A Deep Dive Into The Cinemassacre Backlash

[@Mad_Rabbit69]

Minecraft with Gadget was the first Vtuber video

[@myettechase]

It’s true but you shouldn’t say it

[@benburke3015]

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

[@GraphiteShores]

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

[@samuelsolomon7330]

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

[@RerunTheWizard]

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

[@CattyWompus.]

I once emailed James when my friend and long time AVGN fan got seriously ill. James replied and sent a handwritten letter for my friend. He’s a solid guy

[@RicardoHernandez-ze9qv]

r/thatHappened

[@JettBlast]

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.

[@eliotisconfusedaboutyourpa8105]

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

[@wastedtalent666]

This would never happen these days cause muh kids

[@eliotisconfusedaboutyourpa8105]

@@wastedtalent666 i dont get what you mean with the "muh kids". Could you explain that please?

[@GamingHeroLord]

I live under a rock. Didn't know there was any backlash at all

[@Avossk]

same

[@SoulCastleFilms]

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

[@jordyundieground3270]

Its a lot :(

[@younggamer7218]

Me neither

[@tecpaocelotl]

Most backlash he responds to are unlisted on his other KZbin channel.

[@Bobzillabob1]

Met the AVGN at PRGE a few years ago. He was exceptionally cordial to my young son, who had given him a gift. James even left his autograph desk to go show his counterparts the gift. It meant a lot to us. The counterparts I mentioned were Screenwave, and they seemed disinterested in the gift. It was almost as if it was an annoyance and this show was more about them than James. I found that part profoundly sad. The real AVGN, the real James is a good guy. I'm forever a fan after not knowing much about him before this encounter.

[@ronstewart5945]

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.

[@crazyand2099]

@@Kron-j3k 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.

[@TF-Times]

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.

[@no.one.2]

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

[@Elijah-NUMetal-IsMyWife-Boyd]

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

[@krathoon2338]

What amazes me is how many people really have a problem with James going bald. He is aging, people, it happens. It actually adds to the AVGN.

[@arostwocents]

Wtf that's actually a thing?

[@krathoon2338]

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

[@RisingBeast00]

I want him to be around forever 😩😢

[@BillyFusco]

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.

[@user-rv9ds8iw6g]

Really? They blame him for going bald?

[@HBMmaster]

board james really was the best thing to come out of cinemassacre and nobody ever talks about it. smh

[@Arkegox]

The opportunity is right there...

[@sapphyreblayze]

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.

[@jordanthejq12]

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

[@TSDT]

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

[@infesticon]

Aye board James is the best thing James ever did.

[@silverdamascus2023]

Even if AVGN and Cinemassacre had a drop in quality, James Rolfe is still a nice guy that stayed mostly free from controversy, you don't have to like the new episodes, but there's no reason to actually hate James.

[@91Vault]

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

[@Gamesta100]

@@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

[@ericb9252]

But Tony and Justin are legitimately bad people

[@EsotericOccultist]

It was really nice of him to lie about plagiarism 🙄

[@Krushak8888]

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

[@Mito383]

“The Wii is as old now as the NES was when James started doing his videos.” I didn’t come here expecting to suffer, but here we are.

[@Jonathanflash1985]

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

[@CHMernerner]

Oh...no ..

[@ageofdulltron2052]

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.

[@karenelizabeth1590]

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

[@Mito383]

@@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.

[@kirkula]

"The Wii is as old now as the NES was when James started doing his videos"....I....think I need to start getting my affairs in order.

[@Scerttle]

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

[@miktmikleson4891]

Holy Christ I’m old

[@FawfulDied]

there's an early segment of AVGN where Grampa Nerd makes fun of the Wii, which at the time had recently been released

[@toxicavenger64]

I met him in san diego Comic con, I did like an hour of line. He was so awesome, at the time I was going through a bad phase in my life. I told him that his videos really cheered me up. He gave me a small pep talk man I almost cried damn, I still get chills. He's actually a really nice guy.

[@CaptainCat101]

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

[@ismaelvelazquez7776]

Loser

[@ThePatente]

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

[@wyatt8062]

What did he tell you?

[@severalwolves]

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

[@okawesome2746]

There's this idea online that every channel eventually "falls." Like that one video talking about the "decline" of Smosh because, surprise surprise, they couldn't sustain their massive popularity for over a decade and were forced to rebrand and change their formula. Forgetting that ten years of making content on the internet, originating from two guys making dumb videos on their own with a shitty camcorder, is in every possible way a massive success, and being able to pivot from that to a smaller-scale but still profitable channel is nothing to snark about. Almost nothing can stay that popular for that long, and not being able to do so isn't a failure.

[@HonkeyKongLive]

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.

[@pete_lind]

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

[@vcorkleth]

@@HonkeyKongLive 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.

[@okawesome2746]

@@HonkeyKongLive 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.

[@pentelegomenon1175]

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.

[@twistedtick]

Honestly, the last few AVGN videos have been a major step up in quality. James is even credited as sole writer on some of them. That aside, even if the quality stayed only middling, he’s 42, has a wife and kids, and anyone who shames a man for putting his family first is no man at all.

[@Pundit07]

Preach it, brother!

[@agoo7581]

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 KZbin 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

[@Lordidude]

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

[@cseijifja]

@@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.

[@FrancisSchonarth]

Now is The Bald Video Game Nerd.

[@foxxy-3748]

James Rolfe (as of this comment) has been the Nerd for almost TWENTY YEARS. That, regardless of opinion, is a clear dedication to the craft. Even the more recent AVGN videos that come out clearly have a lot of effort put into them, and its clear that James still loves the Nerd persona and is still having fun with it. Plus, I once emailed James when I first started watching AVGN videos ~10 years back, basically just telling him how much I enjoyed his work and how much I respected his dedication. James emailed me back with one of the most heartfelt sincere replies I've ever seen, which inspired me to be more creative in life. Regardless of mistakes, James is without a doubt an amazing guy.

[@OliveOilFan]

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

[@neubro1448]

When Mike is the real angry gamer.

[@browngamer4]

Agreed

[@yellowriverboy5734]

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

[@sweatypackage]

cry about it@@yellowriverboy5734

[@rruhland]

I just rewatched the Earthbound video and it really still holds up as a really good character study of the Nerd and also of a bit of James himself. It’s about a game he ends up really liking, so it’s a different edge from his normal videos. It’s an interesting deep dive into the game and also his own psyche. To compare him to Doug Walker, when Doug did the Wall thing, he didn’t realize how deep into himself the light would be shined and likely doesn’t realize how much of himself is on that screen. In comparison to James Rolfe, he clearly knows how deep the game of Earthbound can be and how much of himself is required to properly review some of it. He allowed himself to be truthfully open about it all. Just seems like a fundamental difference between the two in my opinion.

[@gayrozayppeli8431]

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.

[@BMoser-bv6kn]

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: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmXEY3-ml7WVq5Y 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.

[@yourlocalnerd7788]

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.

[@ratcity129]

@@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

[@yourlocalnerd7788]

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

[@Mikozee]

I'd go so far as to say James Rolfe is a victim of a lot of vultures that came into his life to piggyback off his success. His character flaw is that he's non-confrontational and can't say no, or put his foot down, either that or he has too much trust in people. Maybe a little bit of both. Either way, the people that have associated themselves with Cinemassacre were all focused on the money, or just wanted to use the platform as a springboard for their own platforms, but one thing is clear, and it's that no one ever gave a shit about what James wanted.

[@gameb9oy]

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

[@martineastman9855]

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

[@lorddrayvon1426]

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.

[@XxxXxx-br7eq]

​@@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

[@joshuacserna3099]

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.

[@Furnerfamilyadventures]

Personally would like to take a break from AVGN and make a horror film, its his passion and he has earned it. His AVGN videos got me through some dark days.

[@tanuki01]

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

[@gladspooky9455]

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

[@KetsubanSolo]

@@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.

[@Pundit07]

@@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.

[@CheeseDudInTheOven]

@@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

[@lhei_tayuun]

"Someone who thinks the best part of Scott Pilgrim is when they played the Zelda theme at the beginning" is a description that perfectly evokes a very specific concept I'm all too familiar with.

[@thatsallreviews]

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

[@ignaciotrevino796]

I remember meeting AVGN as a teen at SGC 2009. He was a very quiet, kind of timid, but kind man. He was so mellow to the point he almost seemed tired. At the time I felt really disappointed because he was totally out of character. Looking back, I appreciate how different he was. If he was like his character, he would’ve been a major dick. Unlike Brentalfloss, AVGN was a great guy. His videos gave my younger cousins and I something to bond over. Although I’ve outgrown this kind of content, it gives me a sense of nostalgia. Can definitely see myself rewatching his videos in a few years.

[@NintendoSunnyDee]

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

[@the1AndOnlyIRONFIST]

What's wrong with Brentalfloss?

[@kissconsider]

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

[@AlexG-xl1cc]

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

[@Pocketrocket-pj1us]

@@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.

[@TheWisestWizards]

I love James' approach to KZbin and any drama. He just ignores it and goes on with his life.

[@Yokai_Yuri]

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.

[@Invinciproductions]

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.

[@Bollibompa]

@@Yokai_Yuri Everyone? Not even close.

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

@@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.

[@timbawden2577]

@@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.

[@NTA_Luciana]

It turns out the REAL angry video game nerds were the fans he made along the way

[@aboredwriter3108]

that is freaking genius what the hell

[@candy-ninja]

Yeah, he was just satirizing them

[@mikey2toes966]

Facts

[@LuizFRdeO]

KZbin comment of the year

[@ArjunTheRageGuy]

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

[@MisterXenomorph]

James is a rare breed. Hes probably the oldest continuously active game tuber around, hes gone the majority of his career with no real controversies, hes probably one of the most wholesome tubers around

[@imperialguard5599]

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

[@MisterXenomorph]

@@imperialguard5599 cheetahmen 2 scam?

[@s4mpson]

@@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.

[@imperialguard5599]

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

[@imperialguard5599]

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

[@PixelHead777]

KZbin feed: "Here's a 2-hour video about an AVGN controversy" Me: "There was an AVGN controversy???"

[@spunky6059]

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

[@ls-420stoner6]

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.

[@charlesdarwin7253]

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

[@Verlier_]

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.

[@AlexRN]

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

[@TheGallantGentry]

As someone who watched AVGN from the very beginning, a detail that people often miss is that the novelty of AVGN was that he was reviewing games that, at the time, were 20 years old and essentially worthless. In the early 00s, retro gaming was still a fringe hobby. A person could purchase vintage games for next to nothing. So it's less about AVGN being a "rage reviewer" and more about the irony of investing that much energy into reviewing something outdated and of no value. In the pre-internet days, honest reviews were difficult to find, and kids relied on word of mouth to know what games were good. Video gaming in the 80s and 90s was still seen as a childish hobby and nothing to be viewed with any sincerity. AVGN reviews tap into the genuine feeling and experience of being duped into playing an awful game and the novelty of using a large amount of energy to review something that was an outdated afterthought. I believe that is why many people appreciate the early seasons of AVGN and less so today. I think it has less to do with the production value and more about how the reviews became more one-dimensional. Early AVGN episodes tend to convey more sincerity of someone attempting to have a good experience and encountering unreconcilable flaws in a game rather than later episodes that focus on simply being angry.

[@RockHarding]

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

[@planescaped]

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.

[@mistershabadoo]

Solid point! 💪💪💯

[@CalrissianSteele]

I also agree.

[@Kinrobsar]

I feel like I just gained forbidden dimensional knowledge

[@Spindash54]

One thing I always like about James is that he’s done very well to separate his personal and professional life. His kids don’t appear in any videos and only are just mentioned as his daughters. There’s no photos of them or their names. They’re free to grow up being their own people as opposed to being put into videos and content before they can even form memories. The Mario Maker videos have been a great way to be reminded that James is a dad sharing video games with his kids without making the videos about his kids. Same goes for his wife who I can only recall a single post she made on the website ages ago. They get to be their own people and not just “Mrs. Nerd and the Nerd Jrs.”.

[@NostalgiaUnicorn]

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

[@maristiller4033]

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

[@CH-ow8hy]

Sometimes there's more important things than just work.

[@grimTales1]

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

[@rotisseriepossum]

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

[@JOAOMENGAO100]

Honestly, redditors getting mad at someone for having wife and kids is so funny and accurate

[@ablationer]

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.

[@Sianostrakarenrenren]

@@ablationer Found the Redditor.

[@queencancerous5332]

​@@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.

[@ZeranZeran]

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

[@dachel683]

who cares really? @@ablationer

[@YggdrasilAudio]

James actually wrote an actual script for an original movie fairly recently that he tried to get made, but eventually gave up on and decided it wasn't something he felt like doing. He has made videos on this project in the year that's passed. His standalone video on VHS memories feels like a callback to the content he made in 2020, whcih in my opinion is some of the best and most rewatchable Cinemassacre has made recently and I would really welcome a return to that style.

[@whodatninja439]

he has no time for movies

[@YggdrasilAudio]

@@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.

[@user-ny5vp9be8v]

@@whodatninja439 no time

[@aquamidideluxe5079]

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.

[@pleasedontwatchthese9593]

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"

[@junipermarsh6590]

A small part to comment on but I like when James talks about his family and kids. He gets that sparkle that's missing from a lot of the current videos. Obviously he likes being a dad and likes playing games with his kids.

[@insensitive919]

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

[@B.-T.]

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

[@archive8080]

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.

[@B.-T.]

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

[@archive8080]

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

[@DavidMajors]

"It might be time to log off" is a message a lot of people who hyperfixate on all of these content creators over the years really need to do.

[@lugenlord6721]

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

[@diogoubermensch9255]

I totally agree.

[@nignamedmutt7270]

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.

[@richardmoores]

@@lugenlord6721 that happens to me a lot

[@josephstewart2821]

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.

[@leopoldmolitch4040]

Just watched this again, and had a little chuckle about the "plagiarism is something the internet hates, yes this is foreshadowing" part. If you only knew back then how foreshadowy it was

[@alexanderstavroulakis335]

hbomberguy?

[@KazangKazoom]

What’s this referencing?

[@patu8010]

@@KazangKazoom hbomberguy.

[@00wolfer00]

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

[@Scerttle]

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

[@Ravagethem]

Board James is the best thing he’s ever made, I’m glad someone else shares that take. He really didn’t have to go so hard on that series but I’m glad he did. Other than that you raised great critiques, and I say that as someone who genuinely still likes the “new” Nerd stuff. Idk, I’ve followed him since 06 and yet never knew any of this controversy was even happening. Ignorance is bliss as they say lol

[@RisingRevengeance]

Remember when it was revealed that Board James was AVGN? So damn good, stupid but good!

[@HardbrasH1]

He used all of his strong sides making Board James - it's extremely rewatchable to this day. Great cinematography, great songs (thanks to Bootsie also), great lore, suspense, humor and fun at perfect length.

[@jessica23claire]

Agreed, that Dream Phone video is a masterpiece of KZbin horror comedy.

[@twilightsparkle75]

board james as a concept sounded crap. 2 dudes playing board games, wheres the entertainment there? but in practice, holy shit it was pure gold

[@uberyoutuber3892]

I agree dude. I've been watching Cinemassacre since the beginning, but had no idea about the Mike stuff and the Screenwave team up. I started binging a lot of James & Mike Monday's because AVGN material wasn't coming out, then the hiatus video for Monday's left us thinking it would be back. Then the Fur pals AVGN episode came out and I was so lost, that's when I had my own suspicions that something wasn't right. Then this backlash video popped up and wow, I knew something was wrong, but not all that...

[@Mr.Faust3]

its weird how AVGN's controversies have almost nothing to do with James himself

[@suezuccati304]

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?).

[@zachary_attackery]

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

[@Mr.Faust3]

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

[@asmrtpop2676]

@@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.

[@xsoultillerx]

@@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.

[@nightshadehelis9821]

I became a recluse when I came home from Afghanistan in 2008, which is when I discovered avgn. His content helped me remember my childhood memories playing shitty games. James made me smile when I was going through the roughest slump in my life. For that, I will always be grateful.

[@THERES_BEES_EVERYWHERE]

godspeed good man

[@Eighty8percent]

happy you're doing better bro

[@Frogwai]

Trauma from killing innocent people?

[@birchmahogany2718]

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.

[@nate654]

I prefer the term isolationist.

[@PharaohBender27]

I'm curious how many other people are also rewatching this after watching Dan Olson's video, "I Don't Know James Rolfe."

[@sourskittles4187]

Ahahaha, same. I really didn't care for his video, left a bad taste in my mouth, so went to rewatch this one.

[@PharaohBender27]

@@sourskittles4187 I actually really liked his video (it just made me think of this one), but fair enough.

[@siliconecheese697]

@@sourskittles4187again the video is about how he doesn’t know james rolfe, as much as we can put together this image of a man, we only see what is happening on the outside

[@beckyginger3432]

​@@sourskittles4187I think the discomfort is purposeful its an intensely intimate portrait of dan - which doesn't cast dan in the best light. Dan who doesn't normally dip into personal stuff in his videos. Its jarring like seeing your accountant without his trousers on. But to make great art, to grow you have to reflect, you have to face the parts of yourself that you don't like. The video shows that beautifully, a self portrait worts and all. The video itself also seems to work a little like wavelength in itself, how you feel about it tells you something about yourself.

[@Hannahgs]

Me haha

[@DagothUrWelcomesYou]

Yeah the vast majority of hate James get has always rubbed me the wrong way. I remember watching one critique video where they dwelled way too long on the fact that James is balding. Like it's some big deal. At that point I started to be like "Uhhh. Okay."

[@hunter371]

HAHAHA HE'S BALDING! Omg doesn't he realize that?? How can he make videos like that???? Any criticisms of the production of AVGN I'll listen to. Any criticism of the appearance of anyone on the series is infantile.

[@conelybiscuit4985]

he's a dad now, he's allowed to have fucked up hair

[@mindhackz]

@@conelybiscuit4985or you know, being 40 years old. People age. God I can’t wait to see the midlife crises some of yall go through when you age. It’s like some you don’t think it’s going to happen

[@Dante2056]

Honestly, when I first saw his receeding hairline, it was a bit distracting. I don't blame him or anything, but it was just super jarring. It wasn't the reason I disliked said video though, I just found the video itself kinda boring and don't even remember which one it was.

[@sweatypackage]

I ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT WAIT

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

_The Immortal_ review was done in one continuous take because that's how you have to play the game: you can't just react to the obstacles in your path as you progress -- you have to memorize absolutely every single move you make with no margin for error.

[@johnnygregg1550]

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

[@aquamidideluxe5079]

It's not just nostalgia, James's sense of delivery and comedic timing in the old days was on point. Like when he said "I'd rather have a diarrhea dog take a LAVA DUMP all over the screen!" it's pure nonsense but the way he says it is just so funny. I remember on Game Grumps they were talking about how James and Mike could say the exact same corny shit and from James it would be funny but from Mike it would be annoying. In the AVGN series, James himself compared his style to Beavis and Butthead riffing on music videos in the 90s.

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

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

[@henriquesoares7893]

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!"

[@shawnstruck]

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.

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

Yup. His comedy aged like fine wine.

[@congrilla-]

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

[@bigdrippy4104]

Hazel referred to the AVGN as "the internet's collective dad" in a video and he truly is. dude rocks, and I've always liked him as a guy. he's always been pretty earnest as a creator.

[@arthurdurham]

Honestly really shocked and impressed that the controversies have nothing to do with anything James said or did in the original AVGN run. Shows he was always a mature and good dude who just put on an absurb persona. Interesting how he invented the angry internet reviewer yet he always knew where the line was in what he said or did. While so many people he inspired (or even worked with) have to apologize for past jokes or act like they never happened.

[@BirdmanDeuce26]

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.

[@crispy2699]

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.

[@valletas]

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

[@hardcoresmoke2122]

^

[@chinafuture6484]

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

[@thereturnwoo]

The worst crime James committed was changing the white shirt to the one with big black buttons.

[@Deathshuck]

Amen brother... the new pens suck too 😂

[@kalbson]

amen

[@iwanttoseemrshow]

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

[@billieeisenhower406]

He's a zoo keeper now. Cope.

[@cinegoth4144]

He came off as hunky with the shirt change.

[@lizb7271]

What isn't often said about "separating the artist from the art" is that bad art doesn't make the artist a bad person. Also I greatly appreciate Emily's perspective in Sarah Z's videos as well as these videos of course.

[@xBINARYGODx]

depends on in which way the art is bad..

[@nondescriptcat5620]

bad art doesn't even necessarily make the artist a bad artist. good artists can produce bad art.

[@lancebaylis3169]

Coming back here after the recent hbomberguy plagarism video. To be fair, I don't think AVGN is totally culpable, but I do think the team he built to essentially 'run the business' so he can devote the time elsewhere have really let him down. And at the end of the day, that does reflect on Rolfe. He has to fix that situation, or else risk reputational damage by association.

[@dangbruhskyy]

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

[@Anonsage3]

"im drinkin' ROLLING ROCK on the ROLLING ROCKER?!?!?!" has lived rent free in my head for over a decade too

[@fredstolperman2785]

Bimmy and Jimmy made me laugh back then

[@godihateyoupeople7173]

cos I like ya a lot

[@church7389]

@@fredstolperman2785 fuckin bimmy and Jimmy who could forget 🤣

[@jonbrewer297]

@@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?

[@scarletcrusader5431]

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

[@codyjemes73]

The “coworkers talking about movies in the break room” line about rental review captures the essence of that show in a way I never could.

[@jonathanlgill]

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

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

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

[@BMoser-bv6kn]

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

[@lemfandango]

The fattest, sweatiest coworkers

[@EZ-vm1up]

@@lemfandango Slobs if you will

[@Dzumeister]

I like how James is playing a character but Mike really is an angry videogame nerd

[@henrynelson9301]

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

[@richardmoores]

@@henrynelson9301 or irate gamer

[@archive8080]

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

[@joehosier6187]

I miss James and Mike Mondays

[@turtleanton6539]

Yuup

[@Kilaueaorph4n]

Simply put: AVGN partnering with screenwavemedia is like when Wayne’s World went from the basement of Wayne’s mom to the big studios on national TV.

[@オールマイト-y1f]

This is what happens when people get older and life starts to get in the way. He has kids and a wife and all sorts of other responsibilities now. Guy's trying his best to adapt to his life changes and keep with the content. He's in the process of optimising the full thing. I for one will be giving him a break. Guys been going for near 2 decades man.

[@bagingospringo4396]

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

[@howaboutsomesoyfood]

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 ☝️

[@darkmistico]

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

[@ChairmanMeow1]

totally agree

[@whoknowswhocares885]

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.

[@OneEyeShadow]

Normal KZbinr backlash: He slept with an underage fan of his and embezzled $20k. Also he keeps saying the N-word on stream. AVGN backlash: His videos aren't as good as they used to be.

[@DaniloSantosVieira]

Thx for summing up this 2 hour long video

[@sativaburns6705]

Seriously, you should start an essay channel.

[@NovaWolf01]

Thank you for saving part of my lunch break.

[@TheHeadlessCreator]

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

[@Dargonhuman]

@@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.

[@mattbutler4953]

One small criticism of video, there was one really messed up thing that really set the stage for an adversarial relationship that happen during the time of filming The AVGN movie: The Mrs. Nerd blog. James' wife was asked to by James to post a weekly blog on the cinemassacre website mostly to discuss herself, what James was like, what being around productions was like, and stuff like that. Basically it was an inside perspective and behind the scene look at James' life at the time. The blog lasted only 3 posts. People hated it and by extension HATED her. The comments were fucking disgustingly mean towards her. Saying stuff like she was trying to glom off the success at James, calling her sexist slurs, calling dumb and uninformed, etc., all despite her stating she didn't want to be famous and was only doing it because she was asked to by James. I feel like this particular bit of drama, though never truly addressed, really put bad taste in James' mouth.

[@jamesbellamy9328]

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

[@Pundit07]

@@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

[@RocKnight11]

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.

[@Dark_Ronius]

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

[@mattbutler4953]

@@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.

[@DeadliestFX420]

My brother once told me he doesnt watch Rick and Morty because of the fan base, I didn't quite understand what he was talking about, but after seeing the hostile subreddit about Cinemassacre I avoid fan groups of anything I enjoy.

[@OrgaNik_Music]

Never, ever get involved with the fandom of any piece of media

[@mrcritical6751]

Even the fanbase for the most chill franchises possible can be ungodly toxic, it’s the echo chambers that do it

[@PetProjects2011]

This is also why I don't interact with Star Wars fans.

[@kaed_f]

To be fair you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick & Morty...

[@shortandfat5916]

Imagine blaming a guy for not making enough internet videos because he's with his kids

[@KgEclispe252]

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

[@Thorn99855]

Ridiculous

[@tokumillennium5162]

imagine having a life, lol what a loser

[@andrewbledsoe131]

Fucking aye. right?

[@novadawg6913]

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.

[@robotrain1607]

During the Sarah Z _Dear Evan Hansen_ video, I was really confused by the joke about how asking for a low-key musical was like asking for a good video game cover band. At the time, when I heard "video game cover band," my mind immediately went to stuff like The 8-Bit Big Band (who had just recently been nominated for a Grammy), and not stuff like... Rex Viper. Suddenly, that joke makes a lot more sense.

[@BloodyAltima]

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.

[@geo-fry6372]

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

[@QueenMariposa5]

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

[@pentelegomenon1175]

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.

[@fbmb1337]

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.

[@dunnono00]

Criticism is fine, but there's always clowns just being vicious for the sake of being vicious. Making mountains out of molehills. You'd think James was gonna start the fourth reich or something from the way that subreddit goes on. AVGN was a great series, imo. I still watch those first five or six "seasons" because they still make me smile. It was a good run. Now, yeah, it's not the same and hasn't been for a while. Times have changed, tastes have changed, and the audience has changed.

[@eletgres519]

i really loved the EARTHBOUND and majoras mask video!

[@i_am_dementia9926]

Exactly.

[@douglasthompson1724]

Had zero idea any of this was going on, pretty sad that people feel this is a good use of their time. In any case, AVGN probably should have ended a long time ago. It's a pretty stiff format, and KZbin has changed quite a bit since Rolfe started out. Tiger Electronics was peak AVGN I think, everything after has been a slow decline. It's been a great run though, I wish some people would be a bit more positive.

[@96sotl]

I really Love CASTLEVANIA & TIGER ELECTRONIC Episode... Recently it was COMMADORE 64 Episode, it was fun trip...

[@dannydorko7075]

@@douglasthompson1724 those kind of things are so laughably hypocritical. They'll say about how pathetic screenwave is then spend most of their waking day ranting about them.

[@jonathanvogel7797]

“Dragon Ball Zed” hit me like a truck

[@daviddrift7663]

He's done that before, I always thought it was a bit.

[@josephsouza9599]

So, the "backlash" seems to be that the guy who's been making content since 2004 is starting to seem a little burnt out and lacks some of the passion and energy he had during the first 8 or so years of his career doing this.

[@tacticaljunk1608]

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.

[@pedroholsbach8592]

@@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

[@willissudweeks1050]

@@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.

[@Pundit07]

@@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

[@snoopdoggthecertifiedg6777]

Right. And this somehow warranted a two hour video

[@TheGrayMysterious]

honestly, given his extreme passion for movies and his years of experience talking about niche subjects to a camera, I think James could make the transition to being a modern video essayist really well. He's really fascinating to listen to when he's writing about something he's interested in, and his immaculately chill vibes are his best quality as a person.

[@Glace-gone]

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)

[@BubbyBoy]

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

[@BubbyBoy]

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

[@gannonmb]

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.

[@mccapo9505]

His ninja turtles retrospective was heat🔥

[@jacobsendejo8788]

Honestly though, at this point just be happy that James still has the passion to produce AVGN content after a nearly 20 year lifespan of the character. The man has a family and is making money off sponsorships now, he's paid his dues and has earned the spoils of creating good content for such a long time. It's kinda silly to expect a man who is over 40 years old now to still be making DIY videos in his room with the same bare bones, low budget approach of the early days.

[@mistyknightsbionicarm]

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

[@RedFlameGamer]

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.

[@CreativeWM_Personal]

@@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.

[@aarondavis8943]

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.

[@rimfire2642]

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

[@TheOneWithTheAccent]

AVGN is always going to be one of my favorite KZbinrs since 06. He has a family, a life outside being the character he is on KZbin. Redditors being mad at someone enjoying life seems accurate.

[@HoradoTerror]

Years ago I was rewatching many of his videos, and then I sent an email asking for a written interview for my Brazilian movie blog. It took some time, but he replied to many specific questions with thought and passion, which I wasn't expecting at all. I agree with the comments about burnout and being tired, as it happened to me as well, but James is one of the few creators out there that I respect and admire so much on the internet, through all these years.

[@xmine08]

AVGN taught me english. I'm not kidding, he helped me tremendously with vocabulary and getting a feel for the language. Really thankful for that :)

[@ilovebutterstuff]

That's wild. If it's true.

[@davenotstaine5646]

it’s funny to think that the man that constantly yells “fuck” taught someone English

[@NotDmitry]

Same! His were the first videos I was trying to watch without subtitles.

[@pub795]

oh my god me too. I used to watch him subtitled in some other random channel but when I caught up I had to watch the originals as they came out. At first I didn't understand much, but in time everything became so clear. I started understanging each individual word.

[@leighhunt6331]

live like a windrammer as you fuck.

[@doctor_who5203]

I don't know what you were worried about Emily, this video has been super constructive and fair! This is becoming one of my favorite video essay channels on KZbin :)

[@Xondar11223344]

It's really good!

[@hardy_har]

Lol I was like uhhh "wait was that the... The mean part?"

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

@Dbarc D. What an insightful critique!

[@MJSHappy]

Gonna be blasting Lady Emily out of my 2005 Kia Cerrato

[@hardy_har]

@Dbarc D. Ah yes, clearly someone who watched the entirety of this mostly-kind, nuanced, well-written video. Great work.

[@kagato0987]

I'm in the "I didn't know there was backlash" camp. I haven't really watched James' videos for years, not because of any ill will but my interests shifted.

[@cornerstorevanni]

This dude helped me get through 12 hour mind numbing overnight slogs at Amazon for months. I'd turn whole full seasons on (they would be about 5-6 hours) and before I knew it both the videos would be over and it'd be time for me to go. I've listened to every season of AVGN over and over to get through that horrible experience of a job and it never got old. I don't really give a shit what anybody says about James, he's a very entertaining and funny guy and he helped me through a depressing ass time in my life.

[@Brantendo64]

Yeah, I wish those who feel they are “victims of low tier content” would just stop watching and move on. I personally enjoy a ton of AVGN content, new and old, and recognize that the state of retro gaming (and gaming KZbin for that matter) wouldn’t be where it is if it weren’t for him. I also met him, and can easily say that out of all of the video game KZbinrs I’ve met (despite him probably being more popular than the rest), he was extremely kind and patient. Keep enjoying, dude!

[@guusama3404]

I still play full seasons while doing chores xD

[@zzxp1]

Lol I do the same at my work. Helps me go through all that slog.

[@Helmutlozzi]

I know Amazon is a diabolical corporation with shit standards, but what did you do overnight where you could just chill with AVGN?

[@cornerstorevanni]

@@Helmutlozzi lol it wasn't too terrible. I've had worst jobs. It was mainly depressing bcuz I had a lot more going on outside of work at that time but my fulfillment center was pretty chill. The floor I was assigned to had a cool ass manager that let us wear ear buds. I either worked as a picker (sending items down to packaging in totes after an order was confirmed) or as a water spider (placing totes on the conveyor and replacing totes for manual pickers) it was just a really boring stationary job for the most part. I wasn't watching the episodes, just listening with my phone set down in my station somewhere or if I was spidering I'd have my phone in my pocket. When I think back I was just stuck in general during that time so the experience felt worse. I'm not gonna recommend it but it coulda been aloooot worst.

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

James Rolfe truly lives by the motto "don't feed the trolls".

[@docwho2828]

That's not the worst motto!

[@Panzer_Runner]

Best advice on the internet

[@barryosbourne2581]

Dont feed the gremlins after dark

[@favoritemustard3542]

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

[@TuraisWorldwide]

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

[@Lastclerk3]

Finished the whole video and I have 2 thoughts. 1 The AVGN Christmas Carol parody, one of the earliest Christmas specials, has the nerd being embarrassed by the idea that he could still be doing this in the future, we’ve seem to be in the middle between 2007 nerd and the sad old man he shouldn’t be. 2. You compare early AVGN to Clerks, and if I may take that a step further. Kevin Smith has his own cult of personality and the backlash that came with it. Smith himself admits that he can’t make films the way he used to. He got married and had a daughter, and between being the miserable man who made great movies or the happy man who makes mediocre movies he’s said he’ll always take his happiness first. I hope despite all the online backlash that James and his family are happy in the real world.

[@kadoharp]

I fucking love AVGN I started watching him in 2009 when I was 7 years old and I’m still watching today as a 21 year old. The comically bad editing and acting always warms my heart and just has a very special charm that KZbin had in the 2000s and early 2010s. Almost 20 years of entertainment James has given us, I’m grateful he’s even still making AVGN episodes

[@renato87101]

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?

[@BREAKCORE-DISSOCIATE]

Same

[@iamLI3]

@@renato87101 awesome to hear my young dudes

[@NukkuiskoHyvinVaiPois]

​@@bippityboppityblumpkin You can go and watch older media and get a feel for that era. And sure they could have said "late 2000's" instead, but the early youtube most of us remember is from the era of youtubers becoming a bigger thing, aka late 2000's, so there's really no need to specify that they're not talking literally about all of 2000's.

[@quaidrowan]

You know, I was defensive when I saw this in my feed, as an AVGN fan from literally day 1. But I can't argue with anything here. I can say that none of the changes made me "angry." The Simpsons comparison was apt. I just don't watch it anymore. I do still watch new AVGN releases. The problem with quality decline is that it is inevitable. People change, they have new priorities, but they can't let go of the 20 year old project because it is still paying the bills. So they settle for a more cost-efficient production that will lose some fans and revenue but not enough to go into the red. Starts as a passion, ends as a job. Such is life.

[@RiverRoestdeKunstenaar]

Yo that Last Ninja review tho

[@soul-man]

I like tat 'start as a passion, ends as a job...' tats a good quote in life.

[@lowmax4431]

I can't believe it's nearly been 20 years 😭

[@G-li4ii]

James seems like a genuinely nice guy I'd like to have a pint with, spent so long staying out of drama and being a calm guy, mad respect for still pumping the same content, still enjoying it 15 years later

[@choosetolivefree]

I'd be careful getting real strong ideas about who people you've never known personally really are. Online personas are almost always a far cry from the reality

[@panthekirb7561]

@@choosetolivefree The thing about James is that after 15 years of constant work, people would eventually realise that he isn't as nice as he is, there'd be some slip up eventually. Now, I'm definitely not one of those people who believe that a person needs to be of perfect moral character for their work to have value but I think its impressive that the man is so well known for being humble and down to earth and a gold standard for wholesome video game content creation so many years later.

[@victordeluca7360]

What about a megapint?

[@Nobbie248]

@@panthekirb7561 no ones perfect and hes far better a person then me

[@stza16]

James is a chill dude. I don’t care if he’s got flaws or not.

[@redvelvetunderground]

hbomb's plagiarism video confirmed emily's suspicions about the 3 part 200th nerd episode being split up as a sponsorship requirement. apparently screenwave had oversold sponsorships for it and didn't tell james, that must've been a fun conversation

[@JoeyfilmingTv]

It's just weird in so many ways to see james rolfe of all people mentioned as part of a controversy. It feels like learning your much older brother committed a crime.

[@YggdrasilAudio]

@@buttsbrown2442 Yeah, even if this video did make me realize that the criticisms exist for a reason, I still can't sympathize with the Cinemassacre haters. I mean r/CinemassacreTruth was literally founded out of spite.

[@ArizonanSummer]

@@buttsbrown2442 which is why it’s so batshit that James and Cinemassacre have the most violent backlash from “fans” I’ve seen in recent memory. Seriously, you go to any comments section for AVGN and everyone is out for blood in horribly toxic ways, it does my head in if I think about it for too long. Poor James of all people to attract this crowd, damn.

[@SavageGreywolf]

except after two hours in it turns out that the 'crime' was that your older brother got got throwing dice in an alleyway for quarters and ended up taking a misdemeanor charge over it, and it turns out there's a whole fucking subculture that's devoted themselves to telling everyone that your brother's illegal gambling is _totes as big a deal as that guy who ran over a family of three the next county over._

[@danielgehring7437]

@@ArizonanSummer I think that's, ironically, because it's _not_ that big a controversy; normally when this sort of things happens its about some truly abhorrent, illegal activities like fan grooming or something; but that didn't happen here. So there's really no caste of mature individuals, who (maturely) simply decided to stay out of it whereas they'd usually feel a need to step in and duke it out with the vocal minority trying to defend actual crimes, and thus the loudest of the vocal minority is free to spew as much vitriol as they want. Deeply ironic, and makes me worry a little bit more about the continued existence of humanity, but still pretty fascinating.

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

@@danielgehring7437 You have it exactly right. It’s not capital-o Outrage, it’s outrage-as-entertainment. Everything is insignificant enough, _just_ negative and controversial enough, to sustain the cycle of endless memes and complaining that keep it going. People are there for the dopamine hit of watching something they see as bad/disappointing/a failure “taken to task”, or doing it themselves. Even when it becomes distinctly not-fun, as it clearly has for many of them, it still serves as a time-wasting distraction. Compare that to Change the Channel. Yes, you did have a (very questionable) set of people who tried to make the whole affair out as something to laugh at, for a little while. But even most of them seemed to drop it after the meaningful events (creators leaving ChannelAwesome, terrible non-apologies, etc) dried up. Because at the end of the day, the core of that travesty was still things like serious worker mistreatment, sexüal harassment/assault happening and being ignored, and _someone who had committed su*cide and was seen as a beloved tragic figure being revealed as an accused sëx criminal!_ Extremely serious and grim stuff. You have to reach an insane level of irony-poisoning to take up that kind of controversy as your next frivolous hobby. And so, ironically but also understandably, something that matters much more (by which I mean _at all)_ dies down much quicker. Fighting real injustice isn’t fun. You do it because you have a goal you want to reach, that will make things better for yourself and/or others. It’s hard, it’s a slog, it’s painful. With things like CinemassacreTruth, you can get some of the flavor of engaging in struggles like that, with none of the calories. For a while.

[@JuanTheBone]

I had no idea about the majority of this "backlash", the best thing James has done is to distance himself from the channelawesome audience cause all those people, the fanbase itself, are drama llamas.

[@charlespancamo9771]

because it doesn't really exist. Certainly not in the way that this video purports. Did you see the VHS store episode he did recently? Better than any AVGN I've ever seen, just pure magic. This problem.... doesn't exist.

[@mrrpggamer2]

@@charlespancamo9771 What are you talking about? Did you not watch it or am I missing something here?

[@asmrtpop2676]

@Jon Hall You commented under the wrong comment lol

[@waltermh111]

@@charlespancamo9771 I agree, I summed it up above as "different people have different opinions" the end... I have watched him over the years and nothing was that controversial outside of Mike Matei being a little divisive. But so many people liked him that I dont think it was worth making a video over. She made a big deal that he made a drunk stream and deleted it. Most people wouldnt have even seen it and she didnt prove that it was controversial at all. Just that he did something she didnt like. Or that he once or I cant tell how many times because she doesnt say, he said he was having sex. ok.... Another thing she doesnt seem to like but didnt prove was a big controversy. Most of their audience is guys and he worded it exactly how you would expect him to to an audience that will appreciate it lol I mean, Rolfs audience isnt typically sensitive pansies on twitter I am sure :P Then she makes a big deal about him posting a dick pick due to the jokes about his dick, which was a common occurance on the youtube comment section of videos he was in, and never deleted. Seriously, it sounds like a woman who cant understand a male dominated space. Not to say everybody liked him. But these were not big deals, and guys just like making everything into a competition. She then complains about a comic he apparently wrote as a kid that was full of typical kid absurdities, so many that you can tell he was just trying to be edgy and its only racist because everything is racist today. Seriously, she would hate my hispanic friends. They are the most racist people, using all kind of stereotypes against each other and their white friends, including me. (they use them, I use them). Guys do this to give each other a hard time and push limits. Its just how we are. #notall for you sensitive guys out there. Wont even continue watching past the 25 minute mark. Making a mountain out of mole hills already.

[@AleksandarBell]

@@waltermh111 Found the Redditor. Maybe venture outside of your echo chamber for a minute and figure out that racism is racism.

[@PlayMadness]

The most betrayed I've ever felt was when I went to a video game convention for a, and I quote, "Live AVGN Episode." I sat in the front row for an hour before the start time to get a good seat and see James doing his thing live. James wasn't there. It was all Mike.

[@Somtaaw7]

"It was all Mike" Im so sorry.

[@Halesburg]

Did he at least give you the Matei Mallet?

[@mrscruffles801]

Was Inspector Gadget there at least?

[@DuckDeadly]

AHHHHHH

[@DaRealCheeseboy]

Holy shit, what was the crowd’s reaction?

[@kirakat1535]

It’s sad to hear he made a generic KH video, when they could’ve done something like, “Kingdom Hearts Timeline Explained by Someone Who Knows Nothing About Kingdom Hearts”

[@DVX_BELLORVM]

I don't know how AVGN comes off to a younger person, but as someone who's the same age as James Rolfe, part of the appeal for me is that he's coming at these games from a position of love. These are mostly titles that, if you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you probably rented at some point from the local video store and experienced the exact same frustrations. A good AVGN episode is like a nostalgic hangout video that pokes fun at these shitty games we all played. I've never found the character of the "Nerd" all that interesting, it's James' own earnestness that shines through.

[@Steadyaim101]

Same, its like a parasocial hangout with my old childhood friends. The ones I haven't seen in a decade and have their own kids and families and stuff now. "The Nerd" for me was distracting, I just loved feeling like I could come here to reminisce about what I loved as a kid and feel welcomed in that environment for a while.

[@thedonofthsht76-58]

Yup exactly. Kids born in 2000 won't get much of the comedy bc the games he plays are legit bad games. But if you don't know about those games you probably won't get it

[@RTU130]

Yep

[@IRDeady]

The first video i saw of his was the episode of milons secret castle. My brother sent it to me because we had it as kids and never got passed the first level.

[@whatisfzeroanymore2nd]

2000s kid here, the feeling's honestly kinda mutual, but it was also like...man, all these weird games! I grew up with an NES and had some really hard hitters, the classics you guys usually think of, but it was also interesting getting a look at games that weren't good, or games that I barely heard of outside of discussions. but I had a place I could rent games when I was younger, and I also had that same feeling, it was just like. oh these games are just more pixelated is all. also it was relatable seeing him get super pissed at some games. Ghosts'n'Goblins > Dark Souls in terms of difficulty any day.

[@PMSeymour]

The backlash has the same energy as when people get mad at a fast food joint that’s been doing very questionable stuff, but what people are actually mad about is the food being not good anymore.

[@SuperHothead14]

Oh shoot hi seymour!!

[@BareBandSubscription]

Yeah, minus the “questionable stuff” part.

[@volunarc5248]

Don't tell that to the rick and morty fans

[@legoyoda9782]

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.

[@JayDecayAE]

…And the food is free.

[@audreygore]

Revisiting this video after Dan Olson's great video on James. Thanks for making such a comprehensive overview of everything that happened!

[@nicholaskarpuk942]

“It looked like you were having fun up there.” Is the ultimate damning with faint praise for a band.

[@billyweed835]

As cringe as that bit with Bird Is The Word was, that gag of James removing his sunglasses to reveal his regular glasses is actually kinda funny.

[@JeonardShadby505]

It's a clever take on that same gag from Airplane, and I can definitely appreciate stuff like that even when the rest of the episode is crap.

[@TheAlexSchmidt]

This reminds me of how Todd in the Shadows having to admit that the Speedo getting torn off and there being another Speedo underneath in the Sexy and I Know It music video was actually funny.

[@dracocrusher]

He's trying way too hard and it's just not clicking, like the Nerd has always been extra but that just felt really forced and soulless. If they cut it down or something to just one line of the song as a cutaway then I feel like it'd probably unironically work WAY better.

[@PoisonousPen]

I think the reason nobody warmed to the screenwave guys is because they’re boring. They don’t have any screen presence, so any passion they have is lost. James, when he speaks to the camera and writes the script alone, has an infectious passion that is almost impossible to fake. That’s what I feel people miss. The nerd changed over the years, but it didn’t matter. James was creating things that he enjoyed and it showed. You could feel his passion through the screen. Now, it just feels like he’s along for the ride, whilst the show is run by the kids who you didn’t really want to hang out with, but because their Dad owns the arcade you can’t tell them to go away, so you just put up with them.

[@trentnoob]

very well said

[@ressljs]

I never really thought of it that way (to be fair, by the time they came along, I was only occasionally watching the Cinemassacre channel), but thinking back, I have to agree. I did enjoy watching them discuss movies, but really all the Screenwave guys were bringing to the table was someone for James to interact with. James was still the one providing the interesting discussion, the other guys were there just so it wasn't a monologue.

[@PoisonousPen]

@@ressljs I could honestly listen to James passionately chat about movies for an hour, but the other guys - not at all 🤷‍♂️ Some people just ave that magnetic personality on screen and some don’t. James is one of those people who, when he’s alone just being himself, he feels like an old friend you’re catching up with.

[@Emppu_T.]

I do miss MFM times. They where an epic duo. Bootsy was fun too

[@PoisonousPen]

@@Emppu_T. Yeah, I get why they ended James and Mike Mondays, but I really enjoyed that series 👍

[@neoku84r.p.g93]

I go back to his videos all the time. They never get old.

[@OctEddie]

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

[@yungfella666]

I honestly dont get why people can get so mad about another person having a family and not giving them a video in the sea of millions of other videos they can watch

[@MDLuffy1234YT]

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).

[@Sweet_Z_Official]

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

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

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

[@S4NSE]

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

[@S4NSE]

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

[@JohnDRuddyMannyMan]

I remember discovering James Rolfe on the weekend of my 18th birthday back in 2007! Karate Kid, Bible Games and Atari Porn still crack me up.

[@daoyang223]

My first time watching AVGN was actually his "You know whats Bullshit" video where he trashed packaging. I loved that old format.

[@bgoodnow]

The Castlevania videos brought me in, but the Bible Games video was awesome! I’m gonna go back and watch that one today!

[@bloodsoulsgaming502]

He's great, one of my favorite content creators

[@YggdrasilAudio]

My introduction was actually Monster Madness, that I began watching at 12. I was just getting into horror movies and heard that you could find clips on KZbin and his channel got recommended to me. I didn't really like AVGN, I guess I found his aggressive energy a bit scary (yeah, the irony is not lost on me), but I grew to love that as well.

[@shyguywhite]

I discovered him on a hot summer day in 2011, and back then I didn't understand english so me and my brother had to watch it with spanish subtitles. I'm still subscribe to his channel and I respect him a lot for all the content he did when YT wasn't that big

[@-tweeomoz-1786]

If anyone genuinely hates James, you need to seriously reconsider your standards of what makes a person worth hatred. If you don’t like his new content, don’t watch it.

[@choosetolivefree]

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

[@Bryer106]

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.

[@Ratchet2431]

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

[@puckerings]

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."

[@pafoneto1275]

@@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.

[@BashBizznet]

Can someone explain why the folks at r/CinemaMassacreTruth are so miserable? Like what went wrong in their lives??

[@pepsizerosurger5365]

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

[@infamousempire8302]

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

[@yueffowl]

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

[@imperialguard5599]

Take a wild guess? They have time?

[@kinger7070]

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.

[@Kyeafbre]

It seems like James is a good guy that unfortunately is surrounds himself with not good people

[@CGoody564]

Meh, screen wave seem out of touch, not necessarily bad people.

[@ChadDidNothingWrong]

I don't think mike was a very good guy....but I agree on the screen wave guys. I think they are just stepping a little outside the proper respect boundaries, but not too much.@@CGoody564

[@Revenent530]

I don't know, Justin seems like kind of a bad guy, and it showed Doug Walker and Brad Jones on the podcast, who are both undoubtedly bad people whose only takeaway from all the allegations against them was "our careers will probably be fine, anyway"

[@gamingbacon3375]

​@@Revenent530dougs a fine dude.

[@perfectapple]

I'm glad you mentioned Caddicarus, I found him about a year ago and had a fun time going through his old videos and seeing his transformation from over the top angry edgelord to wacky dad-type.

[@sofiipote7]

I used to watch him in his old angry videos about Phoenix Games ten years ago, and remember enjoying his absurd humour (and the occasional features of his sister) and recently re discovered his channel while going through my subscriptions and enjoy his new style, less angry and more funny, but still with the absurd humour I enjoyed in the past

[@JohnDoe-uf3lj]

Caddy is such a fun channel. Just hope he doesn’t burn out from the new long form content.

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

I’m a bit worried about his seeming… I don’t know if shame is the right word, but at least self-negativity around the type of video he used to make. Kinda feels like he’s too hard on himself when there was literally nothing wrong with his old format (other than being, well, old, and a bit of a relic of the bygone angry critic-dominated days). Like… going back and slapping a big OLD right at the front of the title on all his pre-2019 uploads… I don’t know what exactly he’s trying to accomplish with that (it’s not like KZbin doesn’t clearly display how many months/years were put up), but combined with seeing him beat up on himself a little in response to a tweet mocking the “cringe” of decade-old video game review videos… I guess I recognize these signs of someone who’s overly harsh towards their past and/or their creative output.

[@JohnDoe-uf3lj]

@@randomjunkohyeah1 I think it’s to show that he prefers his long form stuff. He wants to let people know that he doesn’t do shorter videos anymore.

[@pentelegomenon1175]

I only saw latter day Caddicarus videos which seem great actually, and now I'm tempted but also terrified to see his former self.

[@TheLowBrassDude]

I think the difference is that Channel Awesome's destruction was a trainwreck, flying off the rails in a massive explosion. Cinemassacre's afternath is more like watching a train slowly come to a halt on forgotten tracks leading to nowhere.

[@RMATFL]

No longer an active viewer for Cinemassacre. I felt so bad for James about the monster madness controversies. I have never been a horror movie fan, I do enjoy all the trivia knowledges James casually spills out in those videos. He does look passionate and enjoys doing those reviews. To learn that even this series has became a chore he only felt obliged to dish out is genuinely sad. Apparently youtubing is his bread and butter now, so James can't stop. Just wish him best luck finding new passion in the future.

[@HalfTempted]

James has entertained us for years & doesn’t owe us anything at this point. His legacy and devotion to his craft is enough. Nothing is going to be as good as when it started, over time things lose their magic, people change, money changes the process. Even if I don’t think all his videos are at the level of the Castlevania series (that first got me hooked), it doesn’t mean James owes me anything personally as a fan. I wish James the best in whatever he does and will always be a supportive fan because, again, what he’s given us is so special and unique that it will surpass the trial of time. ❤

[@CodeRed001]

James has produced more good content than most mainstream tv shows with a massive studio budget. At this point in his career the man doesn't owe anyone shit. If he wants to keep making stuff good for him, he he decides to leave the internet today I'd salute him and say it's probably the healthy decision seeing how shitty and censorship heavy the internet is becoming and how neurotic people are on the internet.

[@alec57]

Yeah seriously. Someone puts in all this hard work and still get's thrown under a microscope 24/7. Must be exhausting. I feel for the guy.

[@GrayD_Fox]

Perfectly said

[@ilovebutterstuff]

He stays on point and always remembers to have fun. Can't go wrong there.

[@getpape4126]

Yea as a long time fan he could’ve just retired years ago and not give excuses on why he’s lazy and not passionate about it anymore

[@charlesdebarber2997]

I find it astounding how much of an effect James Rolfe has had on modern content creation. KZbin was mostly a vlogging platform with old commercials on it in the beginning. He upped the bar on production value and went beyond just creating the angry reviewer subgenre. I remember waiting for his videos to come out in the early ScrewAttack days. I eagerly anticipated them throughout by 2007-2008 deployment to Iraq. Hard to believe it is coming up on 15 years since then. James inspired a high number of content creators. Most in the gaming humor realm started with him.

[@amberhernandez]

I love the idea of old videos I've watched having such a massive audience that even soldiers halfway across the world are laughing alongside me.

[@SamuelLing]

You know, James is a special one, I used to watch the his video, thinking “huh? I haven’t seen this before, is this new video”, before getting shocked to find out his video is 10 years old, but still it’s hard to tell it’s a old video since it always looked fresh, like just uploaded

[@jayray1714]

Can’t believe I watched the whole thing. I have one takeaway from this: people need to go outside.

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

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

[@Otto-Webb]

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"

[@thrillhelm419]

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

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

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

[@Nnubbs]

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

[@yourex-wife4259]

If you want a good example of this kind of channel maturing, look at LGR. He was pretty much the AVGN of computer games in the very early days, but he got older and now talks about old computers and computer history and has found success in that.

[@Sandwhaler]

Oh, good shout! Found his channel around the same time as MandaloreGaming and Indigo Gaming. Should give it another look. It was interesting, just gravitated more towards the other two at the time.

[@Sandwhaler]

@@The.One.True.B Sounds cool. Gonna have to check that out. Thanks!

[@firstlast6796]

Yeah LGR is great and an excellent example of evolving your content and maturing with your audience.

[@JLCL01]

I've barely seen any of LGR's early videos so I can't really say how much of it is like AVGN's. Every time when I see someone compare him, it's mostly in terms of the "angry reviewer" format that was popular between 2006 to 2010. LGR is Stella good example because even though he did computer stuff, he used to do a lot of Sims related videos but has thankfully been able to make other niche content. I personally like his Tech Tales series.

[@SEOdev]

He started out like AVGN? Wow, I'm gonna have to go check out those vids, I can't imagine him being anything other than chilled out.

[@_BELMONT_]

his newest AVGN episode on Contra is actually really good! It was refreshing to see him play a game he likes and has fond memories of!

[@tinyz7575]

I was thinking the same thing. Not all "modern" episodes are misses.

[@Trist805]

His "Green Dog" review, recently, was one of his best IMO. Especially from owning the game as a kid.

[@maxhiddren3421]

No, THE ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD. That's his name. He has a short fuse, almost everything will piss him off. He even killed a Metron when it complimented him of his rare generous act. The AVGN has gone to soft nowadays its sad

[@Mike14264]

@@Trist805 really liked that one. And the creative game wreck, right into a volcano! From what it looked, he actually dropped the game into molten magma?? I heard he went to Hawaii for a vacation, that's how he got to do it.

[@jc.1191]

Yeah. Great episode. The commodore 64 and 3do episodes were good too.

[@CarsonRH]

Holy shit the “if there’s one thing the Internet hates it’s plagiarism and why yes this is foreshadowing” has an extra level of meaning now

[@Cragma]

Why?

[@SoulCrusher00]

​@@Cragmahbombs vid on plagiarism

[@sincostan999]

"it feels less like a conversation and more like a bunch of people waiting until it's their turn to talk" hit the nail right on the head with that one

[@CrimesTimeLive]

I never got into AVGN, but when you compared the work to Clerks and then showed a few clips, the vibe IMMEDIATELY clicked. Very good comparison!

[@Xondar11223344]

Early AVGN is life itself.

[@CharleyMarlowe]

Also Clerks 1 and AVGN season 1 were both shot completely in New Jersey

[@harrylane4]

It’s so wild that what is considered a big controversy for James is like, nothing compared to other KZbinrs. Dudes biggest controversies are “his videos aren’t very good anymore” and “his coworkers are kind of annoying twats” That’s such a small issue that it emphasizes that nobody seems to have any issues with the guy.

[@culturearson]

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.

[@grayfox1471]

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

[@mobilemarshall]

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.

[@PIKL_Creep]

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.

[@nielsklarenberg5871]

@@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.

[@IHaveNoName2009]

This video is a great example of how video game culture is potentially toxic. If the creative, financial, logistical, etc. choices of someone are not to your liking the most adult thing to do is accept that as a mostly passive consumer you have Zero control over those choices.

[@fzxfzxfzx]

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

[@MahDryBread]

As someone who loved old AVGN but has never seen any of this new stuff before, it's kinda surreal. And Silvermania is there!? I legit only have bad memories of him. I hope he's become less... how he was

[@stapler942]

He sort gives off the vibe of Stan Podalak (Wayne Knight) in Space Jam. Not just because of the glasses, but because he's essentially a publicist who desperately wants to insert himself into his client's work and "help" in any way he can.

[@DONKEYKONG260]

@@stapler942 that and he's basically Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons.

[@Judgement_Kazzy]

This may be an unpopular take, but I really have never had an issue with Justin. I definitely don't agree with all of his conduct but I always found him entertaining enough in the Cinemassacre stuff he was in. Then again I have a bias because his old "Gabe Newell interview" video is one of my favorite things on KZbin. I'm not very familiar with him outside of that and the Cinemassacre stuff though, so maybe that was just lightning in a bottle.

[@JCOdrjones]

@@Judgement_Kazzy the Gabe in that video turned out to be a predator. This isn't Justin's fault, but like even the one video a lot of people like from Justin is just tainted. Like a curse

[@SmokeyEdits]

@@JCOdrjones Waiting for the day that internet celebrities will stop doing horrible things. Obviously not every online personality is shit, but it sure seems like most of them are and it fucking blows man.