CO-OP 0401 - COOP AGAIN?
jason bertrandI know the question on all of your minds is “Is CO-OP ever coming back?” and to tell you the truth, I don’t know. All I can tell you is that we miss doing it, so much that we couldn’t hold back any longer and made an episode. And we’re conducting an experiment. How much would you pay for CO-OP? Nothing? That’s okay, but if you could bring the show back by throwing a few bones our way, would you? We’re offering up this episode for free via YouTube, but we’re wondering what will happen if we put up a few buttons that let you quickly and easily pay for this episode. Pay whatever you think the show is worth.
Watching ads sucks. Going out and trying to get people to advertise sucks. We’d rather be supported by the people who want to be entertained by what we do. This doesn’t necessarily even mean CO-OP (though in the unlikely event we get a flood of purchases we’ll, of course, look at bringing back the show). We’re thinking this model could possibly work for other ideas we have kicking around and we figure that, hell, nobody’s really tried this yet—at least not in this fashion—and we’re gonna give it a go. You can still watch it free and in great quality on YouTube, but if you could pay for it, would you? Pay us and you’ll get a link letting you download a full, 1080p, the-highest-quality-we-can-possibly-post version of this episode. So, tell your friends! After all, did you really need that latte today?
Cesar, Ryan, and I cracked open a few cold ones, sat down at my apartment and reminisced about the great time we had at this years PAX in Seattle. We talk about some of the games we saw and played: Fluidity, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Gears of War 3 “Beast Mode,” Lost In Shadow, Bastion, and Spy Party.
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We also got together with some old friends at the Ex-1UP Panel and it was great to see the 1UP crew back together again, joking around and talking about the good ol’days.
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Speaking about the good ol’days, we spent some time in an arcade, which brought back childhood memories. Sega threw a party at Gameworks where we spent about 4 hours playing SoulCalibur 3 Arcade Edition.
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We got some new business cards that come with a free mini game. Collect all five cards, on back of each card is a piece of the puzzel. Put them together and you win! Now go out there and collect them all.
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We did a small batch of CO-OP t-shirts that we sold out of our backpacks at the event. Thanks to everyone that picked one up and supporting, it was great meeting all of you. We are currently working on a shop on the site where you will be able to purchase one very soon.
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PAX was an awesome time, playing games, hanging out old friends and meeting new ones. Hope to see you all again next year!
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Reader Comments (115)
Oh goodness, It's back? I knew you guys couldn't stay away :) Glad to have it back, so I went ahead and paid $5 for the episode. I'll happily pay for every episode, to support this content. Love you guys, and happy to have you back!
Ben Jones
(One request, could you also accept pay pal? I've never used google checkout before, but I'm happy to work it out every time :P )
You should just make a website with a subscription model. I would subscribe more likely than most other sites out there... i mean as long as there was HD content and all... and JayFresh...
Woohoo! New episode. Of course I paid $5 for it. I hope the rest of you pay for it as well. I want more Area5/CO-OP episodes
Sweet! My card does not work with google check out though. Any chance of paypal?
I definitely couldn't pay for every episode this way. But if you started doing them regularly I would rather to pay yearly.
man if i had money i would pay 5 bucks for it no problem , got no money sorry
I could not love a human baby more than I do this show.
You guys are great, after meeting you at GDC, I'm really a fan, keep on doing great stuff, your commentaries are different but you come to a conclusion at the end, which is great for a consumer!!
I really enjoyed the show and even though part of me hates the ransom business model for web series/podcasts I would without question subscribe to a service/channel and pay up to $30 a year just for Area 5 produced video content. Also I want one of those shirts. I never say any of you guys with one and then I saw Anthony G at a panel and asked him where he got it and he thought you guys were sold out. Please do another run of co-op shirts~
Keep up the great work guys.. you got some $ out of me today.
I like the idea of an annual subscription w some swag included like a shirt.
I was so glad to see you move back to a produced format. The live show was a nice experiment, but lacked the feel of your previous work.
I hope this new format works out. My $5 is in the pot :) I would also be willing to pay for a season pass for the show. Anything to keep you guys making content.
What a wonderful surprise!
I definitely think paying $1-$2 for a 30 minute - 1 hour episode is more than fair, particularly given the quality of work produced by the Area 5 crew. Assuming a monthly episode cycle, an annual subscription that costs $12-$24 (or the equivalent of one trip to the movie theater) is definitely something I'd be willing to commit to as a longtime fan.
Heading to click on the buy button now, thanks again guys!
Co-op was one of my favorite shows on Rev3. and seeing you guys make another one warms my black little heart. while everyone is clamoring for a subscription, i would like to throw in my 0.02. i'd pay for a subscription if it were downloadable to an mp3 player without thinking twice. i took the time out to watch this episode but this isn't something i normally do. i'm always running around and having content i can carry with me is essential. if you guys offered a subscription with the option to download, you have my monies, without hesitation.
I wonder how much this was inspired by Giant Bomb offering a subscription.
Good on you though, guys!
Bought. I'd rather pay for a season ($30ish?) than per episode, or just pay for a year of Area5 media. Subs bonuses I'd appreciate: Early access, HD downloads, subscribers podcast, forum, outakes/raw extra footage.
I would definitely subscribe. I am based in the uk. As good as co-op is and there is nothing like it on terrestial tv. I still think paying 2 dollars is steep. But that also depends on the length and quality of the show. Would be happy to pay a buck per episode for 30mins advertisement free. Or in a subs model 30 dollars for the year which covers 30 episodes. Don't shoot me down I am just being realistic.
To add to what others have said. Yea I would pay a yearly fee for coop.
Please guys add pay-pal option, I can't get this google checkout to work.
Love the show and would like to contribute with a season pass and a buy a shirt, maybe you could throw in some business cards as freebies?
Kind of wish there was a 99 cent option. That's a no brainer and I'd easily pay that for every CO-OP, even if there was ads in it.
It's great to see you back and I really hope that you can make this work. CO-OP is the best thing to happen to games since GamesMaster.
Have you thought about starting a project to fund a season on Kickstarter? It worked for Put This On.
What was deficient with the revision3 arrangement? Seemed an ideal home for coop and certainly shows seem to thrive on there.
that google bullshit wouldn't accept my australian credit card.
I went ahead and watched it on youtube. would have happily paid $5 to watch it on my TV's native resolution.
I would rather see a subscription model. I would pay $25 a year for say a guaranteed 16 episodes (minimum). Even $2 per episode seems very expensive.
Alternatively, I would pay a bit more (also for a subscription) if it included some goodies like a tee-shirt, signed print(s), etc.
Hope this helps!
@everyone who wants a subscription model. -- TOTALLY AGREE! This is something we would definitely do. This experiment is really just a one off to see if we can make something viable about of a pay-for-content model. Should it prove successful, we know that a subscription is absolutely necessary. THanks for all the great feedback on this. We want to hear from everyone what they feel comfortable paying and what they think is worth their while.
@mats and @Ben Sorry, guys. I just wanted to make it as simple as humanly possible so only the one option exists right now. If this experiment proves successful we'll obviously set it up so that we can do as many payment options as possible but this method had the lowest-barrier-to-entry for us.
@Will We've still go some shirts left over and we'll be putting them up for sale soon. Thanks for your support, man :)
Donated 5. I'd much prefer to donate *more* through a swag purchase, like one of those T-Shirts, or a sticker, for example. Coop and the 1-UP show were my favorite video podcasts, and I'm very sad to see that they're not around anymore.
I actually saw you guys near the TRS guys on the floor at PAX, but was too shy to get a pic or announce my fandom.
Missed your panel due to BYOC, very upset about that.
I'd very much like to see a return of the show, in some shape or form!
@Ray ... Yeah, merchandise is definitely something we need to get up and out there! We have some T-Shirts left over from our PAX run that should be showing up soon :). Next time you see us, come and say Hi! We don't bite, I promise. Well, Jason bites, but he's had all his shots.
@Justin Blake ... Yeah, I can see that as a possibility, too, but it's difficult for us to justify the costs at $1 when running all the numbers. That could change, however :)
@kat ... TOTALLY agree. Definitely something we'll have to implement if this experiment proves successful enough. There are some significant technological and cost hurdles to overcome, unfortunately. The biggest one at the moment is iTunes. Because we're a "web-based podcast," we're not allowed to charge for episode in iTunes. Don't ask me why, it's just the way their system works. If we can talk them out of that stupid policy then that would be the best way for us to do what you're talking about.
@ichi ... just WATCHING is support, ichi, so thank you!
@muzza ... I hate to say it, man, but it was simply money. The show was unsustainable at the revenue we were generating. We're hoping that cutting out the middle man and not relying out outside advertising will allow us to grow a revenue stream for the product that makes sense in the long term. It's difficult for us to really gauge that, of course, but we had to at least TRY!
@ernest leitch ... Honestly, we LOVED doing the live show. It was fun in a whole different way, but yeah, I think our edited work is where we shine the brightest :)
@Simon Starr ... we've kicked around the idea of doing Kickstarter for a long time. Har har. I wasn't aware of Put this On, though, so thanks for that! Gives us a lot more to think about internally so I appreciate you passing that along :)
So the commercial productions e.g crisis ain't putting the meals on the table? Shame, but my selfish self wants the coop magic! I miss the days of 1up most when clout got you events and interviews...now those were the days.
I'm so happy to see you back guys!
I've never found a show replacing yours. So for the lasts months, I've being wating for your resurrection.
AND THERE YOU ARE!!!
I would happy to support your work, but, unfortunately, as a student, I don't have any credit card. So if you were able to add a way to pay by Pay Pal, I will feed you :p in order to make my favorite show last.
Did I say that I was happy to see you again? Well, indeed, I am. Really.
Love
Hi, I'm very happy to have you back! Your ideas on the gaming industry and indie games in particular are so valuable!
I'm more than willing to pay for HD Area5 content and I did, unfortunately Vimeo does not seem to be up to the task. After crashing on the first download attempt it just gives me "Permission Denied - This video cannot be downloaded anymore today.".
Maybe you can use a better video site or simply a one-click hosting service next time. Until then I've got to watch it on youtube.
Anyway, nice to have you guys back!
Awesome. Thanks Giant Bomb!
Always liked CO-OP so i donated $5 for the good cause ;) Like the idea about a subscription model too if you do more shows.
From a fan from Denmark!
Here's what I would love to see and happily buy: A subscription model where I pay once a year or once every 6 months to get monthly or bi-weekly podcasts (though I don't think monthly is often enough.) The podcasts would not be the live shows you did (I wasn't a fan) but the edited ones. Somewhere around $30/year would be great. I would pay more if I got some swag in return - say $50/year for a subscription and a t-shirt. I also would want notifications when new episodes are available and an absolute must is a way to download so that I can stream them to Boxee on my AppleTV.
You get me one of those t-shirts, and I will pay for this episode (and the shirt of course). Give me some Area 5 swag, PUH-LEASE!
What a great surprise! Glad you are back (and of course i am paying for it!) :)
One favor i ask though: if you have usable footage of that 1up panel could you please share it?? I used to listen to 1UPyours and watched the 1up show every week. Would be simply awesome to see them all together again ;)
CO-OP and The 1UP Show before it, restored my love for videogames and for that reason alone I'd very happily pay for the content!
I loved this. I have a few observations. Was some of video filmed on a iphone 4? Because some of the color balancing seemed weird. Other than that, it was perfect. Thank you, thank, thank you so much. I will continue to buy episodes.
@Muzza ... Actually, the commercial work is currently what's paying ALL of our bills :). We could continue to move the business exclusively in that direction, but we'd really like to keep the editorial up and running if at all possible. Monetization of internet video is a problem web-wide, and we're hoping through some experiments to figure out how to solve it!
I cant pay with google :( so I tried to give you money through paypal which you dont do any more. I want to support the show but currently cant in any fourm :(
Im sorry guys I have let you down.
Ps I woul pay a subscription yearly to wathc all your shows. I dont know say €52-€100
Great episode and I think your scheme may work. I put $5 towards this one as I was stoked to have an episode from you guys after so long but if this was a more regular thing I think $2 per episode would be the sweet spot.
The show just fuels the fire of game loving! I especially enjoyed the MK segment, I'm really looking forward to it after hearing your discussion and seeing those clips.
I'm hoping this becomes a regular thing as it's just so awesome and much needed.
Your work is worth a lot to me. It brightens my days and enriches my life. But I am living far below the local poverty line right now and really need those 5€ for medicine.
Please, take my love instead of my money and keep offering free content as long as you can afford it.
It was good to see the show again. I tend to plop down a $25 donation per year to a lot of the podcasts I listen to, and could easily see myself doing that for CO-OP. I'm not super keen on paying per episode, and I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's because I'm not really interested in "owning" copies of the episodes since I'll probably only watch them once. I'm also not opposed to ads, but I understand that getting ads is easier said than done. It probably also has to do with the way I consume other media like shows on Hulu or Netflix. I can't see myself paying per episode of 30 Rock or Modern Family (of course I also have the option of waiting til they come out on DVD). Anyway, I hope the input helps and look forward to more content!
For those without a credit card, can we have a paypal option?
I can't believe a team of so much talent as you guys can be struggling with money for shows, there is so much crap on TV these days with tons of money spent on it and here you are in need of some cash but with ideas and a great portfolio!
I'm happy to see you guys back, will watch the show later today and will try and donate - i hope that google thing works for Romania :-S
Totally saw JayFresh at New York Comic Con and had this star struck moment. Haha... made me miss the show terribly so I came by the website to take a look and was pleased to see a new episode. Donated my $2 dollars and would be willing to pay $2 for every episode here on out. Whether that is through subscription or otherwise. Maybe you and the Rebel FM guys could figure something out together. My favorite audio podcast and video podcast would surely get at least $50 bucks a year out of me.