Premium Members FAQ

Gut reaction is worry. However, this whole "axe the honest, critical employees over silly content disputes" biz has happened already.

Either: CBSi/GS learned their lesson the last time and the GB crew enters this new stage as the conquering hero and all is well, OR, things go south again, they all leave, and we get another giant bomb.

I'm cautiously optimistic, too, but need we worry about the GB crew losing site of themselves? Didn't this whole experiment start because they refused to in the first place?

Will GiantBomb become the BioWare of CBSi? Nah.

I was kinda bummed at first, but I now realize that this might be a great thing for this website. I really give you guys the best of luck and look forward to see how great this website will become. :)

I'm going into this the same way I went into Mass Effect 3. I sure hope this doesn't suck. And only a few parts of ME3 sucked! Eh, then again I have more faith in the duders than I did in Bioware.

@Fuga said:

so their getting tons of funding but are still keeping the subscription thing? kind of greedy

So funding comes from nowhere? The subscriptions will pay for that funding in the long run, That's business. CBS wouldn't have just given them money for nothing. I'm guessing CBS now owns Giantbomb, so they will receive the subscriptions and that will funnel back down to GB.

Dave will Wiki bans finally be unbanned moving forward? I'm looking you!

Also, make sure the boys hold a handycam once in a while and have Brad eat random Swedish things.

After April 15th, what is the deal with yearly subscribers? Is subscription to Giant Bomb still even a thing after that point, or is everything moving over to the Gamespot Whateverthefuck that I may or may not be interested in getting involved with? Am I only going to get a third of the time that I paid for? Is there any risk of our new corporate overlords selling our information to assholes before or after the switch? Seriously, I'd enjoy having specific answers at some point.

Never thought this would happen but I'm sorry to say I'm done with you people, not. :p I love you dudes so I'll follow where ever, I hope this works out for yall.

So this sounds silly, but like I extended my membership an additional year into the future and such when those discounted memberships were going around, since nothing will effectively change I'll still continue to have my premium membership and will not have an issue resubbing when time hits in a year or two right?

Hey, at least I still get my normal premium stuff and a membership to a new website as well. That works for me.

Seriously, I want to trust you guys, but I need specific answers about the money I paid you guys before I make any decisions.

@Fuga said:

so their getting tons of funding but are still keeping the subscription thing? kind of greedy

@NegativeCero said:

No Tested and Screened might be a deal breaker from me. And I don't want any outside influence to change the "do whatever" attitude that made Whiskey so great. I'm on the fence.

Keep fuckin that chicken guys.

This worries me greatly. All it would take is one controversial review/statement/video by one of the GB staff and CBS Corporate will be on them like flies on shit.

I trust the intentions of everyone who works at Giant Bomb. I have zero trust for Gamespot/CBS.

wizorb for steam is out guys!

@coribald said:

We must unite to keep Gamespot users off our forums.

Adds before all videos?

@MrWiggles said:

@GeedAwesome said:

I'm paid through Oct but had to cancel. I can't take the chance GB will be the same by then...cause I know it probably won't be.

That makes no sense at all. You cant know something that hasn't happened yet, why don't you wait and see.

Cause, Godammit, I know Gamespot is gonna fuck us all! Me being paid through October is as far as wait and see I'm gonna go.

so they're getting tons of funding but are still keeping the subscription thing? kind of greedy

I was kinda worried about this when I first read about it. After actually sitting down and watching the 45 minute announcement video on twitch TV I remembered who you guys are and what you're about. I believe in you guys, I believe in pancakes, and am sticking around for whatever may come in 2012.

i got no problem with this

@Liam89 said:

This question keeps popping up ,so I would really like an answer to it

Will the forums pe separated as in GB forums on GB and not the same forums as is the case of gamefaqs?

Also why isn't someone replying , there's quite a lot of agitation and people canceling their subscriptions because there are no answers to why these things happened in the first place.(why you can't stay independent any more)?

Patrick stated on his Formspring that GB usernames are all protected and going to be the same - this would only be possible if the two websites were clearly separate userbases. So, I think it's safe to say the forums are going to be completely separate too.

Gamespot and Giant Bomb are going to be entirely separate entities. They've stated this on multiple occasions.

No No no no ... NO!

I trust the GB guys but this makes me very worried. I left Gamespot because I thought it became a terrible website with a terrible community and I don't like GB merging with them.

I've been a user of Giantbomb since it started (more or less) back in 2008. More than the craziness, the videos, the bombcast and everything else, the thing that stood out the most was the integrity of the giant bomb crew. Out of every other site in the big wide internet, giant bomb has kept its integrity throughout.

The guys have earned my trust so I will continue to trust them into this new era.

Maybe I missed this - does Drew count as GB editorial staff? what about AHR?

@Fuga said:

so they're getting tons of funding but are still keeping the subscription thing? kind of greedy

Greedy? They still need to make money, and the premium content is still going to exist. And Dave has stated that people who keep their subscriptions are going to get a free code for a Gamespot Total Access subscription, if you want it.

im also extremely worried about the site being owned by CBS. by no means am i saying the gang is going to sell out. im more worried that at some point the corporate stooges will look at something like the 10 min plus shit throwing discussion on the bombcast this week and decide it time to change somethings. regardless of what kind of deal they made, they are still owned by a company and all the red tape that comes with it. i guess really all we can do is "hold on to our butts" and see what happens. I was a GS member back in the day and when Jeff got fired i left ( like a lot of people) to come to Jeff's blog, then Arrow pointing down and finally now Giant Bomb. what im really trying to say is, i'll keep rolling with you guys and if shit goes bad, well guess we'll have to make a new site =) 

@ArgleBargle said:

Maybe I missed this - does Drew count as GB editorial staff? what about AHR?

Drew is coming with them. Ana left Whiskey Media a couple of months ago.

This is like when Blizzard joined Activision and became total garbage. Oh wait what's that? Blizzard is still making fucking awesome games? Oh, nevermind then...

@Fuga said:

so they're getting tons of funding but are still keeping the subscription thing? kind of greedy

I don't mind. If they keep making that sweet GB awesomesauce, I'm all up for it.

There is absolutely nothing confusing about this, people.

I understand a lot of you must be pissed if you joined this site, say, 2 years ago. I've been in this since Jeff got fired from Gamespot and way before then. I trust them in this decision. It is bittersweet for sure.

I'm not really sure what to think of all this...

Wow. Happy these guys got paid... but these things rarely (or never) work out.

ON a side note - Just watched the video, and I've never seen Jeff this happy EVER. I don't even think it's Jeff. It's happy-pancake Jeff.

Good luck GB!

Good luck guys, I support this 100%, you've already given me years of entertainment and filled a lot of "staring into space" time at work.

@Death_Burnout said:

There is absolutely nothing confusing about this, people.

I understand a lot of you must be pissed if you joined this site, say, 2 years ago. I've been in this since Jeff got fired from Gamespot and way before then. I trust them in this decision. It is bittersweet for sure.

Yep. Followed Jeff since Gamespot, then the Points videos, then Arrow Pointing Down with Ryan. I have concerns, but I also respect these guys. I will trust in their judgment.

@Jackel2072 said:

im also extremely worried about the site being owned by CBS. by no means am i saying the gang is going to sell out. im more worried that at some point the corporate stooges will look at something like the 10 min plus shit throwing discussion on the bombcast this week and decide it time to change somethings. regardless of what kind of deal they made, they are still owned by a company and all the red tape that comes with it. i guess really all we can do is "hold on to our butts" and see what happens. I was a GS member back in the day and when Jeff got fired i left ( like a lot of people) to come to Jeff's blog, then Arrow pointing down and finally now Giant Bomb. what im really trying to say is, i'll keep rolling with you guys and if shit goes bad, well guess we'll have to make a new site =)

I think you need to remember companys are run by people too, just because they're part of a bigger group now doesn't mean "The man" is going to come ruin everything. Its like minded people coming together, joining forces to make something more epic.

I'm perfectly satisfied by this. (legit, yo)

CBS assuming control. CBS doesn't need Giantbomb as much as WM wanted to shop around plying that particular brand of gaming journalism, whatever that is. Gamespot is already the biggest online game portal in the world, the assets that GB can get out will be assimilated soon enough.

I really hope there will still be a Video Buddy / iPad app -- I'm a subscriber, and have been using it for all of my video watchin'.

Well, just going to say that I don't go to gamespot anymore for a reason. And I've heard the "wont change anything" about 1000x before and none of the times has it been true.

I'm going to save judgement for now but I'm definitely in the "worried" demographic.

More money means more content... I'm stoked.

Thanks for the info, Dave.
So, after April 15 if I decide to keep my premium membership for all the premium content on giant bomb, will that also apply for tested and screened or will there be a separate premium member fee for those sites?

@Death_Burnout said:

There is absolutely nothing confusing about this, people.

I understand a lot of you must be pissed if you joined this site, say, 2 years ago. I've been in this since Jeff got fired from Gamespot and way before then. I trust them in this decision. It is bittersweet for sure.

I'm confused about the specifics of the yearly account that I already paid for, and how it'll be handled after April. I saw a lot of generalizations in the article, but hardly any specifics. That's what I'm concerned most about right now. I want to trust these guys, but I'd also enjoy knowing how the money I already spent will be handled going forward.

Giantbomb, you guys have indeed earned my trust, and if you all think this is a good thing then by all means go for it!

@Foggen said:

@TheHBK: Alex is coming along.

Fuck.

It seems the guys are psyched for this, so lets see where this new era will take us. In pancakes/chili we trust.

@Jackel2072 said:

im also extremely worried about the site being owned by CBS. by no means am i saying the gang is going to sell out. im more worried that at some point the corporate stooges will look at something like the 10 min plus shit throwing discussion on the bombcast this week and decide it time to change somethings. regardless of what kind of deal they made, they are still owned by a company and all the red tape that comes with it. i guess really all we can do is "hold on to our butts" and see what happens. I was a GS member back in the day and when Jeff got fired i left ( like a lot of people) to come to Jeff's blog, then Arrow pointing down and finally now Giant Bomb. what im really trying to say is, i'll keep rolling with you guys and if shit goes bad, well guess we'll have to make a new site =)

I think you need to remember companys are run by people too, just because they're part of a bigger group now doesn't mean "The man" is going to come ruin everything. Its like minded people coming together, joining forces to make something more epic.

I'm pretty scared right now. GiantBomb is a little corner of the internet that is unique and awesome, and those qualities seem fragile. But if anyone has earned our trust and respect, it's these guys, and we should give them the benefit of the doubt that they know what they're doing.