Would you stop going to GB if any one of the core crew left?

The site wouldn't exist if not for Jeff... would be too strange without him.

Giant Bomb without Jeff ain't Giant Fucking Bomb. Sure, the same could be said if any of the other three OG guys split, but that's the definitive one for me.

That said, there's no way to know how (or if) the site would change drastically with any departures, so I don't like to say I'd stop visiting the site just because someone isn't there anymore. Have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Vinny + Jeff fo lyf

I always have this bad feeling that out of the core five, Vinny will be the first to leave to do something else. Considering Drew is Drew and is into so many things, I imagine he would like to do other things eventually.

Giant Bomb wouldn't exist without Jeff and Ryan, but hypothetically speaking, if 3+ of the 5 left and their replacements weren't likable, I would stop visiting Giant Bomb.

...or I would continue being a member because everywhere else sucks.

Nope. I'll keep coming as long as the community and the spirit of the site stays the same. If the bomb guys hand pick their successors then I trust they will pick good replacements. And look some day I figure both Jeff and Ryan might want to step back and do something else. Then again maybe not but if they do I think they will make sure at least that the site is in good hands.

I chose the joke-ish option because of course. Now that I think about it though, a Jeff-less Giant Bomb would be super weird.

I'm still here...

I'd still come back if one of the guys left. Maybe even if all of them left, just not as much.

If Jeff goes, I'd just add whatever he does after GB to my rotation. Same with the rest of the crew, but Jeff especially.

Now, if they all go, or if only one remains here and the replacements are intolerable, I can see myself never coming back (except for solo pieces with that remaining member). I still haven't gone back to Gamespot after these duders left, and I don't see myself hanging around here if that's the case.

I think... So long as Giant Bomb is still Giant Bomb and by lines still matter then I'll continue being here. I'm sure people will leave eventually. Maybe in 2 years, maybe in 25. However so long as new blood is added to the site as carefully and perfectly as Patrick was a few years back then there will always be something for me here.

I sort of imagine a future Giant Bomb that's like... the plot of Injustice. Where Brad Shoemaker and Vinny are gone but Brad Muir and Dave Lang are in for some reason. Also Patrick has a sick ass beard and Ryan and Alex Skype in from Space. Also Ed Boon guests on the podcast often in the future for no reason and John Drake now runs Gamebomb with an iron fist!

That last paragraph is something that could happen maybe. It would be a lot different from what we have now but if it happened slowly enough you'd barely even notice everything was changing. Remember years ago when Tested and Screened were in the same office and they did a crossover show every Friday? Remember the days when Alex was local and did Quick Looks? Remember the days before Patrick Klepek was a core member of the crew? Things are pretty different now. Things will always become different. Doesn't mean they'll become bad.

Times change, it's about dealing with them. Remember the furore that went up (and in some ways continues, stupidly) when Patrick came on board? Remember how different it used to be in Sausalito, and then again when Whiskey was all in one space? I would argue that in some ways Giant Bomb is better than ever, while retaining the majority of that small-team appeal that they originally had.

The only way I can see myself leaving due to a staff change is if the entirety of the staff went away and the ideals and personality behind the site went away for something worse. Then I'd move on and more than likely follow the Bomb Squad's shenanigans.

Wait Brad is leaving ?

If Jeff, Ryan, Vinny, or Brad left it would be very strange, not sure how I would feel.

I CAN'T HANDLE MORE CHANGES! NOT NOW!

I don't think I could handle the OG 5 (Jeff, Vindog, Ryan, Brad, Drew) leaving. They're the heart of Giantbomb. THE OG.

if Vinny left then I would be out of here so fucking quick

No, but I would be very sad about it.

I agree, though I think of all of them, Patrick seems to have the greatest ambition to either enhance his games journalism writing and strike out on his own or something at some point, or want to design or write his own game. So I could see him possibly pulling a Carrie Gouskos/Greg Kasavin, and leaving journalism to go do something within (indie) game development. It's much less likely, but I could see Brad conceivably doing the same, though I imagine he would join up with somewhere that is more interested in competitive multiplayer games (Starcraft, DotA, etc.) than the indie games that Patrick is into.

I do not see Jeff and Ryan wanting to get out any time soon.

No one is allowed to leave for the rest of the year! We have suffered enough by losing Dave... Dave who has been here from the beginning... So sad, but I'm happy that he will still be involved and come on from time to time. Threads like this makes me wanna see "How to build a bomb" again.

If they all left, yeah. If just one of them left, no.

it'd be like losing a family member, tough, but not insurmountable. The core crew was the crew that got me back into video games after my disillusionment oh so many years ago...

It'll happen eventually. And no, I'd still keep coming here as long as the spirit of Giant Bomb doesn't change. The minute anyone sounds like they're reading off of a script like the interns did with their Youtube videos is the day I start getting worried.

Probably if all the core left, but I can't see them all just up and quitting. Their replacements would have to be pretty boring, too. Most of all, the spirit of the Luchador would have to leave. Look at Screened. It was a fun site until Matt was fired and the content dropped to run-of-the-mill newswire stuff. I believe the core keeps the site from falling into that rut. If they left and that happened, yeah, I'd see no point in staying.

Why is there no just plain "No" answer? Anyways, there is no one staff member that would make me leave. I would probably be less interested in the site and podcasts if Vinny left though.

I was with them when it was just Jeff and Ryan in the Arrow Pointing Down days. I ain't no fair-weather friend. It would definitely hurt though. I can't deny that.

Depends on who it was. If Vinny left, I don't know I'd last.

I'd be super disappointed if any one of them left, but that wouldn't be enough to make me leave the site. If they all are gone at some point then maybe, but that just depends on their replacements and if the spirit of the site carried on. I'm completely willing to give any replacements a chance before I start storming out of the site.

For one of them to leave, the reason would have to be pretty amazing, as what they have now is working with a bunch of their best friends, and being able to do exactly what they want. I can't foresee them leaving.

@mentaldisruption said:

Pretty much. If the love and the spirit still exists with a new crew then I'd stay. I can't see Jeff leaving though. Giant Bomb is his creation, he'll leave when Giant Bomb dies.

Nah. Times change, and the individual members of the staff will eventually move on when they feel it's time. There will hopefully come a day, if the site is able to become successful enough in the long-term, where all of the core founding staff will be able to move on and still allow Giant Bomb to continue operation.

Everyone would have to leave for me to stop coming to GB. I enjoy all the content they put out and without someone from the crew still around I wouldn't have a reason to check the site anymore.

I need my team VJ!

Not unless like, they all leave suddenly at the same time. But presumably, as more people leave the site, more will be added. Patrick rolled in and now has become a part of GB as much as the rest. I imagine the same would be true of anyone else they hired.

I feel like GB is ran by personalities that all perfectly conform into one solid mass of awesomeness. I think that losing more than one person would devastate the tone just too much for me to keep coming. That said, i don't think my heart could take it if something happened to a core member. I almost lost it just now when i found out that Dave was gone. I hope that the original crew hold together until this entire thing burns to the ground.

That said, if any ONE person holds this entire thing together for me, it's either Jeff or Vinny. Vinny is just too nice, and he kind of reminds me that all people aren't bad people. Jeff is probably the one person from this website who truly has an affinity for video games. While Vinny, Brad, Ryan, and Patrick all play video games, Jeff appears to LIVE IT.

But you didn't hear it from me.

Well, after the initial year-long hazing of idiots claiming that the newcomer is ruining the site even if said newcomer meshes perfectly well with the others.

@hailinel said:

no you just don't get it

he writes articles about women

Jeff is the reason I came here in the first place when this was just a blog. Dave was the only cool guy of 'the others' here, and now he's gone. The others can go if they want to for all I care. Now I mainly just check the forums because the content hasn't been fun at all like it used to be. :)

As long as they would add people with care, which they clearly would do, I could get used to it. The community has been able to get used to the huge changes the sit has gone through over the years, and it'd probs still be giantbomb if someone had to be replaced. So definitely not ruling anything out. Greg Kasavin is busy at Supergiant games, but if they replaced a core member with someone like Greg, I would be happy.

The personalities are important, sure. But they're not the only reason I come to the site.

Only if Jeff left on bad terms. Other than that I would be bummed if any of the crew left, but I understand that sometimes people move on from things.

Vinny and Jeff are my favorites, so if either left, I'd frequent this site less.

If Jeff left, I think everything would feel off. It always feels strange when he isn't in the office for whatever reason. Can't imagine it always being like that.

So when's Rich Gallup and Jade Raymond joining Giant Bomb? We need more personnel in the futile attempt to replace Dave Snider.

No, I like all those guys and even if only one of them was left here, I'd still come back to see what they were doing.

if jeff left it wouldn't be giant bomb to me anymore. he and vinny define the humor/attitude of giant bomb as far as im concerned.

As long as most of the crew is still intact, I'll still stick around and support their shenanigans. Though, if Vinny left, the whole in my heart might be too big to replace.

I think it's safe to say they all won't leave at once. When one or a few leave there would probably be replacements, and assuming they pick a good person (which the site has a pretty good track record of) to be the new member I would enjoy what that new person brings to the table and stay for them. This way, even if the entire current crew was gone there would be a reason to stay. If the hypothetical new crew ends up being horrible then of course I'd leave.

It would take a mass exodus like the 2007 GameSpot Exodus for me to leave outright. Otherwise, it would depend on the successors. Should they not be up to it, I'll probably trail off before I turn my back on this place. As the years go by, the crew should start to think about it though.

This is way too white and black, I would lose some of my interest, does not mean I would stop coming entirely.