Angry Video Game Nerd
Angry Video Game Nerd | |
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Also known as | Bad NES Games[a] Angry Nintendo Nerd (formerly, until episode 15) |
Genre |
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Created by | Amazon Video (2018) |
Release | May 25, 2004 present | –
Related | |
Board James |
The Angry Video Game Nerd,[c] originally known as The Angry Nintendo Nerd,[d] is an American retrogaming review comedy web series created by and starring James Rolfe. The series centers on Rolfe's titular skit character, often simply shortened to "the Nerd" (sometimes just "Nerd"), a short-tempered and foul-mouthed gamer who delivers commentary on retro games of poor quality. While the series began with Rolfe simply playing games while providing retrospective commentary, the show has grown in scope to encompass sketches featuring guest characters, reviews of gaming consoles and peripherals, and short lectures about video game history and culture.[2]
Starting out as an amateur filmmaker, Rolfe intended his earliest videos of the character to be a joke privately shown amongst friends and colleagues.
The Angry Video Game Nerd is considered one of the pioneers of internet review videos, being highly influential on the style and format of subsequent video reviewers as well as being responsible for helping to bring the concept into the mainstream. Various media review/sketch comedy entertainers have since cited the show as inspiration for their own material, such as JonTron, Doug Walker, Egoraptor, Angry Joe, Scott Wozniak, and Joueur du Grenier, among others.[4][5]
Premise
The show revolves around the Nerd's commentary of
Dressed up as a stereotypical nerd in his basement, the Nerd reviews the game with his trademark glasses, white shirt with buttons, high khaki pants and loafers, while sometimes being bombarded by guest characters from video games and popular culture as well. These guests often provide additional commentary on the games, mock the Nerd's anguish, and act as parodies of the characters from which they had been derived. In response to them and to the games, the Nerd derives comic appeal from excessive and surrealistic use of fantasy scenarios, anger, and consumption of Rolling Rock (in addition to Yuengling in later videos) while reviewing video games.[7] His anger and profanity over these bad games (usually punctuated by the catchphrase "What were they thinking?!", in reference to those who designed and/or marketed the game in question) would sometimes climax in him destroying whole game cartridges, or simulating defecating on, burning, and sometimes even crushing the games or entire video game consoles.[7]
In many cases, the Nerd dresses up as other popular characters while reviewing their games, such as Batman[9] and Indiana Jones. Other characters in the show include the Nerdy Turd[e] and Shit Pickle (both are earlier characters created by Rolfe), the Guitar Guy (played by Kyle Justin, co-writer of the show's theme song), the Game Graphic Glitch Gremlin, Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C. Version 4.0 Beta, and an assortment of others, while also the occasional guest appearance by other video game reviewers such as Pat the NES Punk.[2][10] The show has also had special guests, including Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment while the Nerd was playing various Toxic Crusaders-based games,[11] Macaulay Culkin of Home Alone fame assisting the Nerd in playing games based on the movie series,[12] and Gilbert Gottfried co-starring as a faux lead developer of Life of Black Tiger and the Nerd's arch-nemesis Fred "Fucks" (Fred Fuchs) on August 1, 2019, while the Nerd reviews said game.[13]
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 17 | May 25, 2004 | December 23, 2006 | |
2 | 24 | January 25, 2007 | January 22, 2008 | |
3 | 23 | February 19, 2008 | January 27, 2009 | |
4 | 25 | March 16, 2009 | March 6, 2010 | |
5 | 11 | April 30, 2010 | April 6, 2011 | |
6 | 6 | July 7, 2011 | December 7, 2011 | |
7 | 11 | July 24, 2012 | December 19, 2013 | |
8 | 16 | March 19, 2014 | December 22, 2014 | |
Film | July 21, 2014 | |||
9 | 5 | March 26, 2015 | December 22, 2015 | |
10 | 5 | April 6, 2016 | December 20, 2016 | |
11 | 12 | March 23, 2017 | December 22, 2017 | |
12 | 9 | April 25, 2018 | December 15, 2018 | |
13 | 11 | January 23, 2019 | December 11, 2019 | |
14 | 12 | January 15, 2020 | December 15, 2020 | |
15 | 13 | March 15, 2021 | December 21, 2021 | |
16 | 6 | March 17, 2022 | December 22, 2022 | |
17 | 6 | February 24, 2023 | December 22, 2023 | |
18 | TBA | February 25, 2024 | TBA |
Production
James Rolfe's first two episodes were intended as "a joke", with no intentions of making them public.
In 2006, Rolfe began making the episodes available on YouTube. Soon, Rolfe released a review of
Rolfe's series received mainstream attention when his review of
In late 2007, Rolfe halted the production of the series after suffering from a break in his voice.
In January 2013, the YouTube channel was suddenly shut down due to claims of severe violations of YouTube's terms of service. YouTube later reinstated the channel.[21]
In March 2016, the channel reached 2 million subscribers, 10 years after the channel's creation and first uploads. Rolfe made a short video to thank all the people who subscribed, watched the videos on the channel and for supporting himself, Mike Matei, and everyone who made Cinemassacre more popular. In June 2019, the channel reached 3 million subscribers, to which Rolfe once again thanked everyone's support and for the fans still watching Nerd videos on the show's 13th anniversary (on YouTube).
In December 2020, Rolfe announced on the main Cinemassacre YouTube channel that longtime collaborator Mike Matei would be leaving the channel in order for Matei to focus on his Twitch career.[22]
In 2021, the channel is now backed up on
Videography
VHS/DVD
Year | Title | Medium | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Cinemassacre Gold Collection | VHS | 1–2 |
2007 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 1 | DVD | 1–17 |
2008 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 2 | DVD | 18–39 |
2009 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 3 | DVD | 40–62 |
2010 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 4 | DVD | 63–84 |
2011 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 5 | DVD | 85–97 |
2012 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 6 | DVD | 98–107 |
2013 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 7 | DVD | 108–114 |
2015 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 8 | DVD | 115–121 |
2016 | Angry Video Game Nerd, volume 9 | DVD | 122–139 |
Blu-ray
Year | Title | Medium | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Angry Video Game Nerd: X Collection | Blu-ray | 1–100 |
2017 | Angry Video Game Nerd: X2 Collection | Blu-ray | 101–114 |
2017 | Angry Video Game Nerd: X3 Collection | Blu-ray | 115–140 |
2018 | Angry Video Game Nerd: Ready 4 Revenge | Blu-ray | 141–147 |
2020[23] | Angry Video Game Nerd: BFG Collection | Blu-ray | 1–164 |
2022 | Angry Video Game Nerd: BFG Disc 9 | Blu-ray | 165–187 |
Other media
Rolfe's review of the Back to the Future game was reported in an MTV segment called "Viral Videos Infect the Mainstream".[16] On November 2, 2008, his videos and personality were featured on the nationally syndicated radio show Opie and Anthony.[24] The Nerd has also become the subject of Howard Stern and David Arquette in an episode of Stern's Sirius XM show, in which Stern commented negatively on the show's format as well as the gaming community in general during a TooManyGames 2011 convention in Philadelphia.[25] James Rolfe himself appeared as the Nerd at various gaming and internet conventions.[26]
On September 24, 2008, Rolfe collaborated with fellow internet reviewer
Film
Year | Title |
---|---|
2014 | Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie |
On July 21, 2014, an independent film based on the series, entitled Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, was released online as well as limited theatrical releases, with DVD and Blu-ray versions released by the end of the year. The film's plot focuses around the Nerd seeking to prove that over 1 million copies of the proclaimed "worst video game of all time", E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600, were not buried, after being pressured by fans to review the video game. In his quest to prove this to his fans, the Nerd finds himself being pursued by federal authorities who believe he is investigating Area 51 and the crash of an unidentified flying object.[31]
The film began development in late 2006, following the popularity of the Angry Video Game Nerd web series, with James Rolfe serving as its director, producer, and co-writer, and reprising his on-screen role as The Nerd. The movie's script was designed to pay homage to the character finally reviewing the E.T. video game, though filming required Rolfe to balance his schedule with that of his online series and other works. The screenplay was completed by 2008,[32] with the film's budget of more than US$300,000 raised entirely from crowdfunding.[14] As part of its development, Rolfe asked for the show's fanbase to provide webcam footage of themselves fictionally reacting to the Nerd's webseries, to be used as an intro to the film.[33]
Although Rolfe has not ruled out the possibility of a sequel to the film, which would have involved the lost Swordquest treasures, he regards it as highly unlikely due to the amount of time spent developing and filming the Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie and his focus on other film projects.[34]
Video games
Year | Title |
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2013 | Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures |
2016 | Angry Video Game Nerd II: ASSimilation |
2020 | Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe |
In 2013, an official video game titled Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures was announced. Developed by FreakZone Games (creators of
A remastered version of the first two games, The Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe, was announced in 2019 and released on October 30, 2020, for Nintendo Switch and Steam, with ports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One following on March 19, 2021[43][44] and on Epic Games Store on December 20, 2021. The remaster, also developed by FreakZone Games in close collaboration with the Cinemassacre team, features new difficulty options, altered story elements (characters and events from the films have been replaced), tweaked level designs, various improvements and an additional story chapter unlocked after completing both games.[45]
There have also been some unofficial, fanmade Angry Video Game Nerd games including Angry Video Game Nerd's Angry Video Game, Angry Video Game Nerd in Pixel Land Blast, AVGN Game Over, AVGN Game Over 2, and AVGN Planet. There is also the Angry Video Game Nerd and AVGN K.O. Boxing, both for the
Music
Year | Title |
---|---|
2011 | The Angry Video Game Nerd Collection |
2013 | Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (soundtrack) |
2014 | Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
2022 | The Angry Video Game Album |
The opening song of the show, simply entitled The Angry Video Game Nerd Theme Song, is a staple of the series since its earliest conception.
Spin-off and other Cinemassacre content
Board James is an internet show made by Rolfe that features him playing the naive but ultimately sinister Board James, a reincarnation of a murderer who wants to relive happier memories playing board games as a regular person in the alternate realities he escaped to. In the episode "Video Games !!", it is implied that the Angry Video Game Nerd is an alternate personality of Board James. However, James states in a later video that this is not canon.
Rolfe has also made other series on Cinemassacre such as James & Mike Mondays, Rental Reviews and Lookin' at Books, and he has made a variety of short films.
Reception and legacy
The Angry Video Game Nerd show made James Rolfe one of the most popular
Zach Whalen described the show's presentation of retro gaming into contemporary gamers as "a process of looking back to an unattainable past and trying to bring that past into the present".
In his analysis of the show and the character, writer Alex Carlson of Hardcore Gamer dubbed Rolfe's character "The Nerd Who Changed Gaming Culture Forever". In his written article, he described the Angry Video Game Nerd as "one of the most recognizable figures in gaming culture", adding that "if you're a gamer, it's nearly guaranteed that you've browsed YouTube and seen at least a couple of videos from the series. Nearly a decade after the series' humble inception, James Rolfe's frequently sailor-mouthed alter-ego is still spreading influence. With each new gaming channel appearing on YouTube, there's some level of inspiration coming straight from The Nerd. From the very beginning, The Angry Video Game Nerd was a giant leap forward. Whether James Rolfe knew it or not, the rise of The Nerd was a moment that changed gaming critique and entertainment forever."[17]
See also
- Nostalgia Critic, a similar comedy-based web series instead focused on retro films, whose creator (Doug Walker) frequently collaborates with Rolfe.
Notes
- ^ Pilots, namely episodes 1-2, in which there was no specific name
- ^ Some episodes go over the typical running time.
- 35 min. (episode 102)
- 39 min. (episode 156)
- 41 min. (episode 175)
- 34 min. (episode 186, 212)
- 30 min. (episode 198)
- 72 min. (episode 200)[1]
- 27 min. (episode 201)
- 29 min. (episode 205)
- 28 min. (episode 162, 202)
- ^ Frequently abbreviated as AVGN
- ^ From episodes 3 to 14 and partially in episode 201
- ^ Only appears in episode 68 (Odyssey)
References
- ^ "AVGN Episode 200 (Full/No Sponsorships)". YouTube. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Cinemassacre. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Cinemassacre FAQ". The CineMassacre Productions. 2010. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ McGlynn, Anthony (July 5, 2016). "The Complicated Legacy of The Original Angry Video Game Nerd". Kotaku.
- ^ Michigan Daily. Retrieved May 15, 2015. September 7, 2014
- ^ Guzman, David (March 3, 2011). "Top 20 Angry Video Game Nerd Freak Outs". AllMediaNY.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
Ever since James Rolfe – the filmmaker who brought the Nerd to life – started posting tirades about awfully ancient video games on YouTube in 2006, the following he's gotten there has become pretty big.
- ^ Mediascape. Archived from the originalon May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0786496938
- ^ Cinemassacre (January 27, 2010), Batman – Angry Video Game Nerd – Episode 52, archived from the original on December 12, 2021, retrieved April 9, 2018
- ^ LeClair, Dave (December 4, 2012). "The 6 Best Angry Video Game Nerd Episodes". MUO Gaming. Retrieved May 15, 2015. December 4, 2012
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (May 6, 2013). "When Famous Horror Directors Play Terrible Games Based On Their Movies". Kotaku. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ Good, Owen (December 16, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin teams with Angry Video Game Nerd to dump on Home Alone". Polygon. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "Life of Black Tiger with Gilbert Gottfried (PS4) Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) Episode 170". Cinemassacre. June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ Daily News. Retrieved May 15, 2015. April 8, 2014
- ^ James Rolfe (2007). What Was I Thinking?: The Making of the Angry Video Game Nerd (DVD). ScrewAttack.
- ^ a b MTV (September 12, 2006). "Viral Videos Infect the Mainstream". MTV. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Carlson, Alex (January 7, 2014). "The Nerd Who Changed Gaming Culture Forever". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved May 15, 2015.January 7, 2014
- ^ Weprin, Alex (June 2, 2008). "Spike TV Revamps Web Presence". Broadcasting & Cable. 138 (14–25). Cahners Publishing: 28. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
The new Spike.com features a high-resolution full-episode video with the ability to embed episodes of Spike programming on outside sites, social-networking features and exclusive original content from YouTube stars such as "the Angry Video Game Nerd" and established entertainment brands such as Playboy Enterprises and Ultimate Fighting Championship.
- ^ "Cinemassare News Archive: 11/21/2007-2/18/2008". Cinemassacre. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008.
- ^ "AVGN: Episode 90 – "Action 52"". April 30, 2010. Archived from the original on May 3, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ a b Narcisse, Evan (January 8, 2013). "YouTube Shuts Down Popular Angry Video Game Nerd Channel [Update: It's Back!]". Kotaku. Retrieved May 15, 2015. January 8, 2013
- ^ "My 2021 Plans – Cinemassacre Update Video – YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd BFG Collection". Amazon.
- ^ Lundblad, Kent. "I Don't Like the Angry Video Game Nerd Or His Friends". KentBalls. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2015. January 1, 2012
- 1UP. Archived from the originalon May 13, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2015. May 12, 2011
- ^ Lewis, Evan (November 7, 2014). "The big draw at RetroGameCon 2014? Web-series star 'Angry Video Game Nerd'". Syracuse. Retrieved May 15, 2015. November 7, 2014
- Cinemassacre. Archived from the originalon April 29, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ Walker, Doug (May 11, 2009). "Epic Brawl". Channel Awesome. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ Walker, Doug (May 11, 2009). "Nostalgia Critic & AVGN: TMNT 2014". Channel Awesome. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ Saabedra, Humberto. "AVGN and Nostalgia Critic Cameo in "The Unlimited: Hyobu Kyosuke"". Crunchyroll. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie". Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ^ James Rolfe (September 19, 2013). "AVGN Movie Timeline". Cinemassacre. Archived from the original on November 24, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ James Rolfe (October 13, 2013). "AVGN Movie Update – October 2013". Cinemassacre. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "What I'm Working On". YouTube.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures". Steam. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- ^ "Let's Play AVGN Adventures – Part 4". YouTube. September 24, 2013. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
- ^ "Wii U & 3DS Announcement". Twitter. July 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
- ^ Carlson, Alex (April 2, 2015). "Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Gets a Wii U Launch Trailer". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures". Nintendo of Europe AG. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Arrives On Nintendo 3DS Later Today". June 4, 2015. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ ScrewAttack! (October 1, 2015). "AVGN Returns for a Brand New Adventure – AVGN II: ASSimilation Debut Trailer". Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Save 60% on Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures on Steam". Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "An Angry Video Game Nerd 1 And 2 Deluxe Bundle Is On The Way, Switch Release Looks Likely". Nintendo Life. January 21, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "AVGN 1+2 Deluxe – Release Trailer (Nintendo Switch and Steam) – YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe on Steam". store.steampowered.com.
- Cinemassacre. Archived from the originalon April 29, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ Justin, Kyle (September 2, 2014). "Ten Years in the Making..." Kyle Justin Official Website. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ Barclay, Lachlan (May 1, 2011). "The Angry Video Game Nerd Collection". Lachlan Barclay Official Website. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (soundtrack)". ScrewAttack Entertainment LLC. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "'Bear McCreary's 'Angry Video Game Nerd' to be Released'". August 27, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ^ "Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ^ Cashmore, Pete (December 16, 2009). "Open Web Awards 2009: The Winners". Mashable. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
- ^ Walker, Doug (February 13, 2015). "Nostalgia Critic: AVGN Movie". Channel Awesome. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "Frédéric Molas alias le Joueur du Grenier". France Retrogaming (in French). October 10, 2009.
- ^ Langlands, Luke. "Video games and nostalgia: Angry Video Game Nerd's YouTube empire". The Guardian. Retrieved May 15, 2015. February 28, 2014
External links
- Official website
- The Angry Video Game Nerd's channel on YouTube
- Angry Video Game Nerd at IMDb
- Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie at IMDb