I don't like the "Premium content available"

They changed the front page of GB to list old premium content where they used to list upcoming content. GB folks, please stop doing that. Why? 1. Old content is already easy to find on site. 2. It is confusing. 3. It seems like an ad to get more premium users by drawing attention. The cool thing about this site was that they didn't seem to care much if you were premium or not. 4. I got used to having that thing in the top bar go blue only when something live is happening.

Of course they care if you're premium or not. They didn't add a subscription service for shits and giggles.

The only thing I don't like about it is that I'm very used to checking that spot to see whether there are streams starting, and the ad's tricked me more than a few times. I am a bit thick, though.

I hate the "Premium content is available" button in the top corner, it seems completely unnecessary.

Oh yeah... I actually thought they just hadn't updated it or something during PAX, but you're right, the upcoming widget has been replaced.

Bring it back or we riot!

The "Upcoming" is still there, but as always it only appear when they add stuff to it. Nothing has been added, so you are not seeing it.

I can see how for a non-subscriber it might be a bit frustrating, but they have to get their hooks in somehow. They only openly ask for people to subscribe a couple of times a year. Having that reminder of premium content is something they probably need. At the end of the day, the better their business does the better stuff they can produce.

@splodge: Ah, that makes sense. Never noticed it before.

What @splodge said - it just seemed to be there as a placeholder whilst they sort out post-PAX. We shall see, I guess.

It is jarring but I am sure we will get used to it. Complaining that they are pushing their one regular source of income is why sites are struggling. Ad revenue dependent models are suffering. I would rather they highlight paid content over "like us on facebook, please click our banner ads #doritos" crap.

I have no issues with the improvements. Also, @splodge summed it up well.

Having a quick list of the most recent premium stuff to click on is a lot more convenient than it was before.

I really don't get why they have to have the "Premium Content available" and "Latest Premium Content" when they already have dedicated "Become Premium" banners right next to them. It just seems like overkill to me. Stick with one or the other, but first seeing "here's some content you have to be premium to access" and then be reminded "hey, how about becoming Premium?" straight away comes off as rubbing it in. I would be fine with having the content reminders or just the simple Premium banners, but all four.....

It only annoys me because every time I see the words Metal Gear Scanlon I get my hopes up that a new installment is out already.

That's because it is exactly that. Premium users are mostly what keeps Giant Bomb afloat.

I don't know, if they are pushing for more Premium members to join, maybe they want them. And, maybe, if you like much of the free content here you might want to subscribe to ensure its healthy production. Jus' sayin'.

This is a gaming site, if you cannot afford $50 a year then why are you into this hobby at all? Even if you said, "I steal all my games, I steal all the electricity, I steal the internet data connection, and I even stole this console/computer..." I would still have to suspect you have some money, given all those other savings. So, cough up for GB to ensure its long term viability. We don't all have to pay, but if you can, why not support something you like (or at least mildly tolerate)?

There should at least be an option to turn it off for premium members

@monkeyking1969: If you would look at my icon, you would see that I already am Premium, for a long time. People are smart enough to figure out if they want to be premium or not, they don't need to be pushed.

And that thing in the top bar being blue without some live content going on is really distracting me! I keep having to read it. :(

This does make sense.

If you are interested in having a sensible discussion and offering constructive feedback, I would recommend going over here:

http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/bug-reporting-33/distinguish-latest-premium-content-box-from-coming-1493655/#15

If you are just going to whinge, please continue to do so in this thread.

These forums are becoming more and more like GiantMoan.com!

According to you...I think GB is saying, people are not figuring it out, and they do need to be prompted.

Jeff literally came to my house with a gun, I was both excited and terrified.

@monkeyking1969: I know it's a very small amount of people, but there are those who are interested in games despite not being able to afford any, or those who are in a I'm-young-and-my-parents-won't-let-me-buy-games situation, where other people (friends, other family) buy them games. I figure those are the people who aren't Premium. I'm in a similar situation myself.

Yes, please! Because to a premium member, all of the content is the same. You no longer need to differentiate the premium from the non.

@bollard: I looked for a forum that was more appropriate than "general" before I started the thread. I don't consider this to be a bug. But, ok.

@memu: The bug reporting forums are also suitable for suggestions, at least from what I've read before.

I too find the blue link at the top of the screen confusing, I had thought the current one was a glitch what with it saying "Metal Gear Scanlon part 4 is Live!" when that video was released last week, and why would they advertise old content like that?

If it was used to display when New premium content is released then i'm okay with it. But week old stuff?

@memu: It's because this is a very difficult time for anyone in the industry to work out what they should do. Partly because I love giantbomb, I'm trying to promote this new video by getting #GerstmannGate to trend on twitter.

I do want the Upcoming Content thing to reappear. Not to be a dick, but it made the site seem a bit professional to know that there is a plan and it's not just all throwing wrenches at video equipment to do a stream on a whim.

The beauty of internet video is that I can watch it on demand whenever, however many times I want, pausing, skipping, whatever. The beauty of television is that I know when Monday Night Raw is going to be on every single week.

With that said, you can get all this wonderful Premium content for the low low price of 9.99 a month like fifty bucks a year.

I just figured it was because of the holiday and the trip to PAX last weekend. Once they get back to a regular schedule and figure how the rest of the week will shape up, it will go back to Upcoming, right?

Taking up a small amount of space to promote premium content sometimes doesn't bother me.

I agree with the OP. I thought it was a bug and didn't know it was planned until I came in here. Also, it's pretty shitty that premium members see it too. I consider it an ad, and one of the perks of premium membership is no ads.

Also don't find this useful.

Well put!

I like the idea of quick access to recent videos that aren't trailers and such. Don't see any use for the banner in the top right showing one premium video.

I don't understand how you guys are assuming the upcoming feature is gone. I'm more than 100% sure that it's not appearing because they don't have anything scheduled right now that is happening. The upcoming section will appear when something is scheduled, the available content will appear when there's not.

I'll say that I've only found it jarring because I keep thinking there is a live stream happening or the list is bugging out and showing old content etc.. As someone else said, every time I see it I keep thinking there is new and then realize its all stuff I've already seen.

My suggestion would be to have it so stuff I've already watched is not shown on the list. They already have a system in so that when you've already watched an item then it removes it off the main set of slides at the top and moves it down to the list below it.

Also don't use the top left area because that is just the "Live Streaming" button for me.

I agree. It feels completely pointless, having the exact same label of "premium content available" just sitting there, I know it's available, I already watched it. Especially after it was used with a specific purpose to instantly draw my eye to an upcoming or ongoing stream. Now it's steadily going to become part of the background in my mind and i will stop paying attention to that space, probably missing any actual notifications when those come up.

If they want to create a new section to show off the latest premium content, then go for it! But using the upcoming and live sections to do this is very confusing. I used to be able to know what was going on at a glance, but now I have to look very closely; Probably because I need glasses, but still!

Is this being shown to non-premium members? I can understand that, but don't show it to existing members.

Premium Content coming up is more useful to me than showing stuff that already exists.

I rarely use this website, certainly not enough to get a premium subscription. But I feel it much more unobtrusive than a lot of other sites that use premium subscription models. I did laugh the first time I saw the "hey if you were a member, you could be watching this thingie!" but then I remembered that they have to make money somehow. More power to them.

I like the idea of them showing premium content available. However, it needs to be clearly separated from the upcoming stuff. Which seems to be the case based on how they have listed the upcoming UPF. I will say I don't care for the button in the top left. I really liked the live stream thing that was used before, though I imagine it will still be used for that purpose moving forward.

I'm not a huge fan of the current look, since it can be confusing, but it was one of those "let's get this done and out before PAX and then revisit it to clean it up later" jobs. Hopefully the design team will be able to clean it up and make it clearer soon.

I don't like the available content tab in the header. There's some use for latest content but it's far too similar to coming up.

GB is now the favored child of cbsi who is expecting consistently good grades.

I do like the side widget for premium content.

A) Helps me make sure I didn't miss anything. Alt-F1s get buried quick sometimes.

B) Helps us and the crew, I'm sure, to make sure they're putting out frequent premium content. (This was one of the main points that came up around the last survey time.)

Is it me or has nothing really gone up over the last couple of days? Usually a lot more.....have I missed something?

I like it, it's easier to see premium content at a quick glance, rather than hunting for it.

I'm getting used to the "available content" on the right side of the page, but that "available content" notification where the usual "live stream" announcement resides is -terrible-. I think it's one of the more backwards design decisions they've made in a long time, and I hope they remove it soon.

It dilutes the impact of informing people of a live show when something is almost always there. It keeps making me think there is a live show, and they are basically encouraging me to feel more disappointed with how rare live shows are.

At the very least, they could have it be an option to turn on and off, but I really can't imagine it benefiting premium members, let alone most users.

I have zero problems with the new changes. They got to get get paid, son!

They were mostly all at pax from thursday to yesterday

What's there now is pretty much exactly what I thought was gonna happen, and it's completely fine.