Is NL a Good Investment?

So it’s been a while now since Vinny, Brad and Alex left. To the best of my knowledge, “having more creative freedom” and “we want to make something new” were some of the main reasons we found out about.

I haven’t watched much of their content but I still wanna know they’re doing well so just wondering if anyone could sum up how Nextlander is doing and how entertaining it is. This could get convoluted so maybe useful to give some key points of discussion:

- have they benefitted in the ways they wanted? Are they actually creating the content they were wanting to and things that weren’t possible to do at GB?

- is the patreon working? does it feel like it would be worth my money?

- I was concerned after watching the first few streams that this was too similar to GB and it was just the same guys and content at a different URL. Is NL different enough?

- How are they fitting into the twitch ecosystem. Is it working as a platform for them?

I wish them the best but it’s difficult financially for me to support both NL and GB. I kinda need to know that NL provides something different than what would’ve been possible for Vinny, Brad and Alex to have achieved here on Giant Bomb. It was a shame for them to leave so I’m basically hoping “it was worth it” and that they’ve been able to achieve the things which it was reported they needed to warrant their resignation.

So what do you think?

I had to jiggle my title around as the forum said “invalid title” when I mentioned “Nextlander”. If it’s a banned title, I’m sorry. No intention to break rules. But weird if that’s a restriction on the forum now.

If you're subscribing to them, you will get some benefits and exclusive streams for sure, but you shouldn't be looking at it like an investment, given that they want the brunt of their work to be out there for free.

Is it different enough to their work at GB? Probably not. Like if you enjoyed these guys before and the kind of games they enjoy, you're getting a lot more of that. A series on Scrap Mechanic, Full playthroughs of adventure games, Them all playing State of Decay 2 together. That kind of stuff. On top of that you'll get some one-off streams on certain games that they feel passionate about. And the podcast is of a similar ilk as the bombcast, although they did have a nice little interview with the director of Outer Wilds on it last time around.

But given that so much of their output is out there for free, it can't hurt to check it out and decide if you want to support them based on that or not. It seems to work out for them fine.

How is the Patreon-exclusive content? I catch some of their free YouTube archives, and they seem adequate.

I’m finding the main Nextlander podcast to somehow be dull and less than the sum of its parts. I mean, they go through the motions of talking about what they’re playing and the game news, but it’s not super lively.

And then it ends with 5 minutes of reading usernames. I hope that’s great for patron retention, otherwise that’s bad broadcasting, baby.

I think I took for granted the New York/New Jersey critical mass that Bakalar/Austin/Abby/Dan brought to the Beastcast. Vinny/Alex/Brad obviously have a long-standing rapport, but none of them are really the “colour commentator” that a podcast like that needs, and it’s not doing a lot for me most of the time. Compare and contrast to Fire Escape, where everyone is the colour commentator and/or in-play racquetball, and there isn’t a play-by-play commentator to refocus the podcast when they get wildly off-track.

I can't see NL without initially thinking Netherlands.. Confuses me every time...

There's a lot of content (honestly too much for me to consume it all) and a decent portion is free. I'd suggest checking that out and making your decision based on that.

I've been subbed from the beginning, but I'm personally thinking about maybe dropping it. It's not bad, but it does feel like it's missing that special something that would make it a high priority watch/listen for me personally. I can't really put my finger on exactly what the ingredient is that's missing, but regardless, I have found myself skipping some podcast eps in recent weeks.

To echo what others have said, I'd say check out what they have available for free. There are perks like patron-only podcasts, streams, polls on what to play, the discord, and a monthly Q&A. The discord is fairly active and the community is fun, though obviously a lot of overlap with this one.

The content isn't very different, but it feels like there's more of it, which I think is what everyone here was always asking for. I don't think they've done anything yet that they couldn't have done here. I'm not subbed and I never watch live, so I can't answer your other questions.

I don't think that we have any restrictions on it as a word! Dunno why it wouldn't work in the title; maybe it was too long originally?

I got the $10 level and am thinking of dropping to $5, not because anything is wrong with it but more because I only have so much time in the day.

The bonus podcast where they just talk about off-topic stuff is better than their main podcast, and I agree, it’s due to the lack of a fourth chair color comentor. That said, they have talked about on their monthly q&a pod that bringing in more people is being planned as they iron out all the back end business stuff. They are a registered company but it’s only the 3 of them, so all the business stuff that CBSi did for GB is not a resource they have, including gearing up to bring in freelancers and setting up a website separate from the pattern and twitch channe.

Still, they put out 4 2-hour streams each week, and the FMV Thursdays are as great as any other video of an old fmv game on GB.

Just watch some of their free stuff and if you like it support at the level you want, or don’t. It’s not an obligation, just something you can do if you want to. The bonuses are not where they maybe ought to be but I’d say they are where they can be until they figure out more of their backend solutions to feee up time from admin and the execute some of their longer-term goals.

Splitting direct game talk and the non game talk across a podcast paywall doesn't feel good and the tier pricing seems quite high for the offerings. It seems to be working for them and I wish them the best.

Some people have talked about something feeling off with the endeavor. For me, and I'm not speaking for anyone else here, for the three people that apologized for gaming monetization and talking about preying on peoples emotions the most, charging what feels like whale pricing for the content is a stretch too far for me. I get that the higher sub prices are sometimes viewed as a tip jar of sorts but the parasocial relationship that people talk about being uncomfortable with is what pushes people to continue to be in that $100 tier. I can't bring myself to sub.

@davidfox1983: Almost all of their stuff is free (archived on Youtube.) The easy way to see if you like it is to just watch.

It's very similar to Giantbomb with them was. Despite making a point that they all mostly play the same games, They cover more games and in more detail than GB had been doing for the last few years. They seem to be expanding into featuring interviews on the podcast too, which is a good move IMHO.

The difference between GB Premium and the Nextlander patreon, is that NL does not exist without the patreon but GB Premium is just bonus content for something that would probably exist in a different way without it.

GB is $50/year, which is couch money, so I hear. NL is $5/month and up and so is only 83 cents more a month or $10/year. That's not even couch money, that's at best sidewalk money.

Only you can help them keep the lights on. Their current 10k Patrons, even conservatively estimating only bring home over 25k/month gross, per person. That may sound like a lot of lights, but have you seen the cost of electricity lately?

Sincerely,
Asshat

@asshat: I mean, GB only costs $50 a year for people that really want to subsidize the merch store. The base cost of an annual sub is basically $35 (the sale price), and if you want you can pay an extra $15 which 1:1 becomes a $15 store coupon.

Hi @bisonhero (is that a hero of Bison, or you yourself are a heroic Bison? Either way, pretty cool.)

Sure, that's the usual argument that arises. It's only valid however if you have prior knowledge of and want to wait around for a sale. Same could be said about most any product. $50 is the advertised everyday price unless one waits an indeterminate amount of time, or is already in the system looking to extend. I don't know about you, but I want to enjoy my Lean Cuisine salisbury steak in the next 7 minutes, not 7 months when it's on sale.

But I digress. To the OP - if you feel $5/$10 a month is worth the podcast scraps they offer, then by all means. Otherwise the NEXTLANDER free content is pretty much everything of value they do.

Yours,
Asshat

Can’t see how that’s an investment, but, no, it’s not worth it. Some people might say it’s objective, but it if you consider what you’re getting and compare it to say a streaming service, that’s a no brainer. But @asshat is right, it’s been mentioned here it’s couch money, so what do I know?

For OP: I subbed for a few months at the $5 tier and found it to be not worth it. I also dropped off the podcast; as others have mentioned, there was just something off about it, like it’s too sleepy. I had a growing backlog and my latest purge unfortunately included Nextlander. I don’t use Discord either, so I was really just giving the trio a $60/year rate as a “thank you”. If none of those perks (including getting the pod early) sound enticing, it’s not worth the financial investment.

For the free VODs, I thought I would see more of those by now. I’m also having a hard time keeping up with this site thanks to being busier in general, so I watch my favorite individual features. UPF-style things don’t make the cut unless I see them live. The FMVinny things are really the only ones that I’ve made a note to circle back on, and I haven’t gotten around to those yet. So content-wise for someone who’s time-poor, my ultimate answer is that I found the channel to not be worth my investment.

I think some people are downplaying the importance of premium subs to GB. RV aren't running a charity. The reason that corporations continue to keep GB funded is because accountants decide that they are a justifiable investment. GameSpot is proof of what can happen to the staff of something that performs below expectations. The support of paying customers is just as important to the existence of GB as it is to Nextlander.

@nickm: hey it's nickM! Still slumming it around here I see. It's gotten rough, even turboman/Derek says he gave up on best of videos because there's nothing best of about the last 2 years. Anyway, keep digging for that couch money, there's lots of it.

Best,

Asshat

this is exactly where i'm at. i have calendar reminder set to notify me when patreon is due to charge my card every month...and every subsequent month i feel myself itching closer towards cancelling.

i think for me i was caught up in the excitement of wanting to support them and the notion of them building something new- but in practice the content just isn't feeling so...dynamic? compelling? i'm not sure. the lack of a central destination/website means i'm not really doing a daily 'check-in' on their offerings- and of the stuff i do irregularly peruse- it just isn't appealing to me right now. the podcast is decent, but pretty formulaic.

this is going to sound incredibly unfair- but i guess i was expecting something with a little more vision or ambition out-the-gate- whereas what i'm getting is just brad, vinny, and alex doing what they've been doing since COVID hit, without a website. that's more about my expectation than their execution, but it is what it is.

the one kudo i will grant them is they are making a concerted effort to do 'what's coming up' and 'what you may have missed this week' posts- which i hugely appreciate (especially since giant bomb hasn't been great at that).

honestly i think the only thing keeping me subbed is the discord, and specifically the music discussion channel. but i think i'm ready to let that go- i already have too many discord servers i can't keep track of (god i miss forums).

anyway- after laying all that out, i think i'm ready to cancel and i'll check back in 6 months or so. i'll be totally happy to resub if i find they're trying new things.

Holy shit, you guys really are negative. Anyway pretty much all their content is free and if you like it and want to support it sign up for the patreon. I prefer it over the GB content, as my favorite thing on GB was full playthroughs and Nextlander have already done plenty of those.

Investment is a weird way to phrase it, if you enjoy it pay for it, otherwise don't. We can't tell you what you enjoy.

@noobsauce: Well said! I can get that you ask this question when content is behind a paywall but really, just watch wath they are doing and sign up for it or not.

Full disclosure, I'm not currently paying for premium or Nextlander's patreon.

I only listen to the Nextlander podcast and watch their reactions to big gaming events. I don't like the games they stream because they tend to be coop games or FMV titles. From what I know, it seems that some of their streaming choices are voted by their Patreon supporters.

Their podcast is alright. It closely resembles the Beastcast, except they pick a game they all play for a week (sort of like a book club) and give their thoughts on it. On Ep 16, they interviewed Alex Beachum (the designer of Outer Wilds) which was pretty cool.

Is Nextlander a good investment? I would say yes if you like what they are currently doing and want to support Alex, Vinny and Brad. It is also good to think that every cent you are giving to Nextlander is going to those 3 dudes and a 3-5 percentage to Patreon. Paying for GB premium on the other hand is not just going to the people you see on the site, there's a cut going to RV Management, HR, Accounting, Legal, Engineering, etc.

I like Nextlander a lot and will be subbing as soon as I have stable income again so I can get the extra podcast. I try to catch all of their livestreams live. I agree that their overall vibe is a bit different but I don't mind it. It still mostly has the same vibe a lot of GB East content did, which is mostly what I wanted from Nextlander in the first place. I do appreciate that they actually stick to games and finish them rather than do one-offs every week. Their stream they just did yesterday had me genuinely laughing and their new Hitman competition is pretty fun. Vinny finally getting a dedicated FMV show is perfect.

I do hope they get a website up and running soon though so there's a more centralized place for everything. It sounds like they have a lot going on in the background right now so the whole thing could look quite different in a few months. More guests on shows would definitely be welcome. It was nice having Mary Kish on a podcast and having Abby on many of their Friday streams.

I wish there was a cheaper tier for all their podcasts. Maybe GB premium spoiled me but needing the 10 USD a month tier (so 120 bucks a year) to get both podcasts seems crazy crazy expensive. I get that the 10 buck tier gets you other stuff but compared to GBs 35 usd for everything for a year it's a bit of a sting.

I signed up for a year of NL and I'm loving it but paying 80 AUD a year and still having content I don't have access to feels a bit shitty.

@hayt: I assume they use a premium feed for the other podcast? Can't you just upgrade a few times per year and go through that thing to get that 120$ to a more sane number? Unless you value having the podcast be current and weekly ofcourse.

Nextlander is basically Giant Bomb Classic. They're doing what they want, and they seem to be having fun doing it.

I feel like $10 for the Ramblecast is way too high for a paywall, though. Most of their content is free and that's cool, but my understanding is there isn't much "premium" stuff outside of that show.

Disclaimer: I have a GB sub paid for through the end of next year that I cancelled and a NL patreon sub.

As many others have said, the vast majority of NL content is free. As a patreon supporter, I will say I am a bit disappointed in their offerings so far, and the biggest reason I haven't cancelled is a pretty active Discord server locked behind the paywall.

I have a Twitch streamer/Youtuber I like who I won't name, that I support on a much smaller monetary tier than Nextlander. He is just one guy but his current output is 3-4 hours on Twitch 5-6 days a week of whatever is currently floating his boat, plus ongoing YouTube series of daily 50-90 minute uploads of full length playthrough of two recent huge games, Tales of Arise and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. AND, a patreon podcast feed, that includes watch alongs of current popular streaming TV shows and his thoughts on the games he has played for Twitch and YouTube recently.

Is this content of the same quality as NL? No. But IMO, it's solid content. I feel like NL is stuck in the old way of doing things. Super produced, but low yield. Like I wish Vinny would just throw up a random stream of him playing the enhanced editions of the Baldur's Gate games because he has expressed interest in going back to those multiple times. I don't need production values or even a live webcam feed; just play cool content and talk over it.

Sorry to doublepost, but yeah, it is borderline gross, that that isn't available at the 5 dollar tier.

I pay $20 for Super Beard Bros Patreon for the awesome movie commentaries and don't mind. You are supporting people you like so it should be worth it to you, if you can afford it. I can't see how you can begrudge Nextlander for charging for extra content -- that's how they keep the lights on.

I rewatched the first part of GB East's Puzzle of Flesh playthrough and was laughing hysterically. I forgot how good of a combo Jeff B., Vinny and Alex make. I hope we get to see NL/GB crossovers like that, at some point. I don't know if there are legal rules around that, bad blood, or some sort of personal rules (they intentionally don't want to appear with GB staff to help establish their own brand for the first year or so, or something like that). My favorite NL stuff so far was them chilling with Waypoint crew, bringing back old feelings of when Austin and Patrick were on GB staff.

I subscribed at the $5 tier because I wanted to support them and get access to the Discord. But it turns out I never look at the Discord, and I don't listen to any of the podcasts (since I no longer have a commute). So I pretty much only consume the free stuff anyway.

From what I have watched, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. It's entertaining and all, but after that talk about being restricted by corporate control or whatever, I guess I was expecting something a bit more ambitious or creative than streams that are exactly like what they were doing at Giant Bomb.

@heelbill: this, and they put voting privileges behind the $25/month ($300/year) level, very democratic.

They get to value and price their content how they wish?

NL's value is up to you individually. For me it comes down to the games they're playing and I didn't even know they had a podcast until the debates over podcast pricing in this thread.

I do wish there was a bit more variety in the games they play. Venture outside the handful of favorites and see what sticks.

the stuff i would want for subbing is behind a 120/yr paywall that i just can't justify money-wise so i can't speak to their 'premium' offerings , but as for the free stuff its generally what they were doing here with the freedom of being able to choose what they want to play vs having to focus more on the 'whats new' that is the obvious flow of a big outlet. not to say they don't play /talk about anything new but i think they can be more choosy than before? they do a newsletter twice a week for whats happening content wise which is a bonus to me since we all know how piss poor the communication has been here lately , but those aren't too different to the site happenings vinny did in the forums here last yr , either way i'm happy they've taken to doing that.free stuff wise i'm behind on their podcasts because well i have too many and its podcast or game and atm i'm choosing games so i'm behind on pretty much all my podcasts. video wise i've always preferred pre-recorded vs vod streams since i usually can't catch live stuff due to sleeping habits but when i do watch them i get what i'm expecting which is generally what they always did here , something that is frankly missing from what we are getting here and almost shows how alot of the workload was possibly working all this time? but as it stands alot of what they do play doesn't interest me so i skip what doesn't n watch what does when i remember to check the youtube archive ..which frankly there is something to be said imo about having a dedicated website hub and its something i hope they get eventually cause frankly i forget to look alot compared to here where i look but find next to nothing i want to watch or compare it to something like hermitcraft where while its a hub servicing to only redirect to videos but helps me see what i'm missing better. youtube imo has had a messy layout for years with how tings are presented when you land on an individual creators 'channel' since the carousel that is playlists frankly just suck so its hard to know if your missing something unless you scroll all the videos since not all creators put Everything into playlists ( i haven't checked their stuff in there to see where they fall on that)

TLDR: same as they used to be here for atlot of stuff with choice of what they play more? , premium i want too expensive so no idea how it is .

Honestly...don't regret it. Kinda not really a fan of the new GB shows, pretty much only do Bombcast and UPF now, more recent Quick Looks are just edited from UPF too. Feels like they're trying to copy stuff like Polygon and cater to the ironic but maybe not ironic quirky internet people. (doesn't help having seen the thread from the guy who left GS and, let's just say, wasn't a fan of Red Ventures) Nextlander may not be doing anything radically new yet, it's been 4 months and it's 3 people who have to also act as business owners and handle all of that stuff, but that also means they're under less business pressure to be "profitable," so they can do what they want. Right now is that doing more or less what they did here? Yea, but I'm willing to give them time.

And I mean comeon, Vinny alone is worth it. The man takes anything and spins it into gold.

yeah i'd agree with this- i imagine if you're into what they're playing it's a slice of heaven. but i'm not super interested in FMV, hitman, etc. at the moment so everyone's mileage will vary.

@chillster7000: complaining about not being able to vote for what FREE stuff you're going to get is way more gross. You're saying they are not allowed to give any perks to bigger contributors? Even worse calling them gross for rewarding their supporters?

Another positive point about NL is that I find the community way nicer and less entitled compared the GB one.

Holy shit, don't pay if you don't want to, you get pretty much everything either way. What more could you possibly demand?

I haven't checked them out yet, what's keeping me away is that as much as i love those guys they were the ones who fairly often would get hung up on issues and politics that would suck the fun out of the room, and while they should totally talk about stuff that's important to them i didn't want to follow them into more of it, have they stayed away from that stuff or is having their own platform given them more freedom to do so?

I do a minimum subscribe. I really do like the personalities. I've only listened and seen these guys for well over a decade. However, what they are doing doesn't always send me out of the park. Much works. some I do not watch, strictly by my own personal preferences. For example, I am really not much of a Life is Strange fan. Not of course a concern of theirs...

In fact, if anything, they seem to follow their own preferences, like factory/assembly games, FMV or say Hitman etc. I'd actually like to see them do something...unusual? Perhaps I have missed it. On the other hand, I finally really liked that last FMV game.

As for commenting on or about life and other non game related stuff, I suspect these guys won't respect self-imposed strictures on what they might have to say. And Abby shows up a bit. But I have never heard them say much except the usual and what they are doing. Tbh, I have yet to listen to a whole podcast yet, going to do that someday...

I agree with the majority of sentiment above. I would only really consume East Coast content. There was just a fun vibe, and even if they forced it now and then it came across naturally. I like Brad but he doesn't have that goofy way that the East Coast did, and I feel like it stagnates the silly chat from snowballing. I also paid a year on the lowest tier thinking I'd get the ramble cast, but nope. That's a bit greedy imo, whatever their take home is now it must be huge compared to a wage from gb. All this said I think theyl sort it out. Oh and it's fucking criminal abbys not a part of this fully. And it's cathartic viewing just like gb content. Lots of fan boys/girls in denial of what the majority of content here is. And to the folks complaining gb is 35 usd a year and nls too much. Look where that got them. I think this site will shut down in the not too distant future

@bisonhero:

Do they ever read emails on any of their shows? That's one of the biggest things I think the nextlander podcast is missing. Fire Escape and Giantbomb read emails sent to them. I enjoy it. Nextlander goes from talking about games, to reading the news,.... to reading a big list of names.

@czircon:

With nobody doing anything together in person anymore, my love for watching GB and NL video content has really dried up. It sucks but I'm finally accepting it. Things just flowed better and were more funny with everyone together in a room. Pretty much just all podcasts at this point.

@casse1berry: I’m not paying into the Patreon, so I can’t speak to everything. I assume they don’t read emails on the free Nextlander podcast or the YouTube archives because they have other community interaction (Q&A, etc.) on the patron-only Discord. I don’t know how much of the patron-only content has viewer emails/questions, you’d have to ask someone else.

@casse1berry: Nextlander does do a monthly Q&A that tends to run an hour and incorporates Live questions on air. It’s not the same as reading emails every week, however, the nextlander crew are generally open to answering any question asked.

I believe this may be a patreon subscription-based podcast, don’t think it is free like the Nextlander Podcast

I only watch their free YouTube videos, since it's not grabbing me as much. Don't get me wrong, I'll follow these people to the ends of the earth, but the content they put out there at the moment is too generic for me to be interested in more. I would say it's the opposite of the total chaos that is something like Burgle My Bananas, for instance. It's straightup Let's Plays for the most part. Good enough to hang out and have on while doing something, for sure though.

@casse1berry: they don't read emails, but as someone else said there is a live monthly Q&A in the discord, and they're fairly active in there on a daily basis as well.

I like Vinny, but honestly, the games they play are boring

I’m in on their $5 tier and it’s fine. The thing I miss is them *trying* more games as opposed to playing stuff they already like. The mix between getting to know somebody’s tastes and then seeing how they react to a specific new game has been a huge help to me over the last decade in terms of not blindly spending money on things I hope I’ll like.

And yes, as others have said, no wild card personality does bring a sort of…”routine city council meeting” feeling to their podcasts and streams sometimes. When Abby is on being a weirdo it adds something the core three lack.

Out of the event streams I watch between GB, Nextlander and MinnMaxx, there's is always depressing. I feel like Vinny is too busy to care about games, Brad is too cynical, and Alex is just kind of Alex. It makes what should be fun joyous streams full of news be fun into something that feels kind of depressing. That was an issue at GB at times but feels even worse at NL. I like listening to the podcast and am happy to see them covering Ripper again so will check that out eventually.

GB split in two and neither part is really benefitting in my oppinion... still there is some stuff I have enjoyed on both sides.