Talking over stuff - A GB invention?

So years ago, I watched Giant Bomb talk over stuff. It was kind of neat. Instead of waiting to hear their thoughts later you can see their reactions AS THEY HAPPEN!!! Nowadays, seems like any gaming Youtube channel I follow has their own Talk Over equivalent.

Question is, did GB invent this? Was anyone doing live watch alongs before them? There are some answers in the comments below, but I suppose my real question is directed at talking over press conferences.

I occasionally wonder if GB invented long form video, too. Saw some comment on a different site saying "what's Giant Bomb? Clicked on their site and it looks like a mini-Twitch?" Which was a weird thing to read. I personally give Jeff and co. a lot of credit for games press innovations, but that makes me wonder if that's just because I follow them the most.

Also, I request a Video Thing 2 when New GB hits its stride. People might need to know what this new site is because they apparently think it's a Twitch rip off now.

No, Giant Bomb did not invent this. Japanese talk shows and Mystery Science Theatre existed for decades before this site did and those are only the ones that Jeff Gerstmann has specifically mentioned as direct influences.

@psygnosis911: Yeah, but talking over games.

@csl316: 2003.

You invented this in your mind.

Pre and post shows were common, but GB is the first that I know of that had the audacity to talk over them live.

They are the first I remember to do the talk over big gaming news event while it was live, correct me if I'm wrong. Stuff like Mystery Science theater and that Japanese game show aren't what the OP is asking about, clearly.

I'm pretty sure G4 did live E3 way back in the day.

I don't know if they were the first but Quick Looks/Endurance Runs came before Let's Plays in my mind.

You're forgetting a little show called "Game Center CX"

@ramone: Definitely not.

Distinctly remember at the time thinking “Oh they’re doing let’s plays now” when the Endurance Run started.

I think we can acknowledge that GB, and Jeff Gerstmann in particular, has been at the forefront of emerging ways to do video game coverage. He didn't invent podcasting or Let's Plays, but he certainly recognized their value in this space before pretty much anyone else. You can listen to episodes of the Bombcast where he talks about the people at the websites he worked at not really seeing the value in this stuff when he did.

If you ask any Twitch streamer younger than a certain age, they probably have never heard of Giant Bomb. And yet. If you ask people in games media, a number of them will say that they were fans of Giant Bomb long before they had jobs talking about video games. Danny O'Dwyer has said this as recently as this week. To deny that Giant Bomb has had a huge impact on this industry is ridiculous; to suggest that they are solely responsible for the way things are done now is equally silly.

And i remember the endless debates they had about the ethics of doing lets plays, and tossing shade at YouTubers before they realized that they where basically in the same boat.

And i cant remember if it started in the Justin.tv/USTREAM days or not, but there where people on live streams talking over press conferences while the duders where still physically attending E3 press conferences and running around the show floor and doing late night E3 podcasts. And Jeff and the gang talking about the fans at home getting more up to date info from there PC at home, then them physically attending E3.

They certainly popularized it. My first experience watching a people play an entire videogame was the P4 endurance run. Actually, it was Greg Kasavin’s play through of Oblivion, but besides that.

@bladeofcreation: Yeah, I feel like Jeff has played a big role in influencing games media. That's why this Nu Bomb initiative has me hopeful, because I feel like he's usually at the forefront of moving things forward.

When the Nextlanders left and they were talking about being excited about the future, I had commented that I fully expect to say "dammit, Gerstmann, you've done it again" when their new focus shift becomes wildly successful.

@lego_my_eggo: Oh man, the many times they showed clear disdain for YouTubers is a thing that I commented on many times over the years. How they could talk about the ethics of Let's Plays while not acknowledging that they were doing the same thing AND putting it behind a paywall was infuriating.

I think the peak of Let's Play mania had already hit over at Something Awful and was normalizing somewhat when GB even started doing the Endurance Run.

Giantbomb innovated a lot but I think this is one of those things they definitely road the wave on for sure.

I remember 1Up had Broken Pixels, but those were pretty short videos.