I disagree he's definitely not the best in the industry especially for the last while he's so apple centric but he is pretty good.
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CBS Interactive (GameSpot parent company) buys Giant Bomb
- Thread starter snoopeasystreet
- Start date
What do you mean? I thought they were going to keep on being the same Giant Bomb they've always been with no changes. The cursing on the Bombcast is half the fun.
You misunderstand, I'm saying if GB were to fold, and Gamespot take in some of GB's staff.
So they'd go from reviewing and covering games to selling them? That'd suck!
funkystudent
Member
I think people afraid of what might change at GB should think what would there other options be?
clearly Whiskey was gonna sell everything off. I mean the office was emptied a week before the deal was even signed.
Would you rather they go to IGN? Gawker Media? AOL? Yahoo?
Gamespot was probably the best choice they have and to be fair I havent heard alot of bad stuff about gamespot in recent years. they seem to be doing just fine. they gave demons souls GOTY for god sake.
If they are given the freedom they had in the old gamespot days they will do just fine and as long as John D is in charge they will.
Still I would like to know why whiskey decided to sell off everything and how long they have been looking for buyers
clearly Whiskey was gonna sell everything off. I mean the office was emptied a week before the deal was even signed.
Would you rather they go to IGN? Gawker Media? AOL? Yahoo?
Gamespot was probably the best choice they have and to be fair I havent heard alot of bad stuff about gamespot in recent years. they seem to be doing just fine. they gave demons souls GOTY for god sake.
If they are given the freedom they had in the old gamespot days they will do just fine and as long as John D is in charge they will.
Still I would like to know why whiskey decided to sell off everything and how long they have been looking for buyers
Nizz
Member
Ahh, misread that. Sorry. :/
soxinthebox
Member
Fuck, I'd totally feel obliged to preorder if one of those guys was behind the counter. Stop giving them ideas!
I think a lot of people are scared that it's never going to be the same, or "as good as it was."
I agree though, it was clear that Whiskey wasn't the long term solution.
DidntKnowJack
Member
I think the level of crazy in this thread is...insane. I don't know how much more transparent they could have been. This was the best move for them and their audience. Subscriptions were keeping them going, but clearly even that wasn't enough.
I guess what worries me is that we now know for sure that the long term stability of the website is in doubt. They obviously were in trouble with Whiskey but this brings it to light. I like Davison and think that for the short term this could be awesome for the site but I find the possibility of the Giantbomb crew taking new jobs is likely and I still think that if Davison leaves, this can all come crashing down.
Eh, Jeff said exactly what I expected. Of course his first priority was to try to repair GS' reputation...at least among the GB fans who left GS in the first place. That's how a business like CBS operates. The line about there being 2 audiences made me LOL for real. No, the audience is the same.
Can only wait and see for now. Hopefully GB doesn't become a slightly edgier version of GS? But yeah, GB probably had no other choice than to get taken over by the very company & business model they were trying to escape from.
Can only wait and see for now. Hopefully GB doesn't become a slightly edgier version of GS? But yeah, GB probably had no other choice than to get taken over by the very company & business model they were trying to escape from.
Or what if they gave Davisons job to jeff and they took over GS from the inside!
Stayin positive!
I think a lot of people saw the writing on the wall. Whiskey seemed to be struggling, subscriber numbers weren't cutting the costs. Remember that world tour GB tried to do? They didn't get close to their projected mark. And having relatively no ads, huge bandwidth budget leading to them shoving that onto youtube, three to four sister sites that got barely any traffic, Vinny's abhorrent potty mouth.
By late 2011 there seemed to be only two ways Whiskey would end up. They'd either run into the ground, or sell the Tested team to the Mythbusters.
They made the right choice.
John really understands the need to foster personalities but we still have to take in account his record and the fact that he has been with more companies in the past few years than you can count. John is great because he isn't just a suit and as long as is there, I am confident things will be fine. But this industry and corporate culture is a volatile place and that can create some casualties.
Not a chance, I like John but he is not even the best of the English games media guys, Kerion Gillen is a far better writer / commentator on games.
Best a what, being the first to jump from a sinking ship ....... his record speaks volumes.
Also his inane "casual / iOS is the future etc " bullshit is boring.
Wasn't he one of the guys shitcanning on Vita because he prefers iOS?
bigdaddygamebot
Member
Patrick is awesome...for a FIB.
They most likely didn't have any other choice. The writing was on the wall the moment GB announced the subscriptions
MuddyDonut
Member
I didn't know Giant Bomb was geared towards adults. Some of the comments left on the site would disprove that.
UNLESS....
Relax, duders. GB crew have earned the trust over the years that they know what they are doing with their site. I don't particularly care for GameSpot and their style but I won't be going to GameSpot, I'll still be going home to Gamebomb.ru though I wonder how that American rip-off site will fare....
Also, jumping Jesus in a sidecar of chocolate jimmies, Tested and Mythbusters collaborations seems almost fantastical. Very interested to see what happens with that.
Also, jumping Jesus in a sidecar of chocolate jimmies, Tested and Mythbusters collaborations seems almost fantastical. Very interested to see what happens with that.
Until there are changes to the site and content that make me worry, I'll just continue enjoying GB per usual.
Good to see they were getting a solidified source of income because it was evident, at least to me, that they weren't getting enough subs. So in the end, I blame all you cheap fuckers for this.
Good to see they were getting a solidified source of income because it was evident, at least to me, that they weren't getting enough subs. So in the end, I blame all you cheap fuckers for this.
kidding
This move is selling out their 'dignity' why? Would (potentially) going bust under the Whiskey umbrella be more dignified?
I'm sure, sounds like his MO.
Knux-Future
Banned
Yeah man they should have just died out.
like seriously?
if the options were to die slowly or be bought out.
They probably chose the right choice.
People can argue if this will be good or bad in the long run (no one knows), but I just don't understand this whole "selling out" feeling. In general I think the "selling out" cry is usually stupid. Here? What, Giant Bomb shouldn't want to grow and expand their audience?
If it turns out GB starts changing their editorial content or review scores to keep their new "overlords" happy, then you can start the "sell outs" name calling. Right now it makes no sense.
outunderthestars
Banned
Jeff has a 15+ year track record of being honest with his fans.... I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt on this matter.
If they have a slight hint of this, Giantbomb will get dumped on from a great height.
I almost wonder if it might have been better to go out on their own terms instead of live on someone else's. I'm sure everything will seem fine at first, but I have a bad feeling this will end up going real bad later on. Only time will tell, I hope it all pans out and everybody gets what they want.
Anyone that even suggests that possibility is an idiot who doesn't know a thing about Giantbomb.
CartridgeBlower
Member
Damn, I want to believe it will end well, but so much of that video with Jeff and John echoes the things 1up said when IGN bought them. "Nothing here will change!" "This is going to make us the strongest we've ever been!" "We've moved offices, but the editorial side is the same!"
Ask Terry and Matt Leone how that transition went today.
Ask Terry and Matt Leone how that transition went today.
I've been thinking about this all day. It really felt like the money had dried up over the last year. They weren't traveling as much or doing as many location shoots. Now with deeper pockets of CBS they can get back to more of that, Jeff can finally get that E3 booth he wanted for better coverage and demos, and we may even see GB at TGS.
I'm optimistic for the future.
I'm optimistic for the future.
CoffeeJanitor
Member
So many tears, so much salt.
The Antitype
Banned
THANK YOU! A rational human being.
Seriously, this whole 'selling out' line of thought throughout this thread is pretty ignorant and pathetic.
My thoughts? Good for Jeff, Ryan and co. They made a site of such quality, that they caught the attention of the big boys. Now they're getting CBS money to create more content and build their audience, not just hang out on the fringes catering solely to people on neogaf.
GillianSeed79
Member
I respect Davison based on his past tenure at EGM. Plus, he nearly got me to purchase a copy of Gamepro for the first time since I was 13 after he took over.
I'm just happy GB still lives. The cold, hard truth is the media industry is pretty volatile and most media outlets are owned by corporations. Corporations have the cash and capital and the independents are all but dead. I've personally gone through a corporate restructuring in the past where an entire editorial department was laid off in a blink of an eye. People you worked with for years simply shown the door.
Just recently the corporation that owns my company bought an independent. Half the staff either was cut or resigned. It sucks ass, but this isn't rare in the business world. The fact GB has editorial freedom is a miracle tbqh.
Of course, when 1UP got bought out, half the staff got laid off. It was pretty obvious that the place was through.
I'm willing to be optimistic about this. The entire crew got picked up. And John Davison knows how to run a fairly independent media-heavy video game site. He oversaw things like the 1UP Show, which is still one of the best-produced pieces of regular game coverage any site ever put out. And there's no reason to get Giant Bomb and its staff if they're going to strip it all down into parts. No one will stay on the site if its editorial voices are gone, and CBS has to be aware of that if they bothered to buy.
If Giant Bomb winds up completely folded into GS, then I'll be hella pissed, but for now, I think this can work. Hearing John sign off on 5 hour drunk E3 podcasts made me happy. Those things were the reason I subscribed to Giant Bomb.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
You make it sound like we're all one type of person.
All kinds of people are on NeoGAF.
A miracle perhaps, but you can never tell for how long. Gamespot may be fine with John Davison right now, but who knows how long that will last? More idiot managers could be put in charge sometime down the line and we'll have Gerstmann-gate happen all over again on a bigger scale.
I've decided to remain optimistic, though, but there's plenty of reason to worry.
Trust is Hard to gain but Easy to lose
Neuromancer
Member
Eh I'm not worried. I listen to the Bombcast for the personalities. As long as those 4 guys get to keep doing them I'm happy.
True, but people are constructing crazy narratives: in truth WM was nearly broke, Shelby sold the company right from under them with no input, effectively making everyone involved GB-side a liar. Jeff's putting on a strong face, but he's really a sell-out, because this will end poorly because that's just how business goes.*
* An amalgam of things people have actually said in this thread.
As soon as they try to put kevin van ord on the bombcast, I am turning it off, and never listening to it again -_-