Who Is TotalBiscuit And Why Should You Care?

Born on 8 July 1984 in England, John Bain aka TotalBiscuit (TB) is one of the most popular gaming personalities in the world. He has almost 400k followers on Twitter and 1.9 million subscribers on Youtube at the time of this writing.  His influence in the gaming industry is undeniable.

He is especially known for his opinion on gaming news and on indie game reviews. Receiving a good review from TB is similar to getting a Michelin star as a restaurant chef. What sets TB apart from traditional game review websites is that TB isn’t afraid to call the game as it is. If the game is bad, he’ll tear it apart. If the game is good he’ll praise it and recommend the game to the audiences. There is no traces of sugarcoating in his reviews and first impression videos. It’s this brutal honesty that help sets him apart from other sources who is hesitant to give bad reviews or criticize a game in fear of consequences. He’s a wholly independent entity who is willing to get down and dirty.

The Beginning

TotalBiscuit started out his online career as a podcaster. Between 2005 and 2010 he ran World of Warcraft Radio before the group behind the site went their separate ways. He then started Cynicalbrit.com where he continued to post more general gaming content.

The big break came in 2010 when he started posting gameplay videos of World of Warcraft Cataclysm expansion. TB had access to an early version of the game and his videos received millions of views from WoW players who was curious about the new expansion pack. His first check from Youtube was greater than the annual salary of his old job.

After that day, TotalBiscuit continued to make video commentaries and it has since become his full-time job. At the same time, he managed to piss off a lot of people along the way. A developer once try to shut his Youtube channel down simply because TB didn’t find the game they sent him to be appealing.

E-Sport

Though he is best known for his critiques and commentaries of PC games, TotalBiscuit is also a big name in the world of e-Sports. He was a commentator for multiple major Starcraft 2 events and he was a creator of a professional team called Axiom.

The creation of Axiom is a big deal in all of e-sports. It started as TB helping out a popular Korean player in his time of need and grew from there. It unintentionally shined the light on the Foreigner (a term for non-Korean players) versus Korean divide, as popular but mediocre foreigners was earning six figure income against superior Korean players who were living on ramen and bunk beds. Axiom is highly successful and has managed to win GSTL through a team partnership with team Acer. Today, the team consists of five Korean players with TB at the helm as Owner, Manager, Sponsorship & PR Coordinator. Axiom is co-sponsored by various companies such as GoG.com and WASD Keyboards.

The Lonely Place of Neutral

TB inserted himself into the #gamergate conversation by discussing many important points raised by the movement. He declared himself to be a neutral. At the same time he was concerned about the ethic and professionalism of the video games press. TB believes that many of the ethical concerns raised during the controversy are valid or deserve to be addressed at the very least.

He interviewed Stephen Totilo of Kotaku with regard to Kotaku’s ethics and professionalism. Afterwards, he appeared on The David Pakman Show to discuss the controversy and ethics in the video game industry. This was a bad PR move in the eyes of the general public because everyone is supposed to be against #gamergate, a supposed misogynist movement.

Predictably, SJWs choose to harass him on online social networks down at every possible corner. SJWs attacked him after he won the “Trending Gamer” award. They gave him death wishes for trying to promote a charity drive. What’s pathetic is how they assume that he is a misogynist based on the false narrative that they initially set up for #gamergate (“it’s a movement for people who hate women”).

Why You Should Care?

It takes a man of great courage to stand up to the majority, speak his mind, and tell it like it is. In a world where everyone tries to be politically correct and stays out of trouble, someone like TotalBiscuit is a fresh breath of air. You should care about TB even if you don’t follow his work because he is the example of an ideal gaming journalist, one who isn’t swayed by the mainstream media and the current gaming establishment.

Edit: I thought that TB sold Axiom, this was corrected. TB still owns Axiom.

Read Next: TotalBiscuit Receives Death Wish By Anti #GamerGate For Promoting Charity