In about 2 or 3 years we're going to start seeing GameSpot trying to absorb Giant Bomb fully into it. What use does CBS have for two massive gaming sites? It'll start gradually. Gamespot and Giant Bomb will collaborate on video reviews together. Giant Bomb will be asked to stop swearing. Games will only have one review across both sites, with Gamespot's opinion making up the body of the article and Giant Bomb's irreverent and zany opinion in an orange box at the bottom of the page. Then Gamespot will fully absorb Giant Bomb, first turning it into a sub-section of the main Gamespot site. One by one, the Giant Bomb team will become full Gamespot employees. Patrick Klepek will be the last one to go. For a full year he'll be the lonely old caretaker of the Giant Bomb page, posting a new article every three weeks. Then, eventually, even he will join Gamespot.

It is now fall 2016. The Giant Bomb subpage vanishes from Gamespot entirely. Jeff Gerstmann is once again unhappy with the corporate culture at Gamespot. This time, however, he is so very tired. He doesn't have any more fight left in him. The fans who followed him as he left Gamespot the first time are no longer around. No one cares about Gerstmann anymore. He writes one last review, giving a 8.2 to Call of Duty Extreme: Black Ops Nitro ("though flawed, Black Ops Nitro is a game with a lot of good ideas that will reward you if you're dedicated enough"), and adds a small postscript at the bottom of the review. "This is my last review for Gamespot. It's been a blast, guys."

He starts a blog on the internet about gaming, posts a couple times a week for three months, and then goes off the radar. Two years later, he grants an interview to a gaming podcast, where he reveals that he is working public relations for Linksys. He is never heard from again.

I'm sure it will work out for these guys, but I'm really sad the family is being broken up with this move.

@gladspooky said:

@DG991 said:

So... can I have my money back?

I'm really glad for you guys. Really I think this is a good move and I can't wait for future content!

Congratulations.

is this real life? :-/

I have faith that you guys will keep Giantbomb as rad as it has ever been. It'll be interesting to see what you guys do with more funds backing you.

@Treadstone said:

In about 2 or 3 years we're going to start seeing GameSpot trying to absorb Giant Bomb fully into it. What use does CBS have for two massive gaming sites? It'll start gradually. Gamespot and Giant Bomb will collaborate on video reviews together. Giant Bomb will be asked to stop swearing. Games will only have one review across both sites, with Gamespot's opinion making up the body of the article and Giant Bomb's irreverent and zany opinion in an orange box at the bottom of the page. Then Gamespot will fully absorb Giant Bomb, first turning it into a sub-section of the main Gamespot site. One by one, the Giant Bomb team will become full Gamespot employees. Patrick Klepek will be the last one to go. For a full year he'll be the lonely old caretaker of the Giant Bomb page, posting a new article every three weeks. Then, eventually, even he will join Gamespot.

It is now fall 2016. The Giant Bomb subpage vanishes from Gamespot entirely. Jeff Gerstmann is once again unhappy with the corporate culture at Gamespot. This time, however, he is so very tired. He doesn't have any more fight left in him. The fans who followed him as he left Gamespot the first time are no longer around. No one cares about Gerstmann anymore. He writes one last review, giving a 8.2 to Call of Duty Extreme: Black Ops Nitro ("though flawed, Black Ops Nitro is a game with a lot of good ideas that will reward you if you're dedicated enough"), and adds a small postscript at the bottom of the review. "This is my last review for Gamespot. It's been a blast, guys."

He starts a blog on the internet about gaming, posts a couple times a week for three months, and then goes off the radar. Two years later, he grants an interview to a gaming podcast, where he reveals that he is working public relations for Linksys. He is never heard from again.

YOUR POINTLESS CONJECTURE IS ALARMIST, NEGATIVE AND DAMAGING TO THE COMMUNITY

Jeff agreed to stop photocopying his balls so he was allowed back at gamestop. there you have it, no need to watch at 4PM

I seem to remember a time fairly recently when premium memberships kicked off and THAT was supposedly going to end all the sites' awesomeness and bad assery. And it didn't, it created WAY more of it (Remember life pre-Random PC Game? I don't even WANT to). So let's get it all out of our systems now so that we can actually see how this affects the WM sites.

@Scotto: That's actually a lot of what happened with Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Sci-Fi. The show didn't pull in nearly enough ratings for taking up a two hour timeslot, but the CEO basically said "As long as I'm here, this show is going nowhere." Three years later he left and his replacement cancelled the show. So THAT is a valid concern.

change happens. change isn't bad. usually something good comes out of everything. you kids with your freaking out about nothing make me feel old.

Will you be reviewing kayne and lynch 3?

I asked for a Hardcore Dave cameo and I got one! Thanks @Jeff, sticking with ya through it all duder.

I was on-board until I had to sit here and listen to Brad eat bacon in the background!!

Welp, I enjoyed this website long enough I suppose. It was only a mater of time before it Sold Out.

Later.

@HaVoK308 said:

Welp, I enjoyed this website long enough I suppose. It was only a mater of time before it Sold Out.

Later.

Alarmist. Reactionary. Childish.

You would think from the way they talk about it in the video that they are EXTREMELY happy and excited about it. What has you worried?

@Volts: Don't then, bye bye.

I'm fucking terrified. But i trust you guys for now, don't let us down.

@Scotto said:

Here's the thing: I trust you guys. I trust that you wouldn't go into a deal like this without some guarantees. I trust that you will continue to be what we liked in the first place. I trust there will be separation between the two entities.

Here's my problem: I think every website that gets acquired by a bigger conglomerate said that at one point - including the many times throughout internet history where it ultimately ended badly. And I bet everything is fine and great, right up until it isn't any more. Right up until CBS has a change of management, or a change of direction. Right up until Gamespot has a change of management. You might trust the current regime to be completely cool with everything Giant Bomb is, but who is to say guys like John Davison will be around in 2, 5, 10 years?

So in the short term, I'm fine with this news. I think all of the anti-Gamespot stuff here is kind of silly, because the old regime there is pretty much gone. You're basically just hating a domain name, at this point. I'm more bummed that this means we are probably going to have several more days with little to no new content, than I am about the news itself.

I just have longer term concerns. Your new bosses ultimately own Giant Bomb. and they can have a professional change of heart at any time, for any reason. And if that happens - then what? You all quit, and ask us to come with you to start over again?

I trust that you've thought this through, and that it was ultimately necessary to keep doing what you do. I never really understood how Whiskey Media's business plan worked with limited ad presence, and only several thousand people giving you $50 a year - clearly that wasn't sustainable long term, as I kind of suspected.

Just... don't let the man bring you down, okay? Promise me that, and I will go down this new rabbit hole with you. As long as you guys can keep doing what you've been doing, most of these other people losing their minds will eventually calm down.

This. This to the end of days, to the bitter end.

@FengShuiGod: There's no conspiracy theory here, it's just good business. Gamespot's reputation has been tainted since Gerstmann Gate - this is an opportunity for them to alleviate some of that ill will by letting Jeff tell his side of the story, and denouncing the actions of the (now gone) folks who made the decisions that lead up to that whole mess. I have nothing but respect for both Jeff Gerstmann and John Davison, but this is a PR move - even if Jeff asked for it, CBS agreed out of a desire to spin it positively in their favor. Don't believe me? Alright, wait til the video airs - Jeff will tell his story, and at the end of it all, he and Davison will talk up the changes that have happened at GS to prevent something like that from happening again. Jeff will then talk about how happy he is to be working with old GS friends again (which I'm sure is true) and the overall message will be one of Giant Bomb and Gamespot unity and friendship. Like I said, PR.

I trust these guys, i'd follow them through the gates of hell I would.

"Do you actually believe GiantBomb will stay like it is? Meaning, will it have the same homebrew, garage-feel? Because I dont.

It'll change, and change is never easy, and sometimes change goes bad, but change happens, and we'd rather be excited for it and prove everyone wrong, you know?"

From Patrick's site.. This makes me very sad.

This is probably the ONLY site that has built up enough goodwill, that after news like that, I don't just drop it like a hot potato.

And that's a good thing.

Tested and Giant Bomb being split up :(

If John Davison (who is a cool cat) was the engineer behind this deal, it would really make sense. Giant Bomb is very much what he tried to make 1Up into - a video game and nonsense personality cult. Both seem to have struggled with the money side though. He'd also be a great BombCast guest, but I doubt he has time for that nonsense these days.

What I'm getting from this is that CBS bought them because they think they can do a better job monetizing GB. People don't just pay a load of money, raise the budget and expect you to keep scraping in the same peanuts. I'm worried about where that can go.

Change is bad, mmmkay?

Damn, they're continuing to do reviews. I think it's the least interesting part of the site. I get plenty of critique through the podcast and would rather see them do more video material - guess reviews are light on bandwidth and big on ad views though.

I wonder if Jeff feels a bit like Jeff Green now.

@atomic_dumpling said:

@Splodge said:

You would think from the way they talk about it in the video that they are EXTREMELY happy and excited about it. What has you worried?

Exactly that. They are shilling this way too hard as a good thing, while in truth this is a desperation move by Shelby Bonnie, who was bleeding money into Whiskey Media for years.

I feel sad that you dont recognise genuine happiness.

Hold me, I scared!

This situation is genius, it brings all the fair weather fans out of the woodwork, All the childish, naive, morons who show no faith and respect to the giantbomb crew. Cant wait to see how this turns out, and if i don't like it, I'l stop subscribing. Simple as that.

@Jakethesnakeyea said:

@Scotto said:

Here's the thing: I trust you guys. I trust that you wouldn't go into a deal like this without some guarantees. I trust that you will continue to be what we liked in the first place. I trust there will be separation between the two entities.

Here's my problem: I think every website that gets acquired by a bigger conglomerate said that at one point - including the many times throughout internet history where it ultimately ended badly. And I bet everything is fine and great, right up until it isn't any more. Right up until CBS has a change of management, or a change of direction. Right up until Gamespot has a change of management. You might trust the current regime to be completely cool with everything Giant Bomb is, but who is to say guys like John Davison will be around in 2, 5, 10 years?

So in the short term, I'm fine with this news. I think all of the anti-Gamespot stuff here is kind of silly, because the old regime there is pretty much gone. You're basically just hating a domain name, at this point. I'm more bummed that this means we are probably going to have several more days with little to no new content, than I am about the news itself.

I just have longer term concerns. Your new bosses ultimately own Giant Bomb. and they can have a professional change of heart at any time, for any reason. And if that happens - then what? You all quit, and ask us to come with you to start over again?

I trust that you've thought this through, and that it was ultimately necessary to keep doing what you do. I never really understood how Whiskey Media's business plan worked with limited ad presence, and only several thousand people giving you $50 a year - clearly that wasn't sustainable long term, as I kind of suspected.

Just... don't let the man bring you down, okay? Promise me that, and I will go down this new rabbit hole with you. As long as you guys can keep doing what you've been doing, most of these other people losing their minds will eventually calm down.

This. This to the end of days, to the bitter end.

But so what if they can't keep doing what they want? Are you actually so blind to history as to be worried? You talk like the Bombsquad will be relegated to some gulag and forced to perform manual labor. Do you really think it is beyond them to quit, and start another great company? GiantBomb can not be silenced.

Congratulations duders! Since you guys seem stoked about the move, I'm sure everything will end up fine and in some cases even better than before. Looking forward to the future.

@Jakethesnakeyea said:

@Scotto said:

Here's the thing: I trust you guys. I trust that you wouldn't go into a deal like this without some guarantees. I trust that you will continue to be what we liked in the first place. I trust there will be separation between the two entities.

Here's my problem: I think every website that gets acquired by a bigger conglomerate said that at one point - including the many times throughout internet history where it ultimately ended badly. And I bet everything is fine and great, right up until it isn't any more. Right up until CBS has a change of management, or a change of direction. Right up until Gamespot has a change of management. You might trust the current regime to be completely cool with everything Giant Bomb is, but who is to say guys like John Davison will be around in 2, 5, 10 years?

So in the short term, I'm fine with this news. I think all of the anti-Gamespot stuff here is kind of silly, because the old regime there is pretty much gone. You're basically just hating a domain name, at this point. I'm more bummed that this means we are probably going to have several more days with little to no new content, than I am about the news itself.

I just have longer term concerns. Your new bosses ultimately own Giant Bomb. and they can have a professional change of heart at any time, for any reason. And if that happens - then what? You all quit, and ask us to come with you to start over again?

I trust that you've thought this through, and that it was ultimately necessary to keep doing what you do. I never really understood how Whiskey Media's business plan worked with limited ad presence, and only several thousand people giving you $50 a year - clearly that wasn't sustainable long term, as I kind of suspected.

Just... don't let the man bring you down, okay? Promise me that, and I will go down this new rabbit hole with you. As long as you guys can keep doing what you've been doing, most of these other people losing their minds will eventually calm down.

This. This to the end of days, to the bitter end.

QFT. Both quotes.

Sorry, but no. I can't share the happy feeling they are trying to transmit on the video feed.

The reason why GB was good was because the community and the staff were small, so they felt like part of us. That, and the circumstances in which this site was founded were the reason this felt different than IGN, GS or many other sites. Integrity and autonomy was of outermost important here. As others are saying, it felt like a rogue operation, something by gamers, to gamers; with little to no executive meddling. They are always out in the open, so I trusted them implicitly when they say "X game is great" or "Y game is not so good". Maybe I wouldn't agree, but I knew where they came from in that decision, and that it wasn't being pushed by a PR's agenda.

Also, I have no ill feelings about those other sites, but I never felt like I connected there. From the community standpoint, this site has some of the best forums and content out there.

So, no... I will still stay around for the news and will still listen to the podcast, but I will not renew my subscription, nor will I join them in celebration for their new boss.

I trust the team and they seem happy so I'm not particularly worried, though I'll miss Norm and Will.

I really hate this news.

I don't know how to feel about this.

I'm going to cry, if that gives any hints. Hopefully it will work out for the best?

I really hate it when Jeff sits there and tries to sell me on something by being all PR-y and coy.

Aside from now wanting pancakes, I'm wondering about the future of GB as others are but with the confidence of the GB crew I know that they will do all they can to keep doing what they've been doing & making things even crazier. Not sure how Luchadeer will handle the move though :P.

@Splodge: We don't want people like that here anyway, all the kiddies are coming out the woodwork and its hilarious.

I hope what they are saying is all true... You guys have never done this community wrong, so there's no reason to believe you'll start now. Here's to new adventures and I hope this turns out how you want it!

:(

@AhmadMetallic said:

I really hate it when Jeff sits there and tries to sell me on something by being all PR-y and coy.

It comes across as very un-Jeff.

When Jeff was fired for GameSpot, he had opportunities - a lot of opportunities. Instead of taking a well paid job and chillin, he went with a start-up and worked his ass off.

I think he deserves at least some benefit of the doubt...

@Deckard42 said:

I have faith that you guys will keep Giantbomb as rad as it has ever been. It'll be interesting to see what you guys do with more funds backing you.

You know what? Honestly I couldn't care less if Giant Bomb survives in the same state. I'm only here for the staff personalities.

If GB had stayed as the low budget, randomly produced Arrow Pointing Down podcast that would have been fine too.

Bummer...

@Shaka999: You mean John Davison? That guy who did his best to save GamePro by turning it into an amazing video game magazine? That guy who has been doing this for like 20 years now? I think he's alright.

@Treadstone said:

In about 2 or 3 years we're going to start seeing GameSpot trying to absorb Giant Bomb fully into it. What use does CBS have for two massive gaming sites? It'll start gradually.

I think you're forgetting something, as doomsayers do. Say whatever you will about GameFAQs post-GS and post-CBS, it still looks and works like GameFAQs. The only "integration" feature I even notice is GameFAQs forum posts showing up on GameSpot searches.

So if your logic on "two massive gaming sites" falls short, I think extrapolating that same logic to three massive sites falls even shorter. WM succeeded because focus is everything, and making one uber-site is not something the internet seems to want.

Oh, and CBS owns a little site called Metacritic too. Something that exists purely to collate different opinions from different sites. Reducing that diversity only shoots themselves in the foot, on every level.

@whatthegeek said:

@FengShuiGod: There's no conspiracy theory here, it's just good business. Gamespot's reputation has been tainted since Gerstmann Gate - this is an opportunity for them to alleviate some of that ill will by letting Jeff tell his side of the story, and denouncing the actions of the (now gone) folks who made the decisions that lead up to that whole mess. I have nothing but respect for both Jeff Gerstmann and John Davison, but this is a PR move - even if Jeff asked for it, CBS agreed out of a desire to spin it positively in their favor. Don't believe me? Alright, wait til the video airs - Jeff will tell his story, and at the end of it all, he and Davison will talk up the changes that have happened at GS to prevent something like that from happening again. Jeff will then talk about how happy he is to be working with old GS friends again (which I'm sure is true) and the overall message will be one of Giant Bomb and Gamespot unity and friendship. Like I said, PR.

I never disputed that it was a PR move, or that it wasn't good business. Obviously CBS agreed because it would help them. You can't expect them to agree to something that hurts them. I just said Gamespot probably didn't instigate the discussion, and that there ultimately is nothing pernicious about the situation, PR move or not.

We have no reason to lose faith in them. It's gonna be OK, guys.

This news bums me right the fuck out.