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Old 10-22-2017, 05:01 PM   #41
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He released two new game reviewing episodes recently. And is currently doing a Halloween special on a game called Polybius. One video per day. let's see where this goes.
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Old 10-22-2017, 05:05 PM   #42
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He's alright, if a bit too repetitive for my taste
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Old 10-22-2017, 05:21 PM   #43
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He's alright, if a bit too repetitive for my taste
Tbh he's been doing this since 2006... or well 2004. He knows this and notice how he hasn't done much AVGN related stuff in the last few years? Most of his channel these days consists of him playing games with Mike Matei and other guys. There was also Board James and You Know What's BS series. And also videos where he talks about movies and such.

Perhaps he is focusing more on his film making career... but he seems to have been regaining his love for the AVGN character lately again.

I don't think he is a s popular as he used to be. Many people who were watching him back in 2006-2009 no longer care for him. He was one of the pioneers in the YT gaming community but has been bested or even surpassed in popularity by other game reviewers that came a long in the current decade such as Angry Joe and JonTron. I don't care for those two guys, but can't deny their fame and popularity. Also, when AVGN became a well-known internet persona, social media was not what it is today. And James isn't the type of person who is constantly on twitter and such voicing his opinions and getting into drama. he's a bit more of a low profile, as low profile as a "celebrity" can be, that is. Plus he has a wife and two daughters. He has an actual life.

I wonder if he'll ever retire the Nerd character. How has his movie career been doing so far? his AVGN film was a letdown tbh.
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Old 12-06-2018, 04:35 PM   #44
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James has released 7-8 new AVGN episodes since May. Seems like he's been putting out several episodes lately. I guess he's back at doing this regularly? I remember the Earthbound episode coming out and me not watching it at the time. I watched it recently, and when I was about to I expected him to have released a couple of new ones meanwhile at best, but no, more like 7, which surprised me.

The Earthbound episode was excellent and one of his best episodes ever. Looks like he's not past his prime yet like some of his critics think he is. AVGN stuff is always good/fun for me, but these year's episodes have been the best ones in a while, imo. 2017 had some good episodes such as the Power Rangers episode and the Polybius episode, but overall it was not his best year, imo. Seems like he's getting back to form again.
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Old 12-06-2018, 07:58 PM   #45
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I always check out his latest AVGN stuff. Still entertaining to me.

I don't really look at the other Cinemassacre stuff too often. I wanna punch Mike Matei so hard. You have no idea at all.
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Old 12-06-2018, 08:36 PM   #46
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I always check out his latest AVGN stuff. Still entertaining to me.

I don't really look at the other Cinemassacre stuff too often. I wanna punch Mike Matei so hard. You have no idea at all.
Literally everyone I know who’s a fan says this exact same thing. Myself included.
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Old 12-06-2018, 08:48 PM   #47
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I bet James gets tons of requests, like, "Please do an episode where Mike gets the sh*t beat out of him repeatedly."

He's just really unlikable in that Ryan Seacrest, "You haven't done anything wrong to me, specifically, I just really want to smash your face in" kinda way. Y'know? Of course, on certain episodes he really is a smug and annoying prick, but he's just kinda punchable in general.
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Old 12-06-2018, 09:56 PM   #48
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I feel that way about Doug Walker. James did a couple of videos with him and Brad Jones recently, and just the way he looked standing there with his Baby Huey posture and uncomfortable grin, made me want to squeeze my drinking glass until it exploded in my hand.
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Old 12-07-2018, 02:56 AM   #49
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I've been told that James nowadays has a small team working for him and writing scripts and editing his videos, or helping him out with them. Otherwise he'd take more time to make those episodes and it'd eat up most of his time. Some fans dislike this because they think the AVGN episodes no longer have that "authentic feel", but tbh, I have not noticed any significant change and I'd never have guessed that he no longer does everything by himself with the occasional help from Mike and Kyle Justin.

Some fans also think he's not angry enough anymore and acts more like James all the time than like the Nerd. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. He's almost 40 by now, and no longer 25 when he first gained notoriety. Plus he's married and has two kids now whom I assume he loves. Why would he need to force anger in his videos anymore? If he's still doing this stuff when he's 55 years old it'd be embarrassing to watch an angry old man yelling at his TV constantly. Also, he's been doing this for over a decade by now. Let the guy have some fun, especially considering how much work is required to put into the AVGN stuff.

James true passion is film making. You see, some people forget this, but back in 2006 his YT channel only had AVGN stuff and 2 or 3 other videos. In the last 5 years or so he's been working on other projects. He had the Board James series, the Nerd movie, and other stuff on his channel, mostly him and Mike playing games on Mondays with occasional guests like Pat and Spoony. That's why we had periods with barely any AVGN stuff. It's by far his most successful thing, but he wanted to branch out. He really enjoys making movies, particularly horror ones.

I think James realised he's not gonna make it as a huge director or producer, and tbh the Nerd movie kinda sucked and is my least favourite Nerd thing ever. Some say he secretly is burnt out of being AVGN and such, but that's what makes him the most money. It's both a blessing and a curse. If it wasn't for AVGN no one would know who he is, but it also has typecast him. We all see him as AVGN, pretty much.

I honestly think the AVGN series has surprisingly remained consistently good throughout the years. There's very few AVGN episodes I'd go as far as call "bad". And even those aren't terrible. They area, imo:

Mr. Chu and the Drunkhard Hu
Independence Day
ToxicCrusaders
Lightspan Adventures

So 4 weak episodes out of like 160? Not a bad track record! James always listened to the fans and varied his episodes and the intro a bit as well. That's also a big reason why he has a very loyal core fanbase. He treats his fans well.

I don't think he owes us anything, tbh. He busts his ass making these videos and we can watch them FOR FREE. So really, what reason do I have to complain? Even if I don't usually laugh out loud at his videos I ALWAYS enjoy them.

I think the best episodes are ones based on NES games because those have the "pure AVGN formula". It's a bit odd for me to see him reviewing PS1, PS2 and Xbox games very occasionally; but that might be due to me not realising at times how much time has passed since those games.

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I always check out his latest AVGN stuff. Still entertaining to me.

I don't really look at the other Cinemassacre stuff too often. I wanna punch Mike Matei so hard. You have no idea at all.
Oh I definitely get notified on my phone when he posts new content, but most of the time it's James and mike Mondays stuff and I also get notifications from a few other YT channels, so I guess Nerd episodes' notifications sometimes get lost in the shuffle and I overlook them.

As for what you said elsewhere, yes his kids are probably now a bit older. His first one was born quite a while ago already. Like in 2008 or so, I'm guessing? And his youngest one was also born some years ago already, I think? Both are probably old enough to go to school by now. Meaning they're no longer babies and aren't inside almost 24/7 anymore.

As for what you said about Board James, didn't that series end some years ago with the phone episode where the phone tells James to kill Mike and Bubsy?

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Literally everyone I know who’s a fan says this exact same thing. Myself included.
Mike is quite cringey and so are his jokes. Honestly, I feel like a lot of James' dirty humour is Mike's influence. I could be wrong, though.

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I bet James gets tons of requests, like, "Please do an episode where Mike gets the sh*t beat out of him repeatedly."

He's just really unlikable in that Ryan Seacrest, "You haven't done anything wrong to me, specifically, I just really want to smash your face in" kinda way. Y'know? Of course, on certain episodes he really is a smug and annoying prick, but he's just kinda punchable in general.
Well, Mike is usually the bad guy when he appears in an episode for a reason . Unlike Kyle Justin or other occasional guests who are usually Jame's friends or work together with him.

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I feel that way about Doug Walker. James did a couple of videos with him and Brad Jones recently, and just the way he looked standing there with his Baby Huey posture and uncomfortable grin, made me want to squeeze my drinking glass until it exploded in my hand.
Doug Walker is Nostalgia Critic, right?
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Old 12-08-2018, 07:53 AM   #50
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Still love his videos. Can't believe it's been over a decade of me watching him.
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Old 12-09-2018, 10:50 PM   #51
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Still love his videos. Also loved how he destroyed the CD-I. I liked how he blasted it with special effects and then lampshades it by saying 'no, this deserved more than just digital effects' and burns it down with a real blowtorch.

I have noticed his bald spot in newer videos. I don't know why but part of me kinda respects him for paying it no mind and continue to do his stuff, instead of the Nerd suddenly wearing a cap or beanie or something. But man, hard to believe he's like 40 now. And has kids. Plural.
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Old 12-10-2018, 12:06 AM   #52
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Still love his videos. Also loved how he destroyed the CD-I. I liked how he blasted it with special effects and then lampshades it by saying 'no, this deserved more than just digital effects' and burns it down with a real blowtorch.

I have noticed his bald spot in newer videos. I don't know why but part of me kinda respects him for paying it no mind and continue to do his stuff, instead of the Nerd suddenly wearing a cap or beanie or something. But man, hard to believe he's like 40 now. And has kids. Plural.
He's 38 years old atm. A full decade older than me, then.

Yeah he is balding, but other than that, doesn't seem like he's aged much. He seems heavier now than he did back in 2006-2012, though. But hey, a lot of people are skinny up until their 20s and then put on some weight in their 30s and 40s. Metabolism slows down and you get fatter more easily.
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Old 12-10-2018, 10:03 AM   #53
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He is amazing. He has real passion for what he does and he is real fan of 80-s stuff. And while his new stuff maybe not as funny as his old videos, he is still fairly decent.
Though I must say I like when he tells stories about consoles and stuff, even more than when he is in his AVGN persona.
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Old 12-10-2018, 10:08 AM   #54
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I haven't watched him in a while but he's great. Way better than the FAKE hacks that followed in his foosteps like Nostalgia Critic.
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Old 12-10-2018, 11:25 AM   #55
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He basically helped create modern youtube and I feel he doesn't get the credit he deserves even if he's very well known. Now you have adults who say "I remember watching the AVGN when I was a little kid, I was like 18 when the TMNT video on youtube became viral lol
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Old 12-10-2018, 11:51 AM   #56
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Yeah, wasn't he the first guy doing videogame videos who wasn't affiliated with any major gaming site? He was like the prehistoric version of what became a youtuber.
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Old 12-10-2018, 08:57 PM   #57
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He is amazing. He has real passion for what he does and he is real fan of 80-s stuff. And while his new stuff maybe not as funny as his old videos, he is still fairly decent.
Though I must say I like when he tells stories about consoles and stuff, even more than when he is in his AVGN persona.
Yeah, I just enjoy hearing him talk about his favourite stuff and the history of cinema and video games. It's funny because, back in 2006-2008 me and many fans found the real James boring and only wanted to see him as the Nerd. It was strange seeing him act out of character. But in the last 4-5 years or so, his character toned down and you don't really feel like he's acting anymore. Or it seems like he forgets in the middle of the episode that he's supposed to be the Nerd and not James and then goes back to it

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I haven't watched him in a while but he's great. Way better than the FAKE hacks that followed in his foosteps like Nostalgia Critic.
I thought Nostalgia Critic pre-dated him?

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He basically helped create modern youtube and I feel he doesn't get the credit he deserves even if he's very well known. Now you have adults who say "I remember watching the AVGN when I was a little kid, I was like 18 when the TMNT video on youtube became viral lol
I've talked to 19-20 year olds who told me "AVGN was my childhood"... which is kinda crazy, when you think about it. Someone who was 19 in 2016 was watching AVGN when they were 9-10 years old. I don't think I'd have enjoyed AVGN much if I was that young at the time. I was 15-16 years old and going through a retrogaming phase, so it's like I was introduced to AVGN(at the time, Angry Nintendo Nerd still) at the right place at the right time.

I remember how in the previous decade AVGN's fanbase would get criticised often for being full of young kids. Most AVGN fans at the time seemed to be people around his ageat the time(mid-late 20s) or 12 year olds. I guess that's why a lot of people under 25 nowadays say he was a big part of their childhood. He probably indirectly got a lot of people into retrogaming and directing.

It's baffling how Cinemassacre only has about 2.7M subscribers. He's very well known and his videos get a lot of comments, yet he only gets less than 3M subs? I guess because he mostly focuses on older games unlike pewdiepie and others who focus on current games. Also, for some years, James new AVGN content was coming out on GameTrailers and he could only upload them onto youtubue a year or two afterwards. And keep in mind this was in 2007-2010 already. There was no James & Mike Mondays nor Board James or any other extra content besides your very occasional movie review or something by James. His channel was named AngryNintendoNerd for ages until it got renamed to Cinemassacre.

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Yeah, wasn't he the first guy doing videogame videos who wasn't affiliated with any major gaming site? He was like the prehistoric version of what became a youtuber.
In 2006 he was like the hottest up and coming youtuber. The most popular ones were probably Smosh with their parodies of video game and cartoon theme songs. And one of the most popular videos was evolution of dance.

No one went on YT in 2006-2007 to watch the news or to know what the latest controversial event was. YT was a place to watch older cartoons, anime, video game TAS emulator plays, AVGN, and videos people uploaded of their nephews playing Beethoven. Pre-google/viacom buyout YT was a great place. Honestly, it was more fun back in the day. No clickbait videos or people making money off videos where they talk about their boring lives. Back then, if someone made a video where they showed their faces, they'd get to the point. Plus, videos had a 10 minute limit. Only people with director accounts could upload videos that were longer than 10 mins.

James started the "angry reviewer" trend. I remember a lot of them popping out at the time due to AVGN's influence, most notorious ones being the Irate Gamer and SpoonyOne.
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Old 12-10-2018, 09:52 PM   #58
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But in the last 4-5 years or so, his character toned down and you don't really feel like he's acting anymore. Or it seems like he forgets in the middle of the episode that he's supposed to be the Nerd and not James and then goes back to it
I noticed that, too. It's like "I really just wanna talk about this old game, but... (sigh) here's a 'sh*tload of f*ck' and 'sh*tpickle' for you whiny brats who're gonna bitch me out in the Comments section if I don't put it in there."

He's like an old touring rock band who wants to branch out into other things, but is resigned to the fact that people only wanna hear the hits.
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Old 12-10-2018, 10:13 PM   #59
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I noticed that, too. It's like "I really just wanna talk about this old game, but... (sigh) here's a 'sh*tload of f*ck' and 'sh*tpickle' for you whiny brats who're gonna bitch me out in the Comments section if I don't put it in there."

He's like an old touring rock band who wants to branch out into other things, but is resigned to the fact that people only wanna hear the hits.
I still think he does a good job at being creative with cursing and insults. And even if it's not exactly funny he has good delivery. Anyway, I don't really laugh my ass off at his videos. I just enjoy them or think "oh that's funny". I did use to laugh a ton back when I was a teenager. Like that time I first saw him say "AAAAASSSSSS F*******CK!" in the Top Gun episode really made me laugh a lot. Nowadays it doesn't at all. I guess because I was a kid still and also because the novelty of the AVGN(still known as ANN) was still a thing at the time. I remember being SHOCKED when I watched my first video of his, the TMNT review, and hearing him cuss, especially when he goes on a cursing tirade at the end of the video. I was like
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Old 12-10-2018, 10:24 PM   #60
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I hear ya. "It's AAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" is a personal inside joke between my wife and I.

I also agree that it would be nice to hear him talk about newer games more often, but he's mentioned several times that he kind of dropped off after the PS1 era.

I know he and Mike have occasionally played newer games in their other videos, but I just can't get into those. I'll be honest, watching other people play video games is super boring to me, especially when they talk/mumble in meandering fashion the whole time. And they often say dumb/ignorant stuff when discussing basic pop culture stuff they really ought'a know, and I end up yelling at the screen.

I'm sure James is a real nice guy, but I really only like his AVGN and Board James videos. And even with Board James he kinda seemed to give up on it halfway through, thus the strange and abrupt ending he gave it.
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