Greg Miller (Internet celebrity)

Greg Miller

Miller at the 15th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards in 2015
Born Gregory James Miller
April 27, 1983
Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.
Residence San Francisco, California
Nationality American
Other names Greg, Greggy
Years active 2007–present
Known for IGN editor/host, YouTube
Notable work IGN, Game Scoop, Podcast Beyond, Knockin' Boots, Super Knockin' Boots, A Conversation with Colin, Gregway, Oreo Oration, The GameOverGreggy Show, The Kinda Funny Gamescast, Colin and Greg Live

Internet information

Web alias(es) GameOverGreggy
Website
Kinda Funny's Website

Gregory James "Greg" Miller[1] (born April 27, 1983), also known by his online alias GameOverGreggy, is an American Internet personality, journalist and former editor and video host at entertainment website IGN. He currently manages Kinda Funny, a YouTube channel along with Colin Moriarty. Miller was a frequent cast member on the IGN audio-video podcast Game Scoop. He and fellow former IGN editor Colin Moriarty left Podcast Beyond, a PlayStation podcast, on February 11, 2015. It was Miller's eighth year hosting Beyond, and the 381st episode. IGN editor Marty Sliva and IGN editor Max Scoville now host Podcast Beyond together.[2]

Personal life

In 2001, Miller moved to Columbia, Missouri and attended the University of Missouri, where he gained a degree in magazine journalism. He was later employed at the Columbia Tribune, where he created the "Game Over" column in 2006. As of 2009, the column is now defunct.

IGN

In early 2007, Miller relocated to San Francisco, California, as he accepted a position at entertainment website IGN as a PlayStation editor. Miller claims that he sent in numerous applications to various gaming websites including IGN, and finally received a response on his thirteenth application. He was contacted via email, interviewed via telephone and hired within the time frame of 24 hours. Miller attributes the success of the application to experience gained through his "Game Over" column in his previous job. One of his first reviews, and most notable, was his review for the video game, Lair. Another review of Miller's, for Uncharted 3, is considered by many to be his most polarizing review, due to Miller awarding the game a perfect score of 10 when many gamers actively voiced their opinion that its predecessor, Uncharted 2, is the superior game. Miller then became a regular cast member in popular IGN podcasts such as Game Scoop and Knockin' Boots. In June 2007, he co-founded and became a co-host on Podcast Beyond, a podcast with PlayStation news/content at its center which has gone on to become the number 1 Playstation podcast in the world. At the time, his co-hosts were Jeremy Dunham, Chris Roper and Jeff Haynes. Miller quit the podcast with IGN editor, Colin Moriarty in 2015. The two established the podcast as their own during their time with IGN and regularly had a weekly guest, usually an IGN staff member, referred to as "the ever-rotating third chair" after Andrew Goldfarb left the company. Miller was later promoted to Senior editor of the PlayStation section of IGN. In early 2013, when IGN was sold to Ziff Davis and went under restructuring, Miller was promoted to video content host for IGN, with Colin Moriarty being promoted to Miller's former position. Miller used to host the "Up at Noon" video series for IGN. In August 2012, Greg announced he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer, but after chemotherapy, he announced in December 2012 that his cancer was in remission. Greg Miller has lost an estimated 20 pounds as of September 19, 2014, reportedly caused by his change in diet. Miller announced via his Kinda Funny YouTube channel on January 5, 2015, that he had left his job at IGN to focus on Kinda Funny and its new sister channel, Kinda Funny Games.[3]

YouTube

On January 22, 2012, Miller created a YouTube channel, titled GameOverGreggy. He currently has over 76,000 subscribers and over 9,000,000[4] views over all of his videos. Miller was inspired to produce regular content after attending VidCon 2012. The content in his videos mostly consists of discussing fan-requested topics.

Miller uploads new episodes of A Conversation with Colin every Tuesday and Thurday. A Conversation with Colin follows Miller and former IGN editor, best friend and roommate, Colin Moriarty, discussing fan-requested topics, e.g. why Seinfeld is the best TV show, Colin's obsession with mayonnaise, the demise of rap rock, worst restaurant experiences, etc. As of 2014, the show has run for three seasons.[5] There have been no new episodes of A Conversation with Colin uploaded since February 2014, being replaced by individual topics of The GameOverGreggy Show. Due to popular demand, A Conversation with Colin will run for a final fourth season consisting of twelve weekly episodes starting from January 2015.

In 2012, Miller uploaded episodes of ‘‘Oreo Oration’‘ every Wednesday and Friday. Oreo Oration consists of Miller reviewing many varieties of the Oreo cookie. Miller will judge the Oreo by eating one, judging how well it tastes with milk and how clean it twists apart. The show had ran for one season, however, due to popular demand, Miller announced that in December 2013, Oreo Oration would return for a five-episode limited run.[6] In January 2014, Miller started airing the second season of Oreo Oration, suggesting Miller may continue the show sporadically as new cookies are released.[7]

In 2013, Miller debuted a new series, called ‘‘Gregway’‘, in which Miller will answer and elaborate upon a fan-submitted question usually via Twitter. Previous examples include why Miller is obsessed with chicken wings, who has the best hair at IGN, Miller's love for Superman, top 5 IGN memories, etc. Through the Gregway series, Miller has collaborated with other notable personalities, including Gavin Free and Barbara Dunkelman of Rooster Teeth, voice actor Dave Fennoy and iJustine. The show aired through its first season in place of Oreo Oration.[6]

In December 2013, Miller debuted a new series, titled The GameOverGreggy Show. This consists of Miller, Colin Moriarty ("The Pride of Long Island" or "He Only Does Everything"), Nick Scarpino ("The Producer/Seducer") and Tim Gettys ("The Pure One") sitting around a table discussing topics that each person has prepared. This comes in the form of a one-dollar audio podcast through Bandcamp every Friday, and a free video podcast on YouTube every Monday. The GameOverGreggy Show has occasionally included famous guests, such as Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville‍ '​s Lex Luthor) and Kevin Smith (Clerks, SModcast). In March 2014, Miller began experimenting with his upload schedule, mostly in regards to The GameOverGreggy Show. He began uploading each person's segment from the weeks episode each day from Monday through to Thursday with the full show uploaded on a Friday, however if a guest is present for that podcast, their segment would also be uploaded on Friday. The reason for the schedule change is partly due to Miller coming to the conclusion that running three shows at once (The GameOverGreggy Show, A Conversation with Colin and Oreo Oration/Gregway) and having them edited and uploaded for each weekday proved to be tiresome. It also stemmed from fan criticism from earlier episodes of The GameOverGreggy Show, in which many found it difficult to skip to a specific topic due to a lack of navigation as to where each topic began and concluded throughout the video. Separating the topics into individual videos decisively allowed for clearer direction to any one specific topic.

On September 15, Miller retired the GameOverGreggy YouTube name and rebranded it as ‘‘Kinda Funny’‘. The channel was rebranded in order to further expand their content to other outlets and to create newer content with higher production values. The first video released by Kinda Funny was a parody rap video by Tim Gettys and IGN Production Coordinator Alexis Cozombolidis featuring San Francisco Giants outfielder and Cozombolidis' boyfriend Hunter Pence. As a part of the rebranding, a new series debuted in November 2014 called Follow the Liter, in which Miller, Moriarty, Scarpino or Gettys and bartender Erick Castro offer tutorials on how to make various cocktails and alcoholic beverages. On January 5, 2015, it was announced that Miller, alongside Moriarty, Scarpino and Gettys, resigned from their positions at IGN in order to focus and contribute to Kinda Funny and its sister channel, Kinda Funny Games. The decision was largely based on the overwhelmingly positive response they received from fans on the crowdfunding website Patreon, where the revenue generated from the site goes towards higher production values and various perks for fans in return for their support, as well as the desire to cover topics such as video games and film and television news, which they were previously discouraged from doing by their employers at IGN. As a result of this, more shows are being produced and uploaded throughout the week, including a gaming podcast called the Kinda Funny Gamescast, daily Let's Plays and a daily news show called Colin and Greg Live which stream on Twitch.tv. Early access to and exclusive episodes of The GameOverGreggy Show and Kinda Funny Gamescast, monthly Q&A's and many other perks are accessible through Patreon.

Other media

Miller was a recurring panel member of IGN podcasts such as Game Scoop and Knockin' Boots. Game Scoop is a podcast hosted by Daemon Hatfield in which Hatfield and three panel members (IGN staff) discuss a fan-submitted question related to gaming. Knockin' Boots was a podcast also hosted by Hatfield in which fans submit question related to dating/relationship issues and sexuality questions. As of 2013, IGN no longer funds the podcast and is now independent, therefore payment is required for each episode, which is now much longer in length (2 hours plus) and under the name "Super Knockin' Boots".[8] Episodes of "Super Knockin' Boots" are released sporadically.

References

  1. ↑ IGN (July 18, 2013). "WWE Legends of WrestleMania Roster Report - IGN". IGN. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ iTunes (July 18, 2013). "iTunes - Podcasts - Podcast Beyond". Apple. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsdnIjMCxS0
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/user/GameOverGreggy/about
  5. ↑ YouTube (July 18, 2013). "A Conversation with Colin - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 YouTube (July 18, 2013). "Oreo Oration: Oreo Cookie Reviews - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  7. ↑ YouTube (July 18, 2013). "Oreo Oration: Oreo Cookie Reviews - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  8. ↑ iTunes (July 18, 2013). "iTunes - Music - Super Knockin' Boots". Apple. Retrieved August 25, 2013.

External links