I don't like paying for the ability to hear the whole podcast. I just don't.
I knew it was too good to be true. I knew they couldn't do as Dave suggested and just add content for the subscribers. I knew they'd take something away.
And yes, I am of the opinion that waiting a week for the rest of the bombcast is having something taken away.
I know people hate it when you bitch about free things, but I would bet most people who are going to subscribe now are going to do it for the podcast.
I wasn't sure yet if I was going to subscribe, but now I feel like I'm being forced to. No sir, I don't like it.
I don't know what kind of situation they're in financially, I recognize the costs they described to make the Bombcast, but as a would-be subscriber, I feel it's important to make it available, full and complete, to all without artificial delay. I wish they could make that happen. Even if it's a separate pool of money, a Bombcast fund. They could make it better instead of maintaining it's current (still quality) state and cutting it up.
" From the other thread: @LlamaNL If we get 5,000 subscribers by 10amPST on 9/10, the Bombcast goes free for everyone. Forever. Deal? http://twitter.com/whiskeymedia "
" Just gonna say that I will give them $10 a year just so I can have my damn podcast all at once. I don't care about ANY other "features" with this new subscription service. Create a second tier for people who just want the damn podcast, ten bucks a year, and I bet you that most will shut up. People want to give Whiskey Media money, but hey, some of us are counting pennies. 50 bucks? Yeah, I can't really spare that. 10 bucks? DONE. "
Exactly. I lost my old job, and my new one doesn't pay nearly as well. 50 bucks for GB means I am playing 1 less game this holiday season. 10 bucks... that I can handle.
" From the other thread: @LlamaNL If we get 5,000 subscribers by 10amPST on 9/10, the Bombcast goes free for everyone. Forever. Deal? http://twitter.com/whiskeymedia "
Making sure people see this. "
Keep bumping this to hell. "
stop complaining and follow them on twitter. "
I think subscribers might mean WM subscriptions, not Twitter followers.
" From the other thread: @LlamaNL If we get 5,000 subscribers by 10amPST on 9/10, the Bombcast goes free for everyone. Forever. Deal? http://twitter.com/whiskeymedia "
5000 subscribers. We can do this! I will be giving up a game this year in order to help the community. I urge anyone who can to do it for those who can't. Think of it not just as a subscription to some cool features, but a way to support a great site and great community as well! Bombcast listeners unite!
" From the other thread: @LlamaNL If we get 5,000 subscribers by 10amPST on 9/10, the Bombcast goes free for everyone. Forever. Deal? http://twitter.com/whiskeymedia "
@hellohellomike Paid members are paid members, monthly or annual. I hope you're right. So monthly subscriptions count as well. Now I believe we can do it people. "
Seriously? I will drop 5 bones right now to stop this fucking madness.
I can understand a little of the hate for having a sub. model, but for as much quality entertainment these guys put out, I don't have an issue with throwing some cash their way to keep it coming. And I hope the bombcast goes free for everyone, even if I have to pay for it. Everyone deserves a bombcast.
@Matt: Unfortunately It simply sounds like they had no other choice.
To elaborate. If we accept the following two things: 1) The amount of man hours that the crew puts into the bombcast and bandwith are too costly to continue the bombcast in its current form. 2) They have tried their best to get advertisers to advertise on the podcast, but for various reasons have been unable to secure them.
Then there are only so many ways that they can keep the bombcast going. However, I believe in this thread 4 in particular have been pointed out: 1) The split method. They obviously went with this choice. The pro of this choice is that the podcast is still 2 hours worth of content, and its still free to everyone. The con is that people who don't subscribe get half of it late, and it may mess with the format. 2) The reduce method. They could reduce the podcast to a length that is more similar to the other whiskey media site podcasts. The upside of this is that its less of a drain on whiskey, and its free and available to everyone at the same time. The downside is that it severely cuts into the content of the podcast. 3) The elimination method. They could just entirely get rid of the podcast, and spend the time on other parts of the site. Pros is more content in the rest of the site. Cons is no podcast. 4) Full payment method. They could only make it available to subscribers. Pros is that its no longer a drain on money. Cons is that its only available to subscribers.
There are other things they could have done, but I think these are the most generic descriptions of different methods. And to be honest #1 sounds the best to me, its the one that tries to strike the biggest compromise of keeping the podcast free, but also keeping all of its content. Unfortunately it will cause a little contention in the community, but of these choices it still seems like the best.
Also I feel like the schism that will be created is being greatly overestimated. The opinions expressed in this thread (on both sides) are more than likely in the minority, since only the people who already have strong opinions about something tend to stick on forums and argue about those things. Overall I have a feeling that the silent majority that is probably not reading this post or caring about the effects of the paid subscription will not be nearly as outraged. And the #1 option seems like a good way to try to persuade some of that silent majority to subscribe.
You now what, I jsut listened to the podcast they did explaining this. Im not really mad anymore. Im a little annoyed, but I guess this was a inevitability. I dont know when I can do this, but I would like to one day if only to support these guys. The podcast thing seems kinda WTF, but I guess if the free version gives you all the news stuff and stuff you would want to know, I guess I dont have a problem with it.
However, i would still like more overage of stuff to come out of this. Also, I really hope you guys can strike a deal with SONY one day to offer Trophy support here. It would be great if I could display my Acheivments and my Trophies here.
" From the other thread: @LlamaNL If we get 5,000 subscribers by 10amPST on 9/10, the Bombcast goes free for everyone. Forever. Deal? http://twitter.com/whiskeymedia "
Making sure people see this. "
Keep bumping this to hell. "
stop complaining and follow them on twitter. "
I think subscribers might mean WM subscriptions, not Twitter followers. "
That's a touch too expensive for international visitors if you ask me. Considering many of us will not get the benefit of the T-shirt, HD video (crappy internet connections) or a reduction in advertising it's not a very attractive proposition.
I hope they consider offering a cheaper annual subscription without those features but still offering the full podcast day and date. I'd be willing to pay something along the lines of US$30 annually to get the podcast and to support GB if they cut out the rest of the features full subscribers get.
Splitting the Bombcast is bullshit, plain and simple. I just unsubscribed it from iTunes and may not go back this time (I stopped listening in late '08 until early '09, when I bought a PS3). Even Sony isn't dumb enough to take away things that users are used to getting for free, and DO NOT justify it as "I'm still getting it," it's a week late, so no, I'm not. I always listen to the Bombcast the night it comes out and usually listen to nothing else until it's done, something I can't say for any other podcast. Maybe a wait of two or three days would suffice, but even then it would be out of date, so how the hell is a week gonna work? Not to mention that very often, the second half of the show is the better half, and I'd rather not listen than listen late. You've dropped the ball badly here, GB. You've lost me, and I don't know if I'm coming back.
So about the podcast, is there a special members itunes link to it? Because i dont want to come to the podcast page every wednesday to get the mp3 when itunes downloads all my podcasts nice and tidy like.
" Well, I've unsubscribed on itunes. This crap has killed my desire to listen to these guys talk for 2 hours. It's funny to see how willing they are to burn all of the goodwill built up for them, given that it's that same goodwill that allowed Jeff's career to continue/this site to gain it's popularity after the Gamespot debacle. This whole "oh, we need to do this to survive!" stuff is garbage. Here's a thought: if you're that hard up for cash, don't move into a massive downtown office space with a bar built into it. Mind-boggling stupidity and greed. "
exactly, all that talk about the bar makes me think they made a poor decsion.
@Matt: As my first premise says, from what it sounds like (from the informational podcast they put up) unless they can somehow attach the bombcast to some sort of monetary gain then they can't seem to justify the amount of man hours spent doing it the way they do it now.
" @Laketown: It costs money when you got the 500,000 downloads a week. Just wait a week delay or pony up your support. Lots of podcasts charge and the Bombcast is one of the highest quality. Also, admitting to pirating media from the site while on the site isn't the best idea. "
So how will delaying the second half of the podcast help bandwidth-wise? And what podcasts charge?
I'm out. $20-$30 a year and they might have bought my contribution just out of generosity but the cost is way too high for the amount of content being produced. Right now there are a only a handful of videos and reviews each week as it is and those features seem to be getting less and less.
$3 a month gets me six Encore movie channels on cable, $20 a month gets me a yearly sub to a magazine. Gamespot's Total Access is only $40 a year and I had no problem paying that back in the day for the amount of live coverage they provided at E3 in addition to the weekly podcast and On the Spot.
And splitting the Bombcast is just a backwards idea. Either make it a pay service completely or don't. Bombcast is the biggest draw for new users to the site. People don't come here first for written editorial content because GB's output is significantly smaller than most other sites, but they do come here when word of mouth gets them listening to the Bombcast.
Weekly podcasts need to be free. That's what made them popular to begin with. The number of people who charge for a podcast is tiny because the majority understand what a powerful piece of free advertising it is and that the expectation is that they are free - ad-supported in some cases but always free to download.
For the record, Ryan's twitter makes the claim that Whiskey pays less rent on the Frisco office than they did in Sausalito. It also says other very worrying things about how what they're doing about "trying their damnedest to stay in business".
@LtSquigs: That makes no sense. I don't see how this benefits them more than just not changing the bombcast and still getting the subscription money. I also don't like the way they suggest that the bombcast is a huge drain on the resources rather than their biggest asset.
Been here so long and really want to get the premium account, but for the same price as XBL? No thanks, first time they have let me down and I would have paid for $20, but they aren't taking anything away from me.
Dude, this is a website about VIDEO GAMES. Video gaming is a relatively pricey hobby. You can't tell me that damn near every user on this site doesn't waste AT LEAST $50 on shit that they wish they hadn't bought every year (did you really need that third Hori fighting stick?). So fucking tired of the mentality that so many idiots on the internet have of "Well, if a business is making money, then they're screwing everyone over!" This is an effort by Whiskey Media to NOT screw people over by freeing themselves from having to resort to too many ads and sponsorships. Jesus, these are the same people that have been running the show for years now, and that you say that you're a fan of. It's not like some new CEO kicked down the door and said "Time to fuck the fans over!"
I admit that the Podcast thing seems a little iffy. But, throwing a goddamn hissy fit won't make it go away. If you don't like it, reasonably state why, then evaluate if it's worth you cutting off your ties to the site over. Act like adults.
Sounds like the Bombcast will be the only Whiskey Media podcast that will be split, or so says Rorie, not that I listen to any others besides Bombcast, I just don't have the time, 17 credits and all.
I have yet to decide whether or not to pay, I am in college with no form of steady income, so I am bleeding money, not to mention my internet back home sucks so although HD videos sound great they would take an hour plus to load a 15 minute video. I don't know I will wait and see and also hope the Bombcast situation is worked out, because right now it sounds really shady. I mean sure I would only have to wait another week for the full bombcast but I'd still feel cheated that I wouldn't be able to listen to it when I would have previously.
I totally understand what they are doing with the Bombcast, but I just get a bad feeling in my stomach knowing about this change that right now seems really drastic.
I want to support this site since it's such a big part of my entertainment. $50 is a bit higher than I was expecting but what I know diddly about business. Just so long as they take regular credit cards. I'm not interested in that PayPal stuff.
Its really not enough stuff to make the site worth paying for. The Bombcast thing seems like an attempt to annoy people into paying.
TBH I'd have no problem paying if this site had more base content.
Also I have a hard time believing that they have a hard time staying a float. This site gets a TON of traffic. I think that the other whiskey sites might not be doing so well, so they are trying to get money from the GB user base to help support the weaker sites.
Guess I'll just wait an extra week to listen to the whole podcast, which is the only thing I really utilize on GB to any extent.
I'm not going to pony up just to hear Jeff talk about how he went out and bought 7 versions of DJ Hero II day and date it's recorded. Sorry, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and this is the first time I've been asked to pay for one.
Alright. Everything seems like great and sensible ideas. Hopefully it takes off and there are even more awesome features and such further down the line.
The only thing I think some people may want is a cheaper yearly fee for supporting only one site. Say like 20 to 25 bucks if someone only wants to have a subscription to Giant Bomb or one of the other sites. They'd have all the benefits but not across all the WM sites.
I've always been for giving these guys some money for all the entertainment they provide and I finally get a chance to do just that. I've worked on a 2 hr plus podcast. They are a bitch to produce and I fully understand why they have to split it. The insane mentality of "internet content should be free" that exists online anymore drives me a bit nutty.
" Also I have a hard time believing that they have a hard time staying a float. This site gets a TON of traffic. I think that the other whiskey sites might not be doing so well, so they are trying to get money from the GB user base to help support the weaker sites. "
Page views don't really mean anything if you cannot sell those numbers to advertisers for a package deal or get clickthroughs on existing ads. That's why all commercial sites hire ad sales teams to gather the data and present it to advertising partners. Which is the one thing GB don't want to do.
Right now the Bombcast is number 200 on the top 200 iTunes podcasts. If this plan goes ahead and iTunes starts getting fractured episodes every other week I can see it dropping out of that position. Which would be a damn shame considering how lame some of the other content higher up is.
"Dude, this is a website about VIDEO GAMES. Video gaming is a relatively pricey hobby. You can't tell me that damn near every user on this site doesn't waste AT LEAST $50 on shit that they wish they hadn't bought every year (did you really need that third Hori fighting stick?). So fucking tired of the mentality that so many idiots on the internet have of "Well, if a business is making money, then they're screwing everyone over!" This is an effort by Whiskey Media to NOT screw people over by freeing themselves from having to resort to too many ads and sponsorships. Jesus, these are the same people that have been running the show for years now, and that you say that you're a fan of. It's not like some new CEO kicked down the door and said "Time to fuck the fans over!" I admit that the Podcast thing seems a little iffy. But, throwing a goddamn hissy fit won't make it go away. If you don't like it, reasonably state why, then evaluate if it's worth you cutting off your ties to the site over. Act like adults. "
They shouldn't have split the podcast because it feels like a money grab. There. Done. No hissy fit. If they've been unable to make money, they shouldn't be buying the Renegade edition of DJ Hero 1 AFTER buying the regular one at full price.
EDIT: Krakn3Dfx beat me to the DJ Hero reference. Glad that someone else remembers. I always wondered how they made money here, but hearing stuff like that made me think "they're OK." They can't come crying to us for money NOW.
I completely support the idea of a paid membership.
However,
I just wish they didn't hold half the Bombcast for ransom. And it IS ransom, "I took something from you, I will give it back to you, for money." That is ransom.
That's a really shitty move no matter how you look at it. I'll pay for the $5 monthly membership, if only to help make the Bombcast free after they reach their 5,000 subscription limit. I just wish they didn't have to resort to that for me to give them money. I still fully support the Whiskey Media, and I want to help them out but this decision is just shitty. I understand why they did this - it makes sense why they did this - it's still shitty.
@Impossibilium: So get some advertisers. Every site does it, people are use to adds. People are not really use to having to pay for a subscription to a website....well unless you are really into porn or something.
The shorter Bombcast is kind of what they're doing, per their info-podcast. The news and stuff goes into that first hour, then the goof off shit and probably emails go into that second podcast...which you still get a week later if you don't want to pay.
My guess is Whiskey said, "okay, all our other sites just do an hour a week. You need to be like that too," and they decided they'd rather keep the goofing off and quirky WiiWare stuff and give it to the dedicated followers who pay for it (and by extension, them being able to keep doing that second hour a week).
Merchandise costs money to make and they aren't in that business. Ads people just block anyway and, again per the info-podcast, do you really want them funneling money into new ways to feed you advertisements? Donations = what this basically is, you just get perks for doing so. I can't imagine they haven't tried to get ads for the Bombcast...only they're a niche site and I actually haven't heard a gaming podcast with ads in it. I imagine they have issues with advertising games on the podcast. Video podcast might be a good idea...if there was any freaking reason for that to be a video podcast that didn't also equal a ton more money being pumped into it that would negate the money subscriptions pushed towards them.
$50 is a bit much for a subscription to a website and I wish there was a Giant Bomb-only option, but I'll probably pay it. I use them a lot, really like the site, community, and features, and do want to support them.
" From the other thread: @LlamaNL If we get 5,000 subscribers by 10amPST on 9/10, the Bombcast goes free for everyone. Forever. Deal? http://twitter.com/whiskeymedia "
" I completely support the idea of a paid membership.
However,
I just wish they didn't hold half the Bombcast for ransom. And it IS ransom, "I took something from you, I will give it back to you, for money." That is ransom. That's a really shitty move no matter how you look at it. I'll pay for the $5 monthly membership, if only to help make the Bombcast free after they reach their 5,000 subscription limit. I just wish they didn't have to resort to that for me to give them money. I still fully support the Whiskey Media, and I want to help them out but this decision is just shitty. I understand why they did this - it makes sense why they did this - it's still shitty. "
Very much agree Whiskey Media is still the best thing on the internet, but ransom fucking sucks.
" Its really not enough stuff to make the site worth paying for. The Bombcast thing seems like an attempt to annoy people into paying. TBH I'd have no problem paying if this site had more base content. Also I have a hard time believing that they have a hard time staying a float. This site gets a TON of traffic. I think that the other whiskey sites might not be doing so well, so they are trying to get money from the GB user base to help support the weaker sites. "
I think that the bigger the website gets, the more resources/money are required to keep it afloat. It's not that Giant Bomb isn't making money because of a lack of popularity, they just haven't tried making any money until now.
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