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Abby Russell is leaving Giant Bomb

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DontHateTheBacon

DontHateTheBacon

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,310
Majadamus said:
*indifferent shrug*
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What's the point of even commenting if you don't really care...?

At any rate, bummer. I'm hoping this doesn't signal the beginning of the end for GB as we know it... I hope she finds something awesome, quickly! She, like everyone that's been through the NY office, will be deeply missed by me!

o7 Abby!
 
Dan L

Dan L

Tried to PM someone for a tag
Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,177
Regina, Saskatchewan
I see some real shitheads are coming out of the woodwork. fuck off, skip the thread if you are coming to post garbage.

Still really bummed out.
 
Relic

Relic

Member
Oct 28, 2017
631
I loved her perspective and Giant Bomb desperately needs young people and outside voices. She's the only openly queer member of the staff and I liked how she would stick up for queer people and bring a non-hetero gaze to gaming content. Her improv skill was an early asset and was only better as she started to mesh her humor with the rest of the staff. I wonder if she's worried about GB's long term prospects with Red Ventures. GB staff probably knows about as much as we do.

Best case scenario, this and Dan's departure shakes things up and lights a fire under the higher ups - both the public faces of Giant Bomb and whoever signs the checks (now at Red Ventures). GB is such an aquired taste. I can't recommend it to my gamer friends and I can barely recommend it to myself. I've been a subscriber for 6 years and listener for around 10. Years ago the concept of a "funniest quick look" list made perfect sense. They would go in and out of every part of a game looking for humor and interesting coverage. Now it seems like an assembly line, even though there are more games than ever and more coverage opportunities than ever before. They didn't even open the music player in the Mario 3D All-Stars quick look. If they're not showing off every part of a game, what is the purpose of a quick look? If it's humor I just don't see it anymore. I catch the occasional "best of" video they put out and it does nothing for me.

I feel like Dan and Abby were the #1 and #2 voices bridging out into new areas. Abby was a special hire, no doubt, but there are a lot of passionate gamers out there. I hope they can find someone high energy and different than the existing staff.

Worst case, this is another dot on GB's spiral to irrelevance. Something is starting to smell fishy with how they hire and retain people. It might even be more than money - everything I wrote above doesn't exactly sound like a slam dunk, especially for a younger person trying to make a name for themselves. I don't follow other gaming sites - can someone compare GB turnover to Vice and other sites?
 
Rodelero

Rodelero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,509
I'm not massively surprised but this is really disappointing. Loved what she brought to GB. Will be very hard to replace.
 
etrain911

etrain911

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,807
Oh wow, I know a lot of people have been unhappy with GB's rate of output and the value of their subs for a while. Losing a young, diverse, talented voice on top of the dwindling quality and quantity of the content is really gonna hurt.
 
evrythngwastakn

evrythngwastakn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,531
I didn't match her taste in games but she grew on me a lot as she worked with GB and I always liked her energy. She balanced out tired Vinny and bitter Alex well. Bummer for the beasters as they lose another one.
 
SpitShine

SpitShine

Member
Aug 26, 2019
39
etrain911 said:
Oh wow, I know a lot of people have been unhappy with GB's rate of output and the value of their subs for a while. Losing a young, diverse, talented voice on top of the dwindling quality and quantity of the content is really gonna hurt.
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Quality is obviously a subjective thing, but anyone complaining about quantity is objectively wrong. They're cranking out more videos now than a few years ago.
 
Salarians

Salarians

Knights of Favonius World Tour '21
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Oct 25, 2017
22,723
momwife.club
Kelegacy said:
The BeastCast is my favorite podcast. I have always thought this was more of a stepping stone for Abby, and was never expecting her to stay this long. I personally never liked Abby and she is my least favorite of all the EastCoast alumni, as many times she made condescending remarks about nerds and geeks, like she forgot where she was working or thought less of the hobby and people who liked said hobby. To her it always sounded very much like a job, not a career, and she referenced "this job" so many times on the Beastcast it made me cringe. I don't get that from the other personalities. I always relished the times when she was on vacation or missing from the Beastcast, especially when Dan was still part of the crew. Many times she just didn't have the gaming knowledge or history to get involved with the conversations, which I found perplexing. Still, I suppose her main priority was production, but when she's that involved with the site, I found it discouraging.

I also didn't like Dan for a long time, but I grew to really appreciate his presence so much. Abby never won me over. Hopefully they can replace her with another personality that meshes better IMO, and if they can find a great woman to do so all the more better.
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big fan of this post

real quality stuff
 
Falcon

Falcon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
151
EDIT: I guess there's no reason to share negative thoughts in a thread about her moving on to something new.
 
Lunchbox

Lunchbox

ƃuoɹʍ ʇᴉ ƃuᴉop ǝɹ,noʎ 'ʇɥƃᴉɹ sᴉɥʇ pɐǝɹ noʎ ɟI
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Oct 27, 2017
7,548
Rip City
User Banned (5 Days): Inflammatory generalizations, antagonizing other users
Lol at the people white knighting Abby because some people didn't happen to like her, some people didn't like Dan either.

edit: I just want to say I enjoyed her content personally.
 
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War Peaceman

War Peaceman

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,441
Lunchbox said:
Lol at the people white knighting Abby because some people didn't happen to like her, some people didn't like Dan either.
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People don't have to post. Acting on the assumption that the person in question could read it is probably healthy. Saying you don't like someone isn't constructive criticism. Sometimes it is better to say nothing and get on with your life.
 
Kelegacy

Kelegacy

Member
Nov 12, 2017
253
Maine
Flavius said:
Not picking on you here but I see this same sentiment whenever someone brings up Abby and I always find it interesting that her transparency is what irks people. Looking at it as a job is very very healthy and I guarantee you Vinnie and Alex see it precisely the same. And I've no doubt the same nerds she complains about annoy the shit out of them too. She's just the one willing to put it out there.

Here's hoping they don't get someone who meshes...they've done a great job of avoiding just that so far and I hope they continue to bring in others that challenge the status quo.

in fact I've no doubt Jeff will guarantee that.
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Thanks for not joining the dogpile. I really do appreciate it. Sometimes it's nice to have a conversation that isn't part of the vacuum and I think we should welcome those. I can understand people thinking I was being rude (it wasn't my intention and I apologize) but them being rude back to me isn't really the solution.

I understand the job part you are talking about. I definitely treat mine like a job, but I try not to make the people I interact with on the phone or in meetings see it that way. I want them to feel like I really want to be there. Otherwise, why bother. And overly passionate, toxic people/fans (like some "nerds") are definitely a shitty part of the equation. I don't work for a website so I don't see the vitriol that pours through their mailbox or chat, but I can only imagine. People can be awful.

The mesh part was not so much personalities (diversity is the spice of life) but rather in my line of work I'd want to hire someone that has extensive knowledge of the subject to better be part of the team--otherwise, it's on the job training and in sometimes that just isn't what employers are looking for, unless it's an entry level position.
 
Darren Lamb

Darren Lamb

Member
Dec 1, 2017
2,831
I am a casual beastcast listener but I liked her vibe. Brought something else to the format

Probably a good idea to get out before the "restructuring" (is there a /s equivalent for contempt?) starts happening in earnest.
 
RyougaSaotome

RyougaSaotome

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,663
The people who make posts like that in a thread like this are typically people are not particularly great in real life either, on a social level.

The super awkward types that don't really know how to function cuz they never learned that they don't always need to say everything on their mind.

It's sad, but it is what it is.
 
chandoog

chandoog

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,071
This is really sad :(

Abby brought the energy and enthusiasm of a youth to the otherwise jaded old farts of GBE (kidding, or am I ?)

Her presence will sorely be missed. Nancy Drew and 6 Crazy Fright are some of my favorite on-going GB features.
 
chromatic9

chromatic9

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,003
Do we know if this layoff is down to just money being tight/covid or is it the owners saying we need someone else?

So many are expecting a replacement or even two new people but this could be the skeleton crew for a while?
 
crienne

crienne

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,167
God this sucks. I loved, and still love, what Abby brought to GBEast. Like others are saying, this was definitely inevitable though. Can't wait to see where she ends up.
 
freetacos

freetacos

Member
Oct 30, 2017
13,175
Bay Area, CA
Kelegacy said:
Thanks for not joining the dogpile. I really do appreciate it. Sometimes it's nice to have a conversation that isn't part of the vacuum and I think we should welcome those. I can understand people thinking I was being rude (it wasn't my intention and I apologize) but them being rude back to me isn't really the solution.

I understand the job part you are talking about. I definitely treat mine like a job, but I try not to make the people I interact with on the phone or in meetings see it that way. I want them to feel like I really want to be there. Otherwise, why bother. And overly passionate, toxic people/fans (like some "nerds") are definitely a shitty part of the equation. I don't work for a website so I don't see the vitriol that pours through their mailbox or chat, but I can only imagine. People can be awful.

The mesh part was not so much personalities (diversity is the spice of life) but rather in my line of work I'd want to hire someone that has extensive knowledge of the subject to better be part of the team--otherwise, it's on the job training and in sometimes that just isn't what employers are looking for, unless it's an entry level position.
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But her job is not to have the the most knowledge of video games. That's literally not what the job entails, nor what Giant Bomb was looking for. She was a producer that also played games on stream and talked about them.

It seems like the job you envision it being, and the job it actually is (and what Giant Bomb wanted it to be) are two completely separate things.
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

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Oct 27, 2017
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chromatic9 said:
Do we know if this layoff is down to just money being tight/covid or is it the owners saying we need someone else?

So many are expecting a replacement or even two new people but this could be the skeleton crew for a while?
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Sounds like she's leaving because she doesn't like / want to do with the new owners rather than being a layoff.
 
iiicon

iiicon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,917
Canada
Abby's great. She was great at GiantBomb and she'll be great at whatever is next.

People posting their petty grievances and complaining about "white knights" should, uh, not. Who raised you??
 
SpitShine

SpitShine

Member
Aug 26, 2019
39
chromatic9 said:
Do we know if this layoff is down to just money being tight/covid or is it the owners saying we need someone else?

So many are expecting a replacement or even two new people but this could be the skeleton crew for a while?
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Calling it a layoff at all is speculation. It makes some sense in context, but we don't know that for sure.

What GB, Gamespot, and the other CBSi properties look like when the buyout is done is anyone's guess at this point.
 
Sabas

Sabas

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,587
Abby played other games the rest of the crew didn't touch, invited people who normally didn't get the spotlight, and brought some energy that the crew needed.
 
Killzig

Killzig

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,040
I am going to miss Abby on the beast cast. My age / gaming background is closer to the original crew so I appreciated Abby coming at it from a different perspective and helping me think of games in a new way. I look forward to whatever she does next.
 
Lothars

Lothars

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,765
Relic said:
Best case scenario, this and Dan's departure shakes things up and lights a fire under the higher ups - both the public faces of Giant Bomb and whoever signs the checks (now at Red Ventures). GB is such an aquired taste. I can't recommend it to my gamer friends and I can barely recommend it to myself. I've been a subscriber for 6 years and listener for around 10. Years ago the concept of a "funniest quick look" list made perfect sense. They would go in and out of every part of a game looking for humor and interesting coverage. Now it seems like an assembly line, even though there are more games than ever and more coverage opportunities than ever before. They didn't even open the music player in the Mario 3D All-Stars quick look. If they're not showing off every part of a game, what is the purpose of a quick look? If it's humor I just don't see it anymore. I catch the occasional "best of" video they put out and it does nothing for me.

I feel like Dan and Abby were the #1 and #2 voices bridging out into new areas. Abby was a special hire, no doubt, but there are a lot of passionate gamers out there. I hope they can find someone high energy and different than the existing staff.

Worst case, this is another dot on GB's spiral to irrelevance. Something is starting to smell fishy with how they hire and retain people. It might even be more than money - everything I wrote above doesn't exactly sound like a slam dunk, especially for a younger person trying to make a name for themselves. I don't follow other gaming sites - can someone compare GB turnover to Vice and other sites?
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this screams out of touch with reality.
 
Robin

Robin

Restless Insomniac
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,502
Kelegacy said:
The BeastCast is my favorite podcast. I have always thought this was more of a stepping stone for Abby, and was never expecting her to stay this long. I personally never liked Abby and she is my least favorite of all the EastCoast alumni, as many times she made condescending remarks about nerds and geeks, like she forgot where she was working or thought less of the hobby and people who liked said hobby. To her it always sounded very much like a job, not a career, and she referenced "this job" so many times on the Beastcast it made me cringe. I don't get that from the other personalities. I always relished the times when she was on vacation or missing from the Beastcast, especially when Dan was still part of the crew. Many times she just didn't have the gaming knowledge or history to get involved with the conversations, which I found perplexing. Still, I suppose her main priority was production, but when she's that involved with the site, I found it discouraging.

I also didn't like Dan for a long time, but I grew to really appreciate his presence so much. Abby never won me over. Hopefully they can replace her with another personality that meshes better IMO, and if they can find a great woman to do so all the more better.
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lmao, the lack of awareness in this post. This "shes not real enough" bullshit is so toxic and yes, rooted in sexism.
 

Deleted member 5359

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Really big loss for GB. She isn't an industry lifer and she had a very badly needed outside perspective.
 
Arm Van Dam

Arm Van Dam

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Kelegacy said:
The BeastCast is my favorite podcast. I have always thought this was more of a stepping stone for Abby, and was never expecting her to stay this long. I personally never liked Abby and she is my least favorite of all the EastCoast alumni, as many times she made condescending remarks about nerds and geeks, like she forgot where she was working or thought less of the hobby and people who liked said hobby. To her it always sounded very much like a job, not a career, and she referenced "this job" so many times on the Beastcast it made me cringe. I don't get that from the other personalities. I always relished the times when she was on vacation or missing from the Beastcast, especially when Dan was still part of the crew. Many times she just didn't have the gaming knowledge or history to get involved with the conversations, which I found perplexing. Still, I suppose her main priority was production, but when she's that involved with the site, I found it discouraging.

I also didn't like Dan for a long time, but I grew to really appreciate his presence so much. Abby never won me over. Hopefully they can replace her with another personality that meshes better IMO, and if they can find a great woman to do so all the more better.
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This post is beyond stupid
 
JayCB64

JayCB64

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,978
Wales
Real shame, Abby has been awesome on the site - some of the stuff with her and Vinny, such as Fright or Shite Six Crazy Frights, has been may favourite things on the site.

Also expected better than the shitty white knight comments on here. Fuck off with that shit.
 
thepenguin55

thepenguin55

Member
Oct 28, 2017
11,797
Something I need to remember with threads like this is never to go past the first page. The first page of comments are generally fine, but then things just devolve from there...
 
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