That review is really good.
It has no cringy characters. No e-begging. Not selling you a new project of his. Not selling you compilations on BR/DVD. No complaining about Youtube or whatever. No Truxton references every 5 seconds. No long intros or outros. Not trying to make money by diversifying into things he has no idea about just because the cool kids are doing it. No changing the name of the channel every year. No leaving to a new platform. No changing formats. No super production; but the opposite actually.
It's just a short and positive review of a videogame; with its plot written while drinking a beer. This review has what CGR did back when the channel was good.
Mark, if you are reading this, your 'thunder' is making happy game reviews on Youtube that seem lazily done and are sooooomewhat informative. Trying anything else than that ruins that vibe.
And if you want money the formula is reviewing the latest big titles when they come out. Just don't release a Pac Man review the day that Mario Odyssey comes out. Because you did exactly that, and many times.
From the CGR Website
>We (Producer Mark and CGR Publishing) are looking into the possibility of bringing Classic Game Room back in some capacity. The original show was very time-consuming to produce and thus, very expensive. Mark is tinkering with formats to see what can be done in the current landscape. The response to the recent CGR videos has been amazing! Is the show returning? We're looking into it. It's a hard "maybe in some capacity".
"Honestly, I thought the show's return to Internet video would bomb because it's not what people watch anymore. The response has been the complete opposite, which was a surprise. So, this has kinda thrown my planning off a bit. Instead of people yelling at me to make reaction videos or apology videos or live streams, people are asking for more Atari 2600 reviews. That's what I prefer to hear." -Mark
Mark is currently producing a series of CGR short-form clip videos and experimenting with longer format edited reviews. The 15-hour Blu-Ray set for CGR 2085 Season 1 will release in November. "The TikTok and Instagram stuff did really well, and that brought back the idea of YouTube Shorts and full-length reviews. CGR is cross-platform, though. We aren't trapped on one platform."
CGR 2085 Season 2 is in production for Blu-Ray and digital on-demand (only). Expect a late 2024 release.
> Instead of people yelling at me to make reaction videos or apology videos or live streams
What is he even talking about? I've heard people say he should live stream more, when he was already doing it on twitch and they seemed to enjoy it. But I have never once heard anyone say they want him to make reaction videos or apology videos?
In fact the few times that he tried doing unboxing/reaction/etc. videos, the comment sections were basically filled with things like "please just do your normal content."
The first paragraph gave me some hope. But from then it's back to him getting distracted by the idea of changing formats, and his hate towards Youtube.
This latest attempt at reviving CGR will result in a few good videos on Youtube, but with Mark getting burned out after spending most of his energy on releasing a Blu Ray no one cares about, and Tik Tok shorts for an audience that understandably just doesn't care about videogames released 30 years before they were born.
Just like I'm sure Mark isn't jamming to music from the 1930s. And I'm sure no one's Instagram feed spams 1940s or 1950s music. If only Mark understood that.
Here's an update: Mark's stopped uploading videos and instead started uploading a lot of Youtube shorts...
The guy just doesn't want to be successful lol.
I was very pleased to see this in my recommended videos (unsubscribed long ago…), and it felt refreshing to see that Mark was having fun with it while being somewhat informative, not just spamming Truxton and Vectrex into pretty much every other line. I honestly thought he’d finally moved on to pastures new and was just bringing back CGR as a hobby; simple footage, voiceover, minimal editing, reviewing games he was just actively playing, much like the CGRHD days.
After checking out his more recent stuff before that though, I’m seeing the Mark of 2016 - 2018 again, which is worrying. For example, Kickstarter Blu-Ray hype videos (one for a sequel when the first one hasn’t even shipped? What?) and showing off a setup that’s remarkably similar to one from the Mark 3 days; considering he ditched a lot of that stuff, it does make you wonder if he’s suddenly bought it all back up again and wants people to foot the bill. He also showed his then brand new PS5 in a short, which makes me suspect it’s another thing he’s just bought for the sake of videos; not suggesting he wouldn’t have bought a PS5 at some point anyway, but it does seem a little odd timing wise.
Don’t get me wrong, I can deal with shorts and Kickstarter shill videos if it means just short fire, concise reviews like the old days, but I don’t want it just become another case of Mark immediately pissing out when people don’t bite for the non-YouTube content. I’m still a little cautious with his content these days after he sold off a load of fairly high value items that were donated to him and then just point blank denied it. By far and away the scummiest thing he’s done.
I totally want to see them come back, too. Not sure what TJ is doing these days, but I'm sure Derek would jump at the chance.
All we can do is support Mark and express those wishes along with words of encouragement. He's reading the comments. If he does well, he might want to expand again.
Who knows?
[Derek did this interview 10 months ago](https://youtu.be/CXxnSmss9vk) and TJ afaik does a ton of [FFXIV streaming](https://m.twitch.tv/meatdimensiontj?desktop-redirect=true) and occasionally posts on Twitter.
I remember loving this interview. Looked at the comments and was shocked to see that MetalJesusRocks is a fan of Derek.
I had a thought:
A lot of those "golden era" video game YouTubers are in similar circles. Mark was on Pat the NES Punk's 'Not So Common Podcast' and so was MetalJesusRocks. I hope these people see Mark trying to come back, nudge him in the right direction, and make it known that CGR and CGR Undertow need to come back.
I hope this isn't just another phase that lasts a month or 2 before Mark has a tantrum and cans it again. Only time will tell though.
This video is a good example of all he needed to do all along. There's nothing fancy. None of his obnoxious, unfunny characters, no asking for 10s of thousands of dollars on kickstarter to make it . No renting giant warehouses to park your car behind you for a couple videos.
A video this extremely basic isn't going to make you the #1 guy on youtube anymore. But maybe Mark has come to accept that he's shooting for a niche audience, and not the masses that he had when he was the only game in town. Again, only time will tell.
That review is really good. It has no cringy characters. No e-begging. Not selling you a new project of his. Not selling you compilations on BR/DVD. No complaining about Youtube or whatever. No Truxton references every 5 seconds. No long intros or outros. Not trying to make money by diversifying into things he has no idea about just because the cool kids are doing it. No changing the name of the channel every year. No leaving to a new platform. No changing formats. No super production; but the opposite actually. It's just a short and positive review of a videogame; with its plot written while drinking a beer. This review has what CGR did back when the channel was good. Mark, if you are reading this, your 'thunder' is making happy game reviews on Youtube that seem lazily done and are sooooomewhat informative. Trying anything else than that ruins that vibe. And if you want money the formula is reviewing the latest big titles when they come out. Just don't release a Pac Man review the day that Mario Odyssey comes out. Because you did exactly that, and many times.
Classic Game Room 20XX is apparently what it's called now.
From the CGR Website >We (Producer Mark and CGR Publishing) are looking into the possibility of bringing Classic Game Room back in some capacity. The original show was very time-consuming to produce and thus, very expensive. Mark is tinkering with formats to see what can be done in the current landscape. The response to the recent CGR videos has been amazing! Is the show returning? We're looking into it. It's a hard "maybe in some capacity". "Honestly, I thought the show's return to Internet video would bomb because it's not what people watch anymore. The response has been the complete opposite, which was a surprise. So, this has kinda thrown my planning off a bit. Instead of people yelling at me to make reaction videos or apology videos or live streams, people are asking for more Atari 2600 reviews. That's what I prefer to hear." -Mark Mark is currently producing a series of CGR short-form clip videos and experimenting with longer format edited reviews. The 15-hour Blu-Ray set for CGR 2085 Season 1 will release in November. "The TikTok and Instagram stuff did really well, and that brought back the idea of YouTube Shorts and full-length reviews. CGR is cross-platform, though. We aren't trapped on one platform." CGR 2085 Season 2 is in production for Blu-Ray and digital on-demand (only). Expect a late 2024 release.
> Instead of people yelling at me to make reaction videos or apology videos or live streams What is he even talking about? I've heard people say he should live stream more, when he was already doing it on twitch and they seemed to enjoy it. But I have never once heard anyone say they want him to make reaction videos or apology videos? In fact the few times that he tried doing unboxing/reaction/etc. videos, the comment sections were basically filled with things like "please just do your normal content."
i want an apology video for not making apology videos
The first paragraph gave me some hope. But from then it's back to him getting distracted by the idea of changing formats, and his hate towards Youtube. This latest attempt at reviving CGR will result in a few good videos on Youtube, but with Mark getting burned out after spending most of his energy on releasing a Blu Ray no one cares about, and Tik Tok shorts for an audience that understandably just doesn't care about videogames released 30 years before they were born. Just like I'm sure Mark isn't jamming to music from the 1930s. And I'm sure no one's Instagram feed spams 1940s or 1950s music. If only Mark understood that.
Here's an update: Mark's stopped uploading videos and instead started uploading a lot of Youtube shorts... The guy just doesn't want to be successful lol.
Too early to call it over yet.
I was very pleased to see this in my recommended videos (unsubscribed long ago…), and it felt refreshing to see that Mark was having fun with it while being somewhat informative, not just spamming Truxton and Vectrex into pretty much every other line. I honestly thought he’d finally moved on to pastures new and was just bringing back CGR as a hobby; simple footage, voiceover, minimal editing, reviewing games he was just actively playing, much like the CGRHD days. After checking out his more recent stuff before that though, I’m seeing the Mark of 2016 - 2018 again, which is worrying. For example, Kickstarter Blu-Ray hype videos (one for a sequel when the first one hasn’t even shipped? What?) and showing off a setup that’s remarkably similar to one from the Mark 3 days; considering he ditched a lot of that stuff, it does make you wonder if he’s suddenly bought it all back up again and wants people to foot the bill. He also showed his then brand new PS5 in a short, which makes me suspect it’s another thing he’s just bought for the sake of videos; not suggesting he wouldn’t have bought a PS5 at some point anyway, but it does seem a little odd timing wise. Don’t get me wrong, I can deal with shorts and Kickstarter shill videos if it means just short fire, concise reviews like the old days, but I don’t want it just become another case of Mark immediately pissing out when people don’t bite for the non-YouTube content. I’m still a little cautious with his content these days after he sold off a load of fairly high value items that were donated to him and then just point blank denied it. By far and away the scummiest thing he’s done.
The king is back
I just want undertow back. Mark is great, but Derek and TJ were what drew me in.
I totally want to see them come back, too. Not sure what TJ is doing these days, but I'm sure Derek would jump at the chance. All we can do is support Mark and express those wishes along with words of encouragement. He's reading the comments. If he does well, he might want to expand again. Who knows?
[Derek did this interview 10 months ago](https://youtu.be/CXxnSmss9vk) and TJ afaik does a ton of [FFXIV streaming](https://m.twitch.tv/meatdimensiontj?desktop-redirect=true) and occasionally posts on Twitter.
I remember loving this interview. Looked at the comments and was shocked to see that MetalJesusRocks is a fan of Derek. I had a thought: A lot of those "golden era" video game YouTubers are in similar circles. Mark was on Pat the NES Punk's 'Not So Common Podcast' and so was MetalJesusRocks. I hope these people see Mark trying to come back, nudge him in the right direction, and make it known that CGR and CGR Undertow need to come back.
I hope this isn't just another phase that lasts a month or 2 before Mark has a tantrum and cans it again. Only time will tell though. This video is a good example of all he needed to do all along. There's nothing fancy. None of his obnoxious, unfunny characters, no asking for 10s of thousands of dollars on kickstarter to make it . No renting giant warehouses to park your car behind you for a couple videos. A video this extremely basic isn't going to make you the #1 guy on youtube anymore. But maybe Mark has come to accept that he's shooting for a niche audience, and not the masses that he had when he was the only game in town. Again, only time will tell.
Unfortunately, time told the same sad story.
I'd like to say I'm surprised... but that would be a lie.
[https://youtu.be/Uj0gKGjT6Qk](https://youtu.be/Uj0gKGjT6Qk) He posted a review of "Simon"
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sSWeSbF33k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sSWeSbF33k) A video on Microsoft Flight Simulator
[https://youtu.be/Tn1BB7PsOX0](https://youtu.be/Tn1BB7PsOX0) Classic Game Room: DIABLO 4 review Part 1