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GameTrailers to close after 13 years
- Thread starter secretanchitman
- Start date
I was hearing the one with kyle and no.. no and no...
I don't like it at all, they are way to disperse, they discuss few things on a looong period of time without getting anywhere, I just didn't find it funny.
None of them really strike me as much of organizers like, for example, Greg Miller does tbh.
I don't know what's really going on, but from what I heard from Brandon on the podcast it sounded like they're just now getting around to discussing what everyone's plans are and if they could be doing something together.
The Kinda Funny guys seem to have rather successful patreons and they said on the gametrailers episode that it's not enough to run the company, they need additional revenues to support the 5 of them.
Edit: At the end of the podcasts Brandon said that they will communicate to the fans what they plan to do as fast as humanly possible after the meeting but then also said that if they have a big announcement to make it will probably be on the second week of March.
plasmawave
Banned
Anything news worthy from TB podcast? I missed it.
plasmawave
Banned
Look two posts above yours, seems to be about that
Nice, thanks.
Looks like the boys went through the game library today after their meeting.
https://twitter.com/TrailerJones/status/702308244828528640
https://twitter.com/TrailerJones/status/702308244828528640
T_T
Personally, the only good thing to come of this is that I rediscovered the old GamesRadar journalists and their podcast (Vidja Game Apocalypse). I absolutely loved TalkRadar back in the day and VGA brings most of them back and is (in my opinion) just as good. It doesn't replace anything, but I'm glad to hear their impersonations again. They are running off of Patreon, so I guess there is hope. I and try to support both.
thanks for the update. don't wanna listen to TB's podcast. not sure how people can stomach it.
Just what i needed to hear, i'm starting to feel intense hype...Huber hold me.
TC McQueen
Member
Bloodworth only got back from his honeymoon Sunday. They weren't going to make any big decisions without him being there.
Hoping for good news.
It's not like they had a whole lot of time to plan for this. The Kinda Funny guys were planning for months to quit IGN and start their Patreon. GT was shut down with no prior warning while Blood was on his honeymoon.
They were all laid off and told to leave on the same day. It takes time to realistically plan something like a Patreon or anything like that.
Edit: Didn't mean to gang up on ya there.
Awesome; looking forward to hearing what their plans are.
Yasss...i don't think he would say something like that to later say nothing is happening, that would be cruel as a matter of fact.
I think they need some time to figure out how to make this happen and have a plan for what to do exactly.
I think they should have skyped him in. It may not be the decent thing to ask of a person, but I believe it would have been the smart thing. I don't know what was going on behind the scenes, but I find it hard to imagine a good reason to not move faster on this (unless there was just tremendous uncertainty and people didn't feel confident moving forward).
I get where you are coming from, and I understand the logistical hurdles. However, from a cold, pragmatic position, I think they should have moved quickly. I hope it is a complete non-issue and this goes swimmingly. But it makes me nervous that they let this much time pass.
Brian_FETO
Banned
Very promising
Jones also just finished retrieving all of their gear from Defy.
We'll probably hear something next month
No, they shouldn't have. Rushing into starting a business is a horrible idea, and starting off wrong/messing up early on can be extremely damaging in the long run. They literally just got laid off, and as Jones has said, GT was his only job since college. He has never been unemployed. He should not be expected to wake up the next morning after being laid off and start the next business from scratch.
Jones also just finished retrieving all of their gear from Defy.
We'll probably hear something next month
TC McQueen
Member
They wanted the guy there in person, which is a sign of respect (IMO). Sure, they could've Skyped him in (assuming that he had access to good internet wherever he was), but that would've messed up his honeymoon even more than it already was, and that probably didn't seem worth it for a non-emergency.
I kind of think this was an emergency. That being said, I don't want to be the source of negativity here. I hope everything goes great. I am pulling for them.
They didn't have enough time for that, just last week Brandon was still packing their stuff, Bloody was on his honeymoon. They can't just say things are happening without having some time to think this through and regroup, think about what content to do. Their followers are still with them.
amazing news.
Zomba13
Member
Hopefully it's a "we need a bit more time because we need to work out how to come back as a group" and not a "we need a bit more time to work out how to break it to you that we all got offered jobs around the world and we'll never see each other again".
Brian_FETO
Banned
I understand wanting the best possible outcome for them, everyone here is pulling for them. You just have to understand that if it's happening, they want to do it right.
Also, it's been two weeks. Not only were they waiting for Blood to get back, but I'm sure they wanted to explore other options/opportunities that would come up from the closure.
If there's anything to "capitalize" on close to GT's demise, it would be new job opportunities. GT loyal aren't going to disappear in a month
Exactly - and a badly done Patreon can do harm as well. They need to be realistic about what they need and what they'll be able to offer.
On a "positive" note I was surprised that the closure of GT made more news than I thought it would have in our local German games media with a few podcasters I listen to talking about it and what GT meant for them throughout the years. Felt good that the loss didn't go by unnoticed.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
Fuck, I'm sorry Hasney, I'm not able to manage expectations.
Ian's hair, even in unemployed mode, has that effect on people.
Shit just got real!
If this isn't them coming up with a bomb ass plan about resurrecting GT in some form I'll sit in a puddle.
I think Patreon is really the only way to go. These guys had 12-18 months to try and gain traction on YouTube and they couldn't do it (as sad as it is for me to say that). It's difficult for me to imagine how they might continue aside from some kind of subscription service that lets their most devoted fans contribute money on a monthly basis.
bananafactory
Banned
Patreon might work for a few of them, but I imagine the others are probably going to have to find another route.
Let's look at someone like Jim Sterling, who gets $10,000 a month on Patreon. Where do the GT guys fall in comparison to that? I'm not sure
As a really crude method of gauging popularity/support, let's look at Twitter followers. Jim has 126k which I think is probably more than all the GT guys combined. So for the sake of argument, let's say they make the same. Hell, let's say it's $15k.
$15 000 per month. For what....6-8 people? Minus all the business related expenses, money for things like health care etc (all the things you'd usually get with your employer benefits). I don't know what that leaves, but split that many ways I don't know that it's enough to sustain them long term. And those numbers are being really generous.
Of course there's other income streams - Twitch/YouTube, if they can succesfully build and expand their new brand then I think it's doable but I don't think it is viable from their current fanbase alone.
yeah... a Patreon wouldn't work. especially considering they live in LA right? which as far as I know is very expensive. i have no idea how they're going to pull off making more videos.
RedAssedApe
Banned
LA is still cheaper than SF (where the KFG guys live). It'll definitely be hard though if all of them were to try and stay on. Some people won't tune in if you start asking them for money regardless of how much they like your content.
Weirder things have happened though...I mean look at all the Twitch Let's Players who live off subs and donations.
There was a Primal TV commercial that straight-up had that kind-of stream/youtube commentary. They are SOOOOO trying to treat prehistoric action like another dudebro affair. =/
I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them went off to do something different.
Also wouldn't be surprised if they did something together on the side like a weekly podcast and some jolly streams. Realistically I think that's the extent they could manage with having to find actual jobs to pay the bills. Any kinda of GT crew is better than no GT crew though.
I hope I'm wrong and they've sorted something great out however.
I can't imagine that they won't do anything. At the very least, they could do a podcast while working regular jobs. And people like Bosman could run their own YouTube channel.
Yes pls!! We believe in you, Brandon!
lowhighkang_LHK
Member
The biggest successes come from taking such crazy risks. Colin was saying that leaving IGN to start Kinda Funny was a scary proposition, but it ended up being the best decision they ever made.
I also think it'd be a shame if they wasted the brand they've built up for themselves both individually and as a unit.
The other important thing to realize is that most of GT's fanbase sits between the age group of 25 to 40 year olds. I've noticed this from analyzing all GT based content on youtube. I'd rather have a thousand fans in that age group (with jobs/careers etc.) than a fanbase of 10,000 tweens. One can support you where it counts where the other can't. Also, as long as they still live in L.A they can still keep doing GT content even if it's a side job for added salary.
Before the first round of layoffs in mid 2014, I think they were relatively large with over 40 people. After the first layoffs, they were reduced to about 15 ish IIRC.
Happening hype! I can't wait for their announcement.
Yeah, don't see Patreon as a sustainable business model either unfortunately.
GT tried on Youtube, Twitch, their own site.
Sure it would cheaper to do now without the Defy overhead but still, there are like 9 guys. And let's be honest they are between a rock and a hard place.
If they want to stick to themselves not make "internet personas", play the games they want to play, not necessarily what is popular at the moment, basically not become just another Youtube personality account reading squarespace and lootcrate commercials before their videos to broaden their potential installed base of subscribers, they are risking losing their current fanbase.
If they don't and stay the same as they were, they are sentencing themselves to their current niche probably.
I personally hope that at least their core streaming team will stay together: Kyle, Huber, Ben, Brad and one tech guy/editor Ian, Don or Matt.
5 people could probably sustain themselves from Patreon if the GT fanbase puts their money where their mouths are.
GT tried on Youtube, Twitch, their own site.
Sure it would cheaper to do now without the Defy overhead but still, there are like 9 guys. And let's be honest they are between a rock and a hard place.
If they want to stick to themselves not make "internet personas", play the games they want to play, not necessarily what is popular at the moment, basically not become just another Youtube personality account reading squarespace and lootcrate commercials before their videos to broaden their potential installed base of subscribers, they are risking losing their current fanbase.
If they don't and stay the same as they were, they are sentencing themselves to their current niche probably.
I personally hope that at least their core streaming team will stay together: Kyle, Huber, Ben, Brad and one tech guy/editor Ian, Don or Matt.
5 people could probably sustain themselves from Patreon if the GT fanbase puts their money where their mouths are.