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''The Angry Video Game Nerd'' (abbreviated as ''AVGN'') is an American
retrogaming Retrogaming, also known as classic gaming and old school gaming, is the current playing and collection of obsolete personal computers, consoles, and video games. Usually, retrogaming is based upon systems that are outmoded or discontinued, alt ...
review comedy
web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
created by and starring
James Rolfe James D. Rolfe (born July 10, 1980) is an American YouTuber, online personality, filmmaker, and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series '' The Angry Video Game Nerd'' (2004–present). His spin-of ...
. 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 A gamer is a proactive hobbyist who plays interactive games, especially video games, tabletop role-playing games, and skill-based card games, and who plays for usually long periods of time. Some gamers are competitive, meaning they routinely ...
who delivers commentary on retro games of poor quality. While the series began with Rolfe simply playing games while delivering retrospective commentary, the show would eventually grow in scope to encompass sketches featuring guest characters, reviews of gaming consoles and peripherals, and short lectures about video game history and culture. Starting out as an independent filmmaker, Rolfe intended his earliest videos of the character (originally called ''The Angry Nintendo Nerd'') to be a joke privately shown amongst friends and colleagues. In 2004, Rolfe, at the suggestion of future series producer Mike Matei, put the ''Angry Nintendo Nerd'' videos on his website, and in 2006 on the emerging video streaming platform
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, where it gained popularity. The series became a cult success, and Rolfe began appearing as the character in various other media such as a feature-length film and video games, and many public appearances. The series was soon renamed to ''The Angry Video Game Nerd'' to avoid trademark issues with
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
, and to allow Rolfe to review games from non-Nintendo consoles. From 2007 to 2011, the series entered a distribution deal with popular gaming websites
ScrewAttack Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warner ...
and
GameTrailers ''GameTrailers'' (''GT'') was an American video gaming website created by Geoffrey R. Grotz and Brandon Jones in 2002. The website specialized in multimedia content, including trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming and recently released v ...
, and briefly with streaming service
Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...
in 2018. ''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 Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...
entertainers have since cited the show as inspiration for their own material, such as
JonTron Jonathan Aryan Jafari ( /ˈɛəriən/) (born March 24, 1990), better known by his Internet pseudonym JonTron, is an American YouTuber, comedian, reviewer, and Internet personality. He is best known for his eponymous YouTube web series ''JonTr ...
,
Nostalgia Critic ''Nostalgia Critic'' is an American review comedy web series created, directed by and starring web comedian Douglas "Doug" Walker. The series initially launched on YouTube on July 3, 2007, before moving to Walker's own site, That Guy with the G ...
,
Egoraptor Arin Hanson (born January 6, 1987), also known by the pseudonym Egoraptor, is an American YouTuber, actor, rapper, and animator. He is well-known for his Flash cartoons, as well as being the co-founder and co-star of the popular YouTube Let's Pla ...
,
Angry Joe Jose Antonio Vargas (born June 18, 1984) is an American media commentator and YouTuber. He is notable for his portrayal of the character AngryJoe and for his production of the ''AngryJoeShow'', a video game and movie review channel. YouTube Var ...
, and
Joueur du Grenier Le Joueur du Grenier (literally "The Attic Gamer") is the main character and title of a web television series of farcical retrogaming video reviews created by French filmmakers Frédéric Molas and Sébastien Rassiat in 2009, starring Frédéric ...
among others.


Premise

The show revolves around the Nerd's commentary of
shovelware Shovelware is a term for individual video games or software bundles known more for the quantity of what is included than for the quality or usefulness. The metaphor implies that the creators showed little care for the quality of the original soft ...
and retro video games that he deems to be of particularly low quality, unfair difficulty, or poor design. Rolfe's character, "the Nerd", is a short-tempered, foul-mouthed video game collector who reviews old video games in the form reminiscent of insult comedies such as ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''. The Nerd plays the game while picking apart its various technicalities, design flaws, and abnormalitiesEnevold , Jessica et al. ''Game Love: Essays on Play and Affection''. McFarland (January 14, 2015). pp. 261–262. in an effort to warn his viewers against playing the game. Other episodes have the Nerd reviewing consoles,
peripherals A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of a computer. The term ''peripheral device'' refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by the ...
, accessories, or games of a similar theme. The reviews are often prefaced with a short lecture about the games history or his own childhood experience, and interspersed with sketches and profanity-ridden comedic rants, among other various scripted elements. Occasionally episodes may often focus on games the Nerd looks at in high regard, but are still not immune from criticism such as ''
EarthBound ''EarthBound'', released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Creatures (company), Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the Mother (video game s ...
''. Dressed up as a stereotypical
nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...
in his basement, the Nerd reviews the game with his trademark eyeglasses and white collared shirt with a pocket full of pens, high khaki pants and white socks 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 A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
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 Rolling Rock is a 4.4% abv American lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheu ...
(in addition to
Yuengling D. G. Yuengling & Son, established in 1829, is the oldest operating brewery, brewing company in the United States. In 2018, by volume of sales, it was the largest Craft brewery and microbrewery, craft brewery, sixth largest overall brewery and l ...
in later videos) while reviewing video games. 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. In many cases, the Nerd dresses up as other popular characters while reviewing their games, such as
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
and
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
. Other characters in the show include Shit Pickle (an earlier character 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. December 4, 2012 The show has also had special guests, including
Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...
of
Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...
while the Nerd was playing various '' Toxic Avengers''-based games,
Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor. Often regarded as one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, he was placed 2nd on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". Culkin rose to prom ...
of ''
Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...
'' fame assisting the Nerd in playing games based on the movie series, and
Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...
co-starring as a faux lead developer of
Life of Black Tiger
' and the Nerd's arch-nemesis Fred "Fucks" (Fred Fuchs) in August 1, 2019, while the Nerd reviews said game.


Episodes


Production

James Rolfe's first two episodes were intended as "just a joke", with no intentions of making them public. In May 2004, he created his first on-camera game reviews, utilizing insult commentary with exaggerated bewilderment to two games—'' Castlevania II: Simon's Quest'' and ''
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
''—which would later become the signature of the Nerd character. At the time, the series was hastily titled ''Bad NES Games''. Rolfe explained later in an interview for '' Daily News'' that the joke was just how upset one obsessive gamer could get over these games that were already 20 years old. Although the ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' review was intended to be the last, Rolfe's friends, who enjoyed the previous "Bad NES Games" reviews, encouraged him to create another. Collaborative friend Mike Matei helped in producing and publishing the videos on Cinemassacre, and released outside of the website as "The Quickies" tape, part of a four VHS tape set called the "Cinemassacre Gold Collection". In 2006, Rolfe began making the episodes available on YouTube. Soon, Rolfe released a review of ''
The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and W ...
'' game that was the first episode where Rolfe's character is introduced as "The Angry Nintendo Nerd". Naming these videos "The Angry Nintendo Nerd Trilogy", Rolfe posted them on Cinemassacre. The success of the show made Rolfe branch out into other gaming systems, and would later change the title into the ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' to prevent trademark issues with Nintendo. Rolfe diversified the reviews of platforms and products such as the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
,
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
,
Sega Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...
and
Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...
s, the
Power Glove The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Power Glove gained public attention due to its early virtual reality mechanics and significant marketing. However, its two games did not sell well, as it was ...
and
U-Force The U-Force is a game controller made by Broderbund for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It employs a pair of perpendicular consumer IR sensor panels to translate the user's hand movements into controller signals. From a print advertisement ...
peripherals, films such as ''
The Wizard Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book supe ...
'', and the ''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...
'' magazine. He would eventually branch out even further, reviewing games like ''
Sonic '06 (commonly referred to as ''Sonic '06'') is a 2006 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic'' series' 15th anniversary, and intended as a reboot for the seventh-generation ...
'' on the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and '' Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing'' on PC. On September 12, 2006, Rolfe's series received mainstream attention when his review of ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...
'' went viral on YouTube. In an article by writer Alex Carlson, he explained that before 2004, video gaming criticism was mostly reserved for the larger game magazines and websites. He went on to state that the opinions of the professional writers and journalists who were writing the reviews didn't entirely correspond to the opinions of the average gamers; and that "everyone with a webcam and Fraps can now become a critic and don a characterized mentality, spouting profanities at will without getting censored." Since then, the show has increased substantially in quantity, production value, and
fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
. Rolfe began infusing various episodes with emphasis on homemade special effects and narratives. The first of these cinematic episodes was a review of the 1989 ''
Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...
'' game in October 2006, featuring expressive lighting and camera angles to emphasize its horror film-themed narrative in which the Nerd is attacked by
Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
for disliking the game. Later episodes have alternated from straightforward game reviews to those with a narrative focus resembling a documentary, with Rolfe pointing out information about the game or gaming console under review. When asked if the Nerd is going to make reviews in the current generation of video games, Rolfe replied that the "show is all about nostalgia," adding that he's "mostly a
retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
gamer." In late 2007, Rolfe halted the production of the series after suffering from a break in his voice. On March 17, 2010, he publicly announced that he was suffering from burnout as a result of stress from his constant work, and that the show would be entering a brief hiatus. The show was resumed a month later; however, only one episode was released each month, as opposed to two episodes per month due to Rolfe's other projects. In late 2011, Rolfe announced the show would be put out of production for a short while so he could work on the AVGN movie. The show eventually resumed production in late summer 2012. Since then, he has self-released Nerd videos on his Cinemassacre website and YouTube account in a very sporadic manner in order to balance his personal life with the other projects he continuously works on. By 2013, the show garnered more than 900,000 subscribers and over 400 million views on YouTube. January 8, 2013 By 2014, Cinemassacre already had 1.5 million subscribers. Rolfe stated that the show "got popular right around when YouTube got popular." 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. 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 Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
career. In 2021, the channel is now backed up on
Odysee LBRY (), is a blockchain-based file-sharing and payment network that powers decentralized platforms, primarily social networks and video platforms. LBRY's creators also created Odysee, an open-source video-sharing website that uses the network ...
, and the Cinemassacre's Monster Madness are available there, linked on their website.


Videography


VHS/DVD


Blu-ray


Other media

Rolfe's review of the ''Back to the Future'' game was reported in an
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
segment called "Viral Videos Infect the Mainstream". On November 2, 2008, his videos and personality were featured on the nationally syndicated radio show ''
Opie and Anthony ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg Hughes, Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton (comedian), Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show origina ...
''. The Nerd has also become the subject of
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
and
David Arquette David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster Enter ...
in an episode of Stern's ''
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
'' 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. James Rolfe himself appeared as the Nerd at various gaming and internet conventions. On September 24, 2008, Rolfe collaborated with fellow internet reviewer (and good friend) Doug Walker to create a fictional feud between his character –
Nostalgia Critic ''Nostalgia Critic'' is an American review comedy web series created, directed by and starring web comedian Douglas "Doug" Walker. The series initially launched on YouTube on July 3, 2007, before moving to Walker's own site, That Guy with the G ...
– and Rolfe's own. The plot behind the events created between the two was over the Critic's dislike towards comments made to one of his online videos that expressed similarities between him and the Nerd, supposedly written by the Nerd's fans, that were "unfair comparisons between the two of them". The pair worked together to create a series of tongue-in-cheek video responses between the two characters, culminating with a fight between the Critic and Nerd in Clifton, New Jersey, a dare between the pair to review something in the other's line of work (Nerd reviews a bad movie, Critic reviews a bad game), and a final fight between the pair in the Nerd's basement on October 10, 2008, which featured parodies and clichés from popular films such as ''
The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laure ...
'' and '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith''. The resulting series of videos created became a huge hit with fans. To celebrate the first anniversary of the ''ThatGuyWithTheGlasses'' website, both Walker and Rolfe collaborated again on a special video involving their characters, in which the plot focused on the pair meeting once more to battle against the other, in which they were joined by fellow reviewers and contributors to the website who sided with one or the other, culminating with the pair calling a truce and putting their differences aside. Rolfe would later guest star as his character in various ''
Channel Awesome Channel Awesome, Inc. is an American online media production company based in Lombard, Illinois. The company was created in 2008 by Mike Michaud, Mike Ellis, and Bhargav Dronamraju. Channel Awesome operated the ''That Guy with the Glasses'' w ...
'' shows, even appearing to review the ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after Ita ...
'' movie with the Nostalgia Critic, with both the Nerd and Critic making a background cameo appearance in the anime ''
Zettai Karen Children ''Psychic Squad'', known in Japan as is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Shiina. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from July 2005 to July 2021, with its chapt ...
: The Unlimited''.


Film

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 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
, 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 Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...
and the crash of an
unidentified flying object An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
. 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, with the film's budget of more than raised entirely from
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
. As part of its development, Rolfe asked for the show's fanbase to provide
webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...
footage of themselves fictionally reacting to the Nerd's webseries, to be used as an intro to the film. 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.


Video games

In 2013, an official video game titled ''Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures'' was announced. Developed by FreakZone Games (creators of '' Manos: The Hands of Fate''), it was released on September 20, 2013, on
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
via
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
. The game follows the Nerd attempting to rescue his friends, all of whom were sucked into the Nerd's television set (done in a '' Cheetahmen''-esque style). The Nerd uses a
NES Zapper The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
as his main weapon, and a character known as Naggi the Patronizing Firefly, a parody of Navi from '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'', guides him through the tutorial. Throughout the game, he faces zombies,
Mr. Hyde Dr. Henry Jekyll, nicknamed in some copies of the story as Harry Jekyll, and his alternative personality, Mr. Edward Hyde, is the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. In the story, ...
,
Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
,
The Giant Claw ''The Giant Claw'' is a 1957 American monster film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Fred F. Sears, that stars Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday. Both Sears and Katzman were well known as low-budget B film genre filmmakers. ...
, Fred "Fucks" (
Fred Fuchs Frederic S. Fuchs is a television and film producer active in the United States and Canada, where he holds dual citizenship. He became an executive in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on April 3, 2006. Fuchs became known for the televisio ...
), parodies of
Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
and
Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...
(references to the ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp ...
'' and ''
Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...
'' games respectively) named Bimmy and Jimmy (a reference to the infamous Double Dragon III misspelling of Billy Lee's name as "Bimmy"), and more. On July 12, 2014, it was announced that the game would also be released on
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
and
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
. The Wii U version was released in North America on April 2, 2015, and released in Europe on December 10, 2015. On June 4, 2015, a 3DS version became available for download in the Nintendo eShop. On July 17 of the same year, during ScrewAttack's annual SGC convention, Freakzone announced a sequel, ''Angry Video Game Nerd II: ASSimilation'', originally due for release in Winter 2015, but delayed to March 29, 2016. 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 The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
and Steam, with ports for
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
following on March 19, 2021 and on
Epic Games Store The Epic Games Store is a digital video game storefront for Microsoft Windows and macOS, operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as both a website and a standalone launcher, of which the latter is required to download and play gam ...
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. 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
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
. The Nerd touched upon these games in the episode ''AVGN Games''. The Nerd also appeared as a playable character in the game ''Texting of the Bread'' produced by
ScrewAttack Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warner ...
.


Music

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. The song was written by Kyle Justin and James Rolfe, and performed by Justin. Over the years, the song had different variations to correspond with specials. Programmer and musician Lachlan Barclay published a soundtrack album based on the web-series in 2011. This earliest compilation of the show was created by Barclay due to demands from fans after he played the song on Video XYZ. Another compilation album was released in 2013 containing the music derived from the Nerd's video game. Developed also by FreakZone, the album was released by ScrewAttack Entertainment LLC as a digital download. An album based from the movie was released in 2014 composed by
Bear McCreary Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American musician and composer of film, television, and video game scores based in Los Angeles, California. His work includes the scores of the television series ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), ''Age ...
, who had previously worked with Rolfe on the webseries Christmas special. The film's music was composed of rock-and-roll, heavy metal, a symphonic orchestra, and synthesized musical elements from various gaming systems such as
NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
,
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
, and
SEGA Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
. The album features two remixes by McCreary as well.


Reception and legacy

The ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' show made James Rolfe one of the most popular Internet celebrities before the advent of
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. April 8, 2014 ''The Angry Video Game Nerd'' was voted Best Online Web Series in
Mashable Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were a ...
's 3rd Annual Open Web Awards on December 16, 2009.
Peggy Rajski Peggy M. Rajski is an American filmmaker, best known for directing and co-producing the 1994 American short film ''Trevor'', which won an Academy Award for "Best Live Action Short Film" at the 67th Annual Academy Awards in 1995. She is also a c ...
describes the origin of the show's success stemming from the correct use of the internet as well as the crowd funding system. Rajski further said that "
olfe Olfe may refer to: *Olfe (Nuhne), a river of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, tributary of the Nuhne *Olfe (Werse), a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, tributary of the Werse {{Geodis ...
already cultivated an audience that cared about his prior work. When he asked them to step up, clearly they were willing to." Fellow filmmaker and internet celebrity Doug Walker dubbed the Nerd the "Greatest Video Game Critic of All Time". Jacob Rich of ''
Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other st ...
'' described the Nerd as the "pioneering internet 'gamer' show", adding that "pretty much every major game review show online today has 'AVGN' to thank for establishing its format". September 7, 2014 The French show ''
Joueur du Grenier Le Joueur du Grenier (literally "The Attic Gamer") is the main character and title of a web television series of farcical retrogaming video reviews created by French filmmakers Frédéric Molas and Sébastien Rassiat in 2009, starring Frédéric ...
'' was based on ''Angry Video Game Nerd''. 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". Rolfe also commented during an interview with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' of the show's impact in the current generation of the video game industry, saying that they "still relate to it and they like learning of the past". February 28, 2014 In the same article, reporter Luke Langlands also noted the show's influence of inspiring the creation of other independent online shows. The Nerd's success as an independent celebrity outside of the commercial mainstream of pop culture, popularized the notion of making lifelong careers online. In a survey published by ''Mediscape'', a number of people admitted to being inspired by the Nerd to create and submit their own content in various online spaces, including
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
DeviantArt DeviantArt (historically stylized as deviantART) is an American online art community that features artwork, videography and photography, launched on August 7, 2000 by Angelo Sotira, Scott Jarkoff, and Matthew Stephens among others. DeviantArt, ...
,
SourceForge SourceForge is a web service that offers software consumers a centralized online location to control and manage open-source software projects and research business software. It provides source code repository hosting, bug tracking, mirrorin ...
,
GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...
and
ScrewAttack Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warner ...
, influencing the likes of those such as the
Nostalgia Critic ''Nostalgia Critic'' is an American review comedy web series created, directed by and starring web comedian Douglas "Doug" Walker. The series initially launched on YouTube on July 3, 2007, before moving to Walker's own site, That Guy with the G ...
,
Angry Joe Jose Antonio Vargas (born June 18, 1984) is an American media commentator and YouTuber. He is notable for his portrayal of the character AngryJoe and for his production of the ''AngryJoeShow'', a video game and movie review channel. YouTube Var ...
and others. 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".January 7, 2014


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angry Video Game Nerd 2000s YouTube series 2004 establishments in the United States 2004 web series debuts 2010s YouTube series 2020s YouTube series American comedy web series American YouTubers Black comedy * Comedy YouTubers YouTube critics and reviewers Internet memes Internet memes introduced in 2006 Mass media companies established in 2004 RPM channels Television series by Otter Media Video game critics Video game news websites Viral videos YouTube channels launched in 2006