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Former GameXplain members talk about troubles with the company (heavy crunch, low pay) [New: Statements from Steve and Derrick]

Potterson

Potterson

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,403
Josh5890 said:
Sounds like Gamexplain got too big and needed to go into crunch mode to "keep up".

That story about FF VII Remake sucks.
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Every gaming outlet is always "at crunch". I worked for many years for gaming website - any big game comes out, you think reviewers play the game (even those they don't really like or don't want to play) only in their work hours? Nope. And of course people are not getting paid for the time they play any game (to review it, record gameplay etc) after hours.

You cannot end this kind of crunch. I guess only if you build your fanbase and rely on Patreon. If you want ad revenue you HAVE to have every review/preview/gameplay right on embargo day. And it always requires some level of "crunch".
 
Lynd

Lynd

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,664
It’s really bad how much those guys worked, but are we assuming Andre had heaps more cash and just wasn’t giving them more.

Or is it they really aren’t making a whole lot anyway so can’t actually afford their staff time anymore as the workload grew much bigger.
 
NeonBorealis

NeonBorealis

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Jan 10, 2018
2,112
I always vibed more with Ash, Derrick and Jon, so I was sad to see thm go from GX. Now that the picture is a little clearer I'm happy that they can continue to work in what they love without endangering their work-life balance.
 
Jonneh

Jonneh

NintendoLife
Verified
Oct 24, 2017
4,396
UK
I've been hesitant about posting any more than I did earlier but before I head off for the night I just want to say I have the utmost respect for all my ex-colleagues at Good Vibes Gaming. They're amazing people and seem to be doing much better for their personal health
 
Kibou

Kibou

Member
Nov 4, 2017
57
Aaronrules380 said:
I'm guessing it's less that the stated pay was $1-2 an hour and more that this was the effective pay because the workload was not realistically achievable for however many hours was agreed to be working for. So working a bunch of unpaid hours in order to finish things on time. Which obviously doesn't make the situation any better
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I think people are misunderstanding the $1-2 and who I quoted got it right. They didn’t make 1-2 an hour (that wasn’t agreed upon), it just became A LOT of work for what they got in the end.

YouTube is brutal (seriously, brutal) and if they didn’t think it was worth staying there for what little salary they received in the end, then they made the right choice by leaving.

Im probably in the minority here and actually prefer when Andre makes the videos (analysis with others never really clicked with me) BUT locking down the subreddit, if it was indeed him, was NOT the way to go.

But I think, in general, we’re creating a witch hunt when we don’t have all the details. Yes, crunch sucks but as other media industry members have said in this very topic, review crunch is sometimes inevitable just to have a shot at getting views. And if GX works like a business and not like a side gig then... maybe they didn’t have a choice just to pay everyone. But who knows.

I hope we get a proper statement from Andre.
 
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Forkball

Forkball

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,733
GameXplain tried to be IGN/Gamespot but without the manpower. I think Nintendo changing up the Direct structure last year really hurt interest in the channels. When a Direct was announced, listening to GameXplain’s predictions, reaction, and any analysis machine vids was like a ritual.
 
mhayes86

mhayes86

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,049
Virginia
I miss the whole group and it was a real loss when everyone left. Reading about this now it makes sense why they left, and it's a damn shame.

I haven't watched much of GVG yet since I don't have much room for long podcasts these days.
 
NateDrake

NateDrake

Member
Oct 24, 2017
4,839
bytesized said:
I agree, I love your podcast, man. One of the few that I have notifications turned on and that I listen as soon as it appears on my feed.
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Appreciate the support. We try to make a smart and compelling podcast each episode.

We have some big plans for 2021 and really want to deep dive into numerous industry topics and inform the listener on matters related to how the industry works.
 
chaobreaker

chaobreaker

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,984
I thought the mass split was still mostly cordial? Why have nothing to say about the channel until now? Andre trying to muzzle these allegations on reddit says there's truth to this.

I hope all those new hires at GX aren't getting paid pennies for their work.
 

mk_68

Member
Feb 3, 2020
445
I have to say when the the break up occurred I was skeptical about it being on bad terms even though the signs pointed to it. In hindsight, it was always weird that Derrick was the E3 bitch. Like he would just be holed up somewhere not getting to enjoy the experience. There was one E3 where I think he sounded frustrated with it, but like it was brief or something. It would always be a joke. I can understand Derrick hainge grief because he was on 24/7 really. When John came in he really helped Derrick out on the content. I guess it didn't help to run the channel like it's a twitter page with the constant updates. It really became a quantity over quality thing. Everyone was used to the deluge of vids during direct days...but too many vids get posted nowadays. I found myself skipping them and kind of got used to skipping them and it led to me skipping most if not all of the vids that would be posted.

It's all a shame, but I'll be curious to hear what Andre has to say.
 
RainRainRain

RainRainRain

Member
Jan 15, 2018
686
But I thought they all left only because they wanted to explore new avenues?? Clearly there was no other reason. :/

sounds awful. Knew something was up when all of those employees left in quick succession. Wish them the best of luck with Good vibes.
 
Villa

Villa

Member
Oct 28, 2017
359
Will see if Andre responds to this, but everything is pointing to it being true. If so, I hope lessons are learned and the current GX team is under better conditions.
 
BassForever

BassForever

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,992
CT
I think people are getting too hung up on "$2 an hour". That's clearly talking about effective rate of pay not actual pay. If I agree to pay you $500 to do a project you get $500 regardless of if it took you 8 hours or 80 hours. If the latter happens it's not really fair to me to say "Bass only pays $6.75 an hour" when we didn't agree on an hourly rate of pay. This isn't excusing what apparently happened at GX over the past few years, just pointing out how effective pay works.

Either way I agree with what others have said about GX in terms of flooding my feed with lots of 90 second news updates that do nothing for me. Ironically I would rather see GX do what GVG is doing and just have a 5-10 minute headlines style show since then I'd get the opinions and personalties on screen and not a kotaku/polygon/era/etc reading.
 
brainchild

brainchild

VFX Artist/Consultant
Verified
Nov 25, 2017
7,920
Minnesota
Just wanted to drop by and give my support to GVG and Jonneh for being such amazing and hard working people during such challenging circumstances. I've learned so much from all of them over the years as I quietly did freelance work for GameXplain, and I will always appreciate them for that.

That being said, I will refrain from sharing any details regarding my personal experience working with GX in the interest of diplomacy. Take from that what you will.
 
HustleBun

HustleBun

Member
Nov 12, 2017
3,078
Everyone should sub to GVG. It's a relaxed, friendly podcast with awesome guests and a great treat to wake up to every other morning. Jonneh is such a likeable, wonderful dude who gifted his YouTube channel to these folks. It was an awesome thing to do because they deserve the followers and Jon knows how tough it is to survive in the YouTube algorithm.

I think it's clear by looking at how both parties handled things during the initial parting, that neither GX nor GVG wanted any of this to blow up. Both teams were positive towards each other. Andre is a top level Patreon supporter of GVG and they gave Andre a funny shout (referencing Andre's beloved Stunt Race FX) in an early episode. ...but it became clear that things weren't great, and regardless of circumstances, the crew weren't working a healthy schedule.

I subbed to GameXplain because of Andre's incredible "analysis machine" videos and his infectious love of the Mario series. Signing up for their Patreon and getting to listen to their podcast made me appreciate Derrick, Tom, Ash, Steve, Amy and Jon. I grew to love the whole crew and always looked forward to hearing their takes. I don't think it's fair to say "GameXplain sucks without Jon, Steve, Ash and Derrick". I love those guys but it's shitty to the new crew of GX. Joey, Chris and Tris are awesome and each bring their own perspective to gaming.

My genuine hope as a fan of all these guys- I hope that if any shred of what is being said about Andre is true, that he speaks with the GVG guys and then takes some time to reflect, and makes a statement. I like Andre and I always want to see the best in people.

I also hope assholes stop accusing Steve, Ash and Derrick of being "workphobic". It's really unfair, especially if you know anything about Steve's life, his kids, his other job, and the tragedy that he had in his personal life recently. Hell, it's an unfair accusation to make of someone if you don't know anything about their personal life.

Hope everything works out.
 
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youwei

youwei

Member
Jun 3, 2019
457
to be honest i don't really watch their videos via youtube anymore , in the past their content was good

i like their videos during the Switch launch era and unboxing videos
 
Keyouta

Keyouta

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,819
Canada
GameXplain's low views I'd say is because they pump out a shit ton of vids on just little bits of news. 1 minute videos or others of similar small length. Their strength was the long discussions between the people that knew it best. And now they have gone off and made GVG, with Jon leaving for Nintendo Life.

Glad everyone is doing much better now. $1/hr is unlivable no matter where you are.
 
Guaraná

Guaraná

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,101
brazil, unfortunately
Just wanted to also share my recommendation to NateDrake (and Modern Vintage Gamer) podcast.

This is exactly the kind of content i look for when it comes to video games.

I usually download the audio version on pocket casts, but here's the YouTube version:
 
bxsonic

bxsonic

Member
Oct 30, 2017
730
While I don’t often watch GameXplain, I always thought it was a channel that’s run by a bunch of friends. Disappointing to know that it’s not.
 
bytesized

bytesized

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,250
Amsterdam
NateDrake said:
Appreciate the support. We try to make a smart and compelling podcast each episode.

We have some big plans for 2021 and really want to deep dive into numerous industry topics and inform the listener on matters related to how the industry works.
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Great to hear!

By the way, one day you should give us some info on what your background is. Or maybe you've already done that on a previous episode?

(Sorry if this is too thread derailing)
 
Lozjam

Lozjam

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Nov 1, 2017
1,535
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