you're paying to help keep their lights on, you get to have a say. That's what I believe anyways.