The HotSpot - Episode 397

I spy, with my little eye... _Voicemeeter BANANA_

We had a game show around video games on a local children's channel in Ontario called YTV. The show was called Video & Arcade Top 10. It was hosted by a local radio personality named Nicholas Picholas and featured nervous kids competing in games to win boomboxes while the hosts basically read the manual at the camera and sometimes commentated on the action.

It went on for years and years. They have some episodes on youtube if you want to fall in that hole.

I have a 49 year old coworker who grew up in the 1980-90's Chicago punk scene. He went and saw G.G. Allin live... twice. the first time he saw him perform, he was as close to the stage as he could get. T second time he did not make the same mistake.

https://youtu.be/2N3nTf5s_zo

The fall.

I mean, I always assumed that fall was fake, but still bums me out to hear it confirmed.

I think this makes me a mildly shitty person, but I always go back when I hear the marbles to see how Vinny reacts.

@sockemjetpack: Oh my god, I'd forgotten all about V&A.

IT WAS A WORK?!

thrown controllers done by The Runaway Guys is a good video game game show thing...

THESE SHOOT INTERVIEWS ARE KILLING THE BUSINESS, BROTHER

what a god damned wonderful set of people, and set of years it has been witnessing these people. Seriously, over the many cool internet communities I've fallen into, which is many, none have had a constant good thing going like GB. Ever, and that's 30 years of witnessing, so, expert witness.

Seriously love having vague memory of when oldest of videos went live, then eventually making an account and the departures, the entries, everything else, good, bad, and in the end, legendary.

Don't let that be a laurel to stop, because holy shit, this is the third banger show of the week. I will sub and rec. this website to people who just like entertainment, who have passing interest in the hottest shit in games, but for me, I am listening to this as I am working out magnet backing weight support limits and TV risers, uh, so this website, and this show is a very excellent friday night thing for me, and GIantbomb duders, truly, shaky times, but you doin it, been doin it for years. ty, continue to have batman

So seems like the biggest thing they got out of being part of CBS is endless, useless meetings.

The tree thing happened to me too. Also wanted to chime in that game is awesome fun.

The big red phone is probably my favorite memory of that basement office, 2nd is the Rorie long road thing, I was an incoming freshman in high school and Will initially answered idk what he said but Vinny stole the phone from him and we had a dope conversions about me half reading lord of the flies and spark noting it for the end. And how spark notes was a relative new thing and how different it was doing book reports in 2011 than in the 90's, or whenever Vinny was in high school. And Vinny was seemingly genuinely have a good time talking to a 14 year old child about how the internet has changed and the difference in how book reports were done. That's when I knew that Giantbomb actually cared about all these duders out here.

@sockemjetpack: YES! That show was amazing!

@sockemjetpack: Holy shit I haven't thought about that show in forever. That's how I learned about Golden Sun as a kid.

Another great HotSpot, I’ve always loved that clip of Jeff falling. 🧛🏼

Absolutely love it when they talk inside baseball about Giant Bomb past and present and get a little more in depth on “how the sausage is made” so to speak. Great episode!

Yes, please, a good Roku app would be awesome.

I'm such an absolute mark. They totally got me with thinking the fall was legit.

There was an Italian video game channel on Sky TV back in its infancy, no idea what they were saying, for the most part they just rolled game trailers but sometimes they'd play Legend of Mir.

TIL people thought that fall was real

Has Greg been on any of the (newer) ones of these?

I love this inside baseball talk, and it's weird how similar office space conversations are happening at my work in a totally different industry.

Covid changed everything

There was a great german TV show in early 2000s. It was Giga Games of which the website still runs and now has a youtube channel etc (and I cant say anything about the quality these days or the last 16 years really.)

Anyway it was basically proto-UPF on TV and it was great. Also one of the dudes there introduced me to one of the video game forums that Brad was and probably still is active in which lead me directly to this website. So there is a direct lineage in my personal canon from there to here.

My paternal grandparents would give my brother and me savings bonds for every Christmas and birthday until they passed away. Pretty sure we just instantly cashed them in, though. I don't think I even knew they grew interest or whatever.

THE FALL WAS FAKE? Everything is a lie. I guess in retrospect, the whole "trying to keep his balance" move was fairly exaggerated. Still a bummer.

@carsend: My workplace swore up and down that my department simply couldn't work remotely because of the confidential client information we deal with on a daily basis. Now everyone is working remotely, there have been no issues, productivity didn't drop at all and they're actually saving money by having shut down two entire floors down. I'm certain that once things go back to normal they will resume their stance that for security reasons we once again can't work remotely - which honestly is fine by me - but it really is an eye opener just how mobile modern work really is.

In a completely different office about 8 years ago I tried to convince the higher ups to consider a friday or monday to be work from home since it was a digital ad agency and even at the office we were all e-mailing files to the person sitting 5 feet away. No one would budge and in fact they looked at me like a crazy person for even suggesting it.

The fall is STILL REAL TO ME DAMMIT

The first ATM was released to the public on September 2, 1969

What a fantastic episode! I generally like the idea of The HotSpot but this one is exactly what I want.

@nishantarr: Thank you!

To answer what work looks like on the other side of this, it won't change much. Managers and executives are just set in their ways. They got lonely, they didn't trust people, and they have very little to back up their stance.

We went back into the office over the summer, but in the fall we got sent home again because of rising numbers. Went back a month ago during fucking peak numbers, and more than half of the office got Covid (I have bronchitis, but luckily my constant mask-wearing worked). Two weeks later, they wanted us back. I complained and got another week, but back in the office tomorrow ("It's good optics").

I'm in corporate accounting and doing great at home. Timely, accurate, and finishing big projects. It's a good, well-paying job, but let's just say that I'm no longer ignoring those Linkedin recruitement emails I keep getting. Working from home won't really catch on til the rest of that generation retires. I'm pushing for a couple days at home, but since I'm not a parent it's probably not gonna work.

Most of the videos discussed in the first part of the show popped up in my YT suggestions yesterday, and I went on a fun trip down memory lane. I had no idea that it was going to be prep for when I finally got time to watch this. Thanks to all the great people who took the time to archive that footage, and all the great people who worked (and still work) here!

Fascinating episode, I love all the behind the scenes stories. Please keep it up!

@sockemjetpack: I watched way to much of this as a kid

I hope Vinny never remembers to set up the music at the end because it's a great accidental running joke at this point. Makes me laugh every time to see their reactions to it.

You can screw your camera into a dedicated tripod or microphone arm, then you don't have the bezel issue any more. Also more flexible with positioning and angles/viewpoint.

There is a german 24/7 video game channel on Youtube called Rocket Beans TV. It's actually from the same few people who did Giga Games 20 years ago.

Really enjoyed listening to this HotSpot; I have fond memories of 2006-7 era GameSpot before Jeff was fired; I was on the moderation team from 2008 until 2014. The amount of content GameSpot was pumping out back then was frankly insane.

I can confirm that ALL large corporations suffer from the exact same problems described in the episode.

Wait. Did I hear Jeff say he joined the mile high club in an office room?

@physicalos: I think he was talking about Brad doing that call of duty 4 mission

I used to have a great photo of me and @jeff after that fall at pax east, the most grimaced smile in the world. I remember being like "hey man hows your ass?" and Jeff just laughing and in obvious pain saying "it fucking hurts like hell"

Man, getting the behind-the-scenes details on Jeff's Sneaking Mission to get the beanbag in position, that's excellent haha

It is really unfortunate that GB never got an adequate studio space that rivals the old "basement look" set. That set looked great and really conveyed what GB was all about. But hey, maybe this time!