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GameTrailers to close after 13 years

P

plasmawave

Banned
Bloodworth said:
Phew, made it to the end. I don't know how many threads I'll be able to read, but I made it through this one. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to share your memories, from whichever era you started with the site, even if you stopped coming at some point or another.

I've always had a strong sense that God brought me to GT as there were so many varied parts of my past experience that made it a perfect fit when I came there at just the right time for a rare opening. Reading Shane's job description on craigslist was as if it was written directly for me.

In the eight and a half years that I've worked there, I've truly grown as a writer, producer, and eventually a manager. I started at GT from a background that was purely focused on Nintendo and bit by bit, I focused on pushing myself to be just as well versed with PlayStation, Xbox, and eventually PC gaming, and now I bounce between every platform just depending on what game I want to play. Somehow, I became known for my opinions on racing games, and for as long as I could find time, I put my strongest efforts into telling the stories of my favorite game soundtracks and getting composers on camera to tell their own. I still firmly believe that anyone would be hard-pressed to make better pieces on the music in the Mass Effect or BioShock series.

In the early days, Shane was the most influential in shaping my scripts, but as we grew and responsibilities shifted, I learned so much from Ryan, Justin, and Miguel. Even some of the younger writers on our editorial team like Patrick Morales and Michael Damiani were absolute legends, and we were backed up by the tireless work of Johnny Chang, Rich Brown, Megan Rugh, Matt Blair, Jamie Kohler, Kelly Campbell, Brad Winters, Bobby Burns, dang I could be listing people all night.

Safe to say, this team, these people from the last eight and half years, are family. We've been up through the night, sleeping in the office during E3 only to head back out on the show floor the next morning. We suffered together through brutal travel snafus. -- Ryan even bought us clothes once when our luggage got delayed. -- And we had some of the most amazing meals at Gamescom and TGS.

Every one of us was gutted when Shane announced his departure. Geoff stepped in briefly to set a new course while Ryan and Jeremy took the reins to lead the team on a day to day basis, lighting a fire under us to double down on great originals, birthing shows that have carried us to this day like The Final Bosman, GT Time, and Mandatory Update. As we began invading Brandon's VO booth, awkward first pushes like The Final Verdict began to prepare us to get comfortable being on-camera, but make no mistake, that foundation was laid with Shane when he started Invisible Walls and pushed us to write regular staff blogs.

Then came the purchase by Defy. Nothing left me in more shock than to learn that Ryan Stevens and Brad Winters, the men we relied on for direction, wouldn't be coming. Suddenly, Brandon had to take up his role as the founder of the site to lead the few of us selected to stay, and I found myself as the eldest member of the editorial team. Since Brandon had never really been a part of the review or preview process aside from reading scripts, I knew I had to take that weight off his back so he could focus on figuring out practically everything else.

The fact that we somehow reinvented ourselves among moving, changing our entire production pipeline, learning all new equipment and programs, and adapting to a new corporate culture is an absolute testimony to the strength of everyone who came with us. Don and Ian are editing monsters, churning out videos faster than should be possible, yet still they pushed to go beyond that and produce content of their own. Damiani, Elyse and Kyle are creative powerhouses and always kept us from accepting the status quo. Huber and Brad brought much needed enthusiasm to everything they did. Matt Blair worked tirelessly for years well into the middle of the night for far too long and has done so much that should be utterly inappropriate to ask of him. Ben Moore is one of the most fantastic and thoughtful writers imaginable and voracious in his breadth. And Brandon Jones is like a brother now, always leading us through the worst news with positivity and optimism. The dedication to daily programming, streaming, and the passion these guys had to make shows (even when I questioned their ability to fit it in) should not be taken lightly. It will be hard for any team to ever match them.

Right now I am on my honeymoon. I have no idea what's waiting for me when I get back. If the right offers come up, I could easily see myself writing or producing for another outlet, moving to a game studio, or moving outside of gaming altogether. But if someone has a realistic plan to keep this team together, I'd be a fool not to hear it out.

(sorry didn't intend to write a full history of my time at GT, it just came out)
Click to expand...

I really hope you guys stay together!
 
J

Justinh

Member
Premium Quality said:
I also would like a GT stamp on my avatar. Thnx.
Click to expand...

Like this?
IJkBP5W.png
 
H

Hasney

Member
Enjoy the rest of the honeymoon Blood! Great read.

The talk earlier about them all going to meet when Blood gets back and work out if they can stay together makes me think like when a wrestler would leave WWE and wondering when he would end up at TNA.

"WHAT'S JRANDON BONES DOING IN THE IMPACT ZONE TAZZ?!"
 
S

SPAW

Member
hlhbk said:
Ok, 29 hours, and 840 videos later and the following stuff is archived off the main youtube channel/main site:



Also there we a couple of Huber's hype and Bosman's stuff that wouldn't download.

At this point I am pretty much out of space, so I am done in my archiving in mass. If someone can tell me how to download items off the main site I may download a few things but for now I am done.

I am exhausted. Good night.
Click to expand...

Great work for the common good!
 
O

Occam

Member
What's the reason for shutting it down completely instead of selling it? GT seemed like a well-known internet brand and popular website.
 
T

the_id

Member
Bloodworth said:
Phew, made it to the end. I don't know how many threads I'll be able to read, but I made it through this one. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to share your memories, from whichever era you started with the site, even if you stopped coming at some point or another.

I've always had a strong sense that God brought me to GT as there were so many varied parts of my past experience that made it a perfect fit when I came there at just the right time for a rare opening. Reading Shane's job description on craigslist was as if it was written directly for me.

In the eight and a half years that I've worked there, I've truly grown as a writer, producer, and eventually a manager. I started at GT from a background that was purely focused on Nintendo and bit by bit, I focused on pushing myself to be just as well versed with PlayStation, Xbox, and eventually PC gaming, and now I bounce between every platform just depending on what game I want to play. Somehow, I became known for my opinions on racing games, and for as long as I could find time, I put my strongest efforts into telling the stories of my favorite game soundtracks and getting composers on camera to tell their own. I still firmly believe that anyone would be hard-pressed to make better pieces on the music in the Mass Effect or BioShock series.

In the early days, Shane was the most influential in shaping my scripts, but as we grew and responsibilities shifted, I learned so much from Ryan, Justin, and Miguel. Even some of the younger writers on our editorial team like Patrick Morales and Michael Damiani were absolute legends, and we were backed up by the tireless work of Johnny Chang, Rich Brown, Megan Rugh, Matt Blair, Jamie Kohler, Kelly Campbell, Brad Winters, Bobby Burns, dang I could be listing people all night.

Safe to say, this team, these people from the last eight and half years, are family. We've been up through the night, sleeping in the office during E3 only to head back out on the show floor the next morning. We suffered together through brutal travel snafus. -- Ryan even bought us clothes once when our luggage got delayed. -- And we had some of the most amazing meals at Gamescom and TGS.

Every one of us was gutted when Shane announced his departure. Geoff stepped in briefly to set a new course while Ryan and Jeremy took the reins to lead the team on a day to day basis, lighting a fire under us to double down on great originals, birthing shows that have carried us to this day like The Final Bosman, GT Time, and Mandatory Update. As we began invading Brandon's VO booth, awkward first pushes like The Final Verdict began to prepare us to get comfortable being on-camera, but make no mistake, that foundation was laid with Shane when he started Invisible Walls and pushed us to write regular staff blogs.

Then came the purchase by Defy. Nothing left me in more shock than to learn that Ryan Stevens and Brad Winters, the men we relied on for direction, wouldn't be coming. Suddenly, Brandon had to take up his role as the founder of the site to lead the few of us selected to stay, and I found myself as the eldest member of the editorial team. Since Brandon had never really been a part of the review or preview process aside from reading scripts, I knew I had to take that weight off his back so he could focus on figuring out practically everything else.

The fact that we somehow reinvented ourselves among moving, changing our entire production pipeline, learning all new equipment and programs, and adapting to a new corporate culture is an absolute testimony to the strength of everyone who came with us. Don and Ian are editing monsters, churning out videos faster than should be possible, yet still they pushed to go beyond that and produce content of their own. Damiani, Elyse and Kyle are creative powerhouses and always kept us from accepting the status quo. Huber and Brad brought much needed enthusiasm to everything they did. Matt Blair worked tirelessly for years well into the middle of the night for far too long and has done so much that should be utterly inappropriate to ask of him. Ben Moore is one of the most fantastic and thoughtful writers imaginable and voracious in his breadth. And Brandon Jones is like a brother now, always leading us through the worst news with positivity and optimism. The dedication to daily programming, streaming, and the passion these guys had to make shows (even when I questioned their ability to fit it in) should not be taken lightly. It will be hard for any team to ever match them.

Right now I am on my honeymoon. I have no idea what's waiting for me when I get back. If the right offers come up, I could easily see myself writing or producing for another outlet, moving to a game studio, or moving outside of gaming altogether. But if someone has a realistic plan to keep this team together, I'd be a fool not to hear it out.

(sorry didn't intend to write a full history of my time at GT, it just came out)
Click to expand...
*HUGS* I love you guys. I'm in tears. GT has been part of my gaming life along with GAF. I went through medical school, internship and now chief resident with GAF and GT as a place for me to wind down and get my mind of work and training.

Today, the review for Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 came out from IGN and immediately I thought of you guys and imagined what it would be like hearing Brandon's voice doing a review of this.

All the best for you guys, I'll keep an eye out for opportunities to help you guys if you decide to start something new.
 
dickroach

dickroach

Member
Smosh Game's "Honest Game Trailers" get about 1,000,000 views per episode w one video posted per week. I think that's what's going to end up happening with the URL :\
 
S

Savinowned

Member
Kyle appeared just now on the Twitch chat:

HDCiver: How is everybody holding up, KyleBosman?
KyleBosman: @HDciver I think well? We're going to meet up soon. Whereas my natural tendency is to become depressed, Huber just seems motivated.

Glad to hear the team is keeping positive!
 
B

Blues1990

Member
Minions said:
What it always comes down to.... Money. Bosman believes that Gametrailers.com is going to forward to another website soon. I'm glad we are proactively making backups.
Click to expand...

Yikes! So, what exactly are they doing to do? Liquidate what's left and just leave it at that?
 
H

Hasney

Member
Savinowned said:
Kyle appeared just now on the Twitch chat:

HDCiver: How is everybody holding up, KyleBosman?
KyleBosman: @HDciver I think well? We're going to meet up soon. Whereas my natural tendency is to become depressed, Huber just seems motivated.

Glad to hear the team is keeping positive!
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that about Huber, don't think I could picture anything other than being pumped to make this work.

Blues1990 said:
Yikes! So, what exactly are they doing to do? Liquidate what's left and just leave it at that?
Click to expand...

Well, as an example, GT took over Clevver Games YouTube channel for their reviews channel, so they'll probably do that with GTs stuff at some point.
 
M

Minions

Member
Blues1990 said:
Yikes! So, what exactly are they doing to do? Liquidate what's left and just leave it at that?
Click to expand...

If I had to guess; I'd say they just drop it all into some archives somewhere and stop hosting any of it. Pointing the URL to the youtube channel Honest Game Trailers/Smosh games does not seem all that unexpected.
 
K

KeRaSh

Member
Does anyone know if there's a place where I can watch old Tabletop Adventures episodes? They aren't on Youtube and I couldn't find the show on the GT page for ages.
 
C

crimilde

Banned
Savinowned said:
Kyle appeared just now on the Twitch chat:

HDCiver: How is everybody holding up, KyleBosman?
KyleBosman: @HDciver I think well? We're going to meet up soon. Whereas my natural tendency is to become depressed, Huber just seems motivated.

Glad to hear the team is keeping positive!
Click to expand...

I hope they all stay positive. The future's bright. They are all so inventive and passionate that I'm sure they'll be successful.
 
D

Drencrom

Member
Bloodworth said:
Phew, made it to the end. I don't know how many threads I'll be able to read, but I made it through this one. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to share your memories, from whichever era you started with the site, even if you stopped coming at some point or another.

[...]
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this with us, Blood! GameTrailers was a special thing (the only gaming outlet I ever truly cared for) and I want to thank you and everyone who worked there for giving us so much joy and quality over the years.

I do get that it's not easy just to start up a new thing with the GT team, but I really do hope you and the others find a way to stay together if it's possible! Whatever you and the team decides to do I and many others as you've seen will support you guys!

Enjoy your honeymoon :)

Savinowned said:
Kyle appeared just now on the Twitch chat:

HDCiver: How is everybody holding up, KyleBosman?
KyleBosman: @HDciver I think well? We're going to meet up soon. Whereas my natural tendency is to become depressed, Huber just seems motivated.

Glad to hear the team is keeping positive!
Click to expand...

Great to hear!

Also, that's so Huber lol
 
T

the_id

Member
I hope these guys stay come out the way Jeff Gertsmann and came and formed Giant Bomb after the Gamespot debacle a few years ago.
 
D

Dimorphic

Member
Well I am going to echo the thoughts of this entire thread here; THIS SUCKS!

To be completely honest Gametrailers are the only reviews I've ever put any real stock in.

The content has always been of the highest quality, the reviews well thought out and arguments for/against made based on the merits the game presented and nothing else.

Gaming media as a whole is lesser for their departure.
 
H

Hasney

Member
Dimorphic said:
Well I am going to echo the thoughts of this entire thread here; THIS SUCKS!

To be completely honest Gametrailers are the only reviews I've ever put any real stock in.

The content has always been of the highest quality, the reviews well thought out and arguments for/against made based on the merits the game presented and nothing else.

Gaming media as a whole is lesser for their departure.
Click to expand...

Yeah, loved their reviews and I think Ben, Huber and Blood would easily land on their feet with the quality of their writing if there's an opening somewhere, but hopefully they find a way to stick together because their interaction has been the most amazing thing in the shows.
 
M

Madison Paige

Member
I'm so excited to hear that they're at least meeting on the possibility of taking a "next step". I was kind of worried that everyone would already be splitting up and moving onto other things.

I feel like Patreon or something like that might not be enough to cover the price of purchasing all the stuff needed for it to be the same things at the same pace that we're used to, but I'd be more than happy if GT still existed as, say, podcasts and a few smaller weekly or bi-weekly shows and such. Whatever it takes for the amazing chemistry and enthusiasm for the industry between these wonderful people to be maintained.
 
Z

zulux21

Member
Madison Paige said:
I'm so excited to hear that they're at least meeting on the possibility of taking a "next step". I was kind of worried that everyone would already be splitting up and moving onto other things.

I feel like Patreon or something like that might not be enough to cover the price of purchasing all the stuff needed for it to be the same things at the same pace that we're used to, but I'd be more than happy if GT still existed as, say, podcasts and a few smaller weekly or bi-weekly shows and such. Whatever it takes for the amazing chemistry and enthusiasm for the industry between these wonderful people to be maintained.
Click to expand...

you would likely have to kickstart the initial costs and then hope you can get a patreon going for monthly expenses, or do it like dice tower and do a yearly kickstarter to cover costs.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Hasney said:
Yeah, loved their reviews and I think Ben, Huber and Blood would easily land on their feet with the quality of their writing if there's an opening somewhere, but hopefully they find a way to stick together because their interaction has been the most amazing thing in the shows.
Click to expand...

That's the problem for me. I put more value into their Just Played talks than the reviews and with them breaking up, we'll never get those again.
 
Palabragrís

Palabragrís

Member
Bloodworth said:
Phew, made it to the end. I don't know how many threads I'll be able to read, but I made it through this one. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to share your memories, from whichever era you started with the site, even if you stopped coming at some point or another...
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing all of this. You can't imagine how important it's for us --and for me. I've been a little bummed down since the news exploded on the Internet (my wife my only comfort, even if she doesn't understand me fully), so to know that you are doing the better possible and that are already planning for the future, calms me a little. Thanks for that.

And thanks for all the years. Let's hope something like a GTv2 appears somewhere, somehow. I'll be watching.

...and backing up all your stuff I can get my hands into. I don't trust Defy, not even a little.
 
P

ps3ud0

Member
hlhbk said:
Ok, 29 hours, and 840 videos later and the following stuff is archived off the main youtube channel/main site:



Also there we a couple of Huber's hype and Bosman's stuff that wouldn't download.

At this point I am pretty much out of space, so I am done in my archiving in mass. If someone can tell me how to download items off the main site I may download a few things but for now I am done.

I am exhausted. Good night.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the effort

ps3ud0 8)
 
R

Rephil

Member
im not sure who's doing those GT symbols in the avatars. can u do that for me too please! i have to show the support. and thank you!
 
Coreda

Coreda

Member
As far as backups go, the Archive Team are creating an archive.org compatible backup of the site and content. Anyone who is technically inclined and wants to help with the crawl can check this page.

Edit: also check out this interactive progress tracker.

3BNfdil.png
 
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