How has James Rolf (aka AVGN) influenced you as a gamer?

[Xeogred]

He never beat the first Ninja Gaiden, that was pretty funny.

[Luke]

James is great at what he does, and should be commended for the progress he's made in the past few years; let's face it, he is getting paid to play games (and getting tons of free games in the process). I say good on him for being a successful entrepreneur.

Now do I enjoy his videos? Some of them yes, for the games, but not usually for the "fuck fart" jokes which seems to be his only material. But he's never claimed to be a comedian, so that doesn't bother me much at all. In all honesty I think he tripped into on-line reviews and noticed it could help finance his real dream of making a full length feature.

And what Keith does is an apples to oranges comparison of what James does, so it would be wise to drop that discussion.

[noiseredux]

James is great at what he does, and should be commended for the progress he's made in the past few years; let's face it, he is getting paid to play games (and getting tons of free games in the process). I say good on him for being a successful entrepreneur.

Now do I enjoy his videos? Some of them yes, for the games, but not usually for the "fuck fart" jokes which seems to be his only material. But he's never claimed to be a comedian, so that doesn't bother me much at all. In all honesty I think he tripped into on-line reviews and noticed it could help finance his real dream of making a full length feature.

just so I can clarify... I think AVGN sucks. I don't find it funny at all. But good on him for finding a niche and making some $ doing what he enjoys. Obviously he makes OTHER people laugh, just not me.

I think of it kind of like Phish. There's no doubt in my mind that Phish is a group of very talented musicians. But to my EARS it just sounds like dicking around on guitars and bongos for three hours. Doesn't mean I don't respect them though.

[Opa Opa]

Noise, do you like CGR?

[noiseredux]

Noise, do you like CGR?

I honestly don't watch game review videos. I've seen one episode of CGR and wasn't really blown away. I'm interested in seeing the documentary DVD though for some reason. But honestly, I listen to gaming podcasts almost every day of the week. I do so because it's something to listen to on my commute. But when I get home I won't bother watching game videos, as I'd rather be playing them instead. And if I do want a review, I've always far preferred text and pictures to videos. Just my taste.

[Jamisonia]

I think you guys are taking the AVGN too seriously. Its a character for entertainment value only. He has said many of the games he reviews he actually enjoys, and he exaggerates flaws while ignoring pros for humor. Nobody should ever watch him with the intention of getting some legit information on a game. You watch him to be entertained. Watching him as a legit source of reviews would be like watching the Daily Show for a legit source of news.

[fastbilly1]

I watched many of his and the irate gamers videos when I was thinking of starting a review show some time ago. I decided against it for several reasons, only one of which being that they had already had the market. There is now doubt that AVGN is well studied in gaming and has an understanding of filmography, but his style and the character are not agreeable with my taste. I am curious to see how his movie turns out though.

My influences to being a retrogamer, initially it was because it was cheaper. But then I realized that I liked 2d games more than 3d because in 2d you typically used your imagination more - which is the same reason why I play text adventures. Ofcourse there is no doubt that it is part nostalgia, just not as much as many people care to think.

[noiseredux]

I think you guys are taking the AVGN too seriously.

no I'm not. I'm judging him as a comedic character. I don't think adding "fuckin" to a sentence instantly turns it into a joke.

[irixith]

I think you guys are taking the AVGN too seriously.

no I'm not. I'm judging him as a comedic character. I don't think adding "fuckin" to a sentence instantly turns it into a joke.

It sure fuckin' does!

[dogman91]

I love the Angry Video Game Nerd, as well as Classic Game Room. James' random praising of games like Contra was enough for me to pull out the old NES from the storage room, hook it all up, and play Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt again.

I think he is partially responsible for getting me into retro games as well as gaming in general, as I never would have gave any game a chance other than the ones I knew already if I didn't see his videos and think "hm, some of these old Capcom and Konami games look pretty fun..."

Since then I've sought out potential good games for other systems, and there we have it. I've realized a LOT of games are usually at least worth a try, rather than only a scarce amount of them worth trying.

Plus I found his ranting very entertaining and inspired (when it's not forced); especially when he's right about the flaws in a game like Silver Surfer. Love his Friday the 13th and random Halloween reviews as well.

Irate Gamer on the other hand, just complains and has no real punch-line to anything/natural progression, making it really hard to watch and not be annoyed.