What happened to video game cable shows?

[psychic_dream]

I fondly remember getting excited to watch X-Play for the latest on upcoming video game releases, developer interviews, and all that, often speculating with my classmates about how awesome the new games would be based on the promo material.

As I got older and became more aware, it seemed like traditional media, like gaming magazines, started to fade out. Most of the discussions about them came from early millennials who grew up with them. Unreal Tournament still had a strong following, at least from what I remember.

So, what exactly happened to these media outlets? Why did they fade into obscurity during the 2010s, and why haven't they made a comeback? Was it because of platforms like YouTube, or was there something else at play?

[rusty_shackleford]

I fondly remember getting excited to watch X-Play for the latest on upcoming video game releases, developer interviews, and all that, often speculating with my classmates about how awesome the new games would be based on the promo material.

As I got older and became more aware, it seemed like traditional media, like gaming magazines, started to fade out. Most of the discussions about them came from early millennials who grew up with them. Unreal Tournament still had a strong following, at least from what I remember.

So, what exactly happened to these media outlets? Why did they fade into obscurity during the 2010s, and why haven't they made a comeback? Was it because of platforms like YouTube, or was there something else at play?

Have I got a show for you!

[maidenhaver]

I always hated G4, because it always had that howdy doo fellow gamers, but especially by the end.

[Vergil]

I fondly remember getting excited to watch X-Play for the latest on upcoming video game releases, developer interviews, and all that, often speculating with my classmates about how awesome the new games would be based on the promo material.

As I got older and became more aware, it seemed like traditional media, like gaming magazines, started to fade out. Most of the discussions about them came from early millennials who grew up with them. Unreal Tournament still had a strong following, at least from what I remember.

So, what exactly happened to these media outlets? Why did they fade into obscurity during the 2010s, and why haven't they made a comeback? Was it because of platforms like YouTube, or was there something else at play?

Have I got a show for you!

tfw the bull is HIV positive

[Classix]

I remember watching YTV as a kid channel 25. " Video & Arcade Top 10 ". Highlight of my day after school especially if it was a game I had. Good times.

[psychic_dream]

I fondly remember getting excited to watch X-Play for the latest on upcoming video game releases, developer interviews, and all that, often speculating with my classmates about how awesome the new games would be based on the promo material.

As I got older and became more aware, it seemed like traditional media, like gaming magazines, started to fade out. Most of the discussions about them came from early millennials who grew up with them. Unreal Tournament still had a strong following, at least from what I remember.

So, what exactly happened to these media outlets? Why did they fade into obscurity during the 2010s, and why haven't they made a comeback? Was it because of platforms like YouTube, or was there something else at play?

Have I got a show for you!

maybe some things from the past are better left buried than dragged out and turned into a humiliation ritual. I never liked Sessler, even before I knew anything about his religious background

[Vergil]

So, what exactly happened to these media outlets? Why did they fade into obscurity during the 2010s, and why haven't they made a comeback? Was it because of platforms like YouTube, or was there something else at play?

Platforms like Youtube made this sort of video game content less novel and was far freer. You didn't have a bunch of ugly actors trying to pretend to be "hip" and relatable you just had fellow genuine autists who could talk freely about their special little interests with little to no censorship and in the early days, no sponsorship autism polluting the coverage. Stuff like G4 lived entirely off of the novelty of seeing video game content represented in legacy media. Once a far better alternative appeared all you had left to make it special was the personalities of the hosts and uuuhhhhhhh

[Acrux]

They have shows for video games now?!?!?!

[psychic_dream]

Also, can we talk about how hot Morgan Webb was?

[maidenhaver]

No

[Vergil]

Also, can we talk about how hot Morgan Webb was?

*crushes your skull with one powerful bite*

[maidenhaver]

Spoiler that ****

[Tangerine]

Also, can we talk about how hot Morgan Webb was?

You're the kind of guy that thinks a woman holding a gun makes her hotter.

[Revyscutlass]

25 minute old thread and you've already got good enough answers so I won't talk about the "second" G4.
Even by 2007 the target audience of programs like Xplay(which already sacrificed part of their older audience from the TechTV days) had more and more of a reason not to tune in.

AOTS did a bit better in the late 00's but they were already geared for more "variety internet stuff" from the get go, not just games like Xplay. Anyway, they peaked and then floundered eventually too.

Not because any of these programs were bad as such(and they did become crap overtime), but when you're in the golden age of YT Machinima, Newgrounds, Myspace, and other growing social media attaches, you have less and less of a reason to play chummy with proper cable shows with the sexy hostesses like Webb and the pretend nerds like Sessler.

G4 was forced into a niche channel by the time HD came around, and instead of embracing that, management treated it like an ordinary television channel instead of letting the network garner some heat, that's why it died the first time in 2014.

I believe it was Myndflame from WoW Machinima fame that attempted to form a "Machinima licensing agreement" in an effort to produce machinimas for official cable with the companies getting some of the revenue.
This never happened of course(Blizzard, and others never agreed to it) but that right there is at the very least CONCEPTUALLY further ahead than channels like G4 when it comes to ambition and attempts to grow. Alls G4 ever did was host the award shows and play chummy with X celebrity and Y TV exec. To my knowledge I don't ever recall Xplay talking about flash games like the Sonny series and I don't recall AOTS ever talking about flash movies like Castle, or just other internet stuff that they neglected, BECAUSE "hey this is TV land"
They unironically peaked in like '05 when they had Monolith productions as a guest to promote FEAR and a new graphics card NVIDIA had at the time. That was the most they've ever been "relevant".

[rusty_shackleford]

It's a shame nobody talks about the actually good shows that were on G4. e.g., Icons was a show that documented the history of video games, including interviewing various developers.

[Revyscutlass]

It's a shame nobody talks about the actually good shows that were on G4. e.g., Icons was a show that documented the history of video games, including interviewing various developers.

Icons, Portal, and Cheat! are what I consider G4's "honest" shows. i.e. the ones that had legs to keep the network in business. Unlike AOTS and especially Xplay.

[Classix]

It's a shame nobody talks about the actually good shows that were on G4. e.g., Icons was a show that documented the history of video games, including interviewing various developers.

Reminds me of this site, might grab a few for my brother for his bday coming up next month.

https://www.bitmapbooks.com/en-ca/produ ... -1992-2002

[spookyheart]

youtube thats waht happened not that they were good in the first place anyways, cause it was really for and by normalfags thats what they all are at the end of the day. :/

[Nemesis]

What happened to video game cable shows?

Barely anyone watches cable anymore. Most, if not all, "shows" and game coverage in video form migrated to YouTube.

G4 had some good shows, and it was a good channel to have in the background.

[Norfleet]

You're the kind of guy that thinks a woman holding a gun makes her hotter.

It's true, though. Chick < same chick + gun.