The fallout from last week’s axeing of Good Game host Junglist has continued. A post from Team Good Game appeared yesterday on the show’s own community forum, the first public statement from the ABC to address the reason behind Junglist’s removal.
Last Friday, the ABC announced that Junglist had been replaced as Good Game co-host and Hex would be joing Bajo for the rest of the year. The pair would also present a spin-off show called Good Game: Spawn Point on ABC3 next year.
The reaction from the Good Game community ranged from anger to sadness and disbelief at Junglist’s departure. Some fans have even set up a website devoted to saving Junglist “from being axed by the ABC.”
Late yesterday afternoon, a statement was posted on the Good Game forum attributed to Team Good Game, saying that the “decision to take Junglist off air was not forced upon us by ABC Management and it’s one that is fully supported by all the GG team.”
The statement also addressed the fears of some viewers that the host changes would result in a “dumbed down” program, saying: “That’s absolutely not right. We, as ever, will continue our quest to bring you the show for gamers by gamers…”
This statement quickly drew a response from Junglist himself, refuting some of the claims made by Team Good Game. He said he knew a number of team members “clearly DON’T support this” and that the decision “was forced by ABC management, for a mass appeal direction”.
Later, Bajo responded to Junglist’s post, stating that “while Junglist may have his own version of events, so do we, and all we ever wanted to do was work with him but it’s not to be…”
Good Game staff are bound by confidentiality agreements and thus cannot discuss the details of the situation directly. The thread is now well over 40 pages long as the Good Game community continues to debate what may or may not have actually happened.
acharis
October 30, 2009 at 11:11 AM
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/good-game-presenter-claims-abc-gender-bias-after-axing-20091030-hoch.html
Report PermalinkSteven Bogos
October 30, 2009 at 8:25 PM
Everyone who has any opinon on this should read this link NOW!
It is very informative and has made me think even less of the ABC.
They axed Jung because he wanted to play games for longer than ONE DAY before reviewing them? Terrible, some games require much more time than that.
And it looks like the gender issue is more true than we thought.
Report PermalinkCameron Chu
October 30, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Just read that article. It appears there may be another reason to Junglist’s sacking; not just the apparent attempt to appeal to a larger, kid friendly audience:
“Ray said in a phone interview yesterday there had been occasional disputes over how long the show’s game reviewers should play a game before preparing a review.
“Ray said the ABC wanted all playing and filming for each review to be done in a day but he had opposed this, insisting that some games needed more time to do them justice.
“The show’s producer, Janet Carr, hinted yesterday there were “time management” issues behind the replacement.”
This makes sense if you think about. Junglist, being a ‘true’ gamer, will obviously put in the time that a game deserves to review it. Hence when immensely time demanding games come about, such as Aion, problems inevitably emerge. Having to produce a weekly show is fairly taxing, and I can see why the ABC would prefer the time taken to review a game limited to one day.
Of course this is can’t be proven, but:
http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/foi.htm
http://www.naa.gov.au/images/abc-sept2006_tcm2-1565.pdf
http://www.abc.net.au/corp/
If we *really* care about this, $30 will be nothing if the truth comes out, right? (ABC Freedom of Information policy, no idea if it is actually applicable so someone who does law clarify this =\)
Report PermalinkDaniel Himself
October 30, 2009 at 11:12 AM
I watched the show and I got to say Hex is TERRIBLE!! She sat on the couch like she was posing for Myspace photos and kept smirking at the camera or at Bajo throughout the game reviews like she was flirting with him. Not to mention she reviews like she is reading from an autocue like a News presenter.
My girlfriend who is only a Mass Effect nut (She doesn’t care for any other game) even enjoyed watching GG with me because of Junglist’s honest and technical reviews. With Hex onboard, It’s like watching two Bajo’s reviewing the game and that’s not a good thing (Especially with his god awful comedy skits!!) Bajo & Hex think the same things about the game, Hell they even gave the game reviews the same score this week!! And a 9.5 for Forza Motorsport 3?? What a joke!! I think Bajo’s game ratings have always been inconsistent and now with Hex onboard, their game reviews hold as much credibility as a $1 hooker. Just look at the way Bajo is being spineless and backing the ABC’s position despite knowing the truth!! Pathetic!! It should have been Bajo removed if anyone.
And Hex will not reach out to anyone but pathetic guys who are simple minded who have a “Oh wow, she’s hot so the show is good” mentality (Which she isn’t!!). This show can no longer use with any honesty the line “For Gamers By Gamers”. Instead it should use “By Hacks For Hacks”!!
Well Junglist, you rock man and thanks for the memories. All the best to you in whatever you do and for me & my better half, It’s game over for Good Game. We’re done with it.
Report Permalinktimbizcut
October 30, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Does anyone else think Baj looks like (and moves like) Kryton from Red Dwarf?
Report PermalinkCat Tactics
October 30, 2009 at 5:24 PM
hahaha fuck yes! the make up artists are pretty bad on good game. although, they always made junglist look pretty…oh jung…
Report PermalinkRusty
October 30, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Hex is a dog and she is no Junglist, she kept refering to Bajo as Baj, I had to explain to my wife that she was saying Baj not Vag (vagina)
Report PermalinkMike Cooper
October 30, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Although I never thought of myself as a real fan of either presenter, I never had a problem with either. However watching the show now, I just feel something’s wrong, that whole ‘by gamers for gamers’ thing is off; I’m not saying that Hex isn’t a gamer, but it just seems a tad forced or fake now.
Like most of you I really hope Jung gets picked up by something better and ends up on a show that becomes more popular than GG, would be a nice end of that story.
Report PermalinkRyno
October 30, 2009 at 12:13 PM
as always the truth probably lies somwhere in the middle. the introduction of a female for wider audiance appeal was probably a directive from ABC.
but if we all agree that Jung was the more popular presenter then why drop him? if a change was going to be made Jung + Hex seems the lesser of two evils. this is likely what Banjo is aluding to in his post, someone made the call to drop jung for reasons we may never know (or Banjo calls it “our own Truth Bomb”).
IMO, too many bad decisions all round.
ABC pushing to change the lineup to achive “mass-appeal” on its ABC2 digital channel show is foolish. the show appeals to a subset of a subset of people who have both a digital set top box, enjoy video games, and have nothing better to watch at monday prime time(mass appeal audiance care nothing for vodcasts). when you chase a general audiance you have to compete for the general audiance. GG is not better than GNW or Flashforwad.
Jung too, despite whatever happened, showed bad form by trolling the GG forums. he didnt need to come in and state the “we chose this ourselves” line was a lie, were gamers we assume conspiracy untill proven wrong. and nitpicking the show was a bit petty too. a better decision would have been to start a twitter/facbook/blog and rally his audiance to it, then whatever project he moves on to he can bring his followers across with him.
Report PermalinkSteven Bogos
October 30, 2009 at 8:18 PM
Just something to note, i watch Good Game on the internet, and most of my friends that are fans do the same.
In fact, seeings as good game is easily ABC’s number one downloaded podcast, i’d go as far as to say that a majority of it’s fans download the show instead of watching it on TV
Report PermalinkKato
October 30, 2009 at 12:25 PM
It is a crap show and both the hosts are (were) annoying. There – I said it. Move on.
Report PermalinkDaniel Himself
October 30, 2009 at 12:25 PM
At the end of the day, While Syd claims she wants the best to work on GG, the fact they replace Junglist with someone utterly inept like Hex shows that Syd is just speaking total crap and towing the ABC Management line like a good little drone.
And does ABC have any f**king clue about kids today?? Do they realise how many kids play Halo etc?? Do they actually believe Kids actually play kids games??? Only pre-schoolers play kids games!!
ABC has just shown there needs to be something more bigger then a Epic Fail!!
Report PermalinkPeter
October 30, 2009 at 12:34 PM
That statement didn’t explain anything about why Junglist was axed.
Report Permalinkwho am iiiiii
October 30, 2009 at 1:16 PM
I wondered when Kotaku was gonna report on the melodrama goin on over at the GG forums…
I do feel that the show was getting stale and did need “refreshing” but they definitely replaced the wrong host. Not a personal attack against Bajo, but I mean, as a presenter- did anyone actually like him?? Hes just really unfunny and annoying, and yet they kept him?
I do approve of Hex tho, seems like shes more than just a pretty face…
(call me)
-who am iiiiii
Report Permalinkfilthymcownage
October 30, 2009 at 1:57 PM
I agree they did replace the wrong host. I never liked Bajo, he just seemed to be a guy that used to play solitare on his dads work computer and applied for the job. (casual gamer) He also annoys me with the way he turns his head on camera very unnatural looking.
Junglist always gave reviews that apealed to me, probably because we have similar tastes in games and attitude.
I think Jungist should do his own vidcast I know I would download it.
Report PermalinkStinky
October 30, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Bajo’s a casual and also a ringer, having done rounds on miscellanous TV. Junglist is a gamer.
Report PermalinkJustin Robson
October 30, 2009 at 2:28 PM
No way I’m watching Good Game any more… that’s a fucking joke.
Report PermalinkAdam Steel
October 30, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Quite honestly we saw alot of those 2 hosts. Surely they could’ve just added Hex without axing Jung? It’s not as if he was the *only* one guilty of giving out review scores between 8 and 10 only.
I support you Jung, and I’m disappointed to see Bajo’s post. He was no better a host than you and him brushing it off as ‘your version of events’ was disrespectful. I’m sure he would feel differently if it were *him* getting axed.
Report PermalinkSteven Bogos
October 30, 2009 at 4:30 PM
This is stupid. If hex was as big as a fan of Good Game as she claimed to be, she would have refused the job to save jung.
/show
Report PermalinkCat Tactics
October 30, 2009 at 5:29 PM
are you god? that is like the most insightful thing written about this!
Report Permalinkpraise be to dis man!
Adam03
October 30, 2009 at 8:41 PM
ABC just can’t help themselves. Their formula is “Put on a show – if its any good, change it and make it politically correct to appeal to all the minority groups instead of its originally intended audience and kill the Show off”. Then try and rip people off in the ABC shop flogging DVDs of the Show that went out free to air in the first place. ABC should stop employing dickhead latte sippers and instead people with real taste.
Report PermalinkPottsy
October 30, 2009 at 9:30 PM
Junglist should not of given that bad review about ‘Kane and Lynch’ ;-)
Report PermalinkJulian Taylor
October 31, 2009 at 2:41 AM
I’m finished with Good Game, it has nothing left to offer me. Fuck the ABC, and fuck their silly little experiment with affirmative action. This stinks.
Report PermalinkSabmac
October 31, 2009 at 3:18 AM
RAGEQUIT
Report Permalinkralph
October 31, 2009 at 3:21 AM
I watched the latest edition of the show, minus Junglist, and was deeply saddened by the ABC’s lack of vision and poor understanding of rudimentary marketing. The producers had ‘found a need and filled it’ by finally reaching out to a huge but traditionally neglected market with a winning combination of presenters that played masterfully off one another. Then, after so many successful seasons they did the unthinkable by axing the most talented of the duo in a brainless attempt to increase their market share! Was it an act of utter stupidity by the management of the ABC or just another inside job of sabotage to favour their private network competitors? Maybe someone in ABC management is feathering their future bed in the private sector or just once again lining their pockets with a lucrative cash bonus for an early Christmas present. Istead of ‘find a need and fill it’, the ABC’s new marketing slogan should become ‘dig a hole and fill it with yet another botched opportunity’. To look on the brighter side, I look forward to what will probably be a superior gaming show on the private network, hosted by someone equivalent to Jeremy Ray, if not Jeremy himself. P.S. I was also sorry to see Bajo not stick by his mate in the pinch; I guess actors can be counted on to act when the going gets tough. Good Game: it was a fun ride, R.I.P.
Report PermalinkRichard Jones
October 31, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Wow, so much hatred.
I liked the show before and I still like it now.
Report PermalinkAlkie
October 31, 2009 at 12:12 PM
I always found both hosts to be rather incompetant, and their banter awkward.
Stopped watching after a while.
I think people are so attached to it, purely because its the only gaming show around – not because any of the hosts know what theyre talking about.
Junglist included.
Report PermalinkLee
October 31, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Despite what a lot of people are saying here, I think Hex has the potential to be a good host. Someone who doesn’t have a lifetime history of gaming often has a different perspective on titles (particularly new installments of decades old mega-franchises) which is worth listening to. Someone like this will often see what the die-hard fan will ignore or is used to. However, to get the most out of this in a two-host setup you really need to balance it with a hardcore experienced gamer. Jung would have been better suited to this role.
Take the new ep for example. Watching a review for Kingdom Hearts where neither host has any experience with the title and then basically both come to the same conclusion really defeats the ‘two ratings’ system I always enjoyed when Jung was part of the show. Having two slightly different perspectives on a game made the format interesting. I hope the GG team realizes this.
Report PermalinkJames of Bogabilla
October 31, 2009 at 1:28 PM
I find both of them amusing BUT… I have to question the general appeal of the games they refer to. I’ve been a gamer since 1980 and they almost NEVER make reference to anything I’ve ever played, or play now.
Report Permalinkprincessgamer
October 31, 2009 at 8:44 PM
I’ve watched the show for the last six months and always found it to be funny aswell as a reliable source for reviews…
Report PermalinkBut…
Now with hex on the show i found it boring and i fast forwarded through the majority, not even baj could save it she just talked over him, i’m a woman and believe in woman as presenters but she just sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bring back Junglist!!!!
Shrubber
November 1, 2009 at 9:16 PM
One was a PC (Junglist) the other one was a Wii(Bajo). Now they’ve gone and replaced the PC with bloody popcap.
Really… as a girl gamer, I’m honestly sick to death of the model type reporters (ulk ign / gamespot) having scripted reports and paychecks to keep them gaming…
Really though, wouldn’t mind if she was female… she just seems like a total n00b, really not liking the thought of someone like her do an interview with someone like Gabe Newell and not have any appreciation for them or what they have done… thats just not right!
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