As I wrote this reply it just got ...longer! 😆
I have been listening, and I'm really enjoying it 🙂 I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up tonight. What about you? Are you listening, and if so, what do you think of their format?
...about RT's tipping point...
(went much longer than I'd planned!)
They really did go nuts with the podcasts for a while! 😆 My interpretation is that the two halves of their business just didn't align.
They started with Red vs Blue which only needed a few Xboxes, copies of Halo, and a couple of people to make it. With a rapidly growing audience interested in them as creators, podcasting was a logical, low-tech, and low-cost extension to the business. Achievement Hunter followed, adding let's plays, livestreams, and more podcasts in to the mix, using existing assets and knowledge to create a highly scalable side of the business.
For me it was the animated episodes of RvB and introduction of RWBY that were a turning point. Suddenly their most popular products were expensive and time consuming, so they needed outside investment in order to scale production. This was used to launch more of the time consuming content, and that just compounded the issue.
I believe the rapid expansion of podcasts was in the hopes of capturing a wider audience for very little cost, but it never really panned out. In my mind they needed to be one of two things...
Agile Content Creators
Pure machinima RvB - no animation
Podcasts - as many as you like!
Let's plays and livestreams - more the merrier!
Short-form live action shows - RT Shorts, Immersion, Million Dollars But...(show) etc.
Small touring events - AH Live, convention attendance
Media Production Company
Long-form live action - BloodFest, Day 5, Lazer Team etc.
Animated shows - RWBY, Gen:Lock, Camp Camp, animated RvB
Game development - RWBY: (various), Million Dollars But...(game), Rooster Teeth vs Zombiens, Vicious Circle etc
Large-scale events - RTX Austin, London, and Sydney
