The HotSpot - Episode 370

Been refreshing all morning for this hell yell

Oh now it's truly the hotspot, this is true nostalgia right here.

Finally we get Rich Gallup!

Also I got my Giant Bomb dad hat in the mail today. It is very comfortable and I can't wait to wear it until it falls apart

OMG OMG OMG.....THE NOSTALGIA. RIIIIICH!!!!

Always happy to see Rich.

Dunno who this Rich Gallup fella is, but he seems alright and kind of good on the Hot Spot. Weird for such a newbie.

<3

Rich! This is awesome. Bring back some great memories.

Rich Gallup! He’s a goddamn professional.

Thank you, Vinnie! <3

Man this was special. So many memories. A lot of unique individuals at this website.

I have no nostalgia for this stuff, but man I must say this podcast has done wonders for making me feel good about keeping my premium running. That can be hard sometimes when some of the stuff I really like (UPF, quooky features Dan would often bring up, Austin's taste in games that he would bring up, or play) has been lacking/absent/isn't what is gonna be on the site anymore, these podcasts have gone a long way to filling that void.

While I sometimes wish i was more into current line-up of games the staff is Let's Playing or getting together to goof around/shoot the breeze with, the podcasts really help fill that void. Its the cross-coast content I always did want more of pre-virus, every week!

So, no nostalgia for this particular episodes guests, but enjoyed it all the same! Cheers!

This brings back a lot of memories. Crazy that I have been following the work of some of these people for 20 years now.

Oh and great hair, Rich.

It doesn’t count if Rich isn’t standing for the entire podcast! Record another one!

I love you guys

My high school era are back :)

More Rich Gallup!

Fuck yea Rich!

I love Rich Gallup! And that hair is something else!

OH MY GOD HAHAHAHAHA

Now this is PREMIUM content.

Rich, mutha' effin', Gallup! On the Hot Spot! The reason I know of any of these guys. The reason I still love these guys today. All stems from those early shows where, as far as I'm concerned, people finally took video games seriously, and talked about 'em. Goddamn those were good 'ol days! I remember being so upset when Jeff got fired, and it was gone. Then hearing about Arrow Pointing Down... then the rest was history...

And Giant Bomb keeps it alive.

Seacrest has nothing on Rich!

Rich may be my favorite show host of all time. No hyperbole.

This was great :)

Great to see Rich on the show!! I do have a question if any duders can answer it. When Rich is talking about "Let's Gamespot" at around 14:30, he mentions "it's the show that brought us Old Bridge, New Jersey." Does anyone recall what he's talking about? It seems super familiar to me but I just can't quite remember. Thanks!!

@zoofame: I think they were mostly talking about Ryan Mac Donald, not Ryan Davis.

GAMERadio was the first gaming podcast I remember listening to, starte din March 2003: http://hwhq.com/?page=gArchives/00s

Gamers Daily was another early one

I love rich gallup

Rich's hairstyle is purely to cover up the fact that he got punched by a ghost. Started listening to the Hotspot when I was 12 or 13, and that was more than half my life ago.

Listening to the part about making life more difficult by changing things and maybe they could have taken it easier - all that work is the reason why Gamespot was the place to follow games news in the 2000’s.

Modern business, unless you’re very lucky, if you’re not changing and challenging yourselves, you’re not growing. You don‘t have to do push, but you can‘t complain then if you get passed and left behind. There’s always somebody behind you, like it or not.

Your hair looks amazing, Rich! Thanks for the great show, everyone!

This was aawsome. Als an old duder, really hit the nostalgia spot.

Love the hair Rich! Timeless.

This episode was perfect, the content, the memories, Ghostmaster Rich Gallup!

Thank you, Rich. Thank you, guys. These shows are so great. Really appreciate everything you fellas are doing to get us through 2020.

Incredible line-up. This has consistently been my favorite piece of Lockdown content

P.S. enjoyed Brad doing his best Vinny cosplay this episode

I feel a little out of the loop since I'm a relatively new subscriber and I don't know too much about GameSpot's history but I still liked Rich on the show! And his hair looks really fantastic!

Oh man, please post some of that B-roll.

I'll never be upset when Rich Gallup makes an appearance.

I don't remember listening to the Hotspot or watching shows in 2005/2006 but I do remember swearing to the Gamespot review scores.

So much so that I wouldn't waste my saved up allowance on any game with less than a 9.0 score from Gamespot so I skipped the original Star Wars Battlefront games.

I also wonder how much of Gamespot ad revenue was generated by kids and teens from other countries who used their only disposable income on games.

Great hair Rich! Don't sell yourself short because I think Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning technically counts as a shipped game by 38 Studios

I love how Jeff, Rich and Vinny all did their own intros for the podcast

Best podcast in the site's history? Maybe! No ass-eating samurai but maybe!

Apple just started a daily news podcast. You could be the voice of quick video game news with Apple, @jeff, if they want to expand their effort.

Crazy to think I’ve been listening to these guys for about 14 years (think I started listening to the Hotspot in 2006). This was a great nostalgia injection.

Still trying to work out what else I’d really like from this show. I love the look back stuff, less a fan of the tech dives but I get it. Either way, it’s been great to listen to.