Exciting News From Your Friends At Giant Bomb

I know this news may sound worrisome to many, both don't you all think the GB crew, for all the awesome content they've provided over the years, at the very least deserve to be given a chance to show that there's nothing to be worried about?

Anyway, I'm excited to see what will happen.

@RenMcKormack said:

@Splodge: Well

CBS Makes money from selling ads. So they go to their sponsors and say Sponsor A want to0 buy some spots on our video game websites to hit the male 17-28 demo. And Sponsor A says sure. CBS says well you can put your ads on GS or GB. Or pay us more to go on BOTH? and sponsor is like? whats the difference? well GS is bigger. So... I think the point of this was to get good talent from GB and just meld them into GS to improve GS. I am personally happy that the guys do what they like to do and get paid for it like grownups. But the idea that GB will stay the same makes no sense. Why would an advertiser pay for ads over two Similar websites (i don't think Sprint cares about the diff between GS and GB right?) instead of getting the bang for his buck on one.

ALL CONJECTURE

As long as GB stays the same I'm not fusses.

I didn't ask for this!

Cautiously optimistic. Congrats guys!

Edit: guys, video is here: http://www.justin.tv/giantbomb/b/311753835?

How about a little explanation of what's happening in the editorial since some of us can't view videos from work?  Just a paragraph or two would be nice and I'm sure it wouldn't take up too much time. 

EVERYBODY CHILL OUT! FAQ is up.

The last big merger (website related) I was privy to was when I had a MP3 player in the beginnings of MP3s called Music Match which I bought a lifetimes subscription to (at the time it required yearly payments for the software to keep that company afloat- forget who did that). After a couple years music match was bought out by Yahoo who completely changed the player and did not give me my key to keep using it. I complained and they obliged because I had all the documentation to prove I was paying for the software forever (the hoops, though, I had to jump through were stupid crazy). The software Yahoo made it into was crap, and started DRMing music I ALREADY OWNED 
Then Yahoo gave up on the software and sold it to Realplayer. I hate Realplayer. They also did not give me a key to the software in the merger/buyout. I didn't like it anymore though so I didn't bother saying anything that time. The program I paid for to use forever was now unusable, and no longer the same thing I paid for.
 
Giantbomb... please do not let this be like the metaphor for where this ends up going. I hate to be skeptical to you guys, but this worries me a lot and I paid to help you guys out because this was the most honest, legit, video game site on the web. Corporations only care about money- I think you guys know that. I want this to succeed, but I know how things like this usually turn out. If Giantbomb becomes some amorphous shade of its former self in the next couple years and is no longer fun to hang around in- I will be kinda bummed. 
 
That being said, if you guys have this under control I will stick by you guys. You guys are good and I know you have the best intentions for the site but also need to make money. 
Corporate mergers/buyouts and whatnot are just scary because business men do not care about what makes something good. They just know its good and want to exploit that. I just hope this all turns out for the best.

hehehe...giant bomb is awesome. glad to see this insane project paying off.

Bioware

Well we all know that money talks. You're probably going to see a more commercialized video game site now. we will probably see more coverage now but you take the good with the bad.

Excited for you guys. Been here since Day 1 of Arrow Pointing Down.

Personal experience tells me that the changes start coming fast and furious as the business realities of a merger set in, even if things are all kosher at first. Getting acquired and losing your identity is not a fun time.

But I sincerely hope this works out best for all parties, and the result is more dumb/awesome stuff from the best gaming site on the internet. Go get it.

Good luck guys! I'll remain a paid subscriber forever if that roku app stays up! I love having you guys in my living room.

Ryan : "I need to reiterate it. Giantbomb is still going to be Giantbomb. If anything else, we will need to be MORE Giantbomb"

This sentiment is repeated over and over in the video. Do you think they are lying? Or are they just so fucking dumb that they don't know how the business world operates.

Somehow, I think the GB crew know WAY MORE about what's going to happen than a horde of children on the internet, throwing their toys out of the pram.

@Milkman said:

@TooWalrus said:

OK, I'm trying my best to hold off judgement until we see the live stream- but as I browse through the Gamespot forums and see all the people bugging out about moderators, and how every fucking post has some lame ass signature or photo attached... I desperately don't want Giantbomb to go in that directing. BUT! I have faith in our top men, I can't FUCKING wait to see what's going down.

The forums are not merging. Giant Bomb is still its own site.

Yeah, I just found & watched the live stream, which clarified a lot of things- I'm totally stoked for this- and really bummed that I've got class during the first GS stream. Can't wait.

My brain just hit the self-destruct button.

@Jeff Will this mean more scrub leagues?

@mrpandaman said:

Think of Giantbomb like the first Mass Effect, they became gaming's first spectre and made hard choices to beat Saren, the geth, and Sovereign and to provide us with awesome content. A thousand quick looks and thousands of hours of unique video content, what other game website can lay claim to that?

Now we are at the beginning of Mass Effect 2, Giantbomb's ship Whiskey Media has just blown up and all it's crew members Screened, Tested, Anime Vice, and ComicVine are all almost going in different directions. Giantbomb is now working for CBS Interactive aka Cerberus, but only to stop crappy non-personal game journalism from running rampant. At the end of this part we don't know what will happen to Giantbomb. As fans of Giantbomb and all the other Whiskey Media sites we can either be like Garrus and stay loyal and follow them until the end or continue to be skeptical of Giantbomb's relationship like Ashley or Kaidan.They now have the Normandy SR-2 that CBS interactive has given them and let's enjoy the next step of their adventure with them.

And many people are reacting how Ashley reacted to Shepard on Horizon and that's understandable. But for me, I trust that Giantbomb wouldn't do this if it meant that they would have to go back on all the values that they established.

Anyways, they seem excited about doing this and yeah, if they need fan support they have not disappointed me at any time. I'll continue to support the things that they do.

This analogy fits disturbingly well. Only hole would be the duders working for GS beforehand.

Not to be pessimistic, but I am quite worried. This sounds an awful lot like when 1up joined IGN.

This is business. These guys were probably not making money on this site. Not many ads to be seen. The plan was probably this just like lots of companies and sites that get started. Make something great then sell to be able to get back something on the investment.

This is why I laugh at the premium members now, sorry, don't want to be an asshole but I had a feeling that premium memberships were not enough to sustain a site and there was gonna be a drastic move.

My only worry and guess it will happen is that Tested is not gonna be part of the team anymore :(

:-(

god, On the Spot is dreadful now, isn't it?

anyways, I'd like to know how giantbomb's management will be, after the move? I assume that that's going to change. Will Ethan be coming with?

@whatthegeek said:

@FengShuiGod: Actually, Jeff talking about being fired from GS is in the best interest of Gamespot - think about it for a second; if John Davison (whom I totally respect) sits down w/ Jeff and gets him to tell the tale of how the old regime wronged him, it'll be real easy to condemn those actions and hype the new and improved, Davison-run GS. This is a PR move - nothing more, and nothing less.

We don't even know what those actions were. But I'm sure Gamespot would have been fine without the "PR move." No, you can bet reworking some legalese to bypass whatever nondisclosure thing that prevented Jeff from talking about the issue was instigated and insisted on by Jeff. Even if it is beneficial to GS you needn't worry that your tinfoil hat is on right.

I don't presume to know enough about Giant Bomb's business or the wheelings and dealings of Silicon Valley to have an informed opinion on this.

WHAT?!

@Toug said:

Even if this DOES spell the end of GB as we know it, which I doubt, I'll happily ride it right into the fucking ground.

You can easily tell who came to GB without prior knowledge.

Here's an interesting point. When Brad, Jeff, Ryan, Vinny, Rich, Rorie, Carrie, Justin, Alex etc. were at Gamespot, Gamespot was a great site. The live events were the best on the gaming Web and their blogs, profiles and the Live Union were just as anarchic as they are here. Jeff did Points, Ryan did weird videos selling battleaxes, Alex did drum solos On the Spot ...

Location is largely irrelevant. If they carry on carrying on it won't be much different.

Cake or Pie?

Keep doin hour thing bombers

@kingando420 said:

Not to be pessimistic, but I am quite worried. This sounds an awful lot like when 1up joined IGN.

That's exactly what I was thinking, and I haven't been to 1UP since.

To be honest, I dont want the site bigger and crazier. But support for the guys, I guess.

@FengShuiGod said:

@kiwi_whisker said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@dr_mantas said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@RenMcKormack said:

@theuselessgod said:

I feel like I got my $35 in premium memberships. Even though now the money doesn't support them anymore. I made a decision and I'll stand by it; I'm an adult and sometimes bad things happen. It's unfortunate, but up until two seconds ago I was fine with it, so whatever.

I am worried about the future, though. As stated previously, does CBS really need TWO gaming sites? They are optimistic now, but eventually I could see these two merging until it's just Gamespot with some GiantBomb added in (kind of like IGN and Gamespy). Then GiantBomb becomes redundent (like 1up.com and Gamespy) and we are back to just having Gamespot, which I consider to be one of the worst gaming sites on the internet.

I agree with this 100% it makes no sense for CBS at this juncture.

If Gamespot makes money, and GiantBomb makes money, it is worth it for CBS to have two gaming websites. The fixed costs exist in terms of rent, infrastructure, ect., and with both brands under one roof it really isn't a problem. CBS can have 1,000 gaming websites if they all make money.

But the reason they got bought is because they DON'T make money, and CBS will make sure they do.

How that will be achieved is what scares me...

Ok, so my point still stands. If, under CBS, Giantbomb can make money, then they (CBS) will have two profitable websites. Why would they merge those? Besides, this has been something that Jeff has had a long time to think about. I'm sure this possibility has crossed his mind and I'm sure he has acted to ensure it won't happen.

Yes but then some accountants come in under the mantra "CBS needs to make MORE money to make our investors happy" and then they look at the books.

"Hmm, why do we have two gaming sites, it could be super efficient if we created just ONE AWESOME site. Which one has more <insert web metric here>? Gamespot? Okay, lets consolidate around that brand!"

This is America, its not just about making money - its about making MORE money than you did last year.

And yet these claims, while possible, exist on the assumption that you possess facts you do not, and this projection flies in the face of everything we know about Jeff and co. as well as their positive attitude about the whole thing and what they have said so far.

It literally has nothing to do with Jeff and co. it has everything to do with running a business like CBS to maximize profit and minimize overheads. therefore, no redundancies. Like literally look at Joystiq/1up I mean there's your "facts" right there.

Reunited and it feels so good. Well, at least, I hope it feels good, especially for Mr. Gerstmann and Mr. Navarro (who are formerly of GameSpot). We'll finally be hearing about the story behind Jeff's termination!

@qawsed said:

I don't presume to know enough about Giant Bomb's business or the wheelings and dealings of Silicon Valley to have an informed opinion on this.

THANK YOU. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THANK YOU.

This is so sad. This morning I would hsve happily payed much more for my subscription. Now I dont know if I want to even read the site anymore. The GB guys have never disappointed before but this doesn't sound good.

I'm not saying I don't have faith in their ability to keep the site running as it is, but to the users, this seems incredibly sudden, especially to those who have subscribed and pay money in order to keep the site running in an independent manner.

I just work somewhere that's gone through a corporate merger, and sure, it seemed fine for a year or two, but changes all rolled out slowly and gradually until I realized I''m not even working for remotely the same company anymore.

My own experiences color my opinion, but I really hope that this is for the best.

@Revilo said:

no

no

no god no

call me a skeptic but there is no way i can see as an improvement

More funding might equal more content... I'm hoping for tons of crazy footage from the next Tokyo Game Show!

Well, I finally finished the video and I am pretty excited about this move. I would of course have preferred if nothing changed but if this is what GiantBomb need to do to keep going, I am with them as usual. Comic Vine also, which I love. I'm sad Tested and Screened didn't get picked up but I'll still visit those sites as long as their staff stays the same.

In retrospect, Jeff getting fired in 2007 was the best thing that ever happened to Jeff and us fans because the direct result was Giant Bomb. If this partnership makes Giant Bomb even stronger, who cares if they're getting in bed with CBS (Gamespot). In fact, it's pretty sweet that Jeff stayed classy through the controversy, started fresh with Giant Bomb, turned it into a huge gaming hit of a site along with the awesome crew, and now they are returning to their roots bigger and badder than ever. It's pretty friggin' cool to see it come full circle like this.

Here's the thing: I trust you guys. I trust that you wouldn't go into a deal like this without some guarantees. I trust that you will continue to be what we liked in the first place. I trust there will be separation between the two entities.

Here's my problem: I think every website that gets acquired by a bigger conglomerate said that at one point - including the many times throughout internet history where it ultimately ended badly. And I bet everything is fine and great, right up until it isn't any more. Right up until CBS has a change of management, or a change of direction. Right up until Gamespot has a change of management. You might trust the current regime to be completely cool with everything Giant Bomb is, but who is to say guys like John Davison will be around in 2, 5, 10 years?

So in the short term, I'm fine with this news. I think all of the anti-Gamespot stuff here is kind of silly, because the old regime there is pretty much gone. You're basically just hating a domain name, at this point. I'm more bummed that this means we are probably going to have several more days with little to no new content, than I am about the news itself.

I just have longer term concerns. Your new bosses ultimately own Giant Bomb. and they can have a professional change of heart at any time, for any reason. And if that happens - then what? You all quit, and ask us to come with you to start over again?

I trust that you've thought this through, and that it was ultimately necessary to keep doing what you do. I never really understood how Whiskey Media's business plan worked with limited ad presence, and only several thousand people giving you $50 a year - clearly that wasn't sustainable long term, as I kind of suspected.

Just... don't let the man bring you down, okay? Promise me that, and I will go down this new rabbit hole with you. As long as you guys can keep doing what you've been doing, most of these other people losing their minds will eventually calm down.

Congratulations, guys! As someone who discovered you by having Arrow Pointing Down linked to me, I'm excited to see Giant Bomb continue to grow and I look forward to seeing what you guys will be able to pull off now!

I'm skeptical about all of this business with Gamespot but if the guys at Giant Bomb believe in this then I will trust their judgement. They know better than anyone what's at stake.

@RenMcKormack said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@kiwi_whisker said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@dr_mantas said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@RenMcKormack said:

@theuselessgod said:

I feel like I got my $35 in premium memberships. Even though now the money doesn't support them anymore. I made a decision and I'll stand by it; I'm an adult and sometimes bad things happen. It's unfortunate, but up until two seconds ago I was fine with it, so whatever.

I am worried about the future, though. As stated previously, does CBS really need TWO gaming sites? They are optimistic now, but eventually I could see these two merging until it's just Gamespot with some GiantBomb added in (kind of like IGN and Gamespy). Then GiantBomb becomes redundent (like 1up.com and Gamespy) and we are back to just having Gamespot, which I consider to be one of the worst gaming sites on the internet.

I agree with this 100% it makes no sense for CBS at this juncture.

If Gamespot makes money, and GiantBomb makes money, it is worth it for CBS to have two gaming websites. The fixed costs exist in terms of rent, infrastructure, ect., and with both brands under one roof it really isn't a problem. CBS can have 1,000 gaming websites if they all make money.

But the reason they got bought is because they DON'T make money, and CBS will make sure they do.

How that will be achieved is what scares me...

Ok, so my point still stands. If, under CBS, Giantbomb can make money, then they (CBS) will have two profitable websites. Why would they merge those? Besides, this has been something that Jeff has had a long time to think about. I'm sure this possibility has crossed his mind and I'm sure he has acted to ensure it won't happen.

Yes but then some accountants come in under the mantra "CBS needs to make MORE money to make our investors happy" and then they look at the books.

"Hmm, why do we have two gaming sites, it could be super efficient if we created just ONE AWESOME site. Which one has more <insert web metric here>? Gamespot? Okay, lets consolidate around that brand!"

This is America, its not just about making money - its about making MORE money than you did last year.

And yet these claims, while possible, exist on the assumption that you possess facts you do not, and this projection flies in the face of everything we know about Jeff and co. as well as their positive attitude about the whole thing and what they have said so far.

It literally has nothing to do with Jeff and co. it has everything to do with running a business like CBS to maximize profit and minimize overheads. therefore, no redundancies. Like literally look at Joystiq/1up I mean there's your "facts" right there.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conjecture

You would think from the way they talk about it in the video that they are EXTREMELY happy and excited about it. What has you worried?

Huh...wha...uh? This is what I get for sleeping until 2 p.m.

WAIT GUYS IT'S NOT APRIL 1st.

You released this content too early!

Still HILARIOUS though, good one!

@Harkat said:

@mrpandaman said:

Think of Giantbomb like the first Mass Effect, they became gaming's first spectre and made hard choices to beat Saren, the geth, and Sovereign and to provide us with awesome content. A thousand quick looks and thousands of hours of unique video content, what other game website can lay claim to that?

Now we are at the beginning of Mass Effect 2, Giantbomb's ship Whiskey Media has just blown up and all it's crew members Screened, Tested, Anime Vice, and ComicVine are all almost going in different directions. Giantbomb is now working for CBS Interactive aka Cerberus, but only to stop crappy non-personal game journalism from running rampant. At the end of this part we don't know what will happen to Giantbomb. As fans of Giantbomb and all the other Whiskey Media sites we can either be like Garrus and stay loyal and follow them until the end or continue to be skeptical of Giantbomb's relationship like Ashley or Kaidan.They now have the Normandy SR-2 that CBS interactive has given them and let's enjoy the next step of their adventure with them.

And many people are reacting how Ashley reacted to Shepard on Horizon and that's understandable. But for me, I trust that Giantbomb wouldn't do this if it meant that they would have to go back on all the values that they established.

Anyways, they seem excited about doing this and yeah, if they need fan support they have not disappointed me at any time. I'll continue to support the things that they do.

This analogy fits disturbingly well. Only hole would be the duders working for GS beforehand.

Except I didn't buy ME3 and by all accounts the whole thing ended awfully.

ill follow the giantbomb crew where ever they go. They area loyal to their craft and thats all i need. Congratz guys and good luck!

@FengShuiGod: dude its conjecture based upon generally acceptable assumptions about the way businesses work. I don't want to blow your mind here.

pffff i hate those gamespot douches......tom mcshea most retarded of them maybe

@dr_mantas said:

I'll calm down when Vinny says "cunt" live on air or something...

QFT

As long as GB stays its own sight and they're only handling the business side (which I severely doubt), then I'm cool with this... but fuck, I'm worried.

EDIT: Wait, GameSpot is run by John Davidson? of 1UP fame? I have a little more hope...