Jeff statement on the future of the site

@joey2683: The likely explanation is that these guys don't want to re-build the bomb again at this stage in their life. Just like Abby felt like the sale of GB to Red Ventures was a natural point in time for her to move on from her first job, Vinny probably doesn't want to spend his time creating a whole new setup at some other company again. Sitting through a pandemic for over a year as your previous job is pretty much gone and you might move on to a new company is exactly the kind of happenstance that makes people think about their life and what they want to do from here on out.

When RV took control of GB, very likely they just felt like it was a natural time to do other things. I cannot address their motivations, but them leaving all at the same time (about 5-6 months after the sale and right at the end of a month) seems to indicate they all probably signed contracts with RV to stay on for X amount of time to get a bonus, then leave. Ben and Abby probably did not want to stay on for a contracted amount of time, for whatever reason, so they left at the earliest window to do so. I know very little about RV (although, as I understand it, they generally have a good reputation for being supportive of their talent), but I imagine had there been some sort of negative issue driving them away, they would have either been fired right after the sale, or would have quit outright. That they stayed on, indicates this was probably decided awhile back and everyone knew they were leaving, they just stayed for that contracted period to give GB some support and leave at a comfortable point and give Jeff time to get some things together (likely getting support from Jeff B and Danny O Dwyer). Vinny denied having a contract on social media, so I could be totally wrong about everything. I mean, I figure they had all been thinking about moving on to different things for awhile and rebuilding the brand after the sale may have just seemed exhausting after this last year and all they've been through.

On the podcast there was a question about Quick Looks and how they prepare for it.

I was thinking it might be time for a slightly different format where they record their first 20/30 minutes with the game and then another 20/30 minutes where they are further in. That way you get their initial impression and a more overall opinion. This was done before with God of War and Death Stranding (I think) and I think this is really interesting. Capturing that first reaction is awesome and then see if that reflects their later opinion on it.

@dussck: Heck, the quick look on 8lage had that. Still, I don't think that's necessarily a good format because it doesn't work with all games and is not exactly informative. Entertaining, sure, but not informative. First reactions of games are usually not telling about the game, at best you get some early action, at worst you're just going through tutorials.

I think the explanation is that they'd probably all been growing tired of that job for some time, and dealing with the pandemic and working remotely was the final year-long straw in burning them out. They'd probably all wanted to leave to varying degrees for some time, but the time was never right. And the pandemic made everyone rethink their station in life and their job and their prospects.

Maybe one of them pulled the trigger by giving notice and they others followed suit. I can see Vinny doing it first, and then Alex saying "I don't really want to carry GBeast all alone w/Bakalar, so I'll be out too," and then Brad saying "Well I've been thinking it's my time for a while now and Vinny's my favorite person ever so this is all probably easier if it all happens at once and I'll try something new too."

Remember, they gave their two-week notice two weeks before that last Friday, and they'd surely all talked about it with Jeff before they gave their notice. It didn't all happen in one day just because they made the announcement on one day.

I think the ownership changing was just another instance of instability that encouraged them all to find something new. I don't think they were booted out by any means.

A thing that I think a lot of people seem to forget is that they left with four days notice to us, the viewers/listeners. It's not like Jeff learned they were leaving during that podcast recording. He said upfront, during that announcement, that they'd been talking about it for at least a month. The nature and method of their departure was probably how they wanted to handle it. (It's probably how I would have done it, if I had been in their shoes.)

I work at a media outlet -- not one that is remotely like Giant Bomb, but still one where people who follow you on Twitter and whatnot keep up with where you're employed. It is quite common in this industry to tell your colleagues you're leaving long before you tell your audience. Heck, some people wait until their last day to say, "Hey, by the way, I'm leaving."

And to be frank, even though I've been a paying member since the hour that memberships launched and I've followed those guys since the GameSpot days, I don't feel like I'm owed any bigger explanation for why they're leaving. I don't think any of us are. Each member likely has different, very personal reasons. All they will say is that it was their choice (so they weren't fired). Vinny has gone farther and said that the Red Ventures acquisition is actually a great thing for the site. That's more than we'd likely get from other people/places.

Vinny in particular has actually confirmed a few different times now that nobody on the GB staff signed contracts like this when the acquisition happened. It's a fair thing to speculate on, but it's been shot down.

Vinny debunk the theory that his leaving had anything to do with RV on the final Beastcast. He said that RV had some really cool things planned for GB and had been very supportive.

I also do not find it odd that 3 senior staff left at the same time. I have seen this happen at companies I have worked for, and for a myriad of reasons.

I don't think he said this. He said RV was giving GB "more attention than they've ever gotten." That could go both ways.

Quick question: Since I don't want to sift through all the speculation on cast members that left, but am not quite cought up on the Bombcast yet: has there been any word on new hires or plans beyond what's happening now?

@sessh No.

I do think Giant Bomb game coverage has been in a weird spot for at least a year or two where they rarely give a final review of a game. It's partly the pandemic, but their in-depth game coverage was falling off even before that.

2017 had 20 reviews, 2018 had 11 reviews, 2019 had 7 reviews (Dan didn't leave until January 2020 so 2019 still had full editorial staff), 2020 had 2 reviews, and 2021 has none so far. It used to be in the old days when they got advance press copies of a game, they would have a review up the day the game launched if it was an important game, and often a Quick Look (live or otherwise) also on launch day, with Jeff or somebody giving their final take on the game since they'd already finished it.

I'm sure doing that wasn't easy and took a lot of hustle to have everything lined up (even more so when they were doing video reviews, when they only got copies of the game days before launch, etc.), but they haven't put up launch day coverage like that since 2019 (and it was pretty sparse in 2019). They don't put up reviews launch day much anymore, because they don't put up reviews anymore, and it has affected Quick Looks because now they're primarily vague first impressions. Most QLs are either sight-unseen launching the game for the first time, or (more often) "hey so I'm like 5-10 hours into this game" and all their opinions on the game are still in something of a first impression stage. Then it's anybody's guess whether that GB staffer will play more of the game and talk about it on a podcast, or finish it months later and talk about it by GotY time, or maybe the game just drifts into obscurity to never be mentioned again by the site in any way.

I know the early years of Giant Bomb where each year they put up like 300+ Quick Looks and dozens of reviews was probably unsustainable startup energy, but part of it also feels like the slow priority drift to premium content that is usually full playthroughs of old games. Premium series are fun, and I enjoy the personalities on the site, but I'd honestly prefer if they could scale premium videos back in favour of more steady informative looks at current games. If I just wanted straight entertainment full playthroughs of games, Twitch exists; chucklefuck cult-of-personality influencers who don't know video game history or don't play a wide variety of games are a dime a dozen on there. But GB has more going for it than that. It had industry veterans who knew their shit, and I wish they'd focus on that a bit more with coverage of current games, instead of devoting so much staff time to premium series where they play an old game for dozens of hours. Or I wish they'd keep premium content to short form stuff like This Is The Run or Going Rogue, which hopefully wouldn't eat up as much staff time. Sometimes it feels like they have so many weekly obligations with podcasts, livestreams, and weekly premium features that they barely cover current games.

But I don't have the traffic numbers. Maybe I'm dead wrong and nobody watches Quick Looks of weird games or reads written reviews, and all the audience just can't get enough of full LPs of games while the staff jokes around.

Speculation aside, with May coming to a close it would be nice to get some information about the future of the site. Right now I'm not seeing a new direction, just the same stuff but with Bakalar now in the mix.

Hopefully new voices/faces/hires are coming.

Jeff mentioned recently that Bakalar is working on this behind the scenes and that they would like to work with some new content creators instead of just doing the same old thing of hiring new staff. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all pans out.

This thread is going in circles now and it's clear no one is bothering to read any of the previous posts.

Just close it.

I did read the previous posts, and it is disconcerting that there are no concrete announcements made yet. I watched the Garage Stream and listened to the latest Bombcast and still have no clue what their new direction actually is.

I understand that they have some real shit going on especially Jeff who is expecting a 2nd child and I want the GB crew to take all the time they need. But I'm also curious because with all the talk that Vinny said that RV is backing GiantBomb, I'm not seeing any tangible results yet.

Could not agree harder. We're entering tinfoil hat territory with some of this stuff. Shut it down, mods.

THE GIANT BOMB WAS THE FRIENDS ME MADE ALONG THE WAY.

(I'm keeping that typo in there)

@yyninja: its going to take a while - like, given what Jeff has alluded to, I strongly suspect nobody will really know what Nu Giant Bomb really is until the end of the year, esp. if new technology is involved. There are websites that reinvent themselves in a few weeks and are ready to go, but they are, by far, the exception as opposed to the rule.

We’ll just have to wait and be patient.

In terms of the timing of the departures - whatever your thoughts, we’ll never know for sure unless somebody clears the air the same way Jeff and John Davidson did when CBSi bought Giant Bomb back in 2012. We’ve been asked many times to not speculate. I think it would be polite to respect that.

Did you understand it? Considering you're here five days later asking for an update, I don't think you did.

It's been perhaps three weeks since Alex, Vinny, and Brad left. It's already been explained that there won't be much content for at least a month. Calm down and let them get on with it.

Or we can just keep repeating the same questions and BS rumors every 10 posts, I guess? That'll be fun.

@bisonhero: On the reviews front, Jeff has, for some time, openly questioned whether or not it makes sense to run reviews at all on a game website these days. He’s been in this industry a long time and knows the trend and sees the numbers so that’s speculation has got to be grounded in something; I don’t think traditional “reviews” are going to feature prominently at all in the new Giantbomb. That’s fine with me because I can get the team’s general impressions every Tuesday on the Bombcast and that’s all I need. I can understand if some people might not like that though.

Jeff said he doesn’t want to just hire new people to fill the roles vacated by the people who left. He’s taking pitches from people about what types of video content they can bring to the site with the goal of mixing things up. It’s going to take time but if everything comes together it will be cool shit. That’s the update.

@crashman06: I think you're right. Jeff has mentioned a few times how much work it is to write a review, and how few clicks those actually get. I haven't personally read a game review in more than 8 years I think. Once people started playing games online, all the reviews instantly became pointless. I can tell by looking at a game being played if it's a game I want to play or not. Words do not paint a particularly accurate picture of gameplay or why something might be fun/addictive/frustrating. You can write three paragraphs about how great/bad a UI is and still I'd get more info by glancing at Twitch for 10 seconds.

For better or worse, game reviews are pretty much done. Especially in text form. Just a gigantic waste of time writing and reading those.

Not sure I miss them at all either tbh. It's like reviews of music in the era of spotify. You can just listen to the songs and make up your own mind instead of reading words about songs.

No concrete direction, barely any premium content, not much more free stuff either. Not a good look.

Hope we get some clarity and content soon, the site is not in good shape.

Maybe this is a hot take but I always viewed Giant Bomb as a comedy site. I never really came here for news and I disagree with 80% of the opinions from staff. I come here to laugh and be entertained. What's important with that in mind is Jeff A) being actually engaged and B) has strong, comedic talent to bounce off. I don't think that's something that can be rushed, unfortunately. It would be a lot easier if it was just like "okay here are 3 solid news writers and 3 solid reviewers. done". But it's more like casting who should be in the next Fast & Furious and knowing this decision can make or break cast chemistry.

@mostlysquares: I really agree with you here. I never thought I’d get to this point but I don’t miss written reviews either. They just don’t make sense for this medium where it is right now, with constant changes, patching, early access, live service games, and long tail DLC. I think someone mentioned it earlier in this thread but I’d be interested in a more formalized kind of video feature that checked in on a game at different times to see how it’s changed or is changing.

I think a good review doesn't have to be a detailed blow-by-blow thing, but is a good summary when a staff member has powered through the whole game, and is able to say some more definite things than they did in the quick look. Granted, we do get this in another form via Bombcast conversations and Game of the Year talks.

For music reviews especially, I think a good reviewer can give some deeper context that a layperson wouldn't get just listening to it in a vacuum. By extension, having dyed-in-the-wool industry vets giving their takes and having that truly deep context is why I keep coming back to this site.

Yep, Quick Looks can only be that. A first impression. Reviews can at least contextualise the whole deal, encompassing a person's opinion on the journey rather than just the outset. It's not usually a blow by blow account, rather a piece detailing the good and the bad. Quick Looks can only show potential.

I don't agree with this. I don't read music reviews often, but when I do, it's not to make a decision as to whether or not I want to spend 5 minutes listening to a song. It's to learn more about the music from someone who probably has a more trained listening ear than I do and who can provide some context that I wouldn't get from the music alone. Criticism has a purpose beyond making purchasing decisions. It's a way to interact with and understand art. I think the same probably goes for game reviews.

Anybody feel like a month is not nearly enough time for them to figure this out?
Especially while still doing E3 coverage?

I get that they don't want the site to be offline for a long time, but I feel like GB maybe needs to shut it down for 6 months to a fullscale relaunch properly. The stuff Jeff has been hinting at sounds pretty dang major

I do think it’s odd 3 longtime members left at the same time. Coincidence or not, we may never know. It’s really not our place to know but the desire to know is expected. I’ve been following the gang since Gerstmann leaving GS. My motivation to attend 8(?) PAX’s (east and west) was to see the GB live panels. There was definitely a point where the panels energy peaked and then started to…not be so special because it just seemed it was becoming a chore for them. Abbey’s panels at PAX West one year gave my great hope for the future generation at GB; even though there were so many comments on the beastcast that she seemed to hint this wasn’t for her. Lately Alex had made similar comments about how long he could continue doing this so I expected him leaving.

No matter what happens I wish all GB alum the best. As gamings importance in my life decreased greatly through 2020; the GB podcasts are still something I looked forward to each week. Give Jeff some patience to navigate these changes.

Thanks to Jeff for years of entertaining and hilarious content.

@slag I'd be very surprised they do any shutting down. From listening to Jeff having his fireside chat in his garage, it sounds more like bringing things online and bolting them in place. As well as some experimentation and what-not, also. But They have people coming to the site right now, they do not want them drifting away.

But yeah, I do imagine there will be the language of a 'Re-Launch' at some point. It actually as it occurs to me, this has been done that way before, in effect.

@bybeach: oh I know they don't plan to and probably won't, but I just wonder if they basically need a second Arrow Pointing Down phase to successfully do what they are trying to do

Or you could stop reading the thread and stop telling people how to react/behave in regards to the site. That would be *more* fun for you, probably.

For those of you who missed previous posts – Jeff briefly talked about future content in the latest Garage Talk 6 (last ten minutes or so).

Sounds like some changes will filter in over the coming months; as these things take time from a business perspective.

It certainly wouldn't hurt if Jeff did a brief write up of goings on, in a mailer or pinned forum post, rather than mention it in stream that not everyone has watched – that might stop some of the negativity here.

Be patient folks <3