this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2023

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147

Flagship gaming website loses its video team as star of ‘Zero Punctuation’ resigns (www.news.com.au)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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[–] [email protected] 65 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Nothing looks better on a corporate resume than taking over a successful business and immediately alienating all the talent that made it successful. I don’t know who the jerkwad is that fucked up so badly, but I hope this follows them for years.

Kudos to Nick, Yahtzee and all the rest for sticking with each other in solidarity rather than caving to corporate pressure. I’ll be looking forward to seeing them produce new videos in the future, hopefully under their own LLC.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Its already up and cracking. They got right to it. They took the whole company with them.

Second Wind on youtube.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

"employee owned"

Nice

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

Thank you so much for this, awesome.

[+] [email protected] -11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This was a win for whomever bought it. They cut costs and killed an underperforming unit. Assuming it’s part of a larger entity, they’re able to strip this parts or shutter it completely to post a loss they’ll get tax credit for or can use to offset gains elsewhere. Modern US capitalism only cares about short term shareholder value increases and this story, when viewed through that lens, is just another day in the world of investment banks, venture capital, and corporate sharks.

Note I’m not saying it’s a win for people. In the 70s and 80s when the US markets moved shareholder value above customers and employees, life got fucked. It’s just naive to think any of this actually matters beyond dollars on a balance sheet. Gamurs Group can spin the shutdown of The Escapist as a net win or can rebuild the publication at a loss, also as a net win. They don’t fucking care.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

What makes you say the Escapist was underperforming?

[–] [email protected] -4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I’m speaking from the perspective of how it will be spun. Why would Gamurs Group take a loss on this?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Ah. Well, doesn’t really matter how it’s spun. The Escapist was that company’s golden goose, and they just chased it off. Anyone with any brains in the industry or in private equity will be able to see that, regardless of spin. This isn’t in the interest of short- or long-term gains, it’s just a company-ending error by a fucking stupid exec.

[+] [email protected] -7 points 2 years ago (2 children)

That’s a very naive take on business practices that have made a lot of people a lot of money (which is why they continue). I really don’t see anything happening to any Gamurs Group execs beyond, say, their golden parachute deploying on their way to their next raider role. Companies don’t care about their holdings, they care about their balance sheet. Losing a company can make a ton on a balance sheet.

Again, I’m not saying any of this is right. It’s just how huge businesses work and all of it happens at the expense of employees first and customers second.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

I understand the benefit of prioritizing short-term gains over long-term when you intend to flip the property. That’s not what this is though. Explain to me how driving away the most valuable asset of a company turns a profit before you start calling people naïve. You sound like you’re talking out of your ass.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I think you greatly over estimate your knowledge of how business works.

You're like David Rose running around saying "it's a write-off!"

[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 years ago (1 children)

While The Escapist grew stronger and bigger year after year under Nick, their owners at Gamur were upset the site didn't reek of panic and despair like a good corporate environment should.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 years ago (2 children)

What exactly do they mean by "flagship"? The Escapist had Zero Punctuation and... that's about it. Aside from some Yahtzee Croshaw podcasts, I can't think of anything else worth watching on there.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Adventure is Nigh, Cold Take, Design Delve, Stuff of Legend, 3 Minute Reviews, some documentaries like the Spiritfarer one.

They have more, but those are what I watched.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

3 Minute Reviews were good, but reviews are relatively easy to shovel out. Their essays were so bad, I started to actively avoid them.

The Anatomy of Sekiro comes to mind in particular. Competently structured but devoid of any meaningful observations.

It feels like these guys where working to meet a quota.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

Hey now, that's not fair. They also had Extra Punctuation :P

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 years ago

I‘m pretty sure some greedy suit killed the whole company overnight and I can‘t control my schadenfreude

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 years ago

So many talented creators have left over bad working conditions. Not surprising it's still going on now.