The Angry Video Game Nerd

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The Angry Video Game Nerd
Angry Video Game Nerd
The AVGN title card as of August 22, 2007.
Also known as Angry Nintendo Nerd
Genre Comedy
Created by James D. Rolfe
Developed by Cinemassacre Productions
Directed by James D. Rolfe
Starring James D. Rolfe
Mike Matei
Kyle Justin
Theme music composer James Rolfe & Kyle Justin
Opening theme "Angry Video Game Nerd Theme"
Composer(s) James Rolfe & Kyle Justin
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 49 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time Varies, usually 5-22 min per episode
Broadcast
Original channel YouTube
ScrewAttack
GameTrailers
Picture format 480i (SDTV) WMV / FLV / MOV
Original run April 8, 2006 – Present
Chronology
Preceded by Bad NES Games (Cinemassacre Special)[1]
External links
Official website
Production website

The Angry Video Game Nerd (abbreviated as AVGN, occasionally shortened to The Nerd) is the titular character and name of a series of Internet video farcical retrogaming video game reviews by James D. Rolfe.[2][3] The show revolves around retro game reviews that involve acerbic rants against the particularly low-quality, 8-bit types of video games, usually, but not always, games featuring licensed characters. The series began as a feature on YouTube, and later joined ScrewAttack Entertainment, which would later have three of its features, including the AVGN, transferred to GameTrailers exclusively. The show was formerly known as The Angry Nintendo Nerd, a title that was abandoned to evade legal issues due to the Nintendo trademark, and because the show started reviewing games on other consoles.[4] The series' theme song was written by Kyle Justin with lyrics by both Justin and Rolfe.[5]

The titular Nerd character is an ill-tempered and foul-mouthed video game fanatic. He derives comic appeal from his loud New Jersey accent, excessive and inventive use of profanity, frequent displays of explicit gestures, and heavy consumption of beer, particularly Rolling Rock, to "soothe the pain."[4]

A particular characteristic is his favorable comparison of extremely repulsive and painful, usually firmly scatological, acts to playing the games he reviews; the opening theme song, for example, states that "he'd rather have a buffalo take a diarrhea dump in his ear" than play any of the games he reviews. Varying amounts of physical comedy are mixed into the verbal abuse.

Contents

[edit] History

The series began in May 2004 with two short reviews of NES games (titled simply "Bad NES Games"), created and put on Cinemassacre.com.[4] In 2006, the videos were put on YouTube under the name of "Angry Nintendo Nerd". He later changed the name to "Angry Video Game Nerd" to prevent trademark issues.[4] Along with the name change, the Nerd soon diversified, reviewing games on other platforms such as the Atari 2600, Super Nintendo, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Nintendo Virtual Boy, the Atari 5200, the Vectrex, the Intellivision and Colecovision systems, and the Sony PlayStation on one occasion. Along with reviewing games, some episodes have featured other video game-related items, such as the Power Glove,the U-Force and other NES accessories, the Sega CD, the Sega 32X, as well as movie reviews of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, The Wizard, and a tribute to Nintendo Power magazine. He also references video game culture in a reenactment of the retro console wars in one video.

Rolfe has stated on his website that the first videos he made were "just a joke" and he had no intention on making them public[4], instead showing them only to friends. After one of his friends suggested he put it online, Rolfe soon did, and since then, his reviews have become increasingly popular and have developed a large fanbase.[6] Rolfe's videos grew longer, soon turning into an actual series complete with title cards, an intro song and official merchandise.

After his fourth online review on YouTube, he joined ScrewAttack and has since been employed by MTV Networks' GameTrailers.com.[7] Since then, his videos are GameTrailers exclusives.

While full-length episodes are now no longer uploaded on YouTube (the last one to be uploaded in full on the site was the "Bible Games" review in December 2006), trailers for new videos are still being uploaded. Each trailer links to the full-length video on GameTrailers.

Rolfe's account was banned on May 19, 2008, due to an alleged copyright claim by GameTrailers on his trailer for the reviews of the Spider-Man games[8]. GameTrailers' YouTube account, however, was also banned on the same day due to a copyright claim allegedly by its own company. His account was later reinstated on May 20, 2008. The cause was due to a mix up with one of the GameTrailers staff on what videos to report. [9]

[edit] Popularity

[edit] International recognition

The Angry Video Game Nerd has developed a World-wide following resulting in interviews from magazines, television shows and video game related websites outside the United States. Examples include interviews and articles conducted in Germany[10], Sweden[11], South Korea[12], and the Philippines[13].

[edit] YouTube

Although full episodes are no longer uploaded to YouTube, the Angry Video Game Nerd still ranks in the top ten most popular series.

As of June 13, 2008,[14] the show has the following rankings:

  • 3rd - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Directors
  • 9th - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Global
  • 20th - Most Viewed (All Time) - Directors
  • 57th - Most Viewed (All Time) - Global

[edit] Opie and Anthony Radio Show

On August 8, 2007, Rolfe's character gained mainstream attention when his videos were featured on the Opie and Anthony radio show.[15] Since then, additional videos have been played occasionally on the show. Rolfe was later interviewed by Opie and Anthony on January 9, 2008.[16]

[edit] Spike TV

The Angry Video Game Nerd was featured as part of a review of ScrewAttack.com during an episode of Spike TV's Game Head during the week of November 25, 2007.[17] The spot included clips of some of his previous reviews such as Die Hard.

[edit] CNN

On December 12, 2007, the Nerd's "You Know What's Bullshit?" penny rant was featured on CNN's "News to Me" segment. [18]

[edit] Fan following

The Angry Video Game Nerd has a large fan following that has created hundreds of pictures, tribute videos, customized versions of the show's theme song and even an AVGN-related video game. The show attempts to integrate most of this fan material into reviews. A collection of fan images is also displayed on the website's fan-art gallery [19]. In addition, the show attempts to maintain a cordial relationship with fans and other reviewers. On many occasions, Rolfe has responded directly to fans on the show's forum.[20]

[edit] Show

[edit] Music

James Rolfe portraying The Addams Family, during the episode Fester's Quest
James Rolfe portraying The Addams Family, during the episode Fester's Quest

The Angry Video Game Nerd theme song was composed by independent musician Kyle Justin. The lyrics were the work of both Justin and Rolfe.[5] Some of the lyrics come from comments made by Rolfe in his review of "Back to the Future."

The original version of the theme song, which refers to the titular character as the "Angry Nintendo Nerd," features only an acoustic guitar. The second recording is similar to the original but features a more refined performance and an extra lyric at the end referring to the "Angry Video Game Nerd." This version of the theme song was only used once in the Sega Master System "Rocky" review, and it was quickly displaced by the third version. However, it is used again in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" review. The third version, which debuted in the "Atari 5200" video, features an overdriven electric guitar and drum set. This version significantly expands on the original song, adding more verses, choruses, and entirely new music. However, a pared down version, similar in structure to the second version of the theme song, is normally used. The full version is only featured in the Sega CD review and on the DVD set; Both versions are coincidentally unique to the sites, while the first and second themes were used in the originally-uploaded YouTube videos, the third one has been exclusive to GameTrailers episodes.

The theme song has been covered by fans in every genre from heavy metal to chiptune. Rolfe occasionally features a vocal or instrumental cover of the theme song in lieu of Kyle Justin's version in the main titles or end titles of a video. The cover by Dustin Aßmuteit is featured as an extra on the DVD set.

In addition to the Angry Video Game Nerd theme song, several songs have been parodied in Angry Video Game Nerd episodes, including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" ("Bible Games"), the Spider-Man theme song ("Spider-Man"), and the Addams Family theme song ("Fester's Quest"). "Nintendo Power" features a cover of the theme song from Nintendo Power commercials, while the Intellivision and the Colecovision reviews feature a cover of Foreigner's Double Vision. All of these songs have been performed by Kyle Justin.

The scores for Angry Video Game Nerd episodes are culled from a variety of sources, including film soundtracks, television soundtracks, and pop music. Some episodes, including "Friday the 13th" (DVD version only), "Nightmare on Elm Street" (DVD version only), "Rocky" (DVD version only), "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Halloween", and "An Angry Nerd Christmas Carol" have necessitated the composition of original scores, some of which reference Kyle Justin's theme song.

[edit] Special guests

Mike Matei as Jason in the review of Friday the 13th.
Mike Matei as Jason in the review of Friday the 13th.

Occasionally, "special guests" make an appearance. These encounters typically, but not always, meet with unfortunate ends.

Most of the characters are played by Mike Matei, who also illustrates the show's title cards. His roles include Jason Voorhees, Bugs Bunny, Leatherface, Chop Top, Michael Myers, the Cowardly Lion, a Klingon and a Metron.

Freddy Krueger is played by James Rolfe with Matei taking on the role when both were in frame.[21] Also, Kyle Justin played both Spider-Man and Cousin Itt in separate episodes, which were accompanied by him performing the theme songs from Spider-Man and The Addams Family, with reworked lyrics.

Some episodes have a basic storyline inspired by the plot of the game or movie being reviewed. In these cases, guests are used to play the episode-specific characters. In the Halloween review, Michael Mulvey and Lil' Liam Mulvey, wearing Optimus Prime and Swamp Thing costumes, respectively, play the parts of the neighbor's Trick-or-treaters. Nicole Mulvey plays the neighbor. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre review, Jimmy Jim Slugg appears as the hillbilly.

In The Nerd's take on A Christmas Carol, Stuttering Craig and Handsome Tom, co-founders of ScrewAttack, appear as the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present, respectively. A Dracula sprite from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest represents the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.[22][23]

[edit] Animated characters

James Rolfe fighting alongside "Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C 4.0 Beta"
James Rolfe fighting alongside "Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C 4.0 Beta"

The show also makes use of original animated characters to add commentary or advance an episode-specific plot. The review of Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu uses a character called "Shit Pickle" to comment on the game play. In the Wizard/Super Mario Brothers 3 review, the Nerd calls upon the "Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C 4.0 Beta" to assist in the destruction of a demonically possessed Super Mario Brothers 3 cartridge. This character is basically a combination of Jesus with robotic components on his face, several weapons, and a Metal Gear style tank. Both Shit Pickle and Super Mecha Death Christ are originally from Rolfe's film "The Wizard of Oz 3: Dorothy Goes to Hell"[24] and are voiced by James Rolfe and created by Mike Matei.

[edit] DVD

On November 18, 2007, the first AVGN DVD set was released. It includes all of the episodes up to Bible Games. Some material, such as movie clips from Back to the Future and Rocky, were removed to avoid copyright infringement and replaced with new material. The DVD includes extended versions of the "Wally Bear and the NO Gang!" and "Rocky" reviews as well as an original documentary, deleted scenes and most of the videos posted exclusively on ScrewAttack.com. In all, the DVD set contains approximately three hours and 15 minutes of content.

According to Rolfe, the initial pressing of the DVD sold out in less than a week.[25] In addition, there were 100 DVDs sold with James Rolfe's autograph on the front cover.[26] The GameTrailers.com episodes will be featured on subsequent DVD releases.[27]

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of the Angry Video Game Nerd episodes

[edit] Related media

[edit] Video Game Movie Quote of the Week

Rolfe produced four episodes of ScrewAttack's Video Game Movie Quote of the Week segment in his Angry Nerd persona. They have been collected for his YouTube account during July 2007.

[edit] You Know What's Bullshit

You Know What's Bullshit is a series of short videos in which Rolfe angrily complains about seemingly inconsequential problems in a style similar to that of the Angry Video Game Nerd. Thus far the topics have included security labels, pennies, shoelaces, movies about penguins, the lack of pens at post offices, paying restrooms, temperature, and printers. Illustrations for You Know What's Bullshit are made by Mike Matei.

Episode Article Length Release date
1 Security Labels 01:05 May 6, 2007
2 Pennies 01:04 May 13, 2007
3 Shoelaces 01:16 May 28, 2007
4 Penguins 00:51 June 4, 2007
5 Lack of Pens at Post Offices 01:03 June 17, 2007
6 Paying Restrooms 01:11 December 7, 2007
7 Temperature 01:22 February 8, 2008
8 Printers 01:22 May 20, 2008

[edit] Shit Pickle

Shit Pickle is a series based on the original character "Shit Pickle" from Rolfe's and Mike Matei's The Wizard of Oz III: Dorothy Goes to Hell.[24] Shit Pickle reappeared as a guest reviewer in "Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu." He was later given his own short series, of which three episodes have been produced. Episode One introduces two new Pickle characters: Dick Pickle and Tit Pickle. Episode two introduces a family of monkeys that has a penchant for the phrase "Monkey Cheese" and uses non sequitur humor. Rolfe and Matei produce the episodes, with Rolfe generally doing the voice acting and Matei doing the animation.

Episode Video Length Release date
1 Shit Pickle 1:49 August 11, 2007
2 Shit Pickle - Episode #2 (with Monkey Cheese) 3:16 September 14, 2007
3 Shit Pickle - Episode #3 3:33 February 26, 2008

[edit] References

  1. ^ James Rolfe. (2007). What Was I Thinking?: The Making of the Angry Video Game Nerd [DVD]. ScrewAttack.
  2. ^ James Rolfe (August 8, 2007). AVGN: Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout. Retrieved on December 1, 2007.
  3. ^ James Rolfe. (2008). CineMassacre 200 [YouTube]. CineMassacre.
  4. ^ a b c d e Nerd FAQ. The CineMassacre Productions (no date). Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Kyle Justin. Kyle Justin's AVGN Music Page.
  6. ^ Carlo Carrasco. Do you play?. Retrieved on December 4, 2007.
  7. ^ James Rolfe. James Rolfe resume. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  8. ^ James Rolfe. SPIDERMAN TRAILER - Angry Video Game Nerd. Retrieved on May 20, 2008.
  9. ^ ScrewAttack.com. James' Youtube account got suspended?. Retrieved on May 20, 2008.
  10. ^ Germain interview. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  11. ^ Swedish interview. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  12. ^ South Korean interview. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  13. ^ Philippines interview. Retrieved on April 14, 2008.
  14. ^ Angry Video Game Nerd. YouTube (June 8, 2008). Retrieved on June 8, 2008.
  15. ^ James Rolfe (August 8, 2007). Opie and Anthony. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  16. ^ James Rolfe (January 9, 2008). Opie And Anthony interview. Retrieved on January 10, 2008.
  17. ^ ScrewAttack.com (November 25, 2007). ScrewAttack. Retrieved on December 4, 2007.
  18. ^ James Rolfe (December 9, 2007). News To Me. Retrieved on December 9, 2007.
  19. ^ Angry Video Game Nerd Fan Art Gallery. The CineMassacre Productions. Retrieved on March 25, 2008.
  20. ^ AVGN response to Nostalgia Critic. Youtube. Retrieved on April 5, 2008.
  21. ^ James Rolfe. AVGN: Nightmare on Elm St commentary. Retrieved on December 30, 2007.
  22. ^ James Rolfe. AVGN: A Christmas Carol Pt. 1. Retrieved on December 25, 2007.
  23. ^ James Rolfe. AVGN: A Christmas Carol Pt. 2. Retrieved on December 25, 2007.
  24. ^ a b YouTube.com
  25. ^ James Rolfe (November 25, 2007). AVGN DVD SOLD OUT!. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
  26. ^ James Rolfe (March 12, 2008). AVGN DVD Autograph. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
  27. ^ Angry Video Game Nerd DVD FAQ. The CineMassacre Productions. Retrieved on March 25, 2008.

[edit] External links

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[edit] Official Websites

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