Gamer's Nexus on Linus Tech's increasingly lax standards

[Drithius]

If you've kept abreast of computer tech at all in the past ten years, you are likely familiar with both GN and LTT. Linus especially has been in the game for a long, long time and is pretty massive. Unfortunately, in what has only before been hinted at with increasingly more goofball videos, the technical quality of their work seems to indeed be circling the drain.

Steve from Gamer's Nexus (re: Linus auctioning off an $800 prototype cooler against the company's wishes + a whole lot more):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGW3TPytTjc

 

[Shattermind]

As being from BC, I remember Linus from NCIX (I still miss that place).

I've watched a few of his videos here and there, but I'm far from a regular watcher. Pity to hear about the decline because someone like him would've been the first place I'd turn to for info on building a new machine, etc.

 

[Shagnak]

I've watched LTT for years and my opinion of Linus has slowly declined over that time. So to find that he's actually a bit of a self-entitled dick is not much of a surprise.
And maybe I'm a bit tired from watching so much of their stuff, but the content quality has been a bit shit for a while, and the "technical" reviews in their attempt to become the next Youtube anandtech or whatever are a bit lacking.
The only recent video I found of genuine interest was the one about USB stick tools a couple of weeks back. I now have a Ventoy stick with all sorts of shit on it and have been using it quite a bit.

 

[Kordanor]

Well, I still love TechLinked and I am glad that Linus employed Riley who was one of the last guys over at NCIX doing basically the same format there.
I didnt spot any of the issues before Gamers Nexus mentioned (who themselves made a completely biased video about gaming chairs) them, but it was already a bit annoying at times when they were always like "ok this is shot, but we have no time". Having faulty results just makes it worse. To will probably check other reviews for that and watch even less of the main channel. Will still stick to TechLinked though, and if its just for entertainment.

 

[Couchpotato]

Never used Linux though many claim it's better the windows. One positive is that games that do release for Linux is they don't have DRM like Windows games.

 

[SirJames]

Never used Linux though many claim it's better the windows. One positive is that games that do release for Linux is they don't have DRM like Windows games.

lol?

I think the whole ordeal is pointless. So, some LTT guy said their stuff was the best and better than GN. GN is all "nuh uh!!" and proceeds to point out a few errors and make a big deal about them selling off some prototype heatsink like they're malicious people. It's all stupid and they should all be embarrassed.

That said, I do think LTT has been steadily getting worse in a less hardcore nerd and more entertaining goofing around. I was really disappointed in their recent-ish Ultimate AMD Build video where they spent the $5000 AMD gave them on a 7600x rig with a $2500 speaker system.

GN is pretty solid and one of the best places to get those Rainbow Six Siege benchmarks but I still far prefer text and graphs reviews over videos.

Personally, I think they should put a stop to this pointless bickering right now but if it's blown up enough to make its way to RPGwatch then I'm sure there will be a bunch more videos coming. Maybe it will never end and both channels will dedicate all their effort going forward to combing through each-others videos for mistakes and making new videos about them. It's not like there's much else to do at the moment.

 

[Drithius]

I think the whole ordeal is pointless.

Review standards are pointless? Outlier, flawed data published as fact is pointless? Getting called out for auctioning a startup's prototype to potential competitors is pointless (and subsequently having the gall to say the product is shit despite never testing it properly)?

Even Linus' own staff is sharing misgivings about having to effectively push stuff out the door as quickly as possibly to meet a quota instead of producing reliable tech content. This is bottomfeeder behavior you would expect from fledgling sites publishing clickbait, not a 100 million dollar corporation. And it certainly shouldn't be glossed over as 'pointless' by the tech community.

 

[SirJames]

Every creator wishes they had more time. No one likes deadlines. Nothing is ever finished. Nothing is ever good enough. Everything could be better.

That's just how media is. People want new content. Every day, if possible. That's what keeps people clicking. Not even RPGwatch is exempt and tries to post new news as often as possible regardless of it's value, which is subjective. Maybe some viewers favourite part of LTT is noticing errors and pointing them out and feeling clever about it.

I mean, Just look at how much crap is on Netflix. Look how many new TV shows there are and how few quality movies. Why spend 20 million on a 90 minute movie when you could spend it on a 450 minute TV series? Gotta keep up that content if you want your viewers. The quality may suffer but that's far better than running out of content.

You know, one of my favourite movie directors has moved to TV saying film is dead and they'll always watch their content on an iphone to make sure they get to see it how it's mostly going to be viewed. That's where we're at in the world.

All this bickering is just more content and the controversy makes people love it. So GN says they're not monetizing the video like it's not actually content. That's just a play. Of course it is. They'll profit off the publicity down the line. So will LTT. It's all pointless, it's lame, but, like I said, it's not like there's anything else to review at the moment so here we are. Content.

 

[Kordanor]

There is nothing bad about spitting out hastily made content, if its also communicated that way.
But if you are claiming to be neutral and objective and to give the viewer reliable guidance for their purchases, then you need to have other standards. Otherwise why invest time into benchmarks in the first place. You can just tell your viewers that the new graphics card is shit because yout think so. And if people like to watch that content, thats all fine. But once you have that claim, you also need to be measured by these standards.

If you want to make an informed decision about cameras you are not watching a video like this:

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LXkYVIoITWg

and then say "I am definitely buying an iPhone now!"

Instead you go over to a source which you think is reliable.

Obviously they are money driven. Thats just how it works, but if they put quick money over integrity they will lose viewers (=money) in the long run.

 

[SirJames]

Like, sure. But it's not really a static thing. It's a cycle. Usually refreshed by new management.

Like, let's say a new pizza shop opens down the road and it's great. They're motivated, they're trying their best, their hearts are in it. Then they make 100 million and don't really give a shit about pizza anymore. Slowly they try and maximize profits by adding less topping which adds up a lot because of the high volume of sales. But the quality has gone down. It always does. So, maybe they sell out. New guy chucks a Under New Managment sign on the window and the cycle starts over.

Linus is a millionaire now and he's bored. He already replaced himself as the manager but feels like the brand needs his face to continue so he can't totally quit, even though he wants to.

But, the thing is, we're not at a point where LTT is getting less traffic. Every video gets shitloads of views. The quality is evidently adequate for the majority of viewers.

I'm sure GN is jealous that LTT can put out a goofy video and get double the views. They probably made this video just to get Linus Tech Tips in the title to try and appear in LTT searches.

 

[Kordanor]

Considering that they used to be buddies (and considering Nexus usually digging quite deep) I really really doubt that...

 

[Drithius]

They probably made this video just to get Linus Tech Tips in the title to try and appear in LTT searches.

If you would watch the video, Steve (GN) explicitly states that there will be no monetization from this video.

 

[SirJames]

If you would watch the video, Steve (GN) explicitly states that there will be no monetization from this video.

I watched it 51 minutes after it was posted. And I read linus' rushed text response on the LTT forums. And I watched the follow-up video GN put out a few minutes after that. Awaiting LTT official video now. Oh, the drama! Golden Age of TV, they say.

I already said that it's just a play.

"So GN says they're not monetizing the video like it's not actually content. That's just a play. Of course it is. They'll profit off the publicity down the line. So will LTT."

It's just some moral high ground shit to manipulate the audience. GN just doesn't want LTT to have the "he's just doing this for views and therefore money!" card.

Don't get me wrong; I like GN. I'm not taking any side.

 

[Drithius]

Your entire series of arguments make no sense. And I'm going to leave it at that.

 

[Kordanor]

So the critique by Nexus had an effect:
LMG is halting all videos for about a week to revisit procedures and even correct old videos:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cTpTMl8kFY

 

[SirJames]

Your entire series of arguments make no sense. And I'm going to leave it at that.

LMG is halting all videos for about a week to revisit procedures and even correct old videos:

I'm not even sure I have an argument. It's more of a social commentary.

You are both correct, by the way. I'm not saying quality isn't important to me or that people SHOULD pump out crap videos full of errors and that's OK. But if you look at where the internet is at... I mean, look at something like Tiktok with its short videos. There's no quality there. We're dealing with addiction mechanics. Dopamine hits. It's like gambling on slot machines just getting caught in a scrolling through shit cycle. Youtube recently released their Shorts copy of the format and its wildly popular. Everyone has some sort of social media induced ADHD and attention spans are getting worse. I mean, the reason I prefer text reviews is probably because I can't be bothered watching a whole 15 minute video when I can just look at the hardware specs and skip to a benchmark and have a peek at the conclusion. I didn't actually watch the GN video - I just had it on in the background while I was playing a game before I swapped it out for music.

I think the whole thing just stinks of cancel culture. LTT reaction is some "don't cancel us!" panic. Having a week of no videos to correct mistakes in obsolete videos does no one any favours. Like, who cares about RTX2080 reviews now? They're not even selling them anymore. When all your videos are only relevant for such a short time there's no point wasting time going back and fixing them. They might as well just do a viral video of the team doing a dance like nurses during a pandemic. Anyone with half a brain who wants a hardware review can visit a large number of sites to get the data in a far more efficient format. Youtube is crappy entertainment first and foremost. This rubbish controversy is only further evidence of that. It's reality TV tier, hair-pulling garbage.

 

[Drithius]

So the critique by Nexus had an effect:
LMG is halting all videos for about a week to revisit procedures and even correct old videos:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cTpTMl8kFY

Oy... that's a whole lot of mea culpa. While this company-wide reaction only came about because of the backlash, it's still a valuable learning opportunity for LTT. Youtube still needs its "entertainment value" channels for the masses, but such channels shouldn't be halfassing tech data or arrogantly throwing smaller companies under the bus.

Anyway, the proof is in the pudding as they say. I'll continue watching Gamers Nexus for anything tech-related, with an occasional click on Linus if I'm in the mood to see a computer submersed in mineral oil.