“Nostalgia is a yearning that can never be fulfilled”
Unknown, but paraphrased by Brad Shoemaker of Giant Bomb
Two things happened this week that I’m finding both joy and sadness in.
Firstly, the MST3K Kickstarter campaign for season 13 is ending today, and while earlier this week it looked like they weren’t going to hit 100%, that was quickly blown out of the water this morning, becoming fully funded and then some. You can still fund it for all kinds of incentives.
When the campaign started, I wasn’t feeling it; Netflix had cancelled them after funding only half a season, the last live tour was bereft of enthusiasm (on the tail of no news from Netflix after a year), and the “new” show cast wasn’t participating at all in the live shows like they had in the previous one.
But tuning into their livestreams of them watching old episodes and having the “new” casts riffing along with the movies, and each other, there was a spark of glee in me. The casts seemed super jazzed to be back together, and they also showed off an unrestrained camaraderie that was difficult if impossible to “feel” through the traditional shows, live or episodic. This bit with “Ed Wynn” doing a Jackbox presentation is particularly great segment after they razzed on him all night for starting that impression.
The second piece of Mike-affecting news was the implosion of Giant Bomb (pun not intended, but hey it fits).
Like MST3K, I’ve been following the antics of most of these guys and gals for nigh on 25 years. The firing of Jeff from Gamespot over a negative review of a game that was advertising on the site (essentially tainting all of their other editorial content and enraging the community; isn’t that quaint?), led to him starting his own site and spurring a mass exodus of his former colleagues to work for him in his new venture.
While they’re quick to downplay their role in popularizing long-form gameplay videos and changing the editorial voice from review-oriented to just talking about the game at length on a podcast, they were pioneers with an independent voice in the chaff of compromised, corporate-sponsored commentary. They’d eventually ask the fans to fund the site through a Patreon-esque Premium subscription.
Giant Bomb was bought and sold several times over the years (once by Gamespot’s parent company no less), but seemed to keep their editorial independence. They’ve had staff come and go over the years as well, but the core figures from that initial exodus stayed aboard, until this week; three of the four “oldies” are leaving today for unknown pastures, and their reasons are both numerous and somehow still unclear due to the undisclosed “new direction” Giant Bomb is headed.
As you listen to “personality-based” podcasts over the years, you kind of get on the same perspective as them, or at least know where they’re coming from even if you disagree. They’re kind of like read-only friends for better or worse. In the podcasts leading up to this, there is an air of uncertainty about the future as far as technology, gaming, privacy, corporate malfeasance, and what it all means. Suddenly the people who so often got it more right than wrong can’t even start to predict where gaming is headed.
In the midst of COVID, this is understandable, but it’s surreal to be seeing those long-standing anchors reeled up in preparation for separation. Besides being a constant comfort in the worst years of our collective lives, they also made my esoteric knowledge and experiences not feel so unimportant. They all have a deep knowledge of the gaming industry, but they didn’t shy away from diving deep into other topics they were somehow extremely knowledgable on; from banned energy drinks to Insane Clown Posse live shows to run-ins with cops to shucking hard drives to Formula 1 racing, there was a spirit that an off-the-cuff remark could lead to a 30-minute diatribe on sous vide.
While Jeff remains at whatever Giant Bomb becomes, it’s sad to know that the others won’t be along to help build it, and even sadder that I may not hear from them again.
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