What happened to Quick Looks (and maybe some other spontaneous formats)?

Not having a go, just a bit worried as I extended my membership expecting the newly announced shows to be on top of what GiantBomb usually produces (i.e. Quick Look, Unfinished, etc.). It seems like it's well... just the new shows, Borne to Run and Grubbsnax, + UPF. The last Quick Look was June 23rd and for the whole of June there were 5... Zero so far in July. Also barely something spontaneous. An impromptu stream seems like ages ago. They didn't even talk over the latest State of Play?

I know we need to cut them some slack (and I think we did with the whole May transition period), but now it's kinda... weird. Both Jeff's appear in one video per week, being UPF and that's it. And in 0 pre recorded ones.

I'm sure they have a plan (they always do), but after the excitement of Danny & Grubb their show being hosted by GiantBomb, it's kinda slim pickings...

For what it's worth there's a QL for F1: 2021 scheduled for today. But I hear you.

I'm just kind of sitting back and waiting to see how things develop, like you said, they always have a plan. Heck the fact that GB got to the point it is now from how it started is AWESOME. But yeah, I really only have watched Borne to Run, I just don't need more video game news, google is good about serving me up game stories I need/want to hear.

Borne to Run was also sort of a weird choice, just because how many times have those games been shown on this site alone? I enjoy Danny and Tam though, and I appreciate the approach they've taken with the show. If it was JUST another Souls playthrough, not sure I'd stick with it.

They're still pretty short-staffed. Jeff G is editorial, but he's also a manager of sorts and I imagine he and Bakalar are still in a lot of meetings about the website. Other than Jeff, there aren't really other "editors" at the moment to put in the time towards Quick Looks. In whichever Bombcast where they announced the new premium series, I believe Jeff G did mention they were eventually going to hire minimum 1 editor (arguably to replace some of the gap left by Dan/Ben/Brad/Alex) and I think also 1 video person (to replace the gap left by Vinny/Abby), but I think Jeff said that may be quite a few months away still.

Sadly, Quick Looks (or the free videos, if you will) seem to take the biggest hit when they're understaffed, since from a business perspective they probably need to keep putting up premium videos regularly so that subscribers don't rapidly unsubscribe en masse. They're kinda still doing stealth Quick Looks, as a segment in UPF, so if you don't always watch those, considering watching UPF more. Sometimes somebody will just randomly play a new game in there for 20-40 minutes instead of/in advance of releasing a separate Quick Look video of that game.

Also it's June/July where the video game release season is a little slower, and also Jason has been away from the site for a week or two as he moves cross-country, so they're even more short-staffed the past 1-2 weeks. The staff has lives outside of work, they take vacation days sometimes, it's the summer, etc.

Personally, I hope Jan continues that fun little DJ stream he did a couple times. Not sure if that was just kinda filler while they figured out content plans, but I liked that Jan was carrying on the torch of the Breakfast N' Ben morning stream. RIP Mahjong Mornings, you were a real one.

I know things have become very complicated but at the same time I feel like we’ve been in “Oh they’re just settling back in” for like a year and a half.

100%. I'm hoping things transition well over the next few months, but my giantbomb consumption has taken a nosedive over the past year and a half. That was only exacerbated by the Beastcoast slowly dissolving. I reupped for another year's subscription this month, but that was more because I've loved this site for over a decade and I want to support them and want access to old content. I haven't actually watched any new premium content since Vinny and Alex left.

The drought is probably 99% related to the current staffing situation.

That said, I feel like they've slowly committed to "Only Big publishers/consoles + occasional token 'Free on Gamepass' mention" coverage over recent years which kind of precludes quick looks that are interesting or novel... or even necessary at all it seems.

The breadth of games covered on UPF/Bombcast has improved a lot over the last month or so, but much of that is from Danny, who is only a part-time employee. So it's difficult for that to lead to more quick looks.

I've been feeling this way as well for the last week or two. I thought the whole point of bringing on 'contractors' was to free up the 'core' staff to produce more content again.

• May had two Quick Looks, which I think most of us are willing to forgive given that they said May would be a 'transition month.'
• June had five, of which three were solo Jeff streams. I love you Jeff, but 'solo streams that are indistinguishable from Twitch' are not why I come to Giant Bomb.
• July's first Quick Look was posted today, halfway through the month (solo as well, but nevertheless, thanks Danny!).

The only other 'non-scheduled' content we've had since E3:

• One Garage Talk (if you want to count it; I think those streams are alright, but some people aren't into that series I'm sure since he's not actually playing games)
• One archive of a segment of a week-long GameSpot charity stream event that some GB people were on
• One Playdate where Jeff checked out some of the games from the Steam Summer sale (again, just a solo Jeff stream).

I decided to resub during the sale in good faith after the announcements about the site's future plans, so I guess they've got me for another year at least, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly disappointed with the last six weeks' worth of output. The 'there aren't any games coming out!' excuse will never hold water for me; many of the most memorable QLs from the site's past were of random/smaller/garbage games that were not 'important' in the grand scheme of anything but they decided to record a QL of anyway. Even if you want to say they're too busy/understaffed to worry about anything smaller anymore, there weren't QLs for Ratchet & Clank or Mario Golf, two of the flagship releases from this section of Sony's and Nintendo's calendars.

@ajamafalous: I had to double check just to be sure but I knew I saw a Ratchet and Clank video. Here it is:

https://www.giantbomb.com/videos/jeff-jeff-get-ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart/2300-16789/

Its strange that they didn't put this in the quick look section. I'm not sure how to even find it without searching for Rift Apart itself then going to the videos tab. Something to work on I suppose.

This is not going to be a problem that solves itself in a month, two months, three months. The current staff is Jeff, who has to work on revamping his entire business, under new ownership, in a pandemic, with a second kid on the way, a desire to move houses at some point.

Two video producers in Jan and Jason, the former having just moved clear across the country, and with no full time editors for them to actually produce content around.

Roire, who has always been split between video content, and his actual support job.

Jeff B. who was never at Giant Bomb officially, and is now a manager of a group of websites.

And a handful of of part-timers who all have day jobs either working at other game sites, running their own business, or working for WWE of all things. The notion that anyone of them actually has any free time to devote here is astounding.

Again, this is going to be a long, long process. It's going to take time. No amount of "this site needs more of X" is going to make it go any faster. I'm sure everyone on staff is well aware of how slow production is going on this.

@brian_: I mean, we're all aware of this, but as has been noted elsewhere in this thread, there have been content problems long before the RV buyout. Content had been flagging since the beginning of the pandemic, and it never seemed to recover. The fact of the matter is, that while we can all acknowledge that Giantbomb is in transition, people are paying for a service NOW. Beyond that, there are many, much smaller outfits that manage to produce more dynamic and entertaining content, sometimes at an even faster pace, with fewer staff. There seems to be something with the workflow/pipeline for content at GB that seems to get in the way of just producing entertainment at the moment.

@jacksmedulla: If you feel the content is flagging, or you aren't getting your money's worth, then don't pay for it now.

Personally, I think any notion that content has been flagging since the pandemic started, where they streamed all day, every day is ridiculous. Maybe you didn't enjoy that content. That's fine. I enjoyed a lot of it.

I did watch/listen to that, but it's more like a podcast discussion/'embargo has been lifted' video than an actual Quick Look, unfortunately; the only footage is just spliced-in slices of the prerelease marketing trailers/demos.

@brian_: As I said earlier in thread, Giantbomb has been important to me for just over a decade, and I don't mind supporting them while they figure things out. That doesn't mean I can't voice my concerns and criticisms of the current state of the content, nor do my criticisms have to detract from or negate your enjoyment. Obviously other people have some criticisms as well, and I think it's good to have them voiced if they aren't being shared in a toxic manner.

@jacksmedulla: Again, I think this is criticism that everyone on staff is fully aware of. Self-aware of. I don't think anyone is oblivious to it. I'm sure they are reminded of it everyday by just showing up to work and doing their job. Let alone the constant reminders from subscribers and viewers. I don't think the criticism is healthy anymore when the issue has been addressed, multiple times, and when the solution is "it's going to take time."

@brian_: I mean… okay? Continue to be aware of it. The criticism will stop when the issues are addressed.

Like it or not, jack presents the harsh reality of the situation. "It's going to take time" isn't a solution and at this point it's barely a placation. People have been voicing their concern over their perceived value of the content Giantbomb has been producing for well over a year and a half now. The problem has only gotten worse through a pandemic, a buy out, and a mass departure of talent. The current levels of content are enough for some people, for others it isn't. That's everyone's prerogative to figure out for themselves - are you comfortable paying for a subscription RIGHT NOW given how much you are getting out of the site RIGHT NOW? It is wholly unreasonable to get so angry at people for voicing the concern that they are reaching a certain tipping point with their subs, and part of running something that gets a good portion of its financial support from subscribers involves being uncomfortably aware of that particular temperature.

this site is not as fun as it used to be. the personalities make or break everything.

Its a little concerning. Im especially a little deflated because Danny was very excited to join and do "crazy" stuff but then the first thing he does is produce yet another Dark Souls series. Just a big 'ol meh from me. Iam still curious to see how his other series is going to turn out.

This is nothing personal to anyone on staff as I love them all, but as a paying premium member from the get go, Im just not excited about the future of the site. Its fine though, life just moves in all kinds of directions and Im ready to accept that GB might not be a big part of mine moving forward.

In case you (or anybody else reading this) missed it, Danny did mention some of the thought process behind starting with a 'safe' series in what basically amounts to an edited Soulsborne Endurance Run in this video from his personal Youtube:

He mentions that the other upcoming series from other contributors are less conventional, which I guess we have to take at face value for now.

It honestly feels like we have been on some form of "settling back to normal" for the past several years now. People have been leaving the site, content has been slowing down because they were understaffed, then more people left and no one was hired in their place. Then COVID started along with a transition to a new company. It feels like we barely got into the swing of things from the last several years of "getting used to things" after their initial buyout, with promises of great new things on the horizon. More people left, Jeff is having a baby, Jason is moving. The site is always in some form of flux that puts the break on everything in a way that is alarming - like there is no backup for anything. Every single change ripples out to a devastating draught of content.

I mean it should be alarming how it's not all that surprising that people are talking about all this stuff yet again. It's the same conversation with one side saying "things aren't great" while the other side says "give them a break!" Personally I can relate but also, I am always irritated by someone saying "uhh in case you haven't noticed COVID is going on.." Because what a ridiculous thing to say. I can assure you that everyone has noticed. I had to transition to a work from home solution overnight and I work in a big corporation where we were all expected to maintain the same level of efficiency overnight as well. Everyone is struggling and sometimes seeing how much leeway Giant Bomb has to "figure things out in these trying times" makes me extremely envious.

I check in every few days and see nothing that is either new or interests me. Its sad but I feel Giant Bomb has not only lost its core but is focus at the moment. I will keep an eye out for something new or even something old that's returning but I don't really hold out much hope. I feel there are better options for me to support out there.

I agree. I also don't like how they seem to be making everything premium also. Meaning, if you don't have a membership, outside of the ad filled podcast, there isn't any reason to be on the site. Grubbstax for example is just a video game journalist with connections telling the news. That shouldn't be a premium feature. And like the man said more than once, not every episode is going to be filled with news or breaking stories. My Sub ends in January and so far I'm not seeing a reason to stay. Hopefully, that changes.

I dont know what to do Im drunk

It's summer, so the staff will rotate taking some time off.

Yeah I feel the same way. There are no excuses. Nextlander is 3 dudes and they have been outputting more content in a week compared to everything that GB has done since this July so far. And I don't need to subscribe to premium to watch any Nextlander content.

While you can argue there is a difference between the quality vs quantity of the content, I have only found GrubbSnax worth watching/listening. Nextlander is basically doing UPF everyday but better. I couldn't get into Borne to Run. So far it feels like Danny pretending to be bad at the game when he's actually quite experienced in it.

I ultimately had to cancel my subscription. New hires is one thing, but when the majority of new content is just podcasts (a thing I have never been a huge fan of), I just had to speak with my wallet. Remember the Tony Hawk series? You're telling me that's something Jeff can't do at his house? There are features and videos that can happen and be great, even with them being at home but it doesn't seem like they want that. It comes across like they take the easy way out and just do podcast after podcast (and more videos on the Souls series is something I will never personally want to watch, or solo quick looks).

I hope one day I can come back and re-sub and there will be more, varied video content.

the general vibe i'm getting in here of "this isn't hitting like it used to, and also what exactly is the planhere?" certainly resonates with me. i understand the challenges and accept things will change- but accordingly i don't think i'll resub unless there's a compelling reason to do so. i'll likely still check in on the staff and site- but it's feeling less like something i need to pay for.

but i could take it one step further and overgeneralize broadly: i feel like slowly all the video game content producers from the pre-youtube/twitch era that i enjoy are slowly surrendering into a lockstep of "we'll put out a podcast, get a discord, and stream to twitch- irregularly." and that's having three effects on me personally: 1) i'm finding i don't really have the appetite or attention for overlap in approach like that; 2) it's making me yearn for more structured, dependable content generally; 3) my middling daily decision paralysis in trying to decide who's video game coverage i want to consume usually leads to me filling that time with something else- for example my spotify and music consumption has shot way up since the big shakeups at this site. that and i'm actually starting to consume a lot of pen & paper/tabletop twitch content- because you tend to get the same great banter, but usually with a fixed, hard schedule that i really appreciate.

but of course this is all very personal, and as such personal life factors probably are more of an influence than content producer decisions. but the choice paralysis and lack of content differentiation is a real thing that is influencing my consumption.

Wow, I didn't expect so many other users sharing the same sentiment. I do hope they're aware of this problematic situation and don't brush a thread like this off as 'these pop up every few months or so'. Given the constructive criticism and respectfulness in the replies in this thread, I'd say it's time they at least acknowledge this.

For a platform/website that is all about its community, Jeff G.'s last post on the forums was 28 days ago (which was a wiki bug one). Prior to that one it was over 1 year ago. How is that caring for your audience? :')

While understandable to a point i'd agree the content on the site has been way too lacking. they asked for may and said more to come n sure we've seen some of that more to come but overall its been pretty dry. grubsnax is fine for what it is but the 1 man show doesn't do it for me much. borne to run is fine for what it is but i don't really need more souls content and it being edited honestly lessens my normal interest in it. others have mentioned theres youtubers and streamers who have less ppl and funds behind them putting out more content in terms of both quantity and quality and its honestly pretty true more and more lately do i find myself not on here and looking elsewhere simply cause of the big void in content. i resubbed last month during the sale in good faith only cause of the fact they mentioned doing a thing with dan and i'm sure i'll wanna see whatever that is since he usually brings out the best in ppl around him but if not for that i honestly can't see a reason i would have resubbed otherwise. i always preferred quick looks and other 'shows' and sadly its been a while since we got any of those. the podcast is fine but its just a podcast and UPF honestly while its never been bad just isn't exactly what it was in this work from home environment and frankly i just don't need stream archives in my life vs ment to be recordered content. not to say i don't enjoy a good stream but its not the same archived as when you catch it live. i know they're short on staff plus summer yada yada but honestly its been an extremely disappointing 2021 on the site.

From what I can see there's been about 5hrs of content released this week. There's another premium video scheduled for tonight and UPF tomorrow which is always a blast. For a website that's still trying to "get back on it's feet" I think they are doing pretty well.

Between the content here and what Nextlander put out, I have more than enough videos/podcasts to get me through the week.

I'm also looking forward to seeing what else Giantbomb does in the near future. I do agree though that they need to hire more people and not just solely rely on other content creators.

It's barren for sure, but I do really like Borne to Run and GrubbSnax so far. Hopefully the other contracted folks' shows will start spinning up soon and end the drought.

The lack of Quick Looks is a bummer, but then again that's the only piece of content from their 'core' shows of yester-year that I'm really missing. Any content after Dan left never really captured me, and I'm surprised at how much BTR and GSnax have gained my interest, so I'd honestly say they're on the right track if they can bring on more shows and re-introduce proper QLs (I have zero interest in the multi-hour solo streams).

I get the criticism, but I feel more hopeful about the site now than I have in the past year or two. At the end of the day, you either like what they're doing or you don't. That's fine, but I think the important thing is keeping the community in the loop on what their plans are. I've never felt deceived or strung along, and am looking forward to more new shows along with QLs in the coming months/years (I'm sure they'll put out more when the big release season gets underway).

It's entirely possible that by the time I need to re-up my subscription, that will change. But I'm not going to project that far into the future personally. I've been enjoying Borne to Run and Grubbsnax so...I'm hopeful about the future of the site. I can only watch so many videos per week anyway.

Yeah, my membership came back up just before the departures happened and I kinda regret it because there hasn't been much new that I've cared about it in a bit. I enjoy Danny, but listening to someone endless gush about, and also excuse a lot of the problems with, the Souls games far the 100th time just isn't interesting.

I'm already committed through next year, so, I'll stick it out till then at least, but most of my time is spent with HololiveEN these days, so we'll see.

@echasketchers: I was kind of surprised by the Grubsnax thing is just a check in. Like it’s just a news catch up. Which I like… but why is it named something weird when it’s basically the first 10 minutes of what they do on the Bomb cast? I kind of feel the same sentiment as the others.

What brought me in to this website was stuff like Vinny and Jeff playing off each other with game days of classic, ridiculous FMV games or Dan and Jeff having hilarious interplay about ‘h’anime. It was really fun!

For over a year now it has just felt… like a massive obligation for the people and not even close to fun. And I know. Pandemic. But it’s tough not to notice because channels like Outside Xbox and RLM on YouTube put out some of their best content this and last year.

I totally understand the difficulties they’ve had. I think the simple fact is what this site has become maybe just isn’t for me. Someone nailed it earlier when they mentioned Nextlander. Vinny, Alex, and Brad have put out better, more fun content in a month after leaving GB than giant bomb in its entirety last year. Just my opinion! Love the guys at GB and I wish them the best! I probably won’t be around to see it though.

@benwayne said:

This is far and away the biggest thing for me. What content we have had has mostly just felt so forced and unenthusiastic. I can almost feel a sigh of "well, let's get this shit over with" sometimes. I don't know. Shit is in flux. I get it. But the site gets a lot more slack than nearly any other organization would. I think that's a testament to the talent and community the site has fostered, but I don't think relying on those things is sustainable.

Shout out to Jan for how much fun he seems to have on his streams. His energy has always reminded me of Vinny in a way, almost always enthusiastic, genuine, goofy, and kind. Him and Bakalar are the voices I look forward to hearing from most, largely because they seem to still have the original attitude the site was founded on.

@benwayne: Yeah I said my piece, you're entitled to your opinion. I hope something comes of the next wave of content that you can enjoy more. I do love a lot of nextlander's streams also :)

@jacksmedulla: Yeah, I agree with you. I love the guys, but you could just *feel* the exhaustion and level of done some people have been at on the site.

Vinny even said as much in Nextlanders talking about how hard it was to even put up content so I know they had a lot of struggles. Buuuut yeah. Maybe Giant Bomb should have just stayed independent on YouTube in that case or something.

A lot of my favorite content providers seemed to band together and almost get stronger on YT, but whatever was happening at GB seemed to just add to everyone’s stress and it showed. Maybe CBS was a big part of it or maybe they just weren’t feeling it. I don’t know. I think a lot of the members disbanding to start something exciting and fun made the right choice though.

@echasketchers: same here. I’ll still be hitting up the site every now and then to see what’s changed if it sticks around.

I agree with everyone saying the content has felt so unenthusiastic for some time now. From about September to May everybody has just sounded bored and like they're going through the motions, and the people that are still there still sound that way. Jan has definitely become the heart and soul of Giant Bomb and he's doing great in the role but he's in that role by himself. If Jan isn't there the content just isn't exciting, in my opinion. I enjoyed the one episode of Grubb snacks I caught live but that also wasn't enough for me. I also upped my subscription for another year because when they announced the rollout for the near future I got excited. But now I'm not excited anymore. I'm just bored.

Like so many others have said. Maybe I've changed too.

And this is likely a weird "is it just me" thing, but I just don't think the Bombcast sounds good with the current lineup. As a lifelong musician and audio production and recording person, I always find myself listening to how the sound sounds, and I don't like the way everyone sounds right now. I think it's because every voice is in the same vocal range or something but the voices just don't sound good talking together to me. Danny's accent is nice but he just doesn't fit to me and I don't think Bakalar's voice sounds good in the mix either. I love them both and I don't mean that as an insult in any way, but I don't know. Is it just me? It's probably just me.

I don't know about the sound thing, because I'm not a sound guy like you, but as far as chemistry goes, the new line up doesn't have it like the classic OG crew did. Many of the OGs and even some of the additional hires like Austin and Dan played well off of each other and it made for some fun and entertaining moments. Those moments aren't there anymore. And though I haven't been following Nextlander that much, based on what I'm reading, maybe I should. Maybe Vinny made the smart play after all.

I've always been in the camp that thinks these sorts of threads are a bit hyperbolic, and I still completely disagree that the current cast feels like they don't have any energy. Jeff G specifically I have a completely different reaction to from seemingly everyone else on this forum, he's been arguably at his apex humor level for me for weeks and weeks now.

But this is the first time I really agree with the worry over where my money's going. I just saw my yearly subscription ring up the other week and for the first time since I've been a subscriber I had a moment of "oh, I kinda wish I still had that money for myself." All I'm getting from Giant Bomb right now is the Bombcast, Borne to Run and Best of Bomb. UPF was really fun in a studio but has never really had the same magic remote, it was an early casualty for me and I'm definitely let down that it became the one show that held on through the pandemic. The logistics of Game Tapes, Demo Derby and Ranking of Fighters makes then understandable losses, but I just never understood why there wasn't a greater emphasis on longplays or examinations of certain studios' histories or whatever. And now a lot of that history-facing staff has left anyway so it makes less sense, but the core of the point still stands - where are all the shows?!

I've left most of my feelings on GrubbSnax in the Episode 2 comments, but the gist for me right now is that his presentation style - manic, circular and confidently deflecting - leaves me with this curiosity over what the purpose of the show is. Some people seem to think Grubb has huge, Schreier-like credentials in the industry but I don't know him from any random user on r/games, and so much of his show right now comes off like a guy scrambling through his brain to make up answers that sound authoritative but are really no different from the speculation you or I can get up to on our own any time we want. I'm tentatively in on that show but could very quickly be out.

As I've gotten more and more podcasts in my rotation during the pandemic I do admit that it's nice to not have so much of my entertainment budget wrapped around a single website, but it's also wild to think this was once the site where I was paying for a Bombcast, a Beastcast, Danswers, Metal Gear Scanlon, Demo Derby, Game Tapes, Ranking of Fighters, Unprofessional Fridays, Quick Looks, Load Our Last Save, Flight Club and whatever else they'd cook up in the margins. You used to have to schedule your relationship with Giant Bomb in a way, with hours and hours of material of all different types.

And that's all still there, so something missing for a lot of the people in this forum, I imagine, is that the value proposition for newcomers to the site has inarguably never been better. This website is one of the richest archives of video game-related entertainment, if not the richest, out there. Fuck a Youtube and a Twitch! Yeah, I said it!

...But I don't rewatch things much except for my very favorite movies, and I've seen all that stuff. I hope to see more of equality quality in the future - I'm personally never tired of Souls stuff, and I've never seen a second of Dark Souls II or III that I can remember nor any Sekiro past the Genichiro road block, so a lot of that series is going to still be novel for me. I hope we get to see a ramping up in production much sooner than later, though, because there is a truly odd air around the site right now.

Vinny showed up for a stream wearing a white t-shirt a couple weeks back. Last week he wore a bright red t-shirt. It blew my mind.

Back on topic, I'm in a bit of a wait and see mode like most folks for what's next for GB. I'm curious about what Dan and Jeff Bakalar's show will be still.

I'm definitely in a wait and see mode as well. I find myself visiting Twitch to watch Dan's streams and Nextlander's streams more than Giant Bombs now-a-days.

I cancelled my auto-resub when the Nextlander crew left, that was kind of the final nail in the coffin for me. In my opinion the site was going downhill before COVID, then the pandemic really went and killed all the energy this site had left. And it sounds like Jeff has no intention of moving the company back into an office, that's.. the opposite of what this site needs (in my opinion of course). Everyone being together in an office is a big part of what made GB unique in my eyes.

I see a bunch of people on here asking themselves if they've just changed.. I haven't changed, I still consume tons of gaming-related video content on the internet. The site has changed, there's no question about it. It's sad, I've been listening to Jeff and co. since the Hotspot, but it is what it is.

Still got several months left on the sub, maybe one of these new shows will come along and change my mind completely. I sincerely hope that's the case. But I'm done paying money for a service I'm unhappy with.

I have to agree, these shows and guests were not what GB needed, ive moved on with brad vinny and alex at this point and will probably not renew. Its a shame because Jeff G is my favorite man in all of videogames, but those left surrounding him aren't making what I came here for in the first place. I knew it was time to go when I watched Borne to Run and it was edited like crazy. I want that good good raw Vinny playing his guitar while the time passed in Shenmue, the opposite of editing

My subscription is still renewed through October and frankly I kind of feel like a chump for having done an annual subscription at this point... and on the other hand if I wasn't a subscriber it feels like this damn place would truly be barren aside from the podcast and an (if we're lucky) solo quick look. I'm well aware of the reasons this happened, but frankly a lot of those reasons were of the site's own making. Maybe they've lost a lot of staff but I have to imagine that if CBS or RV had been willing to give Brad/Vinny/Alex/Ben/Abby a fat bonus to stick it out a little longer in the name of maintaining some semblance of function around here at least some of them would have taken the bait and if not... is it really that hard to find someone else willing to be paid to talk about video games for fuck's sake?

The new shows are a start, but they aren't close to enough. I happen to be a long time SoulsBorne fan so that show is in my wheelhouse, but the fact that it's edited down almost seems kind of oblivious to the fact that this site needs, like, a big quantity of content more than anything.

As for Grubbsnax... it's not "bad" exactly and I'm probably going to consistently watch it given that I'll pretty much take any scraps they throw at me at this point but I don't really get what the point of that show is. He's basically just covering the same news stories that the core crew spent their own hour talking about on the podcast two days earlier and beyond that it just feels rather disconnected from the rest of the site. Maybe if Jeff G. or some other rotating staff members were sitting in on each episode and interacting with him it would feel more like actual GB content but as it is it kind of just seems like they're hosting someone else's ongoing Youtube series that so happens to hosted here and is kind of an example of what I was afraid this "outsource other people in" system was going to be like.

If not for the fact that the site is otherwise experiencing a two year drought I wouldn't be complaining, these shows would fit right in, but that drought is happening and it's kind of crazy that even with these two new shows it still feels as empty as ever, maybe even more so. And the real irony of all this is that now that I've been working from home I've had more time than ever to consume GB content right as they've basically given up.

Echoing what others have mentioned:

• why is a news recap show that doesn't always have 'breaking news' behind a paywall?
• when there is already souls content on the site, why would anyone want edited-down rehashes with someone that actually is already familiar with the series?

Aside from that, I came to GB for the off-the-cuff spontaneity--this site needs a studio badly--it is inherent to the identity of GB when the competition can mirror it's current content, and at a faster clip.

It seems to me that UPF is becoming more of a variety QL show so that they can be released from the 'old-way' of content dropping... but it's just not enough, in my honest opinion. Nextlander has found a way to put out more stuff, and at a higher clip and not gate it behind a paywall--which in turn makes GB out as a dead site for free members.

I know the duders have had a lot to deal with but it's hurting the site irreparably I'd imagine for a large contingent. Jan, Rorie, and Danny seem to be the only ones that have any life in them, in most cases. Times are tough for everyone, but I don't think GB can function as not a site that has weird, nonsensical, needless videos sprinkled between a lot of unique shows centered around individual staff's interests. The interplay and proclivity to just put videos out for the sake of it was what made this site what it was. When I think about the varied offerings we had back in '09-'16 (I admittedly lost interest for a time), and the office/studio antics compared to the paltry state of things these last few years...--This is their identity, whether they're in different places in their lives or not--and I feel confident in saying this is why people ever stayed at GB in the first place and it's really worrying seeing the site not doing the things that got them here. Not all those specific shows/features, but that energy.