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TV Execs' Attempts To Lure Gamers Not Always Best

Posted by simoniker on from the game-over-yeah? dept.

Thanks to MSNBC for its article discussing the mixed fortunes of TV bosses trying to get videogamers to watch shows about games. The piece starts with the question: "Golf players watch golf, but will video game players watch games?", and points out the failures (UPN's previously mentioned CG sitcom Game Over, an "esoteric take on gaming culture [which] didn't last long. Amid dismal ratings, UPN yanked the show off the air earlier this month.") alongside more long-running shows such as TechTV's X-Play (the writer notes "...enough inside jokes to please the hardcore gamers, but listen closely enough and you may detect an almost mocking tone.")

2 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. Re:G4 TV by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Some of the shows on G4 are alright. I used to like their G4TV.com show [probably the dumbest name for a show ever] but on a show I saw recently, one of the women said that she'd never seen any Star Wars movie.

    I think that if you're on a channel dedicated to catering to gamers and you haven't seen Star Wars, you might want to. It just makes me wonder about anything that comes out of either of the women on that show [since I don't remember which one hadn't seen Star Wars]. I mean, you don't wonder about wheather Bob Vila has ever installed a toilet, right?

    I've got the same reservations about listening to Morgan Webb. First off, she's awkward in front of the camera. Yes, she is attractive but her ability to read cue cards naturally is rather poor. These networks should focus on hiring people who actually play video games regularly and have some training in the television industry as on-air talent. That may be a tall order but part of the reason I think G4 and TechTV don't do as well as they could is because they've got either non-techs working and thus driving people away because they don't know what they're talking about OR they've got people who don't know anything about broadcasting and drive people away with an inability to convey information. TechTV's Screensavers program was once somewhat enjoyable. Leo Laporte has a background in broadcasting and, while not the most technically proficient person, got the job done. Now they've got all these 20-something interns that are designed to put a young face on the network but they do their job like shit. They're really awkward in front of the camera and they don't know a thing about technology.

    I guess that's the end of my rant in reply to your one sentence about G4. ;-)

    --
    I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
  2. Poor attempt trend by Tyggyr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Game Over marketed to kids, but was foul, unimaginative drivel. We barely made it through the first episode, and that was mostly due to the promotional ads which were clean and decently cut. The show was abysmal.

    The Simpsons works because it's smart. Reboot (rest in peace) worked because it was innocent and forthright.

    Game Over didn't know what it was, and figured that "computer generated" and "shocking" was enough.

    It's not. Good riddance.