Posted on: Sunday, October 28th, 2012
Posted in: News
Comments: 50
G4 TO DROP GAMING SHOWS
After over 14 years of gaming news and reviews, Xplay will be closing its doors and saying goodbye.
G4 has been one of those channels that has changed dramatically over the past few years, dropping its original shows left and right as it brought on more reality tv series to try and keep ratings up. This has lead many to rename the channel mockingly as the Cheaters and Cops Marathon Show, and it seems the statement is starting to hold more water. While it was true that G4 had been changing its content dramatically it still held to its traditional gamer roots with the shows Xplay and Attack of the Show (AotS), yet now it seems both of these shows will be going off the air by the end of the year. After this it seems NBC Universal will be reworking G4 to be a lifestyle channel focused on ‘the modern male.’
Until that deadline comes, both shows will be airing new content with an emphasis on looking back on their years of broadcasting with celebrity guest stars, though I can’t help but admit I feel the loss of Xplay far more then that of AotS. Growing up I started watching Tech TV for my gaming fix and one show in particular entertained and informed me more then any other, and while the show changed from Extended Play to Xplay they kept their sense of humor and lighthearted nature throughout. While I personally had a falling out over some of Xplays review decisions, I was still happy to see Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb doing a job they loved, and having a blast the entire time. Even AotS had memorable moments, showing Kevin Pereira certainly knew how to host a tech based show and understanding of the gamer culture that came from being so engrossed in it.
The unfortunate side to all of this is that it highlights the ever changing nature of the digital age, where gamers can gather information and view news, reviews, and previews with a click of the button, rendering television gaming shows obsolete. In this new shift towards a truly connected internet experience there will always be casualties, and it seems the hands of time finally caught up to both these amazing shows. My hat is off to all the staff and hosts who made both Xplay and AotS possible, and I wish you well in all your future endeavours, and who knows there is always room for an Xplay/AotS web show right, right!?
Sources:
Escapist Magazine
Kotaku
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50 thoughts on “G4 TO DROP GAMING SHOWS”
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When TEch tv I mean G4 started adding those shows I prpedicted this would happen, even tho i greatly didnt want it to. Xplay was one of those shows for me as well, I didnt get to have internet all my life it wasnt even possible untill i was about 17 years old to have internet in my house. I agree AOTS has its moments but sometimes i got bored watching it. even now I think about xplay and some of the other gaming shows they had. Shall they go with honor
It’s just sad that they trended to that reality crap…
While I doubt that the shows we love will continue in a way that we like, it’s possible…maybe a blog styled web series or the like. those have proven time and again to be able to last.
*sniff**sniff* good bye xplay,,you were what got this girl back into gaming at the age of 13 *sniff*
there there its in a better place now
They’d better freaking not! Gaming shows were what made G4 WHAT IT IS, and now they’re going to suddenly DROP them? Especially not Xplay… Come on, G4, don’t do this…
*digs his own grave ands sets up his noose overtop
This is just sad
portal, original x play with special agent bob and secret agent Steve,cheat with the original guy, arena, and vs where they rate games against each other so sad rest in peace Original G4
also, it is crap that they fired Adam.
I used to watch xplay, until direct tv got rid of them, but even then i started seeing where they were going. I’m going to miss them, but everything has an end.
same here but for me it wasnt direct tv my cable provider was bought out by comcast. Adelphia was a good one in my book had great deals XD
this is some truly tragic news… i have loved Xplay since their golden days and i grew such a love for the show i could not stop watching no matter how bad/mainstream it got… let’s all salute the g4 we all knew and loved and send it on its maryway… goodbye and godspeed g4, R.I.P… rest in peace Xplay and AOTS…
I haven’t watched G4 in years but I use to love Xplay. Before I discovered Angry Joe they were my favorite video game reviewers and even when I disagreed with their opinions I still enjoyed the show. Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb were hilarious.
SAME here AMEN
I definitely miss Tech TV, I used to watch it all the time.
Any news on what Kevin Pereira, Adam Sessler, and Morgan Webb will be doing after the shows are cancelled? I want to see more of them eventually doing other things.
From what has been said, Kevin is stay quiet so its unknown what he will do, I am not sure on Morgan Webb and it seems Adam Sessler is just content to relax for now.
Actually Kevin and Adam jumped ship a while back in April. It’s a good thing they knew that G4 was sinking faster than the Titanic. The good shows were all taken off G4 and replaced with crappy reality TV shows. I’m starting to think that G4 has been slowly turning into a crappy version of TruTV.
G4 tv? you mean cops, cops, cops, cops, and oh did I mention cops? Sure is gamer. Not. Glad to see it die off, net news is the only news I care about and to my knowledge angry joe is like the only one that is current and tells it how it is.
Good riddance Sessler and Webb had turned into complete unfunny trash. The reviews were pretty much crap ever since around 2010 and became more and more filled with lies.
AOTS was okay, though it didn’t really keep me interested enough to keep watching it.
while i always thoguht cartoon network letting in live action was bad, g4 dropping such sacred programming such as xplay makes me more or less forgive cn for that. atthe vyer least, cartoon network kept the majority to what it truly was, that being cartoons. g4 has now abandoned two of its best shows, perhaps last shows, for more fail.
long before this, xplay has pretyt much been g4 for me. it was its only unique, good show, and while it has been a little off with the quality, it was not enough. they showed theri true opinions of things, for the most part, all with comedic factors to it. i would say they were one of the great inspirations for the likes of angry joe, nostalgia critic, and so on.
let us raise our glasses, goblets, and more exotic methods of drinking, to a fallen giant. we gamers will remember you xplay. thanks for the lols and memories, and tearing bad games wide open for us too see and lvoe the games with effort and love.
Qapla’!
It was only a matter of time given how the shows were just sagging on. X-Play died years ago to me, but it is sad regardless that it is dead. It was one of my inspirations to begin writing video game reviews back then, and comedy too (granted I barely do the latter and kinda suck at it).
Farewell X-Play. Farewell G4. You are now truly and forever dead.
I would be interested in seing what you do =] you can pm me on youtube I check for messages daily.
MrBool124
if that dont work
Quarren Everett
MTV, TLC, G4.
Once great channels, now infested with fail. G4 held out longer than I expected, I must admit.
Can I add History, Discovery, and Scyfy to that list. Ok scyfy is barely hanging in there, but every time they have a good show they seem hell bent on cancelling it and putting on more ‘wrastlin’.
Back in the day, I used to love watching G4 for shows like Xplay and Cheat, which gave me insight into the world of gaming that I didn’t really have otherwise. While I enjoyed the reviews, my favorite part of Xplay was the interactions between Morgan Webb and Sessler, as well as the awesome skits and little in-betweens they would have. I also used to love watching their E3 and Comic-Con coverage, as the hosts seemed to have a good time showing us things we wouldn’t otherwise see from other media outlets.
However, Xplay slowly began doing fewer skits until it was down to nothing and added that new host. The casual and humorous vibe from the original show was gone as they focused almost exclusively on more “professional’ reviews and news, which I could just get from the internet. Not only that, but AoTS (a show I would watch at times but still enjoyed) because so dedicated to the female hosts providing fanservice and sex jokes that I lost all interest. Instead I started watching more online reviews (including your show) and became a van of Video Games Awesome, which has done great shows where we can watch the E3 conferences with them.
So I’m sad to see Xplay, a show that was a huge part of my chilldhood, go but I feel like it should have been put out of its misery at least a year ago before it degenerated into unfunny nothingness.
there are many reasons this happens to shows and it involves new company leads and higher ups
I really liked the old X-Play (or Extended Play) with Sessler and Webb
I’m actually kind of happy, while xplay used to be good it is now filled with outdated news and bonus segments that no one really cares about just as fodder for their half an hour run time. IF you go to gamespot or ign you could get the news a week before xplay even talks about it, and they are extremely biased to brand name (one of the only indie games to ever get a score from them was LIMBO, and that was only because everyone else was giving it a good score.) Sometimes, I feel like they are waiting to see what everyone else does and then just copy them a week later.
So G4′s going to be another MTV?
I had a similar falling out with X-Play years ago over some very questionable reviews (Assassin’s Creed 1 gets a perfect score?), but also over their format changes. I really enjoyed the sketch comedy they had in the beginning most, but it slowly started becoming clear that they were skewing reviews to avoid clashing with their fanbase, or they were just getting lazy and twisting it to fit the hype (I repeatedly insisted that the reviewer’s name be published with the review for this exact reason).
This does answer the question of why Sessler and Pierra left the network, though. I’m guessing that their contracts came up for renewal early and they were notified of the pending rebrand which did not have a place for their talents.
I wish I could join you guys in your mourning, but to me, X-Play died almost 5 years ago. It was a shame then, because from 2003-2006, it was my world; When I was out of school, unemployed, and living at home, I watched it 4-6 times a day. It helped revive my passion for video games that had waned in high school, leading me to make the game industry my career, which made me happier, healthier, and a better person, not to mention getting an actual career instead of just a ‘job’.
hey destroyed AofS and Xplay when it became more about putting hot chicks on the show and less about the gadgets and video games reviews. Most of the chicks they have on their show don’t even play video games and have no love for them and it showed. They were just there as eye candy for the male viewers. I stopped watching them because of that and because of the silly direction AotS went… ANd because the reviews started becoming less and less reliable and more and more like IGN. You could tell they were giving scored based on what game producer was shelling out the money rather than the game actually being good.
They* They destroyed… way to start out a comment with a typo Scout. Good job me! *sigh*
Looks like we’ll have another Scifiasco on our hands.
You mean SyFyasco
lol
I’ve barely watched either show for years and I get my gaming fix nowadays from the web rather than television, but it was G4′s gaming shows that first introduced me to basically every last-gen franchise that I’ve ever loved.
I cannot express how sad this makes me feel.
At first, I was confused and a little sad when I noticed the direction. Now, G4 can’t die fast enough for me. The channel became so unwatchable that they could’ve cancelled Xplay and AOTS years ago! If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear G4′s only purpose was to kill off TechTV. It was better off when it was TechTV because there’s only so many ideas for a gaming show that might actually work, and, you don’t just put Cops and Cheaters marathons every day, unless you are trying to fuck up a station.
I stopped watching G4 a few years back. But while I never particularly liked AOTS, I will kind of miss Xplay. I never agreed with their reviews, but I found most of them quite funny (well, probably up until 2008/2009).
It is a real shame, whether you enjoyed the shows or not, they were what gave the channel it’s identity, without them it’ll just turn into another channel everybody will skip by on their TV guide.
Indeed, the end of G4 is at least partially due to the television medium not being relevant to video games. We’re in an era of on-demand content, with dozens of choices and varied topics that renders shows like X-Play and AotS obsolete.
Perhaps we can argue that these shows– and others during G4′s existence– helped to pave the way for more original content like we’re seeing now. I’ll miss X-Play, despite the show being a shell of its former self after the departure of Adam Sessler… but times change, and these things happen,
I hear that their parent company NBC Universal wants to rebrand G4 in early 2013 into a “modern male-centric” media outlet reflective of GQ Magazine. I have no idea whether they plan to continue gaming shows – but it doesnt sound good.
Indeed, gaming shows dedicated to news, reviews and such for TV are having a hard time competing against the instant access of the interwebs, knowledge at your fingertips.
That doesn’t sound good at all, and it will be such a pity once/if they drop their game shows.
That sounds like Spike’s original goal… and we all know how well that network turned out.
Just so you know Joe, if they aired your show on G4… I’d watch that shit.
So it’s not so much about “instant access to information” to me as much as it’s about entertainment… and of course, reliable reviews.
Same here, that’s why I try to stay away from IGN and the like, some parts are just too commercially motivated and less focused on giving reliable game reviews.
That’s what I like about shows such as The Angry Joe Show or Zero Punctuation, they aren’t afraid to state their true opinions.
And if they aired your show, I would totally watch that as well.
I agree. We had instant access to all this info back when G4 was in its prime but I always preferred watching G4. For me it was about the entertainment. Accurate reviews are important too and their reviews were never bad and fun to watch. If G4 had kept its original focus on video games and technology then maybe they wouldn’t be in the situation they’re in now.
So it’s like Spike, but worse?
…………..if there is any network with satan in it now, it is g4. at least we have you, angry joe. salutes. and gametrailers, which is more proffessional but with equally strong points.
god this is depressing news indeed. can ya hurry up to your next review? i think we all need a pick me up that alcohol could not possibly provide. we need laughter, jokes, and strong points for both the good factors and the bad displayed to us to view and judge for ourselves while hearing another’s opinions.
I don’t get network executives at all? Do they not realize that the geeky gamer type pretty much is the new ‘it thing’? Dudes don’t want to watch a channel about chinos vs khakis (is that even a thing idk?). Its going to end up being another gay channel like Bravo.