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[Giant Bomb] Noooooooooooooooo! :(

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  • Stabbity StyleStabbity Style He/Him | Warning: Mothership Reporting Kennewick, WARegistered User regular
    Aw man, Ben's leaving :<

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  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    Wait, really?

    Fuck.

  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    Are you saying that he's.....
    going rogue?

    Seriously, what the hell. This site has a hard time hanging onto the younger folk. I guess I get it, they're not exactly able to move upward and get raises.

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    It's weird that all of the (living) founders are still there, but they've cycled through more employees than they started with (Patrick, Austin, Drew, Dan, Abby and now Ben)

    I'm not going to doom and gloom, but I hope they can get some new hires in soon.

  • GONG-00GONG-00 Registered User regular
    Hopefully when the acquisition is complete, they will be in a position to replenish ranks. Given their track record with hires, I am optimistic.

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  • bloodyroarxxbloodyroarxx Casa GrandeRegistered User regular
    Yeah the entire design of the site means no real upward mobility regardless of seniority unless Jeff or Vinny left

  • FuriousJodoFuriousJodo Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Right, I think they just don't have the budget or head count to really promote anyone until the more senior folks move on.

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  • CormacCormac Registered User regular
    Maybe now that they're no longer part of CBS the hiring process may not be so cumbersome and convoluted. Then again they are still owned by a corporate entity so who knows.

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  • GONG-00GONG-00 Registered User regular
    Nothing wrong with Giant Bomb acting as an incubator for new talent.

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  • bloodyroarxxbloodyroarxx Casa GrandeRegistered User regular
    Right, I think they just don't have the budget or head count to really promote anyone until the more senior folks move on.

    Well they are under new management so we dont really know their budget levels now

    But like I said they dont really have positions to even promote to tho

    Jeff is head of the site and Vinny is head of video that’s the only positions like there is a pecking order but they never really had defined roles anymore other then video or editorial

  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    GONG-00 wrote: »
    Nothing wrong with Giant Bomb acting as an incubator for new talent.

    Jeff has said many times that Giant Bomb is not a place you stay. But also I think he's talked about maybe wanting to change that about the site.

    Ben probably should have waited until the end of GOTY to announce he was leaving, the way Patrick did. Now I feel like this will just cast a pall on the proceedings/people will claim Ben is trying to do XYZ "as his last act of defiance", esp since it sounds like Ben is trying to get away from the spotlight of a front facing job/taking care of his mental health.

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  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    Just realized this is going to make Ranking of Fighters less interesting.

  • AistanAistan Tiny Bat Registered User regular
    GONG-00 wrote: »
    Nothing wrong with Giant Bomb acting as an incubator for new talent.

    Jeff has said many times that Giant Bomb is not a place you stay. But also I think he's talked about maybe wanting to change that about the site.

    Ben probably should have waited until the end of GOTY to announce he was leaving, the way Patrick did. Now I feel like this will just cast a pall on the proceedings/people will claim Ben is trying to do XYZ "as his last act of defiance", esp since it sounds like Ben is trying to get away from the spotlight of a front facing job/taking care of his mental health.

    No one should listen to anything the giant bomb community says about GOTY deliberations even outside of a situation like this.

  • never dienever die Registered User regular
    I’m shocked. If anyone was gonna be around long term, I assumed it was gonna be Ben.

  • HardtargetHardtarget There Are Four Lights VancouverRegistered User regular
    I guess that's the end of "My first E3" :(

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  • never dienever die Registered User regular
    Well shit, I hope Jan sticks around, as him, Ben, and Abby were kind of the three amigos in terms of interactions.

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited January 2021
    MHYJgJt_d.webp

    Undead Scottsman on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited January 2021
    never die wrote: »
    I’m shocked. If anyone was gonna be around long term, I assumed it was gonna be Ben.

    Here too. Thought he was going to take on a bigger role.

    Abby and Ben should open GB Mid-town and start up a Chicago branch.

    Or honestly start GB Eye in London.

    MichaelLC on
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Hardtarget wrote: »
    I guess that's the end of "My first E3" :(

    E3 is finally cancelled?

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  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    "My last E3"

  • Zilla360Zilla360 21st Century. |She/Her| Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered User regular
    I wonder if Ben and Abby would have stayed on if the pandemic had never happened. I really miss them all being in the studio together. :(

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  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    it does feel kinda suspicious that people are all leaving around the time giant bomb is bought by a new company. Perhaps these are incentivized departures, to avoid the bad press that would come from simply laying off popular personalities. Perhaps I'm just paranoid. I hope I am just paranoid.

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  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    I always got the feeling Ben and Abby never fully realized what being a "face" for the site entailed in the modern era of the internet. I think it took a toll on them, especially Abby. The older crew members like Vinny, Brad, Jeff, Jason and Rorie are much more grizzled and used to the kind of shitheads and abuse you're going to face when you talk about video games on the internet. The fact that both Abby and Ben want to take a step back from the public side of things is telling.

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  • BRIAN BLESSEDBRIAN BLESSED Maybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHH Registered User regular
    This is probably just me overthinking things but I'm worried about Jason. Remember hearing on the grapevine that he was going through some Real Shit, and he hasn't showed up in a whole lot of content besides a Bombcast here and there (and not even that for some time)

  • McMoogleMcMoogle Registered User regular
    it does feel kinda suspicious that people are all leaving around the time giant bomb is bought by a new company. Perhaps these are incentivized departures, to avoid the bad press that would come from simply laying off popular personalities. Perhaps I'm just paranoid. I hope I am just paranoid.

    Ben specifically said it had nothing to do with that so I doubt it.

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  • never dienever die Registered User regular
    The suddenness of Ben's departure, compared to Abby's slow burn leaving, or Dan's like month lead time, really does make me think its just what Ben said: he doesn't want to do it anymore, and it's taxing on his mental health. As someone who has had very bad mental episodes due to work related stress, I can completely believe Ben hit his tolerance level for the job and decided to leave.

  • ManetherenWolfManetherenWolf Registered User regular
    edited January 2021
    i
    This is probably just me overthinking things but I'm worried about Jason. Remember hearing on the grapevine that he was going through some Real Shit, and he hasn't showed up in a whole lot of content besides a Bombcast here and there (and not even that for some time)

    He has mentioned medical issues before, and I’m sure stuff like home schooling and taking care of the kids while I assume his wife works too puts limiters on the amount of stuff he can record regularly. That shit combined can take a lot out of anyone.

    ManetherenWolf on
  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    Considering that Dan, Ben, and Abby were all almost completely responsible for anything new showing up on the site I sincerely hope that the old guard has a strong content plan for 2021.
    Pandemic aside, the site has been a ghost town for content. Little reason to visit as a subscriber yet along a non-premium person.

  • SanderJKSanderJK Crocodylus Pontifex Sinterklasicus Madrid, 3000 ADRegistered User regular
    I understand Ben's position, too bad that the bad outweighed the fun. It sucks to realize you don't like your dreamjob.

    Jason has been pretty open about most of his medical issues, which sound like most of the things I associated with fairly progressed diabetes. Sight problems, swollen joints, feet problems, damaged nerves. I think Jason also most enjoys the role behind the scenes, happy to do the tech stuff.

    The site has had a rough year, they're down 3 people since Dan left, their Pandemic plan of "Solo streams until it peters out" didn't really pan out as it's the interplay and banter that makes the site work, Jeff has been really busy with the baby, the fires (remember when Cali was on fire for a whole summer three centuries ago.....), and then being sucked into endless meetings due to the Red Ventures sale.

    And I do wonder how attracting new people will go. NY and SF are the most expensive places to live in the country, the proposition to join GB as a junior gets a little worse each year, and I'm not sure how Red Ventures thinks about Giant Bomb yet.

    Alex also said they left the CBS building and all their stuff got sent around.....

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  • Houk the NamebringerHouk the Namebringer Nipples The EchidnaRegistered User regular
    Considering that Dan, Ben, and Abby were all almost completely responsible for anything new showing up on the site I sincerely hope that the old guard has a strong content plan for 2021.
    Pandemic aside, the site has been a ghost town for content. Little reason to visit as a subscriber yet along a non-premium person.

    Yeah to be honest, the only reason I still have my subscription is out of loyalty and the hope that things will pick up at some point in the future. Over the last year, the time I've spent watching years-old content compared to new stuff is probably like 10-1 at the vey least.

  • MaddocMaddoc I'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother? Registered User regular
    It's the age of Jan now

  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    Maddoc wrote: »
    It's the age of Jan now

    You might say it's

    January

  • augustaugust where you come from is gone Registered User regular
    Welcome to the Space Jan
    Here's your chance, do your dance
    At the Space Jan
    Alright

  • SnicketysnickSnicketysnick The Greatest Hype Man in WesterosRegistered User regular
    SanderJK wrote: »

    And I do wonder how attracting new people will go. NY and SF are the most expensive places to live in the country, the proposition to join GB as a junior gets a little worse each year, and I'm not sure how Red Ventures thinks about Giant Bomb yet.

    OTOH this whole thing has shown that remote stuff is workable if not ideal so that may open up some possibility space

    but who knows

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  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    If you miss premium content, I mean, they brought back the Hotspot and (not)UPF. I had let my sub lapse because there was too much content I wasn't watching during lockdown, but resubbed during the most recent sale.

    Jason is high risk and also super busy with family, as many people are during the pandemic.

    I dunno, I feel like they'll figure something out. They usually do.

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  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    If you miss premium content, I mean, they brought back the Hotspot and (not)UPF. I had let my sub lapse because there was too much content I wasn't watching during lockdown, but resubbed during the most recent sale.

    Jason is high risk and also super busy with family, as many people are during the pandemic.

    I dunno, I feel like they'll figure something out. They usually do.

    They've had, what, maybe one UPF last week? And I'm not going to applaud them for creativity in bringing back a podcast with 4 middle-aged white men to talk on when they already do two different versions of the same thing.
    At this point, it's been almost a year. Almost every business I know has had to pivot in some way to continue to deliver in the pandemic.

    It doesn't feel like GB has done much nor are they giving their premium subscribers any insight into what the next year is going to look like from them from a content perspective.

    That all said, I'm still a premium member and still a big fan of the site and the people on it. It just feels a bit uninspired for the past 12 months or so.

  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    UPF/Relaxed Friday Stream is a weekly show. It's only been back for 2 weeks because it is incredibly hard to do remotely, but they're trying anyway.

    Also Vinny does an update on the forums every week. Now *that* was actually refreshing and necessary, esp when everyone was rightfully complaining that GB felt too black box.

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  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    I honestly don't care how GB runs their business so long as they're doing it ethically and producing content.
    I don't know if I'd classify Vinny's updates as incredibly compelling content but you're right that it does give a bit of insight.

    Ultimately, my point is that I'd like to start to see them put out some content. I'd especially love it if they'd start to produce some original content and start playing video games again. I'm game to be onboard for another annual sub but if we have another year like the past one I do not think I'd re-up my subscription until I see them start to get some serious traction.


    As much as I'm not a fan, the Kinda Funny team is doing a really good job around communications and have adapted admirably to the pandemic situation. They make it a point to have an annual plan for their channel and even bring the community in on those plans. Beyond that, they've heavily ramped their gaming streams and have even pivoted to doing all sorts of new content. I'd love to see GB take a similar approach.

This discussion has been closed.