After all the hype and craziness I finally made some time to check out the closing E3 Bombcast and decided I should collect my thoughts in a blog post.

First off, Leigh Alexander caused quite the stir on the internet and while I don’t want to dwell on this any further I do have to address it. Plain and simple, Leigh is not an interesting podcast guest. Her laughable attempts to present herself as the professional business journalist were intermixed with cries of “Fuck Boston”, slurred explanations and apologies for her past appearance, and the ridiculous Activision party budget fabrication.   I felt bad listening to Barnett just rip her for it, but it was completely deserved.

Having said all that, it’s too bad she’s being personally attacked on twitter. She certainly poured gasoline on the fire with some of her comments though…

I think that after a couple years of E3 podcasting we now have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the finale podcast. A chaotic booze-fuelled clusterfuck that frequently goes right off the rails. Sometimes this creates great entertainment, other times it’s just hard to listen to. I understand where the guys are coming. They’ve been busting their asses for the duration of the show and they’re ready to celebrate. It’s just too bad because there are seeds of interesting discussion that can never really get off the ground due to fatigue and brewskies. You can see it in their faces at times, just too damn tired to get invested in the deep stuff.

Paul Barnett has just surpassed John Davison as my favorite video game industry person to listen to. The man can tell a story like no other and brings an amazing perspective. Both his bread maker analogy and William Shattner story were great examples of this. I just wish we could listen to him in a more traditional podcast with fewer guests and more order.

I found the other guests were good. Dino seemed especially cool. I enjoyed Pope’s bumbling attempt to exclusively reveal his Rock Band track list, which turned into a podcast-long joke.

Despite the madness, the crew had an extraordinary show and pumped out the most interesting E3 content I saw on the web. 

They should not invite her on again. She did the exact same thing as last time round......And at one point she said she gets a hard time for being a woman. No, it's because you're drunk, repeating yourself and not letting anyone else speak.

Some of the comments i saw seemed far too over the top saying stuff like "LEIGH SHOULD DIE!". Way too far guys, no-one listens to opinions like that. My biggest problem with what has come out of this podcast is her reaction. If she genuinly thought that she was a fantastic guest this time around then i have no wish to ever hear her again. She was obnoxious, loud, annoying and interupting sure. The whole apology thing was unneeded, what she said in 2009 was not that "controversial" and anyone who got angry about that should calm down. 
However, this year she was worse than 2009 and the fact that she is claiming it's due to the fact that she's a woman is ludicrous. I've seen some comments who though Paul interupted to much, though i don't see him getting defensive and saying "JUST BECAUSE I'M BRITISH!". Not being sorry about something doesn't mean that you didn't do anything wrong, it can mean (and in this case) That you may be somewhat dillusional.  
Her loud drunkeness isn't why i wouldn't want her on the show again, it led to some funny stuff. The reason i wouldn't like her on the show again is because she thinks she is completely in the right. Her tweets are insulting to everyone who commented about her on the bombcast page. She said something like i wasn't at woman school when they told us to only speak when spoken too. No, the reason we think you spoke too much is because you spoke TOO much. I don't remember when anyone would ever say Carrie spoke too much and that's because she was professional and didn't interrupt, hence no-one interrupted her. Using your gender as a scapegoat is downright insulting to everyone. You're alienating yourself and a lot of people i asked who liked you turned when you made the comment and said we all live with our parents, calling us Nerds! You do realise you write about video games? 
 Leigh is digging herself into a deeper hole by acting like a brat.  " frequently participate in podcasts while drinking (and not being sorry about it)" - From her site. Leigh i liked you before this podcast but you seem to be completely unprofessional and childlike. Being drunk or in the wrong frame of mind is no excuse.  
On a side note the whole "FUCK BOSTON!" thing was also ridiculous. I'm a Leeds United fan and a Rangers fan over here in the UK, you don't see me shouting "FUCK THE CATHOLIC PART OF GLASGOW AND IRELAND!" or "FUCK MANCHESTER!" Why? Because insulting a place because of a sports team is ridiculous. 
  Don't call us a "rad" community if the second we say anything against you, you act like we are idiots.

<>, and that was E3.

" Some of the comments i saw seemed far too over the top saying stuff like "LEIGH SHOULD DIE!". Way too far guys, no-one listens to opinions like that. My biggest problem with what has come out of this podcast is her reaction. If she genuinly thought that she was a fantastic guest this time around then i have no wish to ever hear her again. She was obnoxious, loud, annoying and interupting sure. The whole apology thing was unneeded, what she said in 2009 was not that "controversial" and anyone who got angry about that should calm down. 
However, this year she was worse than 2009 and the fact that she is claiming it's due to the fact that she's a woman is ludicrous. I've seen some comments who though Paul interupted to much, though i don't see him getting defensive and saying "JUST BECAUSE I'M BRITISH!". Not being sorry about something doesn't mean that you didn't do anything wrong, it can mean (and in this case) That you may be somewhat dillusional.  
Her loud drunkeness isn't why i wouldn't want her on the show again, it led to some funny stuff. The reason i wouldn't like her on the show again is because she thinks she is completely in the right. Her tweets are insulting to everyone who commented about her on the bombcast page. She said something like i wasn't at woman school when they told us to only speak when spoken too. No, the reason we think you spoke too much is because you spoke TOO much. I don't remember when anyone would ever say Carrie spoke too much and that's because she was professional and didn't interrupt, hence no-one interrupted her. Using your gender as a scapegoat is downright insulting to everyone. You're alienating yourself and a lot of people i asked who liked you turned when you made the comment and said we all live with our parents, calling us Nerds! You do realise you write about video games?   Leigh is digging herself into a deeper hole by acting like a brat.  " frequently participate in podcasts while drinking (and not being sorry about it)" - From her site. Leigh i liked you before this podcast but you seem to be completely unprofessional and childlike. Being drunk or in the wrong frame of mind is no excuse.   On a side note the whole "FUCK BOSTON!" thing was also ridiculous. I'm a Leeds United fan and a Rangers fan over here in the UK, you don't see me shouting "FUCK THE CATHOLIC PART OF GLASGOW AND IRELAND!" or "FUCK MANCHESTER!" Why? Because insulting a place because of a sports team is ridiculous.   Don't call us a "rad" community if the second we say anything against you, you act like we are idiots. "

" <>. "

The podcast was thoroughly entertaining and they should have Leigh on the podcast more often.

Due to the outrage, she'll be back next year and better than ever.
 
In all honesty, though; that bombcast was awful. I couldn't listen to it for more than a few minutes. It was a travesty to the ears and had people speaking and yelling over one another like it was a Yankees game.

Please don't do this again, guys. 50 topics on this shit is enough. We get it, Leigh is irritating, <>, That was E3, Etc.

I thought she was god awful last year, but wasn't so bad this year. I'd still rather them get other guests, but I still enjoyed it this year.

The $775 million gaff and her "correcting" Ryan when he said 'unregardless' were both pretty great.

Also, can anyone summarize what she was saying on her twitter after the show? I tried sifting through it, but that site is awful to read.

 getting lots of advice on how to change my personality and be normal from a legion of internet users flipping out about a podcast. IRONY!    

 people who become enflamed over videogame podcasts are best arbiters of what is 'embarrassing' &how to act normal, lolz  

  I WAS LEGIT WELL BEHAVED THIS YEAR    

 [gb community should be embarrassed] Shady3011 @leighalexander If I become a girl, will I get a job saying whatever the fuck I want?    

 other people did the same. i don't know why i'm the only one who gets yelled at    

I think the uStream video treats her better. It's really easy to get enraged at the podcast because it's audio only and all the microphones are level, so because she interrupts every other sentence her voice gets super irritating. But on the uStream version all the voices are more or less level, or I guess they were using some central microphone or something, and she seems to be less loud. I'm about to download the uStream version for keeps, but that shit's running up to 1GB so I need to find somewhere to store it first. My only real problem with her is that she just doesn't let other people talk and she talks over people, and that grows problematic in a medium where it's all about sound and audio. I don't care about when somebody says stupid crap because the rest of the cast is there to shoot them down, which they always do. Just... yo: interrupt less. There.

" <>, and that was E3. "

That last E3 episode was awful.
 
I didn't watch the uStream, but from the audio stream, at one point it seemed to just devolve into a party with multiple conversations. The last 30 minutes or so were much better.
 
Regarding Leigh Alexander - I want to like her, I really do. I work in technology journalism myself and I know how mean people can get - but she was totally drunk and obnoxious. I agree - she can't pull the "I'm a serious business journalist" card then yell "Fuck Boston!" The $775 million comment made her look absolutely stupid, too. Living in the Midwest, she offended me when she said "fly-over state", but whatever, a lot of people say that so I guess I can't get pissed.
 
Paul Barnett is really great. Like him a lot. What is it with Brits in gaming? John Davison, Gary Whitta, Barnett, they're all awesome.

DDP.

Personally I enjoyed Leigh as a guest, the Boston thing wasn't so interesting though, and would love if she was on more often and perhaps with time (since I know of no other podcasts shes on) she might learn to let other people speak more on a podcast.

Paul Barnett is godly...

They should totally get Tommy Tallarico on one of those, but he's probably busy as hell.

I loved leigh, I get you dont like her because she doesnt act "professional" Look at the bombcast its anything but Professonal, but thats why i love it, those guys go on and speak their opinions and have fun doin it, when alcohol is involved and you are really good friends with the people your around your going to get slightly obnoxious i do all the time and my friends still love me much like im sure the guys still like her even if she does embarrass herself a bit, give the women a great her articles on gamasutra are great i believe she is more than qualified to be on the show.

One thing I think many people who only listened to the podcast didn't get was that everyone in the room was getting super annoyed with Leigh. They were slowly leaving the room that they were recording in and were going outside to not deal with her. At one point it was just Ryan, Leigh and I think Dino in the room because Ryan couldn't leave and Dino was just being nice. At the same time Jeff was livestreaming from his iphone basically showing that he wanted to talk about random stuff but didn't want to be in the podcasting room. 
 
The issue I have with Leigh is that she doesn't realize where her to stop. If she had been really drunk and acted that way, that fine whatever. But by insulting the audience of people who listen to and watch the bombcast. She insinuated that we are all children living with our parents. This was, to me, very degrading especially since i would wager that her readership overlaps with a lot of people who listen to the bombcast. 
 
Just my 2 cents.

" I think the uStream video treats her better. It's really easy to get enraged at the podcast because it's audio only and all the microphones are level, so because she interrupts every other sentence her voice gets super irritating. But on the uStream version all the voices are more or less level, or I guess they were using some central microphone or something, and she seems to be less loud. I'm about to download the uStream version for keeps, but that shit's running up to 1GB so I need to find somewhere to store it first. My only real problem with her is that she just doesn't let other people talk and she talks over people, and that grows problematic in a medium where it's all about sound and audio. I don't care about when somebody says stupid crap because the rest of the cast is there to shoot them down, which they always do. Just... yo: interrupt less. There. "

I really enjoyed all the E3 Bombcasts.... except the last one. Maybe it's just Leigh being drunk, but it's hard enough listening to a room full of people talk without someone CONSTANTLY talking over the real conversation. Her writing is typically quite good, and I enjoy a good side story, but man was it hard to listen to. Same thing as last year, I shut it off about half way through. Maybe the normal show will be better this week (queued up for the drive home today).

It was pretty ironic when she apologized for last year's appearance and then continued to jump on other people's points.

" One thing I think many people who only listened to the podcast didn't get was that everyone in the room was getting super annoyed with Leigh. They were slowly leaving the room that they were recording in and were going outside to not deal with her. At one point it was just Ryan, Leigh and I think Dino in the room because Ryan couldn't leave and Dino was just being nice. At the same time Jeff was livestreaming from his iphone basically showing that he wanted to talk about random stuff but didn't want to be in the podcasting room.   The issue I have with Leigh is that she doesn't realize where her to stop. If she had been really drunk and acted that way, that fine whatever. But by insulting the audience of people who listen to and watch the bombcast. She insinuated that we are all children living with our parents. This was, to me, very degrading especially since i would wager that her readership overlaps with a lot of people who listen to the bombcast.   Just my 2 cents. "

" One thing I think many people who only listened to the podcast didn't get was that everyone in the room was getting super annoyed with Leigh. They were slowly leaving the room that they were recording in and were going outside to not deal with her. At one point it was just Ryan, Leigh and I think Dino in the room because Ryan couldn't leave and Dino was just being nice. At the same time Jeff was livestreaming from his iphone basically showing that he wanted to talk about random stuff but didn't want to be in the podcasting room. "

She was bad. I'm a big fan of Leigh and her work. Believe it or not, she is actually a pretty intelligent, talented journalist when she wants to be. It's just that she can't handle her booze, and that isn't good when you're doing a semi-serious podcast that's intended to be listenable. Tbh, this is the second time in a row this has happened and it has me worried. Either she just doesn't give a fuck or she's got a issues around drinking. :(

In the future, I'm sure she'll be back. This will become a Giant Bomb tradition - an out of control celebratory E3 finale podcast featuring Leigh Alexander.  
It's created a stir and got attention each time right?

" In the future, I'm sure she'll be back. This will become a Giant Bomb tradition - an out of control celebratory E3 finale podcast featuring Leigh Alexander.  It's created a stir and got attention each time right? "

The fact that everyone likes to blame the low quality of that podcast solely on Leigh Alexander is honestly kind of laughable. You had a bunch of drunk people in a room constantly trying to talk over each other despite having nothing particularly significant or funny to say. It's not really any particular person's fault. It was just a bad podcast.

"A chaotic booze-fuelled clusterfuck that frequently goes right off the rails. Sometimes this creates great entertainment, other times it’s just hard to listen to."

I enjoyed it at times, Paul Barnett is beyond awesome as a guest. I don't think people should listen to these massive casts expecting a tight-knight, conversation fueled show.
 
Also, Leigh is terrible and I hope her Bombcasting days have passed.

" @zander1123 said:

" One thing I think many people who only listened to the podcast didn't get was that everyone in the room was getting super annoyed with Leigh. They were slowly leaving the room that they were recording in and were going outside to not deal with her. At one point it was just Ryan, Leigh and I think Dino in the room because Ryan couldn't leave and Dino was just being nice. At the same time Jeff was livestreaming from his iphone basically showing that he wanted to talk about random stuff but didn't want to be in the podcasting room. "

Oh, okay, I didn't realize that. That basically invalidates what I said because I only watched about thirty minutes of the livestream. Following this logic, she'll basically never come on again? And, yet, next E3, there'll she'll be, with exactly the same behavior. "