"Zero Punctuation" and "Dev Diary" by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw - The only thing worth watching on The Escapist

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If Nick was smart, he would have cut everyone but Yahtzee and Frost. Those were the only two earners at The Escapist. Problem was, he was never smart which is why he keeps retards like Jack around and also why he was fired from The Escapist in the first place. The two reasons why he keeps the dead weight around is because Yahtzee might get upset if he let them go and you don't want to disturb the golden goose, and the other reason is that it makes Second Wind look like it's more than just Yahtzee's retirement home
 
wtfNeedSignUp said:
Books and games are very much staying at a comfort zone. You can't keep forever doing sub 5 minute minimal edit videos when today the average youtube gaming video is at least 20 minute, if not over an hour, and has massive amount of editing required. So he'll keep on being on sinking ships until he just gives up making videos altogether.
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I actually enjoy the sub-10 minute format (which I've noticed has gotten shorter as it is all e-begging now) because most of the longer video game videos (as a whole) are fucking awful. (Not that I wouldn't find him using stick figures for 20 minutes intriguing).

The problem is the writing, the takes, and the real criticism have all gotten noticeably worse (not that ZP was ever great, but there were some chuckle-worthy moments that Cuckzee would never do now, or pedestrian but otherwise solid takes at a game's weakness) and the Extra Punctuation videos only brought home how his taste sucks, he's not good at actually playing games, and so on.
 
Cryogonal2 said:
If Nick was smart, he would have cut everyone but Yahtzee and Frost. Those were the only two earners at The Escapist. Problem was, he was never smart which is why he keeps retards like Jack around and also why he was fired from The Escapist in the first place. The two reasons why he keeps the dead weight around is because Yahtzee might get upset if he let them go and you don't want to disturb the golden goose, and the other reason is that it makes Second Wind look like it's more than just Yahtzee's retirement home
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He keeps them around because of the sunk cost fallacy. He thinks he can make another Yahtzee. To be fair to him he did do it with frost however he doesn't understand that the other people are just completely fucking useless and will never be as popular as Yahtzee, No matter how hard he tries to push it. He spoke about this strategy in a podcast after the escapist exploded. Also that was the escapists plan.
 
Xarpho's Return said:
I actually enjoy the sub-10 minute format (which I've noticed has gotten shorter as it is all e-begging now) because most of the longer video game videos (as a whole) are fucking awful. (Not that I wouldn't find him using stick figures for 20 minutes intriguing).

The problem is the writing, the takes, and the real criticism have all gotten noticeably worse (not that ZP was ever great, but there were some chuckle-worthy moments that Cuckzee would never do now, or pedestrian but otherwise solid takes at a game's weakness) and the Extra Punctuation videos only brought home how his taste sucks, he's not good at actually playing games, and so on.
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His reviews worked at a time when gaming was still alive and still tried to innovate. Nowadays AAA is shit, AA is dead and Indies are all circle jerking eachother and other influencers. Cuckzee doesn't have anything to say about AAA, ESPECIALLY when it comes to woke shit. AA is rare, and he is too chickenshit to say mean things about Indies like 99% of YouTubers.
30+GameOvers said:
His latest review, Ninja Gaiden one, has him admitting he played on the baby game journalist easy difficulty mode, and he got filtered out of the hard mode, aka the one you're supposed to be playing on.
He loves Dark Souls btw, because he loves being punished by hard video games.
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Almost certainly his gameplay of DS series consists of watching other people playing it.
 
Cryogonal2 said:
The few times he does have anything bad to say, like with Selaco, everyone jumps down his ass for "punching down" on indies.
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I just hate this modern pussy-fication/reddit-fication of gaming and culture in general. You can have jokes about putting babies in a blender (just don't specify them being non-White!) but god forbid you hurt a person's feelings for a product he sells to other people.
 
This little figure with the hat was so iconic in the early 2010's and late 00's. Such a simple and recognisable thing I think he could have turned it into something big if he went independent.
1755502808927.webp
In contrast there's something about the new design I don't like. i can't put my finger on it, maybe too many details.
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The name as well just harder to remember.
I got curious and checked their merch page.
31 items as clearance.
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21 items as "limited stock"(limited stock for one year).
1755507217407.webp

I checked other stores on shark robot and it's not a limited stock site, most other vendors have permanent items.
 
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wtfNeedSignUp said:
Out of all the Old Internet club Yahtzee comes really badly due to never experimenting. Say what you want about Nostalgia Critic or AVGN, at least they attempted to improve and do other things, and they still do a lot of community stuff. Yahtzee just sits in his corner doing 3 minute videos for 10+ years.
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Yahtzee definitely changed over the years. He used to be absolutely savage ripping apart shitty game mechanics. Then he shifted from weak whining about inconsequential details in a way that encouraged people to hate-enjoy the game.

The Critical Drinker went through the same transformation but he did it way quicker. He shit talked "The Message" and then overnight he started basically back-handed complimenting movies.
 
bouquetnine said:
The Critical Drinker went through the same transformation but he did it way quicker. He shit talked "The Message" and then overnight he started basically back-handed complimenting movies.
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Because the faggot got dragged through the coals, cause of his shitty movie and books. So, for all his talks about "DA MESSAGE" he proved that only is he a shit filmmaker and writer, but also that hes guilty of the same shit he whined about. Same can be applied to Yahtzee and his bullshit games.
 
don't not shoot the Press said:
This little figure with the hat was so iconic in the early 2010's and late 00's. Such a simple and recognisable thing I think he could have turned it into something big if he went independent.
View attachment 7795407
In contrast there's something about the new design I don't like. i can't put my finger on it, maybe too many details.
View attachment 7795423
The name as well just harder to remember.
I got curious and checked their merch page.
31 items as clearance.
View attachment 7795516
21 items as "limited stock"(limited stock for one year).
View attachment 7795518
I checked other stores on shark robot and it's not a limited stock site, most other vendors have permanent items.
Click to expand...
"Pride Phoenix Shirt"
Got to wonder why these aren't flying off the shelves. I know that's what I want to wear to show I still listen to Yahtzee in 2025.
This brand is dead, does anyone even know the names of the other content creators off the top of their head? I sure can't.
 
bouquetnine said:
Yahtzee definitely changed over the years. He used to be absolutely savage ripping apart shitty game mechanics. Then he shifted from weak whining about inconsequential details in a way that encouraged people to hate-enjoy the game.
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It's that and the audience changing with him. The usual case of still thinking the left is the "cool people club" and that you should self censor.
The tired cat said:
Because the faggot got dragged through the coals, cause of his shitty movie and books. So, for all his talks about "DA MESSAGE" he proved that only is he a shit filmmaker and writer, but also that hes guilty of the same shit he whined about. Same can be applied to Yahtzee and his bullshit games.
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What don't you want to play very average Point and Click games with shitty lore that have nothing original in them?
 
don't not shoot the Press said:
In contrast there's something about the new design I don't like. i can't put my finger on it, maybe too many details.
1755503229256.webp
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It's because it reeks of -*tips fedora* "m'lady"- energy. The kind of get-up that faggots would get made fun of online but the same thing hipsters wear unironically because it's "in".

Either that, or he's either:
  • Cosplaying as the undertaker
  • traveled to the present day from the past century.
I swear, the people around him are filling his brain with stupid ideas and for whatever reason he's just going with it. Either that, or this was his idea, which means he is FAR far gone mentally to the point of no return.
 
The issue with Yahtzees new avatar, is he clearly trying to look older and wiser, contrast for his old version which played off his younger and more simple view on stuff, from games to the world. Problem is, he didnt really get all that wise, despite the bs of "oh, having kids and wife is sign of maturity"
 
don't not shoot the Press said:
In contrast there's something about the new design I don't like. i can't put my finger on it, maybe too many details.
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He's trying to keep the ZP style (trilby > fedora) while making it legally distinct enough (glasses, shirt, rounded black boots) which I can't really blame him for, because it's hard to keep the iconic simplicity while not getting your ass sued off by whoever owns your property.
 
don't not shoot the Press said:
This little figure with the hat was so iconic in the early 2010's and late 00's. Such a simple and recognisable thing I think he could have turned it into something big if he went independent.
1755502808927.webp
Click to expand...
in their defense, that design is still owned by the escapist. otherwise he'd have taken zero punctuation from them in full with the design ready to go
 
Cryogonal2 said:
If Nick was smart, he would have cut everyone but Yahtzee and Frost. Those were the only two earners at The Escapist. Problem was, he was never smart which is why he keeps retards like Jack around and also why he was fired from The Escapist in the first place. The two reasons why he keeps the dead weight around is because Yahtzee might get upset if he let them go and you don't want to disturb the golden goose, and the other reason is that it makes Second Wind look like it's more than just Yahtzee's retirement home
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Nick might not be being completely dumb here, a key component of keeping the dead weight around is that Nick himself is dead weight. With everyone but Frost and Yahtzee gone, he certainly couldn't justify his own uploads (seriously, try and watch one, it's like a 12 year old fumbling through palm cards for their school presentation). That would leave just 2 people to 'manage' which I'm sure Frost would have been both willing and able to deal with. So Nick keeps a bunch a hangers-on around both to keep up appearances of being busy and to hide his low view performance amongst people doing even worse. He may be retarded but he's been canny enough to scam a salary out of Escapist/Yahtzee for over 6 years now
 
galah said:
Nick might not be being completely dumb here, a key component of keeping the dead weight around is that Nick himself is dead weight. With everyone but Frost and Yahtzee gone, he certainly couldn't justify his own uploads (seriously, try and watch one, it's like a 12 year old fumbling through palm cards for their school presentation). That would leave just 2 people to 'manage' which I'm sure Frost would have been both willing and able to deal with. So Nick keeps a bunch a hangers-on around both to keep up appearances of being busy and to hide his low view performance amongst people doing even worse. He may be retarded but he's been canny enough to scam a salary out of Escapist/Yahtzee for over 6 years now
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Most partnerships rely on the "money man" and the "product man". Second Wind can be healthy, even profitable, if it's just Nick and Yahtzee with Yahtzee doing the content and Nick doing the money stuff, with the money split between them and throwing money for guests.
 
30+GameOvers said:
Don't really have much to say about this one, but the tangent at the end about "Donkey Kong being sexualized": I do know that this isn't the first game DK says "Oh Banana" in that tone. I forgot where he says it, but this definitely isn't unique to this game.
Otherwise, yeah a strangely decent review. Maybe Yahtzee is in his element when he makes fun of baby games, cause his recent Shadow The Hedgehog game review he still did under Zero Punctuation by the end was fine too.
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It’s from DK64. Rareware were giant shitposters at the time. They had cart blanche to do whatever they thought was funny.
 
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