Today I cancelled my Premium Subscription.

I started subscribing 10 years ago, when they announced it. I don't remember if it was during the Big Live Live Show Live, or if you needed premium to watch it?

However; today I cancelled before the renewal.

I think we've grown apart since the wonderful Whiskey Media days. We've all grown 10 years older, wiser and certainly our priorities have changed since then.

What I loved about Whiskey Media (Vinny learning the tricorder, Will & Norman testing things from TV-Shop, Sara's cosplays, Ryan & Jeff's chemistry and a community which can spawn such great creations as the Power music video with Will dancing as a penguin. Just to take a few select things) is no longer there.

For many, many reasons. Many of them irreversible.

So, I decide to part while I still have all these wonderful memories instead of staying together, becoming more and more bitter.

GLHB

I was going to make a long diatribe about how Jeff is raising his daughter surrounded by disease and FIRE...and yet is still providing us with content. Vinny as well. He has kids and lives in what was one of the worst places to be at the height of the pandemic. Yet, he still finds the time to provide us with content. Then, there is Alex...who just lost his uncle. He still provided us with content after that. This post is really unnecessary and this is the type of whiny entitlement I am so sick of nowadays. Adios, buddy.

Like any active rock band that has been playing for decades, changes are inevitable.

Look at Red Chili Peppers or U2.

They may be past their "creative peak" but are still making great music and playing awesome concerts at this stage of their careers.

jagenheim, im sure anything else you've had interest in the past decade has changed too, just saying before u make posts like these on their forums also.

I've followed Jeff and the gang since before the hotspot days on videogames.com aka gamespot, people change, things change, i've change.

I really wonder what do people get out of making topics like this declaring goodbye? Rather than just simply leaving?

But at least your well reasoned and measured about why your leaving, the site isn’t the same as you viewed it to be, it’s totally fair,

Personally? Given the pandemic shifting them to this work at home format, now that they figured out how to have two people commenting on a video, I like where things are at right now, it’s the core essentials, and if I need a break, I just watch Dan’s streams or just other stuff.

Things change, it happens, adios

Okay....fair enough. Good luck to you as you make you journey through life, everyone has their own rest stops and side tracks.


For me:
The older I get the more I enjoy the people Jeff, Vinny, Alex, Jason are becoming. I love hearing about Jeff's baby and he is talking more about his married life -he seems happy - his life now seems more complex but ist has more joy in it. Vinny's kids are getting older and to be honest his kids sound funny, I can only imagine their personalities as they grow up with such a dad. Its been awhile since Patrick Klepic was a Bomber, buts he's a new dad too.

To be honest if Giant Bomb were still making the same content they made 10 years ago - I'd be disappointed. That past content was 'of an era' and that 'we're badass dudes' philosophy that just doesn't "speak" to the same way. Hell, even trying to keep up appearances or putting on a happy face, as if COVID-19 isn't happening, would be false note for me. We're is this weird social, political and cultural change; I like how Giant Bomb is not shying away from the fact. We live in a changed world, the Giant Bomb members are evolving people with adult lives that are valid for today and valid for the gamers they are today.

I can't cancel it, this year has been so shitty and tragic both personally and with the planet as a whole.

GB gives me peace and makes me laugh when I forget what laughter is.

The podcasts give me something to listen to when there's nothing else to do and keeps me away from dark thoughts when it's too silent.

The streams give me the impression people are with me in my condo.

I literally can't picture my day-to-day without this site (might be a problem now that I think about it).

That said, GLHB friend :)

People are free to come and go as they please, but I don’t get why people feel like they have to announce it to the world. Just cancel your sub and move on. If you come back, cool. If not, that’s fine.

Announcing it to the world just seems like a weird thing to do, especially during “these trying times”. Like there’s a pandemic, California almost burned to the ground, they are going through another acquisition, they had to change their entire production pipeline, they had to deal with all of the other bullshit that’s been going on in this country, and so on. Even if that wasn’t your intention, I’ve seen similar posts like this where it seems like the user wants to directly throw shade at the staff before they walk out the door, which isn’t necessary, let alone right now.

And for what’s it worth, some of my favorite Giant Bomb stuff has been over the past few years.

Bye Felicia.

The way I see it, yes, the site has changed. Different staff, different time. That's how the world works. I f you don't like how things are, sure, you can leave. That's your call. But to feel the need to call out people who are clearly doing their best? Just rude. Besides, its not like the old stuff is going away; you can still watch it. And who knows what the future holds. Personally, I love the way things are going, just like I loved the way things went. Its different, but still fun. Its still Giant Bomb.

It should be a requirement that when you cancel your subscription you have to check a box that says "EVEN THOUGH I MAY FEEL THE NEED TO MAKE A SCENE BY ANOUNCING THIS PUBLICY IN A VERY MISGUIDED AND SELF-SERVING ATTEMPT TO MANIPULATE THE TEAM INTO MAKING MORE OF THE TYPE OF CONTENT THAT I PERSONALLY LIKE - I HEREBY AGREE THAT I WON'T DO THAT."

Is Giant Bomb an airport? I didn't realize we need to announce our departures.

@briang: Damn , got em

I often see in posts like these is that they miss the Whisky Media days and not really explain what does that mean. Back then it was just Quick Looks and some ER hype. Now Giant Bomb does a bunch of great stuff. What am I missing here?

I cancelled mine a month or 2 ago, but didn't feel to make a whole forum thread about it. I realize Giantbomb means a lot to you, as it did to me, but I don't know if this was necessary. Good luck to you either way. Have fun lurking.

I’ve resubscribed again this year because what they do is actually much more in line with what I like than what they did in the WM days. E.g. they do a lot more and more creative stuff with a lot of different voices than just quick looks and one podcast per week as in the WM days.

i just wish they were more consistent at keeping and better at communicating schedules.

it’s Monday and I don’t really know if they are doing anything this week and when. something that has always been their weak point but that I’ve learned to accept.

I hope that they manage to do more once the acquisition is through and things have stabilized a little. Apart from that I’m quite content with the way things are going in GB land.

I hurt myself today

To see if I still feel

I focus on the pain

The only thing that's real

Ugh. You're not resigning from the Presidency, duder. I get that you feel like you need to make a statement or something, but come on. Giant Bomb is not the center of the world, and it's not, nor ever has been, designed to cater to your personal tastes. The site, like anything, has evolved over time, and it's not their fault that you evolved in a different direction.

It's okay if you don't like the site's content anymore, but if that's the case, you should really just move on instead of trying to make everyone else feel bad for still liking it.

Ya'll really taking this post way too seriously. I'd rather see someone being honest and non-insulting about why they won't renew premium than burning every bridge and insulting everyone on their way out.

And FYI, be respectful to everyone even if you disagree with them.

@finaldasa: Yah as long as it’s non-insulting I don’t see a reason why people feel the need to drag this person just cause they wanna move on and need some closure along the way.

I came at Premium the other way, to be honest. After nearly a decade of enjoying the free stuff I said, "Y'know, I kinda owe them this and I'll get access to stuff in return." took a sale price and dove deep on the stuff that's been off-limits.

Will I keep it going? Probably not unless something comes along I really want to see live. Premium doesn't have to be a big commitment. I treat Netflix and NowTV the same way.

Pretty good way to look at it. If something's not hitting for you like it used to, there's nothing wrong with moving on. I've been up and down on the site over the years but I'm currently happy with it. I can see why someone wouldn't be into it anymore.

Anyway, good luck out there on the rest of the internet!

I'm not sure why some of the users before feel the need to make fun of your post.

But in all honesty I wish you luck going forward, stay safe. 10 years is a long time, and and as your wrote people change and so does our priorities.

You do you hun.

Jeff, Alex, Vinny, Brad & Jason's industry commentary is still the best in the business. They do really well at being great journalists and not just falling back into contrarian clicks.

I think Abby really triggered a certain part of the audience, and that's their thing, but I think she will be dearly missed.

Ben seems to be really blossoming the last year or so, kinda feel like he'll lead the way in the future. Jan has really come into his own during lockdown too.

and Rorie is our constant, bless him.

Things are tough rn and I genuinely feel that GB have been here for me <3

I hereby pledge that if I ever cancel my Giant Bomb sub, I won't post a LOOK AT ME missive in the forums.

Thank you for looking at me.

Bye. You can literally come back at any time, if you want.

I un-subbed this year without a post, but subsequently re-subbed cause I still check out the content as a free loader and saw new stuff that I liked. So I do agree with you guys that these posts may be superfluous but damn, the level of snark and passive aggressiveness with which you guys are going about it is kind of a bad look. There was a deleted comment by someone earlier just saying "get fucked", like wow, if that's where your head is at y'all should think about how personal you guys are taking this, why you feel like this is an affront to you and what that says about you.

OP, it's regrettable that you didn't connect with any of the content past whiskey media but that's understandable, for me I still enjoy most of it here and there that I don't see myself making a binary decision as to whether I would simply stop visiting the site altogether but I get it, best of luck to you.

Ok, later dude.

Tbf, this is one of the better ones of these (of the many that have shown up on these boards).

It's obviously perfectly fine if someone decides that the site isn't giving them enough of what they want any more to make it worth while to keep subscribing. The part that rubs people the wrong way is that there is absolutely no need for them to make a post about it.

When you cancel your sub, isn't there somewhere to enter comments about your reason for doing so? Seems like that would be the best place for "feedback".

oh this is so weird

@bakoomerang: no attention that way tho

People change and people's preferences change. I started watching GB with Project B.E.A.S.T. and loved the mix of even-tempered hardcore drummer dude with chirpy, hilarious morning zoo dad, and eventually the videogame scholar. I'd probably stick around just for Vinny's parent stories, because I've had kids in the last couple years and it gets me excited to see them grow older.

But because this is a personality-based enterprise, it doesn't surprise me if people come and go. We're here for the people, and either feel something from them or not.

@ghost_cat:

Ryan Davis?

@mikeotron1980: How is this person acting entitled? Sure, that last part about being bitter is odd, but coming to the conclusion that Giant Bomb simply isn’t for them anymore is not entitled.

It’s entitled to assume that your opinion about why you chose to not renew a service is so important that it needs a public service announcement

This is something I love: despite all the talk about how "everyone and everything's changed," they're still, at their core, the same as they've ever been. Vinny's no longer messing with the tricaster and greenscreen tech, instead he, Abby and Jan are figuring out multi-person remote streaming. Ben's experimenting with weird comedy content (that I really hope comes back once office work is a thing again). Abby's doing new locations and finding how those change things up, Alex is a one-man-band now. So the site's still growing internally, just perhaps not in a way that's as visible (or wild/drunk), and I suppose that's not to everyone's taste.

Making a whole topic about it, seemingly without the want to actually have a discussion following said topic, feels just a step above "They just don't seem like they care anymore," which is usually posted after they're critical of some product, and JUST before another video of Jeff losing his mind over some MK knock-off or a Seaman video he's never seen.

And I'm really not trying to drag the guy or be mocking, this is just the vibe I get when someone posts this as a forum topic (rather than a blog linked to the forum) and then doesn't want to even engage with the final thread? I mean isn't the point of saying goodbye to actually SAY GOODBYE? I get the need for closure, but come on back! Tell us more! Engage with this community you've just spent 10 years with one last time. Or don't, but then I don't see the point of posts like this.

@nigeth: Some people need an outlet for their thoughts and feelings. And I don’t think needing an outlet is entitled.

@nigeth said:

I don't think they implied anything about them feeling that their opinion is important. It is their opinion nonetheless and an internal forum seems like a fitting way to voice one's opinion about one's services/products. This is like thumbing your nose at people posting on twitter or anywhere saying that they're entitled to think that their opinion is important enough to be posted publically.. like.. yeah dude, that's why we're here lol, you don't have to be a celebrity and your opinion would be just as valid to be posted (within boundaries).

All of you people seriously think too much.

I like these threads.

Bye, have fun.

You call that a farewell? Pffft, THIS is how to say goodbye!

https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/off-topic-31/adieu-my-friends-i-bid-you-all-farewell-my-name-wa-249210/

@superjoe:

Classic example of a player who thought he was more important than the game. Walked away 11 years ago and ended up with nothing to show for his time but -1 followers.

@superjoe: The Legend! o7 <>

Also 11 years ago hollowed my bones a little bit.

This is one of the bravest, essential posts I've read. I salute you! For real, who cares. I've been here since year one and, GET THIS, every single week, month and year people have post "This site changed, I'm out!" -- and some do leave and fair enough. I'll admit I enjoyed the site less this year than ever before and watched less new content, but still watch podcast every week and rewatch content I love -- for the archive alone, I would never cancel. Not to mention I still have a backlog of hundreds of videos that I haven't and likely never will get time to watch. I could complain but still so much to love and celebrate on this site.

Been a premium subscriber since the beginning, no way would i ever leave this site.

You guys will have to throw me out of this place 🤪

Meh, it's only $50/year.

I have no intention of dropping premium over it, but I do miss when they were live streaming a lot more earlier this year. Don't get me wrong, I realize it wasn't viable long term for them to keep doing it, but I liked it.