Ben-DutkaYou know, I just realized: I almost never watch G4.
Maybe it's just because I pay attention to game news almost every day of my life and when I'm not working, I really don't want to look at it. That's a distinct possibility. But I've noticed that none of my friends watch it, either, and they're pretty big gamers.
I think any lack of interest is due to two key factors: First and foremost, this hobby is all about doing; it relies on active participation rather than passive viewing. That being the case, it's only natural to assume that if gamers have some spare time and are in front of a TV, they'd rather be playing yes? Secondly, I believe it's the culture. Fortunately or unfortunately, we don't really have our "celebrities," so-to-speak. We have recognizable names and faces but for the most part, none are exactly what you would call A-list celebs.
And without that, you don't get the rampant gossip (that I freakin' hate , by the way) that dominates the movie and music industries. People might care what Brad Pitt had for lunch but I seriously doubt even the most hardcore gamers give a flying fig what David Jaffe bought at the mall yesterday. We just don't seem to care as much about the personal lives of even our most illustrious members, and that's probably a good thing. But it's a bad thing for TV shows that rely on such popularity; G4TV is essentially our Entertainment Tonight, and it just isn't the same.
Yeah, they toss a pretty face up there all the time, and they try to cater to both hardcore and casual gamers, but this just isn't the "hey, lookit who they're talkin' to!" type of industry. And I'm not quite sure it ever will be. Lastly, the obvious: The vast majority of game news is received online. Gamers don't need to tune in at a certain time to get the most up-to-date info; in fact, they probably shouldn't wait for the show if they want to remain current. So all this may be conspiring against G4TV…just a theory.
What the hell…?
I think he has you confused with someone else. 😉
Ben, I think that my troll friend just thinks your article is useless…
BTW I DO NOT THINK THE SAME.
I remember back a couple of years I used to watch G4TV, cant really remember much out of the show.
And Lady Gaga sang about this guy???
@Ben perfect response!
Oh I died when I saw this. lol
My cable company stopped providing G4 at my price plan 4 years ago and I've not missed it since. It use to be a great channel when it was techtv.
I remember TechTV. 🙁
Well, I have Directv so there's no chance of getting it at any price point.
Last edited by pillz81 on 7/30/2012 3:45:48 PM
This and IGN are the two sites I usually visit for game news, and when I want to see video, I'll look up a review on youtube. But the main reason I don't watch this is I don't have that channel. (Though I did temporarily get it for free during E3)
Yeah I was pretty ticked when Directv decided not to renew G4 but other than E3 and other game conferences/conventions I didn't really watch it besides the occasional AOTS because all that ever played was Cops and Cheaters.
You never watched Code Monkeys?
You can watch Code Monkeys on Netflix.
I used to love Tech TV. I didn't get it at home, but I would watch anytime I had the chance. It was great. I was excited when the change to G4 started with the expanded focus on gaming, but ended up disappointed. They tried WAY too hard to be "cool" with the younger crowd.
Most of what I've seen on G4 lately is crap. X-Play was cool at first, but just got old and many reviews seemed biased. I like Adam Sessler, but Morgan Webb is extremely annoying. I tried to like Attack of the Show, and still try to watch it from time to time, but it's so sophomoric I can't stand more than a few minutes.
As far as gaming news goes, its far easier to find what I want online (through websites such as this one)
The only things I've watched on G4 in the last few years are E3 coverage and Quantum Leap. That's right, I said Quantum Leap! Remember that show?
Sessler left. Not surprising considering his reviews felt like they were being phoned in and written by someone else over the last few years he was there. I could never quite shake the feeling that X-Play is somehow secretly sponsored by Microsoft, perhaps it's paranoia, or perhaps its a perception based on their review and editorial policy. Who knows…
Of course, when Olivia Munn left the Network it all went to hell in a hand basket anyways.
Highlander and Jed could not have put my feelings about G4 and x-play any better. Every line. Especially about only watching E3 and Quantum Leap 🙂
…and I definitely believe X-play is bought and sold.
Last edited by PoopsMcGee on 7/30/2012 10:22:10 AM
after they got rid of Adam Sessler there was no draw for me
use to love there web shows as they had somre real good info and chats about gameing but after they let him go even there E3 stuff was not worth it
they use to be about gameing now they have at best 30min a day of shows about gameing its sad
I loved that one online video where he talked about the rabid fanboyism in online forums, then told them all to shut the f**k up.
I remember now, it was the Sessler's Soapbox called Killzone mailbag. The last thing he said in that video made my day. It totally reflected my thoughts on the fanboy wars that are constantly taking place all over the Internet.
I never heard of them until maybe two years ago. And even then I got the impression they were just some channel for men like Spike TV(I never watched it, just hear about it from a friend). Then my friend started to send me their asinine reviews for PS3 games from that one douche(can't remember his name) who recently left the company. That guy who ragged on Uncharted 3 but weeks before gave a crap Kinect dance game a perfect score. That alone told me their opinion was worthless.
His name was Adam Sessler. Very bright guy and you should try to watch his "Sessler's Soapbox." It is a web show you can only watch on the g4 site. Of course there won't be any new ones because he is gone, but it showed what a smart man he was.
I respect him and extracredits a whole lot. AngryJoeShow is another good one and he makes me laugh.
That's him. I've seen his Soapbox show before. It's part if the reason I have never liked the guy. Why does his opinion matter so much? The reviews I've read from him are nonsense. The guy tries to pretend he's above the fray while simultaneously acting like a fanboy himself.
The irony.
To answer your question, the same reason people get on this site.
Ehhh well I for one come to this site because it is pretty neutral and has intelligent reviews. The userbase is also pretty smart.
I don't think we should compare this website with G4 or anything done or related to them. Like Jawk said, that guy at G4 really thought he was some1 else and it made me ditch the show pretty fast.
Especially here it surprises me to see alot of people miss Sessler since I always felt G4 were at bit on the 360 fanboyism side.
I'm surprised the channel still exists…
Wow.
This isn't news. This doesn't have anything to do with news.
And if you have a problem with how fast or how hard I work, I have NO problem with telling you to screw off.
There's plenty of articles and editorials on here to read, some I don't agree with at all, but what do I do? I ignore them, since some apparently enjoy reading them despite the bias. I'm sure you were only listing one example for emphasis, but looking at a few websites definitely isn't going to satisfy all the knowledge you crave for. Just as you have the power to post a comment, I think you have the same power to move on.
I've got no problem with Alejandro moving on. What a joke.
Anyways, I think I missed the part of this article that said another site sucks. I don't remember reading anything about another website sucking within an article itself. (Perhaps in comments in the past, but not in this article or another)
Anyways, editorials are differentiated from news as editorials because they are written essentially as POV pieces. If there isn't some bias in an editorial, there's something way too cautious about the editorial. There's a reason editorials are editor's favorite part about their jobs.
As for this site having essentially a staff of one and a fraction of a fraction of the funding a site like IGN would have, I think Ben does a fantastic job. There's a reason to come here, and there's a reason to go to IGN. I go to both, but the personal touch you find here is what makes it my favorite of the two.
And hey, if your editorials are correct, Ben, I wouldn't get bothered by people disagreeing either.
At no point did I say another site sucks. I didn't even say G4 sucks.
He didn't read a word of it, or can't read at all. Either way, I don't care.
Anyone else notice these trolls never seem to know how to use the reply button?
What an a**hole
Alejandro562,
If you don't like this site…..
and since IGN apparently needs you a hell of a lot more than we do…then move on, nothing to see here.
"And try not to slam the door on your way out"!
Hey, at least he explained why he was annoyed this time, unlike the first comment, which was totally pointless.
I realize the only time I really watch G4 for any extended time is E3, Comic Con and whatever Bruce Lee movie they have on. I used to enjoy killing a random summer afternoon watching Filter, Cinematech, Icons, and some of their other gaming related.
Now some days you can't even watch it. You get stuck with a marathon of Cops reruns from 1989 to 2011 or you'll get stuck watching a marathon of Cops' little brother Campus PD.
@Jawknee I believe the name you're looking for is Adam Sessler. Still amazed he couldn't give Uncharted 3 a prefect score because it was too much like part 2, but a few weeks later during X-Play game award nomination show they nominated Gears of War 3 for game of the year.
But I do have to correct a earlier statement I do watch some ATOS because I got a crush on Candace Bailey.
Tech Tv>G4. Directtv dropped them, but I stopped watching when Munn walked and now no Adam!
The only thing I can recall watching on g4 is the ninja warrior marathons. Don't have much use for it otherwise.
It always seemed to ne that they were on MS payroll.
Yeah I agree. That is why I flushed em pretty fast.
I've never watched but I don't watch alot of television.
I watch AOTS everyday, Ninja Warrioir from time to time, and Quantum Leap but that is pretty much it. I used to watch the occasional episode of Xplay, but the episode when they ripped on Uncharted 3 for being more of the same and then interviewed one of the creators of CoD and praised him for how different it was was the last time I took those douches seriously. Xplay is the biggest joke when it comes to reviews.
I just hope Matt Mira gets the job as the new host for AOTS, everyone else they have had host this summer has been really bad, other then Chris Hardwick, but he is doing his own thing and would most likely refuse to host permanetly.
The channel was way better when it was TechTV and it was even good at the beginning when it became G4, but now they just love to put shows on that are for the less intelligent Cops, Cheaters, Campus PD, rinse & repeat. If they actually shifted back towards gaming and SciFi I would really start watching more.
Are you talking about just X-Play (the actual video game show) or the whole G4 channel??? I liked watching X-Play and Attack of the Show because they were often quite amusing, and some of the other shows on it were kinda fun. DirecTV quit carrying it a few years ago, though, so I haven't watched it in quite a while. With Adam Sessler and some of the other more entertaining people there gone, I probably wouldn't like it as much now, though.
I personally liked it when it was "tech tv" ! The shows they have on G4 are stupid ! I miss Leo LaPorte and Kevin Rose and company !
The programming now sucks !
Tech TV at least combined Tech news and games. G4 is just games, crap, news about crap, gossip pretending to be news about crap and horribly poor and superficial game reviews.
There was a time when Sessler and Webb seemed to give reviews from their own point of view, written by themselves and reflecting their personal opinions. But their show became ever more gimmicky, with less about reviews and more about BS. The reviews became more and more superficial, and the feeling of bias crept in along with the feeling that the reviews were written by committee.
Attack of the Show was good When Olivia Munn and that dude that did the show with her were the team. They worked well together, and her totally dead pan bimbo act worked perfectly. However she left to go on to much greater things (yes, she's actually a pretty funny lady, and the dead pan bimbo was indeed an act) on comedy central. Since then AOTS has slide downhill and eventually follen over a cliff in terms of entertainment value and quality. Not that quality was ever it's shining glory.
When Tech TV bit the dust, I knew that G4 was living on borrowed time.
I did enjoy G4tv years ago back when they also featured some anime on as well. X-Play was okay, but there were times when the hosts were grinding my nerves. It's not a channel I instantly tune into, though if they show a good movie under their "Movies that don't suck" segment again I won't skip it.
Ben, I'm not sure if you're talking about the channel in its entirety or X-Play..Either way..I stopped watching X-Play a long time ago when it was apparent that their reviews were incompetent to say the least. They also appeared to be very bias as well..As for the whole channel..I'd watch Cops re-runs when there was nothing else on tv..
Bomb Patrol Afghanistan is a badass show.
G4 WAS great in the late 90s early 2000s when they actually showed gaming related shows 99% of the time, though at the same time those same show and episodes were reruns 70% of the time so you maybe only saw something NE once a week.. but now that half the crap they show on there isnt even gaming related (i think only xplay is now?) that channel sucks, they need a name change now.
G4 is a mere shadow of what in once was. all i still watch is Xplay. and their E3 coverage. once G4 replaced Techtv it got to serious and lost it sense of humor and funness. and of course all those classic show they had.
honestly though i've never bought the "they're bias against sony" thing all the years i've watched they've always said good things about PS3. just a few examples.
uncharted 2 their game of the year 09 adam also said it was the best game he ever played. (btw infamous was also up for their GOTY that year)
they gave. god of war 3. LBP 1&2. MGS4. ico collection. journey. flower. killzone 2&3. all 3 resistance games. perfect scores.
infamous 2. GT5. heavy rain. the yakuza games all got 4's
i think to they've said they think move works better than kinect
so yea i never bought that their bias for a minute.
Last edited by TheCanadianGuy on 7/30/2012 10:43:11 AM
Ninja Warrior makes it worth it. (Not the lame American Ninja Warrior boot camp stuff).
They have old movies and shows on that are pretty cool.
Comic-Con and E3 coverage is great as long as you've pre-recorded it and fast forward through all the filler.
I actually need to call Verizon today and ask why I'm not getting the station since I moved.
Hey if it's free, why not have the option? But I get what you're saying Ben. Most people can get twice the information in half the time from game sites.
Last edited by Drake_RB3 on 7/30/2012 11:09:20 AM
G4TV embodies the juvenile aesthetics that sometimes make me embarrassed to be a gamer. I'm sure they do some good work but I just can't be bothered to waste my time tuning in.
I would LOVE for someone to make a smart, thoughtful, legitimately cool show where discussion and analysis of the latest gaming news takes place. Have never seen anything like that anywhere, unfortunatley.