What do you hope to see next from GB, Vinny, Brad, and Alex?

@big_jon: Did you know that Brad and Will (Smith) made a tech pod?

I don't think this is the last we will hear of Vinny, Brad, Alex, and Jeff on a podcast together. There's too much history and friendship among those 4 for that to stop permanently. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the occasional podcast with the 4 of them.

Also, based on Vinny's Twitter comment from yesterday he sounds excited to eventually start something new with the "then get back to working hard on something new" line. I'm excited to hear what that next new thing is!

I'm happy for Vinny to finally get the time to spend with his family. You could hear during the last bombcast how incredibly mentally taxing building the website and doing this job has been for him and his family, and the sacrifices they had to make.

Selfishly, I'd love for them to do something like streaming or a podcast occasionally. But in a "if you love em' let em' go" kind of way, I wish them all the happiness in the world if they just want to simplify things and distance themselves from the public eye. They've produced thousands of hours of amazing, unforgettable content and have nothing left to prove. All great things come to an end someday, that's something you learn as you get older.

I'd love for Jeff to put together a podcast like Kara Swisher's Sway or Marc Maron's WTF, interview-based but neither pandering to its guest nor beholden to the typical PR-driven lines of questioning so many interviews wind up mired in. NoClip has proven that the industry is opening up to the idea of being more available to the media and past E3s have proven Jeff is capable of keeping an interview both fun yet plenty in-depth on whatever subjects he's looking to talk about.

Hmm...I honestly don't know what I want for the future of GB! Has a dynamic like this particular core group ever existed in the games media space? I may be ignorant but the sheer length of time they've all been friends...even with a new group of co-workers I would be surprised to see anything like what GB was, again. There has been great talent that has come and gone but the Bombcast was never as good as having Jeff, Vinny, and Ryan all at the same table.

@bisonhero: I agree. I think the GB crew and community relationship had gotten weird over time but I think he sitll likes to host and edit, and should. I hope the outpour of response helps those guys realize their work was appreciated.

Personally, I hope they do whatever they want, even if it means never being on camera again, god knows they've earned it.

The site should end though. My ideal case would be, shut it down with dignity, and make the back-catalogue available for free on youtube. Its an incredible decade+ of material that they should all be extremely proud of

idk, but i think brad stays in journalism and editorial, alex goes to something creative or VG industry, vinny does streaming/shows or maybe editing/documentary like with danny and past-drew.

I really have no idea what they will get into. I feel like I wouldnt be surprised to see Vinny get into something where he can go back to editing videos and doing different kinds of production. GB was once much more experiemental and had recorded stuff and streams, but eventually became more streaming like everything else. Vinny used to do great edited videos though.

Brad seems like a media guy through and through. Alex could go any which way. Anyways, I really do wish the guys well. Even feeling like the site was on its way out for an extended bit here in reality, its sad to see it really come to this.

@sombre: Exactly.

Alex, Brad and Vinny should obviously do whatever makes them happy. But like so many others, I also selfishly wish that I get to hear from them at least somewhat regularly, either in GB context or outside of it.

As for GB? I just hope we’ll get to see some new and interesting people. I feel like dreaming about anything more detailed than that is still distant because of how the world is.

I mean, what I want to manifest is a gb successor where every alum recoalesces around it, but barring that, and the normal wish of "I hope all these guys land on their feet and, whether their new gigs will be public facing or not, end up happy and fulfilled with what they're doing (as well as raking in cash)"....I would love to see them pop up on gb from time to time, perhaps rejoin if things dont work out? But I know decisions like this can often be final, and even if it was still an option (or even something they would find agreeable) its hard to go back.

Sad but I think they'll be trapped in a shape and shot into space like what happens to Zod and co in superman 2 (spoiler alert).

Honestly?

The selfish part of me wants everything to stay the same, but the reality is that these guys gave me 10+ years of enjoyment, so I hope they find something that they enjoy and brings a new and exciting future.

It's easy to assume, that because we see what they do as purely fun and carefree, that it's actually a job for these guys.

@sombre: Yes or the exact opposite ugh </3

GB = I have no idea, but I’m curious to see what is Jeff’s plan going forward as on garage talk he says it’s going in weird directions

All those guys = wherever they go, I hope they at least go the Dan route and occasionally stream on twitch every now and then

@kblosnack: Exactly what saddens me the most about this. I cant imagine not being able to hear him every week even tho he desperately deserves to lay low and spend time with his fam.

My personal favourite GB content is when a group of them get together on a couch and just hang out, chat, and play games. UPF is obviously the best incarnation of this, but so is other things like Mario Party Party. I hope GB can do more hang out stuff moving forward.

I hope Vinny Alex and Brad come back for visits once in a while, and I will be following their (publically visible) careers with great interest.

My hope is that the fact that they're leaving at the same time is a sign that they're planning on doing something together, but I also don't expect that right now.

It's frustrating to imagine that unchained from Giant Bomb I'm sure those 3 guys and Jeff could easily start a Patreon funded new venture that would require less content and be very lucrative and freeing. I really think there's enough people like me that would happily pay $5 or $10 a month on Patreon (hell, I've been subscribed forever here and rarely even utilise the benefits) to support these guys doing a weekly podcast and even as little as 1 or 2 group videos a week.

If you just look at what something like Noclip would be bringing in on Patreon and then imagine that amount as a bare minimum split 4 ways and then add on ad revenue, etc; that's a good amount of money. And I imagine they could maintain significantly more than that if the content was good as I'm sure it would be. RedLetterMedia is a good example of a successful Patreon/Youtube venture that isn't too dissimilar from what I imagine these guys could do.

But these thoughts are likely just wishful thinking and denial. While Jeff continues, I will continue with Giant Bomb content and I can only hope the 3 leaving surprise me with some new gaming content soon. Otherwise I'll be this much closer to not listening to gaming podcasts and watching non-tech focused gaming videos, because I know there's no one else out there making content that can fill this void.

I also still think Giant Bomb can be better than it's been in years. If Jeff can put together some compelling new ideas and bring in some new people that can keep the spirit alive while changing things up in the right ways I can easily see myself watching far more GB content than I have for a long time.

I'm not too sure about Brad, as he kept most of his personal life secret unlike the other members. So I got nothing for him. I guess, I hope he gets better at video games :) With Alex, I hope he finally joins that one band that makes it big. It can still happen. And I hope Vinny gets his big studio behind the scenes job that pays 6 figures. But overall, whatever they do, I hope it relieves the stress they were clearly under over the past couple of years, especially with Vinny, and they are finally able to be happy.

If Alex, Vinny, and Brad (and any other former GB duders) ever decided to do their own podcast, on Maximum Fun or through Patreon, I'd fund the shit out of that!

I mean... the entire McElroy family makes absolute BANK with their podcasts.

Whatever else changes, at it's essence, GB is a group of people spending their time together playing video games (and adjacent activities), sometimes in increasingly entertaining ways.

The idea of it just being a hub for creators who don't know each other, have never met and have no intentions of interacting with each other in person on the regular, is going against what this place is recognised for at its core. It has to be people in a space interacting. Surely that has to remain intact?

It'll be interesting to see if it's recognisable as Giant Bomb in any way once things have settled down again.

As for the departing trio - They need to spend time with their families first and foremost. Beyond that I'll adapt to whatever they choose to do. They are people wiith infinite interests.

My overly optimistic fantasy would be Jeff and the rest of them all leave GB and get back together under an independent group running a YouTube/twitch channel. But I understand the realities of needing to pay bills now and not having time to grow a new start up.

Now I only hope I get to follow all of them on whatever they enjoy doing via YouTube/Twitch, Abby's streams have been pretty fun I think.

You know, it's not the most interesting or thought provoking thing but I just want GB, Jeff, Vinny, Alex and Brad to just be really fucking happy.

I hope they do what makes them, and their families happy. if that happens to be the occasional stream or podcast, or some other form of content, then awesome! If that means finally enjoying some long-needed privacy, then cool too. It hurts a hell of a lot right now, but good for them on making choices that will make their lives better.

Count me in the "I hope they do what makes them happy" camp. That's what I want the most. If that means dropping off the face of the Earth and never appearing in some sort of public thing again, that's great! Appearing publicly when you really, really don't want to sounds like a hell I wouldn't wish on anyone.

...but if I'm being selfish...

Some kind of collaborative Youtube channel where they just do whatever they want, whenever they want would be nice. I don't mean like a regular upload schedule or make it a career or anything, I just mean like the most casual you can make an active Youtube channel. Like, for instance, one day Brad and Vinny want to coop some new survival crafting games like Satisfactory or something, or Alex tries his hand at another RPG series, or... something. Really just a place where we can sometimes catch all three playing some games here and there.

Even if they do want to do something like this in the future, they're probably going to just chill for a little while. Take a break. Enjoy life.

I hope Vinny gets to take his wife somewhere nice when it's safe to do so. I never realized it when I was a 15 year old listening at the time in 2009, but Vinny really got married in NY and literally a few days later was back to work in SF. That is crazy! Plus when his kids were born I don't remember him taking any extended time off. Crunch is real problem.

This.

Brad & Will have a great podcast and he seems in love with the content. I hope Alex gets back into music or does the occasional stream... something he really enjoys, even if not game-related. Would be great to see him in person with his band at some bar in the future.

Selfishly, Vinny leaving is the biggest and hardest pill to swallow for me... Hurts my heart in a way I was not prepared for. That being said, I hope he pursues something he's passionate about, especially off-camera. Maybe at most - a podcast, about anything. But overall just passionate about something new (without an audience) and a happy family.

I can't even predict where Vinny, Alex, or Brad will wind up. With that much talent the possibilities are limitless... but whatever it is, I'm here for it(if its public facing of course) . However, I will wildly speculate that Giantbomb completly restructures to be like a curated version of Twitch where they seek out and lock down specific existing streamers who's voice and content aligns to stream under the Giant Bomb moniker exclusively.

I've gotta say I really hate the fairly common idea here of Giant Bomb becoming some curated Twitch, that seems like the most not-reading-the-internet-room idea I've ever heard and would definitely kill the site.

I'm just hoping for some new faces whose views aren't entirely tangential to what Giant Bomb is and has been, but can bring some new energy and outlooks. Also it's probably time to do away with the current quantity of videos being produced and start making better content that focuses more on the personalities again and the very significant strengths of Jeff and whoever else is here for the future of the site.

Would love to see them all chill out for a while and get some rest. They've earned it.

I'm down for whatever. I think it be cool to see the familiar faces on here from time to time as well. In a Mr. Mcfeely type of way. Just to say "Hey, what's up?"

It's tough to think that I may never hear their voices again. While GB may be a dumb site about video games, there is no question about (ironically) the professionalism and commitment of all of these people. I imagine they could all get very good positions in almost any media company, be it games or otherwise. Of course ultimately I want what's best for these people, but it's hard to imagine Vinny and Alex especially wearing a suit and a tie in some office, making Excel sheets and Powerpoints, and frequently saying "yes sir, I'll get right on it" to their superiors. But I don't see them doing Patreon or Twitch either, these guys deserve to get paid and I don't see that route being too profitable for them, even if they would get to do something that they want.

As for GB, it's hard to say. Depends if they want to give it an honest attempt, or if they're content to let it fade. I would say the site needs like 5 new hires at least who get to fully design their own content and not be chained to any of the old ways.

I really want Vinny to do something Transformers related. Other than that, I’d like to seeAlexdo something music related, and for Brad, as long as I can hear his soothing voice, I’m in. Luckily that’s already happening with the tech podcast.

Again, whatever makes them happy in what they do. I zoned out of GB west once Vinny had gone, and more recently GB east video content too - maybe I'm getting old. The one thing that I was still hugely a fan of was simply listening to @vinny and @alex shooting the breeze on the Beastcast.

Could be about literally anything i.e. not gaming. I do hope they do something together in the future (maybe a side podcast once a month) aside from whatever they do professionally next. I'd happily spend money on a Patreon or something for a 2hour podcast even just once a month.

Finally, been here since the beginning, so thank you Vinny and Alex for your hard work, dedication, and entertainment. Whatever you do in the future from the bottom of my heart I wish you all the best.

I hope to see them come guest on a show in a year, and they're all living fantastic lives that are making them happy.