Fandom sells gaming media brand Giant Bomb to long-term staff

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Giant Bomb’s Legacy and Culture

  • Seen as a “weird old internet” relic and pioneer of premium, long‑form video game content before YouTube/Twitch dominated.
  • Built around personalities and chemistry rather than just news: long podcasts, “Quick Look” gameplay videos, E3 coverage, industry war stories, and offbeat segments (e.g., North Korea trip slideshow).
  • Community remembers the Ryan Davis era and the physical office/couch dynamic as a peak; many drifted away after key staff left.
  • Origin story (post-firing from GameSpot) and later corporate twists are part of the brand’s mythology; even spawned the “blinking white guy” meme.

Reaction to the Sale and Corporate History

  • Many are relieved the brand survived the recent turmoil and is going back to long‑term staff.
  • Shock that a co‑founder could be pushed out of his own company prompts broader discussion of VC control and founders being sidelined.
  • Some argue Giant Bomb was always profitable but constrained by owners chasing unrealistic growth and blocking podcast monetization.

Why People Watch Others Play Games

  • Split between those who find it baffling to watch game videos and those who see it as:
    • A digital version of couch co‑op / hanging out.
    • A way to learn from “connoisseurs” and deepen taste.
    • A tool to see real gameplay that trailers and short text reviews miss.
  • Others prefer fast text reviews and dislike “contentification” and parasocial video formats.

Fandom’s Reputation and SEO Concerns

  • Strong dislike for Fandom: intrusive ads, autoplay video, UI clutter, and pop‑ups that bury wiki content.
  • Complaints that Fandom prevents wikis from cleanly migrating and dominates search results over better, independent wikis.
  • A few tools/extensions are mentioned to redirect away from Fandom, but some resent needing them at all.
  • A minority defends Fandom as fast and readable for their use; others respond that this ignores its ad density.

State of Games Media and Trust

  • Perception that big sites (IGN, etc.) are in decline: low engagement, layoffs, clickbait, and loss of trust.
  • Many now rely on niche YouTubers, Twitch streamers, Steam/Metacritic, and Reddit/Discord for recommendations.
  • Some see early-review practices and publisher pressure as compromising mainstream outlets; later, unsponsored reviews are considered more reliable.
  • Consensus that personality‑driven, community‑funded models (Patreon, small channels) are the viable future, though they lack the budget for old-school office productions.

Headline and Language Oddities

  • Multiple readers found the original title confusing until realizing “Fandom” and “Giant Bomb” are proper nouns.
  • Side discussion on capitalization styles, title case, and signage capitalization in different languages.