Video Bombcast?

I really don't get the appeal, but I mainly listen when I wake up and drive to work. 2+ hours of dudes sitting around isn't riveting to me, but what do I know.

I know Tested did something similar and I watched one of their podcasts, but saw little reason to do it again.

@csl316: Well, I would say the Giant Bomb guys are way more interesting to watch talk than Tested.

You raise a good point though. Podcasts are best when relaxing or doing menial tasks, so having a video form may not be necessary.

It defeats the purpose of a podcast

I wouldnt want it as the only option, but in addition? Yeah, I would like that.

That's kind of the thing, if they go video then I hope they don't sit around doing wacky video-centric stuff that'll be lost on the audio portion. It would be fine here and there, but I hope they think ahead before showing a Youtube video or something.

Tested or GB, listening to dudes talk is the content. Not watching them sit in chairs. Though I know some people like this sort of thing and it allows them to put a video up on their channel, so I voted "meh" instead of "hell no." Because it can't hurt.

A live podcast with an open phone line might be a neat idea

I'll never watch the video version, so as long as they don't develop bad radio habits (like Tested has) I don't really care. If they want to do it, why not? But I consume podcasts 300000000% differently than I consume video, so I would gain nothing from it.

@jash530: they did that during the whiskey days

I voted "Meh" as if this exists it could be potentially entertaining to watch once or twice while doing something else, but I listen while driving to, from, and at work and in all those cases watching a video is impossible. In most cases I'd actually probably steer clear of the video version because I have a LOOOTT of time for podcasts and always seem to be running out of ones to listen to while at work or driving.

Like others have said, I mainly listen to podcasts while I'm doing something else so it wouldn't be for me. They could always release both audio and video formats I guess right? So why not. Nothing to lose, except more work for the guys.

They won't do it, but I would watch it. I'm always of the opinion that THEY make what they want, and our job is to consume or not. They don't come to our houses to tell us how to listen or watch, so we shouldn't inject ourselves into their process of creation.

@monkeyking1969: In the most recent bombcast they spoke pretty clearly about the fact that they will do a video version.

It's not really for me, I listen to podcasts while driving so all I need is the audio. GB produces so much video content that I'm barely able to watch any of it anyway. As long as it's not to the detriment of the bombcast as it currently is (and I don't think it will be), it doesn't bother me either way. Therefore, 'meh'.

For the regular bombcasts I think it might be a bit superfluous but I would be interested In watching the e3 and game of the year shows

I've been wanting them to do it since the conception of the site. I had totally lost hope.

Not going to lie, I wooped for joy when they said they'll finally be doing it

I see it another reason to leverage video ads on YouTube. But the live aspect could be interesting. I'lll watch whatever they do.

I'm not necessarily super excited by the video aspect of the Bombcast. What interests me is the live aspect. I can easily see the guys taking live questions from a chat or twitter during the email section.

The video could also change up the format in some ways. It might be more interesting when guests do come on the show. Also, the Bombcast started out with drink taste tests, so random things like that would work more in a video context.

So yeah, go for it!

I'm all for this idea. I'm usually not doing anything other than listening to the bombcast anyway so the opportunity to watch video is better for me. It's basically best of both worlds anyway right? Don't want to watch then you can just carry on listening to regular audio.

I wonder what will happen with ads? Live version has them and archived edited out or will they just leave them in. I haven't listened to the non-premium one for ages so I don't know how the "quality" of those ads is now.

Video is the future.

I like listening to the bombcast while I'm working so I won't be watching the video. It doesn't make any difference to me if it exists as long as they don't start doing things that only play on video.

As long as it stays audio-focused (so they don't play up to video to the point where things get lost to audio listeners) I'm all for it. I usually listen to it while I'm out, but the times when I'm at home I'd probably stick the video version on.

Doing it live is a weird concept to me, though. I actually don't really want chat interaction during the podcast, which is the one reason I could see for doing it live rather than pre-recording it (other than to be especially timely, I suppose).

I have been wanting this for years and am happy that we'll have the option... the days that I am home it'll be nice to pull the video up and watch and it'll still be there when I am on my commute in audio form so it just seems like a nice added perk for premium members. Thanks Giant Bomb!!!!

I mostly see it as a rehearsal of the PAX panel, so yeah... I am fine with it.

As others has said, it better not be a substitute for the podcast, but an alternative.

I actually like the way gamespot handles "The Lobby" so I'm all for it. I also have an easier time focusing on what people are actually saying when it's in video form... But that might be because when I listen to a podcast I usually end up playing something at the same time, because I feel like I'm not doing anything.

For the most part I don't really *watch* most of the site's videos all that much anyway (as in, quicklooks on a second monitor while doing something else, but stuff like Project BEAST I'll watch with my full attention). So if it was exactly the same as the audio version I could see myself having the video version on in the background just like the audio version maybe?

It would however make editing harder, probably. Cutting out lulls in conversation or whatever obviously doesn't really work as well with video of people talking. Live calls would also be a definite turn off for me. Audience interaction is usually super cringe-inducing (unless it's a big crowd like at MPP5).

So I guess if none of that stuff affected the archived version of the cast, go for it. Otherwise I think it might negatively affect its quality?

At the very least it'd be interesting to see them try, I guess.

I was seriously just thinking a day or two before that bomb got dropped on us if they would ever do such a thing. It will always be an audio podcast to me, but I think it has some appeal to those whole just love to digest their media live, like with the Rooster Teeth Podcast.

@jash530: Remember the RED PHONE at whiskey media? I could do with something like that again. It won't be GalGun levels of amazing but still.

I would watch it to kill some free time, but in between working and playing games myself and watching all their other videos I would have very little time to consume podcasts in video form

@jash530: That would be terrible in every way.

agreed. these have almost never worked well.

Although I enjoy good video content like everyone else here, they already practically do a video podcast in the form of UPF. It's also worth mentioning that their main content is video content, so I think they should just keep it the way it is.

There was this thing where they took calls.. it was not always that pleasant.

I'm not against the voicemail idea though.

@citizencoffeecake: I remember the last time Jeff took some calls things were fine. The time before that...not so much.

Jeff went into detail on the decision making on his Tumblr

Yeah, we’ve basically been approaching the studio build from the angle of “let’s build a good podcast studio that we can use whenever we need one” first and “let’s put some cameras in there while we’re at it” second. So far the backdrop consists of… audio paneling. Originally I’d hoped that we could get some more decoration into the background of the shots, but we need to get the acoustics right. The production end of things got tossed up a little bit due to the change, which should actually result in a slightly faster turnaround time. This is why we get to move the recording time up to Tuesday mornings (previously it was Monday afternoons). The audio is still set to post by the end of the day on Tuesday, as it has been since the dawn of time.

And since we’re essentially producing the show “live” now, it made sense to start streaming it out for premium members who want to get the show as early as possible. The only consideration with that is that since the show is produced live, people watching that stream will get some longer-than-normal breaks. Dan’s bladder is apparently very small, so every ad break usually involves him running across the building to the bathroom. Also, because of the way the show’s getting produced, people watching that stream are looking in on the full production of the show. That means they’ll hear the ads on the live version of the show, since those are all getting spun out to tape ahead of time, the same way the segment music is. Anyway, it seems like a fun thing to add for premium members, many of whom do want the show as quickly as they can possibly get it. You can’t get any quicker than live.

The “business” end of this thing is pretty simple, really. We want to put the best, most popular thing we do in more places and expose more people to it.

It’s a good show, it’s real big. Bigger than it’s ever been, actually. People should listen to it. I want to continue taking over the world with this thing. There seems to be a big and growing audience for podcasts on YouTube and other video-based outlets (stuff like YouTube Red and their music-focused endeavors seem to lean in our favor on this stuff, too), so we’re going to put the show there and put it in front of more people. Originally I thought about just running a black screen or a logo as the video, but that’s shitty. We can do better than that. So we’re putting cameras up in there.

That seems to be what just about all video game entertainment/news sites have been doing so why not. It's not for me but I suppose thats nice for the people that want that.

@csl316: They're job revolves around running a website that provides video coverage and podcasts; it's literally their job to think that stuff through. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I feel like I recall there being multiple times in the past where Jeff immediately brings up considerations that would need to be thought through in regards to other staff members' ideas for features and content.

I listen to the podcast when I walk around at work but if I'm "behind," I'll listen to them at home while on my computer, occasionally. I'm not going to stop listening to the Bombcast on my walks but if I catch myself listening at my computer, I now have the video format to add to the experience. Cool additional feature.

@sungahymn: The only time I could see watching it would be when playing a video game I don't need to pay full attention to. I feel it would be cool to watch live while doing that.