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Is Video Game TV Closer That You Think?
Gamer Bitch X writes "Someone's trying to launch a gaming news channel (G4) and someone else is there to chat 'em up.
From an interview at UGO where they ask if G4 were to feature a McLaughlin Group-style show, who would be your ideal panel and host?"
CEO from G4: "Shigeru Miyamoto, Alexey Pajitnov, Chun Li, Will Wright and Max Payne , hosted by Bart Simpson (I still love him from my Fox Network days)."
Okay, I take it back. If the above were true, I'd watch this in a heartbeat!"
Riiight. I wouldn't mind seeing a few real shows about video games,
but I'd want it hosted by Old Man Murray.
It'd be nice just to quickly see video clips, but somehow I doubt that it could be
done with integrity. I imagine a video game network being more like
an infomercial channel, and well, yuck.
In Korea, all the major computer gaming competitions, Starcraft, Diablo II, Quake3 , etc are televised, live, with commentary, etc. Just like sports like baseball, football, etc.
Why not have such progamming for a "video game" channel?
There's 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
The one thing that I still find annoying is when people automatically react to the idea of Videogames as being an inferior form of entertainment. It is no more or less valid then watching TV or Movies. The only time you should feel lame about playing games all night is if you did not actually enjoy it.
END COMMUNICATION
Being a gamer (10+ years and counting), with Gaming Industry press experience (5+ years and counting), I think it's about time that Gaming had a channel on TV. Almost everything you are saying about G4 was said about MTV. Some of it came true, some of it didn't, but that didn't stop MTV from becoming one of the most successful cable channels of all time. G4 has real gamers that work there. Real gamers who are focused on making G4 something genuinely cool for hard core gamers. Real gamers like Tom Russo, the Editor in Cheif if Next Gen (RIP). Real gamers like Jim Downs from Allgames (RIP). There are 14 movie channels, 6 news channels, 4 sports channels, but none about gaming...that makes no sense to me. Gaming is the #1 entertainment industry in america right now...thats something that deserves lip service on TV. I'm all for the skepticisim. I think you should watch the network and decide for yourself. Don't condem this thing without even taking it for a test drive. Thats like not buying a car because you *think* it doesnt handle well. I wonder where Linux would be if everyone doomed it before it was released? In february when we announce our programming you can see if there are shows that interest you or not. Until then you are just bashing an idea without any facts.
Now a tv channel about people PLAYING games (aka in tournaments, etc) has yet to exist, and frankly I think its a great idea. More people spend time watching games then you think. I'm sure many gamers would agree with me that on more than one occasion they've watched over someone's shoulder as they played a game, or wished they were around for what they heard was a hell of a match (hell, I'm glad they added Replays to Starcraft).
Sometimes watching the game can be just as fun (if not more) than playing it. I would love to watch multiplayer games of Starcraft or GTA or other fun LAN party type games get televised. I wouldn't devote my life to watching the channel, but now and then I wouldn't mind sitting down to watch a match.
It's really no different than sitting down to watch a sports match. People are so quick to diss "watching a game" as being stupid and boring, but then they turn around and watch a 3 hour game of football or basketball or something. Its fun to see competition, in any form. Games also add an added realm of imagination and ingenuity in many situations. Also, the vast supply of games out there ensures a new supply of variety in the future, provided they're smart in the way they pick what to televise.
Magius_AR