With Patrick moving, the crew needs to step up their game.

There's always that one jackass.

I want to see WAYYYY more Drew. He seems legitimately awesome.

E-motherfucking-3.

That's what I mean. It's still not the same as being in the main office and being a part of the day the day events. I still don't get, or more to it, see no reason for the title of this thread. But if that's how people feel then they either accept it or they don't.

While I wouldn't say it's declining, it has been really weird. There was one christmas where they were like "well, all the games are out, so what do we do? Just fart around, I guess until the games pick up again." and then... the games never picked back up again. There's always a post christmas lull but that lull went for a whole year and then into the next year and then into 2013.

I accept that it will likely change with new consoles.

Hope.

Patrick's presence will definitely be sorely missed. He was the only one willing to go out of his comfort zone and try new things. I know being jaded is part of the Bombcrew's "public persona" or whatever, but I feel like over the last couple of years it's gotten especially bad, but I felt Patrick offset a lot of that. Without him on the podcast or in videos, it's just going to be three grumpy assholes* sticking to the same old stuff and writing off any games that don't immediately feel comfortable to them. I'm hoping the new generation coming into full swing will get the Giant Bomb guys excited and enthusiastic again, but I don't know. Brad, Jeff, and especially Ryan seem kind of burnt out on video games entirely.

*and Vinny.

All consoles suffer from a post launch release slump. The Wii U is going through its void right now. The 3DS has already escaped it and the Vita is still clawing its way out, with hope on the horizon.

But no, there's not going to suddenly be a flood of new content the moment the PS4 and Xbox Whatever are released. They'll both go through the exact same thing. Have a bunch of things up front at launch, and then an extended window of nothing.

All consoles suffer from a post launch release slump. The Wii U is going through its void right now. The 3DS has already escaped it and the Vita is still clawing its way out, with hope on the horizon.

But no, there's not going to suddenly be a flood of new content the moment the PS4 and Xbox Whatever are released. They'll both go through the exact same thing. Have a bunch of things up front at launch, and then an extended window of nothing.

This is the laziest and most cynical content ever to show up on this site. Brad gets obsessed with DOTA and decides to play it every day at work and call it premium content? Sorry, but it strikes me as being incredibly self-serving and, as I said, lazy and cynical.

The site had a pretty good run before Patrick. Don't need to panic, it's gonna be fine (probably.)

@alexandersheen: I would argue that the site is markedly different than it was back then. I never used to wonder what Ryan Davis did a few years ago, but now it pops into my head more often than I'd like.

@brendan: I was a little bit sarcastic there. But you're right, it is a good question. He's not planning his wedding at work does he?

@brendan said:

Well, right now he's organising E3 like a mofo I would imagine - NO CLUE why this would take him weeks and endless hours to do, but that's what seems to be the case at the moment. I mean... what else could it be?

I don't buy him getting married as an excuse for the low levels of content though - I assume he is at work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. If he's spending that time helping to plan his wedding, then fuck him. (I don't think that's what he's doing though)

I agree with the sentiment that it isn't our place to audit what the guys do on a daily basis (premium subs or not) - but I DO reserve my right to say "Ryan doesn't seem to have been pulling his weight since the Kinect came out". I mean, Jeff does Jar Times and silly Funky Barn streams, Brad has a swath of premium content under his belt, Vinny is the hardest working dude on the site and Ryan has been... producing the podcast? Hosting TNT? (which we all know they put SO much work into planning every week)...?

We should strap GoPros to all of the staff and livestream it all day. :|

I hate to say it, but maybe they ought to do more collusions with the gamespot guys? I've noticed the content has dropped off a bit lately, and the reason is too many damn babies. Babies suck.

The original Endurance Run was created for those exact reasons. Both Vinny and Jeff wanted to play Persona 4 but knew they would never have time to so they made it content for work and it ended up being awesome.

I don't think that's predictable at this point. yes, in the past, that has been the case, but we're writing history here. Tons of developers have been quiet for long stretches of time and there have been dozens and dozens of developers who have said "this is the game we're showing and we're also working on another, unannounced game". I think we're going to see a lot more games up front this console launch than ever before.

Not if you have formula

(I made a post in this thread, but it seems to have disappeared into the ether)

I think they've been making enough content lately and I'm satisfied. I still occasionally question the output, but I just don't know enough about their day-to-day to get completely up in arms. I do agree that people giving excuses like weddings and raising children is dumb, though, because millions of people every year do those things; the guys do not need to be treated like special needs kids. Marriage and family cuts into social life, not work life.

Also, I don't think they are jaded, though. I don't feel comfortable calling someone like Jeff that when at one time, he played The Old Republic for 100 hours during a one month span and he didn't even care for it by the time he was done. I just think they are at a point in their lives when they are only enthusiastic about certain games, and unfortunately, those games are ones I do not care about (DOTA, Skylanders, Trackmania, etc.).

I feel bad because I'm sure he has tasks throughout the day, but yeah, I just don't know what the fuck Ryan does. People cannot say "host" anymore because Jeff ends up hosting streams half the time now. Planning? Sure, but with guests, it's not like it takes a lot to ask friends like John Drake or Dave Lang to make appearances, and GB has enough clout that most people in the industry would love to be on the Bombcast. He plays games, but it never sounds as much as everyone else.

The one thing about Patrick moving is one less person around in the office. I understand his decision, but the reason I like GB over other places is the camaraderie during the Bombcast and video content. That is why I'll never fully be into sites like Polygon because the staff lives wherever they want ("hope you like Russ and Plante showing up all the time in features because they are the only fuckers living in New York and that's where the production crew is") and the relationships between them do not feel as organic. That's how it is, I guess, but everyone being in the same place matters a lot to me. Hopefully Patrick and Alex can work something out for us east coasters.

Not exactly. Brad forced time for his DOTA addiction until the one closest to him began to object. Rather than be thrown out of the home he instead brought his problem to work where he's safe to continue destroying himself. Now he's dragging in any who will follow him. The Matts are bringing at least some comedy to an otherwise dull stream but how long until they too swear allegiance to the monotonous kingdom?

Like several others here it took a good while for Patrick to grow on me but he most definitely did. When XCOM came around he started off on a broad gaming odyssey and quickly cemented himself into my bliss points. Patrick has shown a great appreciation for gaming across the board and I sincerely hope he keeps pumping out the written and video content from Chicago. His enthusiasm during live events will surely be missed.

I THINK you mean collaborations. Unless you are Jerry Lawler. OHHHH! COLLUSION!

I feel like Endurance Runs should only be done when the staff really wants to do one. Persona 4 was a thing because that was the perfect game at the perfect time with the perfect two people doing it. Having to play through an entire game, in front of a camera, solely because "it's the job" would take away a lot of the charm. I don't feel like the Endurance Runs were ever done because "it's the job", they always come across as something that the Giantbomb guys actually wanted to do.

On topic, I also hope that Brad, Jeff, Ryan, Vinny, Rorie, Drew, and Alexis can pick up the slack. However, those latter three aren't really the guys that are meant to deliver content, and Vinny's responsibility seems to be video stuff. Plus, he's got a young kid, and it's easy to see why that would be very tiring. Ryan's getting married, so you can bet that he's going to be tired and have some work cut out for him away from his job. That leaves Jeff and Brad. Brad seems to be in a lot of content and he may be able to pick up some slack. Jeff, though, always seems busy with something else. I don't think he isn't working; rather, it seems like Jeff is seen as the "mediator" between Giantbomb and CBSi, so his time is probably pretty limited. Note that this is just what I can observe from consuming content, so I might be completely wrong about something.

Is Giantbomb going to break up sometime soon? No, I hardly doubt that. They have very valuable and rare jobs and they know it, and they seem to value it very much. However, I think they might need to hire a new guy to bring the same kind of energy and content that Patrick did to the site. Working from home and writing content just won't be the same as producing new video content as much as he did.

@wjb said:

Yeah, the boards have been a bit iffy today.

But yes - I agree that the "jaded" statements are a bit out of place. The crew have their niches and they stick to them - it's part of the founding philosophy behind Giant Bomb (we only cover the stuff we're interested in). It's also not like they can't enjoy games anymore, sometimes the internet's memory is far too short. I mean, how great was the Bioshock Infinite spoilercast/show?

As for Ryan, I don't want to bash on him more than I have already - and I agree that he's probably doing SOMETHING, right? I love that asshole and IMO things which he usually hosts just aren't as good without him (bombcast, TNT, etc). He's got a great head on his shoulders and makes me laugh with supernatural ease. BUT - that just means I miss content from him all the more.

Anyway, I can certainly respect the viewpoint of "GB was great before Patrick was in the office, so there is no need to worry", but there is pretty much a thread every single month about how content on GB is on decline, and that was WITH Patrick making his cool in-roads into obscure games.

As for GB vs other sites, I couldn't agree with you more.

I hope Rorie take's Patrick's seat so he'll be closer to the action if you will.

It would suck to see Patrick leave the Bombcast. This year he has been one of the only people talking about the new games and seeming to have any enthusiasm for them. He's probably been the only one who has played most of the big new releases. Has any other single Bombcaster played all of these: DmC, Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite, Metro: Last Light? Plus he is at the forefront of highlighting smaller titles like Zeno Clash 2 and Prison Architect, as well as expanding his own gaming pedigree by playing games that aren't his usual style so that he can understand them better.

In every Bombcast this year Ryan almost seems reluctant to start talking about video games, and it can take almost an hour sometimes before he finally asks someone what they've been playing. While everyone else might have a game they are reviewing to chime in about, oftentimes Patrick is the only other one to have played the game and have something to say about it.

I don't get this whole "golden age" and "guys lack enthusiasm" nonsense I'm seeing around here. The site is the same it's always been. Just a classic case of rose tinted nostalgia glasses. People act like there was no content at all, before Patrick came aboard. Giant bomb existed before him being in the office and shall exist after. That's not a slight to him at all. A lot of content is good, but quality over quantity. I'll take a few really great Quick Looks over 10x that amount that are subpar.

This sounds way more exciting anyways. The idea of a morning show with Alex and Patrick, and him actually doing what he was brought on to do (breaking news and whatnot) is way more appealing then him being on every single Quick Look and have people bitch about (which is hilarious seeing everyone flip flop suddenly).

Damn, I should have made it clearer: I totally meant OH!! COLLUSION!!

I just finished UP, even with Patrick there. ehhh.

MORE DOTA2

@fearbeard: Well, regardless of how much it sucks, it's the reality. Patrick won't be a regular anymore on the Bombcast after June, and we'll just have to find a way to get used to it. I believe they've shown themselves to be self-aware enough to understand some of these concerns and address them as best they can.

Vinny will never teach him how to use the Tricaster :'(

No one can deny the change in TYPE of content on the site. From the Endurance Runs that made me fall in love with the site to a 6+ hour live stream of Xbox games, old site was widely different than the sparse quick-looks and sparser reviews we get now. I still love GB and we, as the community, need to help make it what it was. I don't know why it changed, it was before the buyout though so Gamespot and CBS can't be at fault. Maybe they got some numbers suggesting that more people would like this new way of doing things? I really wish for transparency here. One of the GB staff should get in here to at least let us know they are listening. For a site that started off as two bros just fucking around, I would have hoped they would keep in touch with their community more.

I really hope this doesn't sound like a huge hate letter to GB, it isn't. I love GB. I hate what it has become/is becoming. I understand the need for premium, but as a poor college kid I feel like a second class citizen. The 'good' content, the ones everyone in this thread points to as 'marks of GB of old' is lock behind a pay-wall that I can't justify in my small budget.

As for Patrick's departure, as long as he produces quality content, I'm happy. I wish he would still be on the podcast but Drew can fill in nicely now. Patrick's content was refreshing in a way GB hadn't had for a while before he come along.

For ideas on how to actually fix this? Take a good hard look at the type and amount of content produced years ago, and look at how that's changed. I'm not going to claim to have all the answers, I don't. If I did I would probably have a job doing this for a living. The GB crew are not stupid. They can figure this out better than most of us. I just really hope they are listening enough to know that there is actually a problem. And when GB does fix it and returns to the content we remember, please don't lock it behind a pay-wall. I don't want to have to pay to get the 'good' Giant Bomb experience.

GiantBomb was great before Patrick, after he joined and will hopefully stay great into the future.

It's been said before in this thread that life and being part of a corporation are getting in the way. They're still a small group of dudes, but in stead of doing everything themselves, now they're trying to get by with more bureaucracy and commitments outside of work.

GB is still my go-to video game site and still will be for the time being, but I wouldn't mind diversifying for those days/weeks when it gets a little quiet. I just don't of anywhere that's got that special something GB has.

Change is scary, but it can also be good. It's cool that Patrick has been gearing up to do stuff out of his home in preparation for this move and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

@benpicko said:

I KNOW RIGHT.

One of the most awesome things about this week's TNT was Patrick in the control room - Drew and Vinny Teach Patrick could have been an awesome video series (or thing which just happens and we see the fruits of as the year progressed).

@bocam: I feel for the dude that uncovered a slip in some folks that now Patrick in their google hangout. He made a thread saying Patricks leaving a few days ago probs why that twitter happend. Mods came in treated him like a crazy dude and locked the thread.....When he knew the Truth!!!

@big_jon: after going through ER in reverse order I realised that P4 was the Apex and you just cant force them. Which DP was more forced and only the whackyness of the game kept...yet their still was not the same spark. Endurance run is OVER.

jeff has stated in the past that eighty percent of qls wouldn't happen without patrick...so say hello, again to bored looks at shooters and maybe the occasional thing vinny likes.

As long as Patrick brings interesting games that no one else in the crew seem to care about to light and does the occasional article, it's ok. That's his thing after all, and if he can do it from another part of the country without the quality suffering, I'm fine with it.

I wish him the best of luck.

More Drew pls

That was the true benefit of Patrick that we never saw coming. At first it was all articles and quick looks of questionable indie games. But over time, I've come to realize that my favorite thing that Tricky Scoops has brought to the table is a willingness to give stuff outside his wheelhouse an honest chance and advocate for it vocally on the Bombcast and whatnot. I wouldn't go as far as to call the attitude of the rest of the GB crew "toxic", but they all seem very content to play the same kinds of games they've always played and sometimes it makes them sound like old men.

In any case, I agree with the sentiment expressed in the original post.

@slyspider: A sizable portion of premium content (besides TNT which remains free via twitch.tv) is gameplay of older games or up front dialogue pieces that would pretty much only appeal to people seeking out the crew's specific personalities. That audience is probably small enough that ad revenue alone would not be enough to make sense. Basically they either have subscriber money and run a stupid (awesome) BioForge stream, or they don't have that money... and don't run the stream. I can understand frustration in not being able to afford something but... welcome to life. How ya doin?

Seriously. Everyone got to see the Iceland Travelogue. That video was fantastic but had little to do with EVE which was technically Drew/Patrick's reason for going. How many new viewers do you think that brought in who were interested in games and decided to stick around to check out the site? I'm betting it was less than a decent/good quick look. When you've been here long enough to love the staff's eccentricities then it's worth the subscriber fees to follow their antics. If you can't afford it now then... well I guess you can't afford it now is all. Hopefully you can soon and then you can partake of the glorious archives.

To be honest, I LOVE THE JADEDNESS. I think it is the reason why you get way more tangents from the OG squad than Patrick and I love those tangents.

Quick Looks are over guys.

Patrick brings a lot to the site and I hope he keeps on doing that even after he has moved. As for video content I will be looking forward to some more Spookin' with Scoops and Encyclopedia Bombastica!

So it's true? I'll miss Patrick, I've never quite understood the dislike people have for him. Hell he's been the most positive and exciting member of the bombcast for the past year.

That said, happy to see he'll still be contributing to the site. We might even get more Rorie (and pupies) on the bombcast.

The slide started with the first endurance run, and went over the cliff when they went back to Gamespot. I'd be jaded too if I had to go back and work for the company that I walked out on / fired me for having ethics. Patrick leaving is about as big a deal as New Brad leaving.

Also the whole 'working' from across the country arrangement seems cushy as hell. Can't see that arrangement lasting.

@selfconfessedcynic: I sometimes get bummed out by the original philosophy of "we only cover games we're interested in." Sure, we don't need the hottest, up-to-date information on Sniper Elite or Barbie something-something, but Giant Bomb isn't a blog with the Arrow Pointing Down podcast anymore. It's a huge community that likes different things and wants to see content of those things. We agree they aren't jaded, but like this thread stated, Patrick was one of the few out of the group that wanted to try new stuff. Again, Brad has done the same with DOTA, but unfortunately, it looks like that's all he's going to play for the time being (R.I.P. Brad). Maybe I don't get it, because I'm just someone that would want to please as many people as I can (especially ones that give me money to continue doing what I'm doing for a living) by going outside my comfort zone when covering games, too. Even if I didn't know what I was doing or I sucked, I think most viewers would appreciate the effort in the end.

I understand the points people make, but sometimes I think we treat some the staff like temperamental children. "It won't be as entertaining if they feel forced doing something they don't want to do." Sure, but deep down I roll my eyes because it shouldn't even be an issue of forcing anyone to play games; they should want to do the things people request. If some dude gave me two binders full of classic PC games for free, I would want to play one game a day, even if I wasn't familiar with the title, and stream my experience for a couple hours until I completely tapped out the collection. I want BioForge, not "I'm going to play Burnout 2 again even though a Bombastica of it literally came out earlier that day, because that's the only game I like right now and people are just going to have to deal."

Not to make this a "durr, they cover and play games for a living," but they cover and play games for a living. I'm not saying some of them take it for granted, they obviously don't, but I'd rather have more Patricks (and Vinnys) in the world than anyone else.

We're gonna be okay, ya sourpusses!

you son of a bitch