A Deep Dive Into The Cinemassacre Backlash 

It’s true but you shouldn’t say it

@@myettechase "Just 'cause it's true doesn't mean that it's right" - Bo Burnham.

I have never heard Minecraft with Gadget until this video, and now I feel like It's a part of me.

I don't want to believe you, but I know in my heart you're not lying.

It would be weird if James and his characters didn’t evolve over time. He is dad mode now and wants to do dad things. Like play in a cover band. Classic dad stuff

The thing is that this is his DAY JOB. It's understandable to want to spend time with your family, but what about allotting say your weekday 9 to 5 to video production? That doesn't sound unreasonable to me. James himself said that most of his WORK HOURS were spent "troubleshooting technical stuff". What the hell does that mean? He's fighting duct-taped tripods on the ceiling all day or something? That sounds terribly inefficient.

@@ablationer Found the Redditor.

​@@ablationertry being a father and tell me how hard it is. You probably can't relate since yours hasn't brought home the milk yet.

Didn't he have like a massive meltdown where he was screaming at his fans? am I remembering someone else?

who cares really? @@ablationer

r/thatHappened

James and I had a great email conversation years ago he was humble and very Gracious. I hope only the best for his family, I hope they have peace, good health and happiness.

@@RicardoHernandez-ze9qv considering James his personality, its not hard to believe this.

@@RicardoHernandez-ze9qv r/ihavereddit

This would never happen these days cause muh kids

Wtf that's actually a thing?

@@arostwocents Yeah. People kept bringing it up on NeoGaf. It got silly.

I want him to be around forever 😩😢

The only thing I can comment on about that is it can be a little jarring watching an old/classic AVGN episode and then getting a new one that auto plays right after and he just looks very different. But there’s absolutely no problem with that.

Really? They blame him for going bald?

This is how I feel about him. He’s passionate and witty. He fell into the trap of a poor production company because he wants work/life balance and that’s fair. It should be ScreenwaveTruth, but really, maybe we should just move on and check in to see if James ever regains control of his productions.

@@user-lx1il8rx3q wow you're weird, imagine saying it's unhealthy to say you had a positive experience with someone simply because they're a celebrity. This hate you're giving off is unhealthy.

James is a great guy. His videos got me through some dark times and I emailed him letting him know. He actually replied and was very kind.

Do you think he felt this burst of disappointment when he saw Screenwaves reaction?

@@no.one.2Who the fuck cares?! If James was being sincere that’s all that matters in that situation.

same

Same here, this is the first I've heard of the backlash!

Its a lot :(

Me neither

Most backlash he responds to are unlisted on his other RU-vid channel.

As a gen xer , that grew up with the sega master system and the nes , that one quote hurt my soul.

Oh...no ..

Nes came out in 85, avgn was 2006, 07? That’s a 22 year gap. Wii was 2006, that’s only 16 years. So…wrong.

@@ageofdulltron2052 But the GameCube is 21, and Gamecube games can be played on the Wii. So... close? (yes it's still wrong)

@@ageofdulltron2052 2004 was the first episode. The Wii came out in 2006. The NES was 19, the Wii is 16. Pretty comparable in age for a casual aside in a video essay.

LMFAO underliked comment.... but also I feel my back starting to ache

Holy Christ I’m old

I’ve seen this video 5 or 6 times but that is the line that makes me laugh the most.

that is freaking genius what the hell

Yeah, he was just satirizing them

Facts

RU-vid comment of the year

Yeah, the fans where ANGRY at the ANGRY Video game nerd.

Yet those some people will still shit on him because the video wasn't good???

Ridiculous

imagine having a life, lol what a loser

Fucking aye. right?

I’m usually a 100% “spend time with the family” guy. But James has gone on record saying that Cinemassacre/AVGN IS his job, how he supports the family & how he “pays the bills” (James’ words). This is one of the rare cases where I don’t really buy it. If you’re are putting out a substandard product & expecting money from it, than the consumers have every right to call you out. The Nerd isn’t doing this for free as some side project.

He is suffering from success. he hasn't has a job aside form AVGN for about 20 years, and is trapped with Screenwave

When Mike is the real angry gamer.

Agreed

You’re a stooge to say he’s an amazing guy

cry about it@@yellowriverboy5734

WHAT???? HUH????

Yeah, that's the kind of community they're fostering over there.@@kaibaiarrio1299

james rolfe posted that himself, truly a twisted individual. screenwave did this

@@SanaeKochiya I really hope this is satire, for your sake.

@@SanaeKochiya There is no way that is in any way true. Why would James even be in that thread?

Thx for summing up this 2 hour long video

Seriously, you should start an essay channel.

Thank you for saving part of my lunch break.

And even though his AVGN videos aren’t as good as they use to be they’re still entertaining and a decent watch.

@@TheHeadlessCreator Right? He's been doing AVGN for almost 20 years - that's just about half of James's life - so the fact that he's still making content for the character at even the "lowered" quality after so long is amazing by itself.

I watched more recent AVGN and It was…avgn, i think if you plonked it back in 2007 it would have been well received it’s just you can’t expect what was great during early internet media when you were 13 to hit the same when you’re an adult, it’s just got gonna happen. It reminds me of a very popular and beloved Australian comedy called Kath and Kim. When the fourth season came out suddenly everyone was like “meh” the consensus being it just wasn’t as good. I watched it again on netflix many years later and found that it was actually just as good as the earlier seasons but by then the schlick hard worn thin, and the fact at the time it had moved to a commercial channel and had as breaks had really killed the comedic flow, it was so much better watching it without ads

@@91Vault I didn't even start watching AVGN till I was in my 20's and I loved it then and I still love it at 38 years old. Like they say growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. You can mature and still have an immature side. Like I can be very mature just the same as I can be immature. It depends on time and place. Studies have suggested that having a youthful mind may actually make you age very well which seems very possible because I myself don't look any older than 25 and everyone is always shocked and sometimes don't believe me when I tell them my age and they ask for ID to prove I'm as old as I say I am lol

But Tony and Justin are legitimately bad people

It was really nice of him to lie about plagiarism 🙄

@@EsotericOccultist but he didn't lie? He even admitted the writers fucked up.

Cheetamen 2 scam. Not paying for the Star Trek episodes outfits, outsourcing to plagarists. He has controversy, he just sweeps them under the rug

@@imperialguard5599 cheetahmen 2 scam?

@@imperialguard5599 lol not paying for outfits and outsourcing to 'plagiarists' (newsflash: all works are derivative), sounds like an extensive list. Cheetamen 2 was a non-issue. Any reason to hate someone doing better than you is something you'll partake in, always.

James endorses a "full" release of Cheetamen 2, kickstart project proceeds to run off with all the money. No response. @@MisterXenomorph

I fear the Bimmy brainrot has gotten too far, I have no time to save you. Now Mike's 10 incher may be the only hope you have remaining. The Loco Bandito always fixes it @@s4mpson

hbomberguy?

What’s this referencing?

@@KazangKazoom hbomberguy.

​@@KazangKazoomAlmost every monster madness video was plagiarized. They had to take them down and remake them.

So much foreshadowing even the foreshadower didn't know how much foreshadow there was

The controversy is such a non issue that only terminally online redditors are concerned about

Same, just started watching this video. The first video I watched of his were his Godzilla reviews. I kinda watched him off and on over the years.

@@ls-420stoner6 Wait how tf do you watch AVGN off? If your monitor is turned off you can't see it

I was really confused about the normal shenanigans that were being presented as controversies and then the dude from the video starts talking about himself and then I get super confused because it was not a dude it was a dudette. Also why is it relevant who is making the video? it doesn't matter, that's why credits come at the end or in the beginning. I rather watch the shitty AVGN movie than keep on with this nothing burger, this is dumb.

This video didn’t need to be feature length. And add me to the chorus of ppl asking “what controversy?”

The opportunity is right there...

I remember I skipped over Board James for years because it just didn't seem like my kinda thing, but then I heard some people mention how good it was so I decided to give it a watch and it ended up binging the entire thing in one sitting and getting SUPER invested in it. It's SOOOO good and should be more well known.

YOOOOO it's Misali! Love your work, didn't expect to see you here!

You should make a video about it. In Toki Pona.

Aye board James is the best thing James ever did.

Everyone hangs at bomber guy's house these days , I wondered what yall were up to. Keep up the good fight soldier

Amen brother... the new pens suck too 😂

amen

God dammit, now I'm pissed at him all over again

He's a zoo keeper now. Cope.

He came off as hunky with the shirt change.

Preach it, brother!

Obviously what has served James well is that he is not a dick at all. Which would seem like the bare minimum, but basically coming from the same era as channel awesome, he was the perfect antidote to that shittiness. I think most of the consensus is that James'isn't as great as a lot of modern RU-vid channels, but his sincerity, kindness, as well as nostalgia of course, leaves us unable to help but rooting for him and supporting him. I am in that camp as well

I agree. He has improved a lot recently. But that is going from 1/10 to a 3/10. Still nowhere near his prime.

@@Lordidude i think he's back on track, only real diference is that we already know what to expect, it's not 2010, it's 2022, some shit won't surprise us, a lot more of quality content is out, and he would ahve to reinovate on his craft to again stand were he stood.

Now is The Bald Video Game Nerd.

he was at San Diego? DANG IT! I MISSED HIM!

Loser

Oh course, this guy is the real deal. SHIIIIIIIT PICKLE!

What did he tell you?

did an hour of line?? that’s like, _so much_ coke! nicee

Wow I just read this comment the very moment she said that

I totally agree.

Imagine how much better the world would be if we could just delete the entire concept of social media altogether...... Obviously there would be some MASSIVE issues that come up, but I honestly think 8t would be a net positive in the end. Or maybe just a hard restart, and just delete EVERYTHING, and we let it get rebuilt with our newfound knowledge of what NOT to do.

@@lugenlord6721 that happens to me a lot

I think it is great advice to people getting wound up over the drop in quality, but at the same time I feel like James is almost being held hostage by all the other people depending on him financially and is too nice of a guy to deprive them of a paycheck even if it means producing material that he clearly does not have the same emotional investment in the games that he had in his early days. I would much rather he closed the channel for a few months, took time off to refresh his creativity and then did a big Kickstarter for the horror movie he has always talked about making - I know he would kick ass as a low budget horror director and would definitely be willing to give him a second chance to make a great movie.

Him and Ashens. Two unrelated content creators, but I find myself returning months later to binge some of their videos.

I think there are two kinds of falls though. There are falls where the people involved move on, change focus, modernize or otherwise just change directions. Then some where they never change, and just keep running on fumes until it all collapses.

A bit like all reality TV series , America Chopper , American Hot Rod (Boyd Coddington took his company to the grave) , West Coast Customs a.s.o

@@ZachGatesHere Then there's the hybrid where they try to pivot and move on, fail, then double down on the old status quo to stretch out the long, slow decline.

@@ZachGatesHere True, but no matter what nothing can maintain that level of virality on this platform. Partially because nearly nothing, other than music videos and trailers, can reach that level of virality consistently on this platform anymore.

And by that standard everything "fails" given a long enough time span, even the most successful businesses will fail eventually which is why bankruptcy is not considered failure in the business world, instead businesses are rated by how much profit they made for their investors while they existed.

Well also that be seems to be in denial about the burnout and he blames the audience for not accepting the lower quality of his content.

@@tacticaljunk1608 I don't think that's fair. It's not so much "denial of the burnout", it's him simply having to push on through in order to continue to make money. It's his source of income

@@tacticaljunk1608 He’s not in denial of the burnout of AVGN he’s talked about it himself. I feel bad for the dude cause he’s stuck doing that shit for the money and any time he tries to do a project he actually likes he just gets crucified. He doesn’t owe anyone anything if people don’t like it they can just stop watching. People are getting a thrill out of talking shit and then acting like they are a victim cause of the “quality of the content”. Lame asses. Just move on.

@@willissudweeks1050 Thank you! Also, at what point did he “blame his audience” for his shortcomings? Once again, people are just projecting and reaching at this point

Right. And this somehow warranted a two hour video

They did in the video it's parasocial relationship pushed from love to hate . They feel James hasn't just made bad videos but has personality walked up to them stabbed then in the chest and shit in it. So the only way to respond to such an action is a complete destroying of the enemy

It’s basically the same deal with all subreddits primarily based around disliking/criticizing something. It inevitably becomes a circlejerk where user opinions progressively grow more and more negative since the only other ones they hear are also negative. Additionally, since being cultivating a sense of community is part and parcel to a lot of subreddits, especially super niche close-knit ones like CinemassacreTruth, people might often find themselves adopting the more toxic aspects of the community in order to “fit in” while moderates who don’t get caught in that spiral inevitably leave the community as it becomes more toxic, leaving the vocal crazies as the ones dominating the conversation

it used to have people concerned about cinemassacre and wanting the old videos to come back, eventually the negative presence attracted people who hate avgn or outright want to stir problems, and now that's what ended up festering

Take a wild guess? They have time?

The thing about the truth reddit that I have gathered is the worst people in it are those who post most frequently. The majority of people in there are simply older AVGN fans who have nothing against James, but do not like his newer videos. However those people rarely post as at this point those types of discussions are old hat.

We are the same age huh I also started at 7, he's like a very important… I don't really know how to describe it, but part of my childhood too?

Same

@@renato87101 awesome to hear my young dudes

Talking about the 00s when you weren't alive for all of them. 😂

It's partly why I was so surprised when I first heard of all this around 2019 ish. The video was stellar on every level honestly and it really felt like a proper nerd episode.

Earthbound was definitely a good episode: it sounds like he wrote the thing, he actually played the game, and it just radiates this feel of being a love letter to the game. James was invested in the game, and he had feelings to share with us. The Immortal episode is the mirror world version of that: complete apathy. No interest in the game. Just disposable, meaningless media to him to use for that episodes gimmick. Which was a pity. The Immortal has some stuff going on. This compilation video of all the ways to die in it is a classic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t4a2LpbPbu4.html To me, that's what I miss. Taking the time to let ideas simmer; if God doesn't care about what he's made, why would we? But as we all know, the man has no time. Wish he'd try making more horror/kaiju content instead. As we all agree, Board James turned into something great.

It's one of my favorite episodes. It made want to play Earthbound, but sadly I haven't found a way for me to play the game that I can afford. Edit: Wasn't asking for advise on how to get the game. Yes I know emulation exists that's probably what I'll do when I have the time.

@@yourlocalnerd7788 I’m not sure if this helps but I was in the same boat! If you have a switch and a online membership you can play earthbound on the SNES emulator for free! I was finally able to play earthbound for the first time and I went in completely blind but came out so happy

@@ratcity129 I don't have the money for the online membership sadly. I'd also prefer to have a permanent copy rather than access.

Well, he received mild backlash because he didn't wanted to review the Ghostbusters reboot, but today nobody even remembers that movie existed (I guess the SkEpTiC aNtI-sJw community does?).

That's how uninvested he is in his own channel.

@@zachary_attackery it’s not that, it’s more he knows how to stay out of Trouble

@@Mr.Faust3 Uh, who you associate with says a lot about you. Who you do business with days a lot about you. The fact he turned a blind eye to everything Mike did is controversy alone lol.

@@suezuccati304 my favorite part about that movie recently is the critics who gave afterlife negative reviews because it was "too much like the old movies". like you can tell those critics were still salty about answer the call flopping.

TFW people keep going on about the black actor and LARPing in the comments as him for being in a bad movie? Yeah some Truthers are a bit weird.

Unjustified?

@@Rgoid Yes. Yes, the *hate* towards him as a person is unjustified. Criticism towards the quality of his content is definitely welcome, but actual hate towards him as a person is just reaching at this point.

Yeah, I’ve always felt like James is a nice guy, but a horrible judge of other people’s character

I got that impression, too. I think he's mistaking hanger-ons with friends.

It’s a blessing and a curse really. It’s good because he keeps his mouth shut and knows that many popular turning points would just drum up unnecessary controversy but it also leads to terrible decision making. Part of the reason the podcast is so bland is probably because they don’t want to turn the comments section into a cancerous bitchfest. Podcasts love politics; be it political or gender politics but doing so requires walking a fine line when they don’t know how to. Podcasts thrive on unpopular opinions and politics, Cinemassacure avoid it. The most political James has ever gotten is the Ghostbusters 2016 “controversy” but that only became political because of SJW cancer culture whereas it started as just “this shits in the face of everything a classic film stood for so I’m not seeing it out of protest.” He’s kinda the perfect example of how being too nice of a guy can be a bad thing. There’s a difference between being an irredeemable asshole and not being such a nice guy that you let people walk all over you. At the same time though, I feel at least part of the reason for the decline is because he’s simply grown older and going on tirades like he did when he was in his mid-20’s just isn’t viable. It’s fun for a long time but eventually, you will be unable to bring yourself to get so vitriolic about pointless shit that doesn’t matter.

​@@martineastman9855I've watched a decent amount of his content over the years and just started watching the first couple of seasons but can you please give me example of a couple of the people who have taken advantage of him so I can pay attention

As cringy as Mike was/is, he was extremely integral in the inception of The Nerd. I'd argue that he was one of the only people other than James, who actually cared.

Because he is from the era where men did not give a fuck about anyone's opinion. Nowadays everyone on the internet is hyper sensitive they always try to act tough and use the little "report" button if someone do not agrew with them.

Agreed! I also do the same. James doesn’t owe us anything. He has a legacy and keeps it clean (unlike his language). I still think the new episodes are good. But yeah his guests are not to my liking. Glad Mike left.

@@Yokai_Yuri Everyone? Not even close.

@@Yokai_Yuri James is unique. I have met many people from his era and older who are just as hyper-sensitive and easily outraged as the younger generations. Age has little to do with it.

@@Yokai_Yuri I mean his show is literally about giving opinions about things, so I feel like that's a pretty funny take. I just think he has been around so long on the internet and dealt with all sorts of little bits of drama that he's realized he can just let that shit blow over and it really won't have any effect or consequence as it's all pretty much meaningless whining anyway. The most serious anything has been was the plagiarism last October and James et all did what they could to make that right.

...but you can't decided if you like something or not if you don't watch it first.

If you think this video is about James hatred, you need to re watch the video and rethink your ability to watch and analyze something while leaving your personal bias at the door to do so.

You can't tell if his new content will improve or not if you don't see it.

Problem is, even if you say something nuanced like "I believe he contributed significantly to the decrease in the quality of discourse on certain topics online", many people will response with "yeah, we know you hate him."

@@Bryer106 If you think watching a video 2 hours long just to confirm some bias about some random internet bit... Then YOU are the one with problems.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to see what James can make unrelated to avgn and nostalgia in general?

He basically took a break to make the AVGN movie. He's just not good at making movies.

@@gladspooky9455 I remember WAY back in the early days of Cinemassacre, he did a pretty decent, low-budget zombie short film that he shot in his garage. IIRC it's called The Deader The Better and it's kinda neat to see what he came up with on a shoestring budget.

@@KetsubanSolo Well said. To say that he’s “not good at making movies” just doesn’t sit right with me, especially when James has shown how good of a horror director he can be. I honestly believe that his horror movie would likely turn out better than the AVGN movie if he were to work on it again in the future.

@@gladspooky9455 Making movies is a complicated group affair. I'd say he's best with cinematography, writing concepts for films and making pratical fx, not so much a director or video editor

Right? Also you wanna know something even better? It’s not just James who lives rent free in their heads, but also his wife and kids. Let that sink in, two underage girls who aren’t even teenagers yet and have never shown their faces on the internet (which is for the best, tbh) live rent free in the heads of these grown-ass adults. They don’t even know these people exist on an individual level. That’s just hilariously pathetic.

People should still review it as a professional product all the same. To not do so is insulting to James as a filmmaker.

Is that what they were going on about? I was on the subreddit at the time that was all mad at him because he had a writer that allegedly plagiarized other people. It was kinda weird, because the subreddit was literally labelled as a cinnemassacre fansub and literally nobody was even so much as playing devil's advocate for James. People would be surprised how easy it is to get a few hundred trolls to coordinate a witch hunt, I've seen it a hundred times. Once I deal with every other scummy e-celeb online, maybe then I'll try to care about James making a few bad calls, but after seeing how they cranked so many small things into a massive war, I'm not terribly sympathetic.

Seriously though, James is basically retired now, it's lucky he's doing any fan service at all at this point. If you don't like what he's doing, don't watch it, it's really as simple as that.

@@BriBCG That's honestly what most people do. It's probably why his views dropped so much. A lot of fans don't complain but just silently leave.

I still love classic avgn episodes and watch them a lot but it is just a fact of life that it is impossible to sustain a comedy series for nearly two decades and eventually run to ground and I just think it is a bit sad that he seems to feel obligated to keep making videos he doesn't really want to make rather then being able to close this chapter of his life and move on to something new that he is passionate about again.

Personally, I think this is a wonderful decision that more people should follow. Weird Al did much the same.

Yeah I legit didn’t know he was married and had kids until Emily mentioned it

Sometimes there's more important things than just work.

I enjoyed the Mario Maker videos. Thinking about what you said though, in the latest one there's a voice at the beginning, is that his daughter? Its a wholesome and cute video though especially when he talks about how she'll design the levels :D

I really wish more Internet personalities were like this. It just seems like the most obvious/decent thing to do, it astounds me how rare it is

videogames are one of the worst things in the world and it is so much easier to abuse them than to healthily consume them

he has no time for movies

@@whodatninja439 That is a valid f*cking reason. That's why Chris Columbus stepped down from directing the entire Harry Potter Saga, he didn't want to miss the entire early lives of his children. You literally get salty that other people have a free will.

@@whodatninja439 no time

I still have some hope for that movie to be made someday. Recently he said he's thought about turning it into a book, so he's clearly held onto the idea. Maybe when his kids are a little older he'll come back to it.

I stop watching avgn content about 10 years ago because the format got boring for me. But I will say early avgn content was good. I learned about avgn though a segment where he was mentioned on G4. Avgn had a big impact in my life then and was the first person to teach me about retro video games and old movies. And the production quality and work of the early episodes is still great today. You can tell he came from the Golden age of tv and put more work into that content then what was probably needed. You could tell he was trying to aspire to people with much bigger budgets. Internet content is really different today and he's kinda a relic to the past. And I feel happy for what he gave me. And to this day I sill yell "fire fire fire" and "bbbb111777teeen bommeeerr"

What helps a lot is that unlike a lot of the reviewers that followed him afterwards, James always made sure that the AVGN and he as a person were two completely different individuals. Like Lady Emily points out, he really wasn't a video essayist/reviewer from the jump to begin with, he was a filmmaker, and the AVGN was just one of the many characters he had to concoct for his videos. For me, this was what hampered a lot of the Channel Awesome/TGWTG crew as they grew older and matured; too much of themselves had become entwined with the characters they played, if they were still playing "characters" at all.

Best part about AVGN was that James knew when to shut off the persona a bit, stop yelling, cussing, and making jokes, and just talk for real about a game or console's development, history, mechanics, etc. He's a smart guy who clearly knows his stuff.

Its true so many angry reviewers are so forced to the point of it not feeling like they are angry but that they are stupid and dont get how the games/movies are really about

^

James is not your friend. Stop acting like he is. It's childish.

A lot of Internet drama can be boiled down to this 😂

i was on a left wing group and a zoomer girl had a tantrum because i used the term "asperger" instead of "autism spectrum" by describing somebody in my close family. The term was used first by the doctor who told us about it, a medical professional. She was unphased, told me i am mansplaining and she asked her friend, the group moderator to kick me out of that (and another) group for mansplaining. Yes, mansplaining. Then a couple months ago she recognized me in another group and started calling me names. I told her "take a deep breathe and close your laptop"

I'm getting a ticket. I didn't even do anything! Is that a tazer?! Outside sucks! Don't go outside!

@@Otto-Webb "Mansplaining"?! What is this,.. 2015?? Haha Some people are SO online, I swear

An underlying level of jealousy of nerds who really need to practice what they preach. You’re really gonna get on James when literally the conclusion is that people really like James and he did nothing wrong lol

What was the scandal? I didn’t even know there was one

You met Brent? How was THAT? I always wondered who he was irl.

What's wrong with Brentalfloss?

I gotta know how Brentalfloss was, the suspense is killing me 😭

If I was a celeb the last thing I would want people to walk away thinking is "he seemed tired and depressed"

@@NintendoSunnyDee Brentlefloss was cool. Had a beer with him in Toronto 5 or 6 years ago. I complained that his set list was too short and he explained it was the venues decision, not his. He signed a couple of his albums for me and was generally a nice guy. Cheers.

I knew something was up right there because these kinds of videos are either a good amount shorter or a good amount longer than 2 hours, for them to actually be close to two hours is uncommon.

Lampshading is common in RU-vid

commenting about an hour-long youtube video not being that long in the grand scope of things at 55 minutes into the video was so big brain I don't even care if it was unintentional

2 hours? pffft. try 5 hours

@@REfan001 will anyone who watched Pyro's 8 hour video on utopia please rise though technically Action Button's cyberpunk review is longer but only if you didn't watch it as intended so that doesn't count

No wonder he has Crash Test Dummy parts all over his house. Imagine being that dad. What a legend.

@@insensitive919 The Canadian folk band? Why would he have parts of them all over his house? That's barbaric!

His movie reviews and other non-avgn videos feel very authentic. The most recent episode, last ninja, was closer to the old content and I enjoyed it a lot for the most part.

@@archive8080 It's 2 years old now but I thought the Raid 2020 video was pretty good.

@@B.-T. I thought it was okay. It grew on me more as time went on.

Excellent analysis. Agree 100%. This should be the pinned comment. Lol

Very true, his shtick was unique when it started, now it is quite droll. People are complaining from a place of nostalgia and lack of understanding of the creative process. AVGN will never be what it once was, James has changed, you have changed, the world the internet and youtube have changed. Instead of complaining about it, just move on yourself. I found new channels about games to watch, Tehsnakerer, Mandalore, Grimbeard, Warlockcracy and Sseth, they're out there.

Solid point! 💪💪💯

I also agree.

I feel like I just gained forbidden dimensional knowledge

The character has gotten a lot tamer since James has kids and less of Mike's contributions.

After his movie flopped it seemed like the passion was gone.

godspeed good man

happy you're doing better bro

Trauma from killing innocent people?

Right on. I discovered AVGN in like 2007. I was in the military too, Navy to be specific. I was stuck on base one Christmas and I leached off someone's wifi and watched AVGN episodes all day. It actually turned out to be an awesome Christmas that year. Like you said, I just relived my childhood and laughed hysterically at the episodes. Thanks for serving dude, glad you made it home safe. Hope you're doing well.

Happy things turned around for you, my guy

maybe the TMNT review is still fresh in his mind?

I can't tell if you're joking or not. Thanks for the laugh though.

If this really is true, it's wild thinking I had a realistic chance of bumping into or glancing him while on a day trip that year---

He was secretly the human version of the ninja Michelangelo

I also flee into manholes to escape stalkers.

No, the real IRL angry video game nerd was game dude

@@henrynelson9301 or irate gamer

Mike used to be so fake but now he's calmed down a bit. Respect

I miss James and Mike Mondays

Yuup

That's a good catch, I didn't think of that!

The Megas are also pretty good, if you're in for something more involved. Although they do really hit their stride after their first album, in a reverse sophomore slump.

I really only know of one video game cover band, which is Power Glove. They’re pretty freaking great.

He's more of a one man band, but GaMetal is great too

I think video game cover bands are generally pretty good and Rex Viper is not very representative of them, Rex Viper reminds me of something like the Leetstreet Boys.

The Black Mages were also fairly alright but that was also a bunch of actual Final Fantasy composers doing only Final Fantasy covers so it probably doesn't count.

Bimmy and Jimmy made me laugh back then

cos I like ya a lot

@@fredstolperman2785 fuckin bimmy and Jimmy who could forget 🤣

@@church7389 Dig up Robert Louis Stevenson and show how his book about the origin of evil has become the origin of an evil game! Also, who the hell is Deborah Cliff and why should I headbutt her?

ROLLING ROCK *points to Rolling Rock* ON THE ROLLING ROCKER *points to the Rolling Rocker*

Someone needs to pin this comment for people like me who don't have the time (sorry) to watch a 2 hour video about youtuber "drama". This sums it up. Thank you.

People trying to get views by naming popular youtubers in their own vids

What? Does this video just not even mention the whole drama with him cutting off ties with his old collaborators and just not paying them? Or are you being deliberately dense.

He had another controversy because he didn't want to watch a Ghostbusters movie from 2016 or something and it all blew over because 1. it didn't matter and 2. he just ignored it.

@@mobilemarshall You haven't watched it but scrolled trough to comment on what you think is or is not in the video. You already made more contoversy then james ever did. Besides, all of his colabs are still collaborating with him. And yet you can't be bothered to fact check your own derision...That's just weak dude.

And he's got bills to pay too so...

The guy is in his forties and has a family. That takes up a lot of your time. People aren’t entitled to videos from him. I agree ☝️

I wonder if those new guys are sucking more money out of james that he can produce....

totally agree

As someone with no life, I find it pretty pathetic they are going after this guy, all because he has to adapt to family responsibilities and working to appease a major audience. A majority of who is totally ungrateful to the fact that he has been dedicated to creating endless content even when in time he admitted that he felt drained of material.

I think the big problem is that James grew up, but his content didn't. He stuck to the AVGN character for too long, and now it's basically his only money maker, just like Doug Walker and the Nostalgia Critic. Maybe if he'd tried to diversify his content more, things would be different. But, as Emily said in the video, I think we've just reached an era where the popular content that James could have moved into and achieved some level of success in (video essays) also happens to be content that he doesn't really have an interest in.

@@flamemasterelan bullshit! everybody’s mad because he isn’t the old angry nerd that he used to be. He tried to do bigger and better things and his Fanbase just couldn’t accept that… and how many RU-vidrs have their own video game?

It's not that, people are just more comfortable from things remaining static Which is dangerous. Contrary to popular belief, people do change. Wanting a person to remain in character, especially a cynical self destructive one like the nerd, this is a solipsistic outlook on reality It's like not wanting your parents to remarry or not accepting that a friend has to move in order to go to school. "In order to accept yourself as you are and live with your soul at peace, you much teach yourself to just let it be"

James had a kid, but still goes on about taking a poopy in Ecco the Dolphin and shouting fece jokes every 5 minutes. His content didn't grow up either.

@@imperialguard5599 I think you all are missing the fucking point.

And now Arin and Jon GG is itself a distant relic of a bygone age

Lmao, the Game Grumps talking about Mike Matei always cracks me up. "I'm sure somewhere down there, SOMEWHERE IF YOU DIG DEEP INTO MIKE MATEI YOU WILL FIND A SMIDGEON OF HUMANITY! BUT FOR NOW WE CAN ONLY SEE THE BEAST!"

When I got to interview him for a gaming section of a website I wrote for nearly 15 years ago, he commented on the very deliberate construction of the AGVN as a character and the set as meta-commentary. It also reminded me of his spot on comedic timing in the early days in one video where he finished up the usual string of obscenities with a pause and then "...and I don't like it!" as a stinger right before the end, and that one delivery STILL slays me to this day.

Yup. His comedy aged like fine wine.

@@henriquesoares7893 the mere thought of "CASTLE MY ASSHOLE" never fails to at least make me laugh.

It's not just AVGN, PewDiePie is getting a life too (in a good way, where they live out their lives the way they want instead of the way others want).

If I have learned anything, it's "Don't feed the trolls."

Hey, I've paid nothing to be entertained by AVGN and am entitled to more!

that's why they are angry? I was wondering because I didn't know anyone was angry at him, I thought something happened. Major clickbait lmao, thanks xd

@@MDLuffy1234YT and to be fair Pewdiepie has been a billionaire years ago but he still kept going

That's the thing he never had a passion for that part of his online presence

The problem is he's clearly producing content he *doesn't* have the passion for. And if AVGN isn't what he's passionate about anymore, fine, but he ought to just end things on a high note. The best time for that was a few years ago, but that doesn't mean he ought to continue this decline. I understand that he's still got bills to pay and such, but unless there's a spark of passion and enthusiasm to captivate the audience then ultimately its unsustainable and eventually his audience will dwindle as it already is. I, personally, think he should've tried to make a leap into the professional moviemaking scene. I think he still could.

@@RedFlameGamer Episode 200 would be that high point IMO, the way he ended that episode is just the perfect way for the series to end and if he wants to do more then he can do more.

It's fair to compare art made by someone who was passionate against later art they made that had no passion. Not only is it fair, it's revelatory. James is *allowed* to make content purely for the money, and we're *allowed* to hate it and say so.

I still think AVGN is worth watching. I agree episode to episode, later episodes are not superior to earlier content. But I think many of the modern episodes are GREAT, I LOVED the Fear and Loathing inspired episode (being a fan of HST, the story, and the movie). I thought it was fantastic and fun, even if a bit sketchy vs AVGN. I really liked the 200th episode LJN videos. Again I see the "divided for advertising" take and that sort of thing, but it was still a fun series, and having some of the old content added in along with not seen before games. And the game creation skit was pretty good, IMO. Again, if I said maybe the peak AVGN? No, but still pretty good

Yeah, that stuck out to me too. Extremely on-target way to nail the vibe of a piece.

Whereas in something like Best of the Worst you can just tell that they’re practically brothers in terms of how well they know each other

@@randomjunkohyeah1 Tell me again about that time that guy showed you his "warhammer figurines."

The fattest, sweatiest coworkers

@@lemfandango Slobs if you will

I mean, I don’t think so, since there isn’t as much creative effort required for a Let's Play than for an AVGN video

@@samt3412 but I also don't want Mark's style of humor to change over time as a result.

@@productionsinparadise2880 I doubt it will. Mark knows what he's doing and does it well. I don't see a reason for him to lose his skill this far in. And, if he's burnt-out, I think his audience is more than capable of understanding why, unlike the Cinemassacre Truth guys.

you really hit the nail on the head there

Hilarious and true

holy moly i hate this feeling because it feels like u can’t do anything 💀

And the guy is your girlfriend ex boyfriend and you know this but he doesn't and so you really have no motivation for small talk.

Best analogy right here. That's the exact feeling.

"It was all Mike" Im so sorry.

Did he at least give you the Matei Mallet?

yeah its always disappointing when its mike

Was Inspector Gadget there at least?

AHHHHHH

Yes

That's not the worst motto!

Best advice on the internet

Dont feed the gremlins after dark

I have hope for this ol' World... ...your comment hasn't attracted said trolls! 👍GG👍

He got attacked viciously for saying he won't be seeing the new Ghostbusters movie back in 2016, his reasoning had nothing to do with the fact it had a female cast btw. But that didn't stop hordes of losers calling him "sexist", "woman-hater" etc. - even Patton Oswalt insulted him on Twitter - but he held his ground and never responded to those low-lifes - always admired how he handled that

I wonder if that's where some of modern Cinemassacre Truth's strange loathing of James' family stems from. Very odd - and also gross - either way

@@jamesbellamy9328 Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the first instance of people who would then turn into the “Cinemassacre Truthers” becoming obsessive and downright vitriolic towards anybody in James’ personal life

I think her blog was something about cooking, or something 🤔. I've never really was interested in it and paid it no mind. If what you say about the comments are true, then that is highly unfortunate.

I was not aware of any of this. That's incredibly sad.

@@RocKnight11 there's a mirror of the old cinemassacre website called cinemassacreold mrs nerd speaks, and Mrs nerd answers, were the first two blogs. There was a third post but it seems lost. All the comments are lost too.

Oh shoot hi seymour!!

Yeah, minus the “questionable stuff” part.

Don't tell that to the rick and morty fans

James' videos are still pretty good, though. The last few AVGN videos have seen a huge increase in quality, and even the more average videos are pretty entertaining. You also have to take into consideration that he's doing the right thing by spending time with his family and doesn't want to be a slave to content creation. Nothing wrong with that.

…And the food is free.

thats actually a REALLY good suggestion and not something id considered, and i think youre on the money, his style as himself would translate really well, (and as a bonus longform content seems to be good in the algorithm at the minute, so i dont see why any higher powers would complain)

He has a huge passion for old-school Horror films, and he gets to express that with some great retrospectives over the years

​@@Glace-gonehe already has some great essays sprinkled throughout, especially during the months of October

His video on the Psycho house is by far my favorite video he’s ever made. I would absolutely love for him to make more stuff like that.

His ninja turtles retrospective was heat🔥