Nah. The "quality" of content is completely subjective; I'm happy with my value-for money, personally. Giant Bomb Premium (I'm assuming that's what the OP is talking about, since they didn't really specify) goes on sale a couple times a year, so if you absolutely need to save some dosh, be on the lookout for those.
You weren't around when premium first started up were you?
It's a great price for what you get. At some point if someone just isn't interested in the content being put out then no price is going to be satisfying. It totally makes sense to not subscribe in that situation, but the price point is more than fine where it's at (and has stayed for the past decade).
I would be okay with these threads if I ever thought they were meant to be constructive or in good faith, but they obviously never are. If you don't like the cost of premium, don't subscribe or unsubscribe. If you have genuine constructive criticism to offer the staff, contact them directly. These little "rallying cry" threads always just seem so juvenile.
Eh, it's all subjective. Some users love the premium output one month, others don't.
Some wait for the premium sales, others look at their subscription as a way to directly support GB.
I don't keep a bunch of subscriptions going at once. Instead, I pick and choose the services I feel are worth my money and time. Sometimes I just sit on Netflix for months or I might just grab it for just one.
If you don't feel it provides the proper bang for your buck then you can always come back another month.
I spend a lot of time watching a lot of premium archived videos, which there are a ton of. I watch new content as well. The price we pay for premium is a great deal in my opinion, and I think once things get back to “normal” we will see some favorites return like Game tapes and Demo derby.
It's actually fairly inexpensive when they have the sales. Recently the content had been a tad on the thin side, but they're working with what they have/can do right now.
When they're able to get back to studios, and when they can bolster their ranks...🤷🏻♂️.
I'm happy with the cost of things. I don't need merch coupons.
I would happily pay the full premium price for just the ad free versions of the podcasts. Everything else that comes with it is just a nice bonus for me.
Considering I only keep it for the salad days content (2008-2016).... prolly.
The one Kingdom Hearts stream and the, what feels like obligatory, bumming around Friday stream ain't really blowing my skirt up.
Not to mention they more or less lied about new premium content a little less than a year ago after the pandemic started: "We're figuring this out...there will be new stuff coming."
I would happily pay more, (maybe make it optional) I get much more content and entertainment from GB than I do from any of the Patreons I support which are more expensive per month.
Considering how the GB folks have been being fucked around with for the past year or so (between Covid and changing owners through no fault of their own, losing Abby and Ben) it sounds super whiny and privileged to be like "the price should come down." Like maybe keep them going through hard times considering how they have worked their asses off for years and years to be who they are? They aren't machines. If they are having a bad year or whatever, I am willing to support them as much as I can. I mean, the vast archive of amazing content is worth the entry alone, holy crap. Oh, and they "lied" about content coming? Please.... Sometimes the GB community has some real hot garbage in it.
@sethmode said:I would be okay with these threads if I ever thought they were meant to be constructive or in good faith, but they obviously never are. If you don't like the cost of premium, don't subscribe or unsubscribe. If you have genuine constructive criticism to offer the staff, contact them directly. These little "rallying cry" threads always just seem so juvenile.
Don't contact the staff directly with stuff like this. This forum is for discussion. Not all threads have to be "who's your favorite fantasy video game pet of all time?". I guarantee you staff members read this. If it's not appropriate, it will get removed.
Edit: I forgot to address the actual topic. Do I think the price of premium should be lowered? No. I'm pretty sure they would lose money if they did that. Do I think the quality of content could be better? Of course, but a drop in price won't help that. Subs are cheap enough as it is.
The site has more quality content each week than ever before. It needs to raise the price. We should have a way to donate or stuff to keep the site up through these harder times. That said I'm in no place too, but others who can should support. Hopefully, more money coming in means more guests or something cool. XD. GB is perfect as is.
@besetment: I don't actually think they should contact the staff, because I don't ACTUALLY think it's genuinely constructive when people do stuff like this. I DO think that if someone has something constructive to offer, contacting Rorie about it is more productive than taking it to the forums though.
This thread is clearly what threads like this are always meant to be: a bad faith way of trying to slam the staff when they could just quietly say nothing. The site is $4 a month even if you pay full price. It's just under $3 if you subscribe during sales, which the site graciously lets you stack. There is no universe where that is "too much money" for a video subscription service in 2021. For reference, I searched on Google and the average amount patrons pay on Patreon per pledge is $6.70.
Do you think that would somehow encourage them to produce ”better” content more often or what’s the master plan behind this? Also, it’s already $4.95. What would be more appropriate, $1?
I understand if your not enjoying the content on premium but the back catalog alone is great to have. I usually subscribe for a yearly subscription during the sales and have being doing so for a couple of years now. Even if I don’t watch everything for one reason or another I know that the value to content ratio is really good so will continue to subscribe.
If your not enjoying the content then don’t subscribe but if you enjoy giant bomb now or it’s back catalogue and want to support them In some way I think a yearly sale subscription is an amazing deal.
Also yeah don’t message the staff directly with ‘issues’ you have with the content or the site, that’s basically the same as trolling someone on Twitter or Instagram. Put a thread on the site and you never know they may see it or get wind of it from another member of staff.
This thread is the most baseless of speculation because we have no idea what their internal numbers show, how their membership retention/new member acquisition is going vs past years and projections based on the current market in general etc...
We also don't know what their long term strategies/goals are. Dropping prices is often a bad response to a business downturn because people get used to the new price and get more upset when you raise it again than they would have been if you'd just kept it at the old price. A better response, if they even needed one which we have no idea if they do (for all we know business is booming thanks to the pandemic and the value of their archive) might be to have a deeper sale than usual, because if people know price drops are temporary they are less likely to rebel when they rise again.
But it's impossible to make an informed comment on business strategy when all you know is your personal perception of the quality of recent content.
Unless this is some kind of "moral" comment on the "right" price in which case...that doesn't really make sense. They are a business selling an inessential service and the only obligation they have is to be upfront about their pricing and what they're selling, which they have been.
Maybe, i do feel like i'm getting less now, but my primary motivation for having premium from the start was to support these guys and at sale price it's fine.
I've only supported them a couple of times during sales. Considering that I originally wasn't for them using a subscription model in the first place, I think their asking price is too high, especially when compared to other sites that do a lot more for free. I do believe most people whom claim they are getting subscriptions mainly to support the cast and don't care about the content. Lucky them.
It's fine. The content has been underwhelming this past year, but for good reason. I continue to subscribe to support them with the hopes things will improve in the future and there will be new hires. Also there is an enormous amount of old content to enjoy.
The price is fine, but yeah, I will not renew as the content is lackluster right now. It was probably better during peak corona, they had some shows going on back then at least, now it's nothing.
Not for everyone it's not. Please dont assume about peoples financial situations.
People can obviously spend their money however they want, but the point I think here is more that this is an insane request by someone that isn't being honest, he's just trying to not-so- subtly sling mud. $35 a year is literally $0.10 a day. I never assume anyone's finances, but chances are if you can't afford $0.10 a day you're probably not even bothering to log on to the Giant Bomb forums, let alone actually interested in the subscription being cheaper than that.
Not for everyone it's not. Please dont assume about peoples financial situations.
People can obviously spend their money however they want, but the point I think here is more that this is an insane request by someone that isn't being honest, he's just trying to not-so- subtly sling mud. $35 a year is literally $0.10 a day. I never assume anyone's finances, but chances are if you can't afford $0.10 a day you're probably not even bothering to log on to the Giant Bomb forums, let alone actually interested in the subscription being cheaper than that.
This isn't how anybody pays for anything. It's an up front cost. It's not ten cents a day for a year, it's $35 right now. And that is not something everybody can just spare. If the promise of what you paid for six months ago has changed, but you've already bought in, that can be pretty fucking frustrating to folks who only have so much money to spend on entertainment.
But, I mean, $35 is not nothing. At this point, if I’m going to feed my video game hobby, that money would be better used getting a game or two on sale. It’s not about being able to afford the $35 dollar sub, but rather if it’s worth it or not. It’s not, for me lately, but I’d pay for a lower tier, maybe with just the archive.
@hatking: I really am not interested in a debate about what is literally a hypothetical thing because a guy told someone to go away because that person was just here in bad faith. Sheesh people.
And also, this site is incredibly understanding and I almost guarantee if you requested a refund they would provide you with one.
The fact is, it IS a small amount compared to most everything else within this field out there, and it certainly doesn't need to be cheaper. I really don't understand why we're even debating this, when the point of the yearly cost wasn't even shaming someone's spending.
@nickm: What was your reasoning? And what was their reason for denial? Also, if it would end this pointless conversation, I'll Venmo you the difference.
i mean- this seems painfully straight forward? they're free to set a price- and you can opt out if the value isn't there for you.
this thread seems less about the number ($35), and more the content. *gets up on high horse, which itself is standing on a soapbox* in which case i encourage all consumers to vote with their wallets, and spend less time wringing hands about authorial prerogative. if the value isn't there for you- don't try to fix what isn't yours, just move on. plenty of fish, etc.
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