Hopefully this look back gives Derek a bit more inspiration to come back. If you liked this video, please leave a like and comment. Got a short video cooking up for the middle of the week. Stay tuned.
I wanted him back so badly that I sent him a message telling him how great and missed he was. To this day I'll think about CGRundertow sometimes and miss it. He really could have come back at any time and had an audience, I don't know why he let himself get depressed about losing his job instead of just going at it on his own.
@@xenos_n. You have to realize how much of a team was behind him. He probably felt he could not do it on his own. I think it would have been possible if he learned about editing, promoting his own channel and lowering the significant output that was normal to CGR. But there's something about being part of a team and he does not seem like a lone wolf.
CGR Undertow, hell CGR in general, was actually my gateway to UA-cam. They were one of my earliest memories of being on the website. Thank you for this, a real treat!
Derek, if you read this, please know how much CGR Undertow meant to all of us. I hope one day soon you’ll be back doing what you do better than most. You are sorely missed! We need your voice; both figurative and literal!!
Oh my god this is such a nice surprise! I was recently going on a binge of CGRundertow and was trying to track down the cgrundertow dvd release. Always happy to see another person bring them up!
CGR holds such a special spot in my heart. Both CGR channels helped me appreciate video games and the art of writing/criticism. I hope Derek is doing good
Thank you for making this, Derek is such a wonderful personality, I really hope he's able to find his way. The record store story was so sad to hear him retell.
I saw two of my comments in that reel of comments towards the end lol. I went to school for video production, and I'll always have Derek in my heart as one of those big childhood influences for me going forward. CGR Undertow still has some of my favorite videos on the platform in general, not just of that era. Derek is responsible for some of my foundational memories on the internet, and I will forever be grateful for that. Thanks for the great video on CGR Undertow. I have a feeling that as time goes on the channel will be more forgotten, but in the hearts of the people who were lucky enough to be there while it existed, it will live on forever.
I wasn't at all familiar with Undertow and never watched it, I was more so familiar with the main CGR channel, but this was still a fantastic watch. My frame of reference is only the main CGR channel, but I remember seeing some of the moves being made and how they really tried to make it work, but I think it just wasn't sustainable for the big business behind it. The first time I was ever really aware of it being a fully fledged business was near the end, Mark was a guest on the Not So Common Podcast and when talking about it all he just sounded so... Tired. Very much burned out from the platform, algorithm changes, but a LOT of it was the business talk. I mostly remember him mentioning and saying "the shareholders" so many times, with a lot of it being he wanted to do things a certain way, but it wouldn't be sustainable or what the shareholders would want.
i think modern UA-cam is a perfect place for him to return since the platform has matured a lot. Back when PewDiePie was doing let's plays, we would've never seen the rise of creators like Scott the Woz, so I personally think now's a good a time as ever
I miss looking for new uploads from him, but still use his reviews when picking up older games I missed out on. Hope nothing but the best for him, he’s an awesome person and reviewer. So much better than the current state of UA-cam retro game reviewers.
I never thought of Derek in this light before. I was a fan of Derek's work for Undertow, but even though I consider myself a video essayist nowadays, I never consciously thought of him as an overt inspiration for my own work. Looking back now thanks to this video, I think he may have creeped into my work more than I thought. The way Derek has struggled after Undertow has been heartbreaking every time I hear about it, it's criminal how such a bright and talented dude can't simply create the way he wants to.
I was such a CGR fan boy as a kid, and I would have phases between preferring Undertow or regular CGR. After a while I realized neither is better or worse than the other. Mark is fun, boisterous and flashy, but deep down a gentle and beautiful soul, he's the kind of person I wanted to be as a kid and still strive to. Derek is deep, insightful, and a bit sharper. His intellect was, in hindsight a big influence on my own now slightly pretentious lit major ass. Still though, he's still fun. He's not a cynic. I think these days (and back then too, for that matter) most people assume you're either serious or fun, and you can't be both. CGR understood that's very possible, though. Derek and Mark don't just coexist, they're two sides of the same whole
Aw dang, I remember the farewell episode and how sad it made me feel at the time. Well, Mark is back posting CGR content, hopefully Derek can return too.
The fact that I'm old enough to be watching retrospectives on gaming channels I watched to get my retro gaming fix, makes me feel damn old. Now the reviews are as old as the games where when i 1st watched them. Hate how life reminds you you're running out of life through the things you love.
Sweet holy shit. I never knew about CGR or it's other channels, but man. That Mario Galaxy clip said everything This is like finding out obscure influences of your favorite media, he's absolutely an unsung hero
Derek will always be one of my favorite people to have on not because he's one of my favorite game reviewers out there, but because of how much he enjoyed talking about the video making process behind videos. There was maybe about close to 30 minutes after the recording had ended that Derek kept talking about maybe doing videos again, but he still was hesitant to do it. But now he knows that people are willing to be there for him, and I think one day he'll be back doing his own thing again. :)
i've watched this like 3 times now so i should probably leave a comment. what a great video, a super well-made ode to a sorely missed OG of youtube! 10/10
CGR is making a comeback on UA-cam, which is great to see! I don't think CGRU would also make a comeback, as it seems Mark is mainly flying solo, but it would be great to see Derek once more. Fucking love that guy, just as much as he loves Emma Watson.
Never seen this channel before, but surprised of it's far reach from learning from this video. Remember people... Some people did not learn of this channel or it's influence.. and doing essays on something popular may sometimes make someone aware of it.
I've never had someone else articulate why Derek was so important and how much he is missed. I'll never forget the long summer days bingeing CGRundertow videos. Those days will live in my heart as one of the best youtube periods that ever was.
Thank you for this dearly. Derek's videos eclipsed Mark's imo and served as a great contrast to each other. I'm glad Mark is back at it, but Derek's taste alligns far closer to mine.
I probably have a taste in games that's a mix of Mark and Derek but while I enjoyed Mark more, he's just entertaining and has a smooth radio voice, I liked Derek too and was subbed to both channels, was subbed to Undertow when it ended.
I... wasn't a fan of Derek's later reviews. I'd hardly ever call them "reviews" when he's comparing one thing to another while sounding as obnoxious as possible in an attempt to get the attention of the viewer. He was informative in the early days, and I thought I'd be getting more of that. But make way for Emma Watson references and other jokes that take up most of the video. Like seriously I was saying in my mind "what's wrong with the game you're looking at? why is it bad? Elaborate already!"
It's weird how for years nobody talked about CGR, and now all of the sudden there's been an explosion of nostalgia for it. I was there, for a lot of it. Hell I even remember where exactly Lord Karnage came from: a Tiger Woods review, it was his created golfer lmao
The channel shutting down was so devastating to me, I often preferred Derek and the Undertow crew more than Mark. I do appreciate when I see him in Somecallmejohnny livestreams, podcast-type uploads and charity events, Derek is GOATed
I've been waiting for Derek to stage a come-back from the day Undertow was given the axe. I watched Undertow more than I did the main CGR channel. Derek made every review into a great little story that was fun to listen to even if the game itself was bad, or worse, uninteresting. He's a REALLY talented content creator and UA-cam is less interesting without his voice on it.
Derek's poetic and beautiful review of klonoa 2 was what caught my attention to that game. He spoke of it in such a specific way that caught my attention and made me feel that this game was something I had to play, So to that I really thank Derek's reviewing approach and style
Thank you for making this video, had no clue he had done interviews/podcasts since the end of the channel. Last time I had checked he was basically a ghost.
love your videos dude. feels like a retrospective of the youtube stuff i grew up on with a really nice to watch editing/writing demeanor with honest personal insight. its great idk how these arent mainstream
It took me a long time to like Derek's review style and he didn't really hit his stride till the later years. Also TJ doesn't get enough love, he was great too.
I remember a lot of their videogame reviews back then and they were a lot of fun to watch. Sad to see as to how it ended because they had a lot of passion in what they did in that channel.
Derek is great, he know how to deliver a message, and even if not every video he made was a hit (his pilotwings review for SNES garnered a lot of negative criticism back in the day), he's pretty solid and pours his heart in what he does. But let's not forget about TJ, he was great at reviewing as well, and there was this other guy that did a great job but for some reason he had a falling out or something and asked all his videos to be taken down. I loved his style and when it happened I couldn't understand it. I still can't. I follow Derek on Twitter, he's nostalgic about it, but isn't sure if he should come back. He has a very respectable job now at a university and is doing creative work now, so, he hasn't stopped, at least to a halt. He's got a lot to offer and hopefully he can find the push to come back. CGR did recently, I would love to see him back.
I have no problem with Derek, and if truth be told I do think he was a good host and was somewhat entertaining. But let's be perfectly honest about it, his content as well as all the content on undertow was absolute garbage. Classic Game Room was a money oriented grift and the undertow channel was mass produced content. Derek explained this in an interview and as good as admitted that it was all about money for Classic Game Room.
Their videos were short and rushed. Barely explaining how the game worked and usually showing brief opening moments but when their isnt much competition it will get moderate views.
@@nordicwarriorgaming4953 It's exactly what I said in my video. The problems with CGR are from the rapid expansion, decline of video quality and lack of business acumen. There are plenty of other channels that went through and came out of the Ad Apocalypse and are stronger/bigger now than previously - Angry Joe, Gmanlives, etc. This video seems to be looking back on rose-tinted specs, I was actually shaking my head; crediting Derek for being a "storyteller" & a "Games Journalist"... lol Half of the time, Derek would just rant or mumble throughout the barely 5 minute long "review". Watch the Spec Ops The Line review, you can tell he never played it. The majority of the positive comments on here (I suspect) are from nostalgic twenty-something adults, who watched CGR years ago. The majority of the CGR videos were just made very quickly to grab ad-revenue, and it shows. Derek even stated this in an interview with SuperGainsBros, something which this video curiously leaves out... As for Derek coming back, it's been like a decade since CGR Undertow was axed, yet this probably won't change that, the content on Undertow was very sub-par. I don't think the audience is there, hopefully I'm wrong about that assumption. It's like he's waiting for Mark or some gaming website/YT Channel to scoop him back up off his feet and offer him a job. I think he needs to help himself and just do it and find his audience.
@@XenonXyanide True your documentary was fantastic. I saw it the day after it uploaded I think. I remember his review for Hitman 2 Silent Assassin, he openly admitted that he never even beat the first level and had no idea how to actually play the game. Yet he's giving it a "review" LOL. In his "review" for Reign of Fire he spent about 5 minutes talking about going to the cinema with a hot chick and not even mentioning a single thing about the game, literally nothing.
I really wish Derek had tried doing stuff on his own. He was so depressed after Mark downsized. I tried to tell him on Twitter to spin off and do his own thing but he just didn't see the point. It's a shame. Haven't heard anything from him since, and I wonder now and then what happened to him and if he's happier now.
DUDE I remember binging the mess out of cgrundertow when I was a kid and the bittersweet heartbreak i felt in his very last video glad this video was made
CGR Undertow didn't just die, it was murdered... Old Cleanprincegaming meme about bastardized video game journalism. I didn't know 1/2 this stuff about CGR. A 20 person operation would need to pull a lot more views, subs, and sponsors to stay afloat. CGR videos still listed on YT are still a good resource for collectors to this day.
I just recently found out that almost all the original CGR channels were rebranded to random stuff, most interestingly CGR Garage becoming a channel for a webcomic that hasn't uploaded at all since the rebranding.
I always like CGR videos cause they were short and to the point. Really helped me decide if I wanted to play a game or not. Dereks natural delivery was what sold it.
Derek is a legend, saw his channel back in the day seeing him go was sad yer even after he was gone his video help me so much like when I finally got my 3DS now I am especially thankful for his reviews on the WiiU since I got mine just weeks when Nintendo said the eShop will be going down it been a huge help to me since in many cases there are no WiiU reviews of some games on UA-cam but only his. I hope he is happy and doing well.
I used to come home from work everyday looking forward to watching new CGR videos, it was the highlight of my day. I did always think that it was just Mark and Derek working there, and was surprised when they did the office video. At the time I never understood why only Mark kept going But Derek was leaving, for reasons not understood. I don't like the direction that's Mark has taken classic game room since leaving UA-cam, he's gone to Amazon prime US, which can't be watched even in Canada, to rebranding the channel it doesn't times over. CGR just feels like such a mess now, yet it was so organized back in the day. Would be cool if Mark and Derek got back together and started doing reviews together.
I always liked undertow better then original cgr. Derek had this ability to paint a bright picture of a game it felt like you actually played that, yet his videos were really short(which is a thing that i appreciate the most). Tbh, I don't think he would do great if he came back, but I would like him to do some reviews still. Maybe as a hobby, like once in a month or so.
When I was a kid, I didn't like Derek's reviews because it was painfully obvious how he barely played the intro minutes of a game and then he threw very opinionated statements about the whole thing, that were either as vague as the info from the back cover, wrong or completely irrelevant. Now that I'm reaching third floor in life, I realized that it was probably all because of Mark's insane schedules. That being said, Mark did the same (regarding playing barely enough to have 5 minutes of footage) but at least he was upfront that the game wasn't for him but it could be fun for people who did enjoyed those games, like his Diabolik review... Derek just mocked or shat on everything that wasn't published or inspired by Nintendo.
Yeah and Mark might've made fun of Nintendo being a diehard Sega fanboy he still enjoyed a lot of Nintendo's games and never put games down for not being by Sega.
I would politely disagree with your video analysis. CGR Undertow, was created alongside CGR Walkthroughs, CGR Overboard, CGR Trailers, CGR Pinball, CGR Garage, CGR Toys and CGR Comics to maximize YT reach and ad-revenue. It was a generic cog in the CGR machine. The problem with the rapid expansion of CGR from 2009 onwards, was the declining quality of their uploads, on all channels. If you watch Derek Buck's review on Spec Ops The Line, you can tell he's not played it. Derek states - "cover, shoot, cover, shoot, morality, M. Night Shyamalan, cover and shoot." Yet at 04:14 in your video, you say Derek's "intellectual side never failed to show through..." and at 04:24 called him "insightful". As if there's some deep-misunderstood method to his reviews... That review on CGR Undertow has got a huge dislike rating due to the Derek's method of reviewing said game. It's not even 4 minutes long, yet it sums up the CGR mentality perfectly; Content, content, content... Derek even stated this in an interview with SuperGainsBros on YT, which is curiously not mentioned here in your video. The business model wasn't sustainable due to the decisions made by the management of CGR, not UA-cam. Was it necessary to rent out a massive warehouse, to display loads of arcade cabinets, an El Camino, and hire dozens of staff just to make YT videos? Were all of those overheads the fault of UA-cam? Plenty of other content creators went through the same thing as CGR, with the whole content ID situation, and many are still here to this day, bigger than what CGR used to be; Angry Joe, AVGN, Gmanlives etc. As for Undertow, granted, some video reviews by Derek will be better than others. There needs to be a discussion on the consistency of the CGR content. It doesn't match the praise that you're lathering on Derek in your video. CGR output was very erratic in terms of quality. Anybody can see that to this day. You're crediting Derek Buck as being a "storyteller", "Games Journalist", inspiring other content creators, that is very debatable. He seems like an employee just churning out the bare minimum content, just to meet deadlines set by management. The SuperGainsBros YT podcast/interview with Derek enforces this. I think if Derek was passionate about gaming and creating content, he'd return to YT. The entry into creating YT content is easier than ever... Yet it seems like he's not bothered about it any more. Or, he's waiting for somebody to give him a paid job on a plate, whether that be Mark Bussler or another gaming outlet, who knows? Overall, yes, I disagree with your video, but I can appreciate the legacy the CGR shows have left on the internet landscape. I think too many people are being way too nostalgic, thinking it was the best gaming show ever during their youth? Either way, it's easy to see content on YT has surpassed what CGR used to and could probably offer again. I wish Derek and Mark well, I really do believe the issues with CGR were self-inflicted rather than imposed on them by another party.
It's what I've said on other comment sections. It's as if he's waiting for Mark to scoop him back up, or another gaming outlet to hand him a job. If he really missed it, he'd do it again. I think Derek just missed doing an easy job, ranting for barely 5 minutes, and getting paid to do it.
People are too nostalgic about this they were fine but he had a bias against certain types of games and their videos were rushed and corporate not bad but just nothing special.
He might be a great writer but without Marks deep voice you are not going to be popular. To me if the voice I watch/listen too is annoying then I stop following.
![WalrusGuy: A Founding Father of YouTube Poop [YTP Retrospective]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y4lasUtE2n8/mqdefault.jpg)
Hopefully this look back gives Derek a bit more inspiration to come back. If you liked this video, please leave a like and comment.
Got a short video cooking up for the middle of the week. Stay tuned.
No
Good Stuff! Thanks for the Nostalgic Slam! Hit the feels!
Hey BluShades, nice video! I hope Derek comes back one day. I really enjoyed watching his videos back in the day.
Derek should have gone off and created his own gaming channel - many CGR Undertow fans would have followed him. loved his style and humour.
I wanted him back so badly that I sent him a message telling him how great and missed he was. To this day I'll think about CGRundertow sometimes and miss it. He really could have come back at any time and had an audience, I don't know why he let himself get depressed about losing his job instead of just going at it on his own.
@@xenos_n. You have to realize how much of a team was behind him. He probably felt he could not do it on his own. I think it would have been possible if he learned about editing, promoting his own channel and lowering the significant output that was normal to CGR. But there's something about being part of a team and he does not seem like a lone wolf.
CGR Undertow, hell CGR in general, was actually my gateway to UA-cam. They were one of my earliest memories of being on the website. Thank you for this, a real treat!
Same.
Mark is back on UA-cam just incase you guys didnt know.
Derek, if you read this, please know how much CGR Undertow meant to all of us. I hope one day soon you’ll be back doing what you do better than most. You are sorely missed! We need your voice; both figurative and literal!!
Oh my god this is such a nice surprise! I was recently going on a binge of CGRundertow and was trying to track down the cgrundertow dvd release. Always happy to see another person bring them up!
DVD what do you mean? I need to buy it lol
CGR holds such a special spot in my heart. Both CGR channels helped me appreciate video games and the art of writing/criticism. I hope Derek is doing good
Thank you for making this, Derek is such a wonderful personality, I really hope he's able to find his way. The record store story was so sad to hear him retell.
Mark is back and it would be so great if Derek could post a few reviews here and there i sm sure he is still playing games.
Could we start a Patreon to get Derek back? I miss his off-beat but deep philosophical musings on games.
I saw two of my comments in that reel of comments towards the end lol. I went to school for video production, and I'll always have Derek in my heart as one of those big childhood influences for me going forward. CGR Undertow still has some of my favorite videos on the platform in general, not just of that era. Derek is responsible for some of my foundational memories on the internet, and I will forever be grateful for that.
Thanks for the great video on CGR Undertow. I have a feeling that as time goes on the channel will be more forgotten, but in the hearts of the people who were lucky enough to be there while it existed, it will live on forever.
I wasn't at all familiar with Undertow and never watched it, I was more so familiar with the main CGR channel, but this was still a fantastic watch. My frame of reference is only the main CGR channel, but I remember seeing some of the moves being made and how they really tried to make it work, but I think it just wasn't sustainable for the big business behind it.
The first time I was ever really aware of it being a fully fledged business was near the end, Mark was a guest on the Not So Common Podcast and when talking about it all he just sounded so... Tired. Very much burned out from the platform, algorithm changes, but a LOT of it was the business talk. I mostly remember him mentioning and saying "the shareholders" so many times, with a lot of it being he wanted to do things a certain way, but it wouldn't be sustainable or what the shareholders would want.
i think modern UA-cam is a perfect place for him to return since the platform has matured a lot. Back when PewDiePie was doing let's plays, we would've never seen the rise of creators like Scott the Woz, so I personally think now's a good a time as ever
I miss looking for new uploads from him, but still use his reviews when picking up older games I missed out on. Hope nothing but the best for him, he’s an awesome person and reviewer. So much better than the current state of UA-cam retro game reviewers.
Literally grew up watching him as a kid and looking back, he’s definitely one of the best reviewers out there to this day
I never thought of Derek in this light before. I was a fan of Derek's work for Undertow, but even though I consider myself a video essayist nowadays, I never consciously thought of him as an overt inspiration for my own work. Looking back now thanks to this video, I think he may have creeped into my work more than I thought. The way Derek has struggled after Undertow has been heartbreaking every time I hear about it, it's criminal how such a bright and talented dude can't simply create the way he wants to.
I was such a CGR fan boy as a kid, and I would have phases between preferring Undertow or regular CGR. After a while I realized neither is better or worse than the other.
Mark is fun, boisterous and flashy, but deep down a gentle and beautiful soul, he's the kind of person I wanted to be as a kid and still strive to.
Derek is deep, insightful, and a bit sharper. His intellect was, in hindsight a big influence on my own now slightly pretentious lit major ass. Still though, he's still fun. He's not a cynic.
I think these days (and back then too, for that matter) most people assume you're either serious or fun, and you can't be both. CGR understood that's very possible, though. Derek and Mark don't just coexist, they're two sides of the same whole
Aw dang, I remember the farewell episode and how sad it made me feel at the time. Well, Mark is back posting CGR content, hopefully Derek can return too.
The fact that I'm old enough to be watching retrospectives on gaming channels I watched to get my retro gaming fix, makes me feel damn old. Now the reviews are as old as the games where when i 1st watched them.
Hate how life reminds you you're running out of life through the things you love.
Tell me about it. I'm only 27 and life is going by too fast.
Sweet holy shit. I never knew about CGR or it's other channels, but man. That Mario Galaxy clip said everything
This is like finding out obscure influences of your favorite media, he's absolutely an unsung hero
Derek will always be one of my favorite people to have on not because he's one of my favorite game reviewers out there, but because of how much he enjoyed talking about the video making process behind videos. There was maybe about close to 30 minutes after the recording had ended that Derek kept talking about maybe doing videos again, but he still was hesitant to do it. But now he knows that people are willing to be there for him, and I think one day he'll be back doing his own thing again. :)
Wow this is the best surprise video of 2022. I was just looking for old CGRUndertow and then this popped up!
i've watched this like 3 times now so i should probably leave a comment. what a great video, a super well-made ode to a sorely missed OG of youtube! 10/10
What a great video, it brought back some memories. I miss the old UA-cam, not sure if it'll ever be the same.
CGR is making a comeback on UA-cam, which is great to see! I don't think CGRU would also make a comeback, as it seems Mark is mainly flying solo, but it would be great to see Derek once more. Fucking love that guy, just as much as he loves Emma Watson.
😂🤣 would be cool if Derek made a cameo appearance.
I used to really enjoy CGR as a child (mostly because Derek was the one who reviewed a lot children's games that I was into in the time)
Ah yes CGRundertow, a relic of the past.
Wow, seeing this video made memories of watching undertow every morning before going to school come flooding back to me. Really miss those reviews.
god damn i guess add this to the list of "niche thing i know about i never expected anyone to talk about" that you've covered
For me it's this and IGN's Game Shop series
Undertow was one of the best gaming YT channels of all time. I felt truly sad when it ended, and always hoped that Dereck would return one day.
Never seen this channel before, but surprised of it's far reach from learning from this video.
Remember people...
Some people did not learn of this channel or it's influence.. and doing essays on something popular may sometimes make someone aware of it.
just wanted to let you know that you did a great job on this video! i completely forgot about CGR so this unlocked a flood of memories for me
I've never had someone else articulate why Derek was so important and how much he is missed. I'll never forget the long summer days bingeing CGRundertow videos. Those days will live in my heart as one of the best youtube periods that ever was.
Thank you for this dearly. Derek's videos eclipsed Mark's imo and served as a great contrast to each other. I'm glad Mark is back at it, but Derek's taste alligns far closer to mine.
I probably have a taste in games that's a mix of Mark and Derek but while I enjoyed Mark more, he's just entertaining and has a smooth radio voice, I liked Derek too and was subbed to both channels, was subbed to Undertow when it ended.
I... wasn't a fan of Derek's later reviews. I'd hardly ever call them "reviews" when he's comparing one thing to another while sounding as obnoxious as possible in an attempt to get the attention of the viewer. He was informative in the early days, and I thought I'd be getting more of that. But make way for Emma Watson references and other jokes that take up most of the video. Like seriously I was saying in my mind "what's wrong with the game you're looking at? why is it bad? Elaborate already!"
The best thing is that CGR was contemporary with the Nintendo DS. They made a lot of reviews about a lot of obscure games.
My older brother used to watch CGRUndertow a lot in 2014 so the intro is pretty much ingrained into my mind.
I hope D-Buck comes back one day.
You're telling me we got a whole documentary on derek from CGR:U? I guess the world really can be a good place. Best guy we ever had on this platform.
Come back to us Derrick
It's weird how for years nobody talked about CGR, and now all of the sudden there's been an explosion of nostalgia for it.
I was there, for a lot of it. Hell I even remember where exactly Lord Karnage came from: a Tiger Woods review, it was his created golfer lmao
The channel shutting down was so devastating to me, I often preferred Derek and the Undertow crew more than Mark. I do appreciate when I see him in Somecallmejohnny livestreams, podcast-type uploads and charity events, Derek is GOATed
I've been waiting for Derek to stage a come-back from the day Undertow was given the axe. I watched Undertow more than I did the main CGR channel. Derek made every review into a great little story that was fun to listen to even if the game itself was bad, or worse, uninteresting. He's a REALLY talented content creator and UA-cam is less interesting without his voice on it.
Derek Buck is a real lost treasure for UA-cam.
Genuinely can’t believe it’s nearly been 7 years since that Chanel stop making content.
Well Mark has begun bringing back CGR maybe there's something for Derek to do in the future
On a similar note it seems "The Last One Ever" is no longer on the channel.
I feel like I'm the only person to support CGR undertow dvd set
CGR MARK IS BACK - the unannounced and nonchalant return to YT of one of the original gaming e-begs
CGR was one of my first youtube channels i followed, I still have one of their t-shirts
So touching to see Derek get his flowers. He is the voice of my early teens.
Derek's poetic and beautiful review of klonoa 2 was what caught my attention to that game. He spoke of it in such a specific way that caught my attention and made me feel that this game was something I had to play, So to that I really thank Derek's reviewing approach and style
Thank you for making this video, had no clue he had done interviews/podcasts since the end of the channel. Last time I had checked he was basically a ghost.
love your videos dude. feels like a retrospective of the youtube stuff i grew up on with a really nice to watch editing/writing demeanor with honest personal insight. its great idk how these arent mainstream
Derek really was my favorite. I would like for him to return and just yap about anything.
It took me a long time to like Derek's review style and he didn't really hit his stride till the later years. Also TJ doesn't get enough love, he was great too.
I remember a lot of their videogame reviews back then and they were a lot of fun to watch. Sad to see as to how it ended because they had a lot of passion in what they did in that channel.
Derek is great, he know how to deliver a message, and even if not every video he made was a hit (his pilotwings review for SNES garnered a lot of negative criticism back in the day), he's pretty solid and pours his heart in what he does.
But let's not forget about TJ, he was great at reviewing as well, and there was this other guy that did a great job but for some reason he had a falling out or something and asked all his videos to be taken down. I loved his style and when it happened I couldn't understand it. I still can't.
I follow Derek on Twitter, he's nostalgic about it, but isn't sure if he should come back. He has a very respectable job now at a university and is doing creative work now, so, he hasn't stopped, at least to a halt. He's got a lot to offer and hopefully he can find the push to come back. CGR did recently, I would love to see him back.
I have no problem with Derek, and if truth be told I do think he was a good host and was somewhat entertaining. But let's be perfectly honest about it, his content as well as all the content on undertow was absolute garbage. Classic Game Room was a money oriented grift and the undertow channel was mass produced content. Derek explained this in an interview and as good as admitted that it was all about money for Classic Game Room.
Their videos were short and rushed. Barely explaining how the game worked and usually showing brief opening moments but when their isnt much competition it will get moderate views.
@@Ever23last Very true. God Bless,
@@nordicwarriorgaming4953 It's exactly what I said in my video. The problems with CGR are from the rapid expansion, decline of video quality and lack of business acumen. There are plenty of other channels that went through and came out of the Ad Apocalypse and are stronger/bigger now than previously - Angry Joe, Gmanlives, etc.
This video seems to be looking back on rose-tinted specs, I was actually shaking my head; crediting Derek for being a "storyteller" & a "Games Journalist"... lol Half of the time, Derek would just rant or mumble throughout the barely 5 minute long "review". Watch the Spec Ops The Line review, you can tell he never played it. The majority of the positive comments on here (I suspect) are from nostalgic twenty-something adults, who watched CGR years ago.
The majority of the CGR videos were just made very quickly to grab ad-revenue, and it shows. Derek even stated this in an interview with SuperGainsBros, something which this video curiously leaves out... As for Derek coming back, it's been like a decade since CGR Undertow was axed, yet this probably won't change that, the content on Undertow was very sub-par. I don't think the audience is there, hopefully I'm wrong about that assumption. It's like he's waiting for Mark or some gaming website/YT Channel to scoop him back up off his feet and offer him a job. I think he needs to help himself and just do it and find his audience.
@@XenonXyanide True your documentary was fantastic. I saw it the day after it uploaded I think. I remember his review for Hitman 2 Silent Assassin, he openly admitted that he never even beat the first level and had no idea how to actually play the game. Yet he's giving it a "review" LOL.
In his "review" for Reign of Fire he spent about 5 minutes talking about going to the cinema with a hot chick and not even mentioning a single thing about the game, literally nothing.
Yea it could be worse but it was all about the money and could be much better
I really wish Derek had tried doing stuff on his own. He was so depressed after Mark downsized. I tried to tell him on Twitter to spin off and do his own thing but he just didn't see the point. It's a shame. Haven't heard anything from him since, and I wonder now and then what happened to him and if he's happier now.
I actually liked the show because of the chemstey between Bussler and Crossson because they were genuinely funny to me.
Holy crap, I never thought I'd see a video about this.
Great video loved theses guys
Gaming, historian, and Spoonie one where the original journalistic retro video game reviewer’s
DUDE I remember binging the mess out of cgrundertow when I was a kid and the bittersweet heartbreak i felt in his very last video
glad this video was made
CGR Undertow didn't just die, it was murdered...
Old Cleanprincegaming meme about bastardized video game journalism. I didn't know 1/2 this stuff about CGR. A 20 person operation would need to pull a lot more views, subs, and sponsors to stay afloat. CGR videos still listed on YT are still a good resource for collectors to this day.
huh
I just recently found out that almost all the original CGR channels were rebranded to random stuff, most interestingly CGR Garage becoming a channel for a webcomic that hasn't uploaded at all since the rebranding.
I always like CGR videos cause they were short and to the point. Really helped me decide if I wanted to play a game or not. Dereks natural delivery was what sold it.
I'm a long time cgr fan, thank you for talking about them! I feel cgr is mostly forgotten now. I'm happy to see conversation around them
Nuff respect Great video...salute to Derek..real talk
Derek is now a well respected game reviewer O.G. who wouldn't want to watch him or work with him???
Derek is a legend, saw his channel back in the day seeing him go was sad yer even after he was gone his video help me so much like when I finally got my 3DS now I am especially thankful for his reviews on the WiiU since I got mine just weeks when Nintendo said the eShop will be going down it been a huge help to me since in many cases there are no WiiU reviews of some games on UA-cam but only his.
I hope he is happy and doing well.
Wish he would have done his thing under a new solo channel.
I used to come home from work everyday looking forward to watching new CGR videos, it was the highlight of my day.
I did always think that it was just Mark and Derek working there, and was surprised when they did the office video.
At the time I never understood why only Mark kept going But Derek was leaving, for reasons not understood.
I don't like the direction that's Mark has taken classic game room since leaving UA-cam, he's gone to Amazon prime US, which can't be watched even in Canada, to rebranding the channel it doesn't times over.
CGR just feels like such a mess now, yet it was so organized back in the day.
Would be cool if Mark and Derek got back together and started doing reviews together.
Derek the UA-cam world misses you so much
Didnt expect a video like this i miss undertow was a great channel and cgr pre good think hes coming back too
I wonder if Derek would be successful doing his own video game channel today.
I always liked undertow better then original cgr. Derek had this ability to paint a bright picture of a game it felt like you actually played that, yet his videos were really short(which is a thing that i appreciate the most). Tbh, I don't think he would do great if he came back, but I would like him to do some reviews still. Maybe as a hobby, like once in a month or so.
I had no idea what this video was about upon clicking on it, but it was entertaining nonetheless :) great job!
This guy looks like Scott the Woz but if Scott liked RPG’s
Now that’s a name that I haven’t heard in years.
When I was a kid, I didn't like Derek's reviews because it was painfully obvious how he barely played the intro minutes of a game and then he threw very opinionated statements about the whole thing, that were either as vague as the info from the back cover, wrong or completely irrelevant.
Now that I'm reaching third floor in life, I realized that it was probably all because of Mark's insane schedules.
That being said, Mark did the same (regarding playing barely enough to have 5 minutes of footage) but at least he was upfront that the game wasn't for him but it could be fun for people who did enjoyed those games, like his Diabolik review... Derek just mocked or shat on everything that wasn't published or inspired by Nintendo.
Yeah and Mark might've made fun of Nintendo being a diehard Sega fanboy he still enjoyed a lot of Nintendo's games and never put games down for not being by Sega.
Great work
I would politely disagree with your video analysis. CGR Undertow, was created alongside CGR Walkthroughs, CGR Overboard, CGR Trailers, CGR Pinball, CGR Garage, CGR Toys and CGR Comics to maximize YT reach and ad-revenue. It was a generic cog in the CGR machine.
The problem with the rapid expansion of CGR from 2009 onwards, was the declining quality of their uploads, on all channels. If you watch Derek Buck's review on Spec Ops The Line, you can tell he's not played it. Derek states - "cover, shoot, cover, shoot, morality, M. Night Shyamalan, cover and shoot." Yet at 04:14 in your video, you say Derek's "intellectual side never failed to show through..." and at 04:24 called him "insightful". As if there's some deep-misunderstood method to his reviews...
That review on CGR Undertow has got a huge dislike rating due to the Derek's method of reviewing said game. It's not even 4 minutes long, yet it sums up the CGR mentality perfectly; Content, content, content... Derek even stated this in an interview with SuperGainsBros on YT, which is curiously not mentioned here in your video. The business model wasn't sustainable due to the decisions made by the management of CGR, not UA-cam.
Was it necessary to rent out a massive warehouse, to display loads of arcade cabinets, an El Camino, and hire dozens of staff just to make YT videos? Were all of those overheads the fault of UA-cam? Plenty of other content creators went through the same thing as CGR, with the whole content ID situation, and many are still here to this day, bigger than what CGR used to be; Angry Joe, AVGN, Gmanlives etc.
As for Undertow, granted, some video reviews by Derek will be better than others. There needs to be a discussion on the consistency of the CGR content. It doesn't match the praise that you're lathering on Derek in your video. CGR output was very erratic in terms of quality. Anybody can see that to this day.
You're crediting Derek Buck as being a "storyteller", "Games Journalist", inspiring other content creators, that is very debatable. He seems like an employee just churning out the bare minimum content, just to meet deadlines set by management. The SuperGainsBros YT podcast/interview with Derek enforces this.
I think if Derek was passionate about gaming and creating content, he'd return to YT. The entry into creating YT content is easier than ever... Yet it seems like he's not bothered about it any more. Or, he's waiting for somebody to give him a paid job on a plate, whether that be Mark Bussler or another gaming outlet, who knows?
Overall, yes, I disagree with your video, but I can appreciate the legacy the CGR shows have left on the internet landscape. I think too many people are being way too nostalgic, thinking it was the best gaming show ever during their youth? Either way, it's easy to see content on YT has surpassed what CGR used to and could probably offer again.
I wish Derek and Mark well, I really do believe the issues with CGR were self-inflicted rather than imposed on them by another party.
Oh a video retro look of a iconic youtuber
Come back Derek!
CGR Undertow was just a stupid brand, why can't Derek just open his own channel? I would be following with multiple accounts if need be.
It's what I've said on other comment sections. It's as if he's waiting for Mark to scoop him back up, or another gaming outlet to hand him a job. If he really missed it, he'd do it again. I think Derek just missed doing an easy job, ranting for barely 5 minutes, and getting paid to do it.
The best to ever do it.
Next video should be on BluShades
Derek! 🎉🎉🎉
14:48
I'm almost a year late but... HI MOM AND DAD IM FAMOUS
It was a nice idea and gesture to honor Derek's work. Your voice is a little too low / Derek's too loud in the video, though.
Derek was wholesome
I actually liked the other guy that did reviews on Undertow. I felt like Derek would get too verbose at times.
damn i thought this was going to be about Classics of Game for a sec
100% AGREE!
3:55. I dont know about that. Mark is the best.
I'd agree, Mark is more entertaining, Derek is a good reviewer though.
People are too nostalgic about this they were fine but he had a bias against certain types of games and their videos were rushed and corporate not bad but just nothing special.
He might be a great writer but without Marks deep voice you are not going to be popular. To me if the voice I watch/listen too is annoying then I stop following.
Did you say pension instead of penchant?
shit like this is exactly what I'm talking about when I say I want you to make whatever videos you want cuz this is sick
Undertoads unite!