Slashdot Mirror
MTV Making Better Gaming TV Than G4TV?
heartless_ writes "GamerGod.com has an interesting look into how MTV has shifted to provide essential gaming television in a way that G4TV never was and never will be able to. From the article: 'As G4TV now begins to fall off the gaming-centered line up and into a dull Spike TV rip-off, it is apparent that gamers would rather play games than watch TV shows about gaming. This doesn't mean all the shows on G4TV were horrible, but none of them can be considered any sort of success." I would disagree. X-Play, and Icons are both shows worth watching, but on a channel that at one point was 'for gamers', only two decent shows is pretty pathetic.
G4TVs first mistake was getting rid of the thoughtful shows like Call for Help and the Screensavers, and all the smart people who were on those shows. They replaced those smart people with stupid people with very little technical background. I would like to actually learn something about computers or games on TV, but that channel just went downhill after G4TV took over.
I am also tired of seeing the most popular games on that channel. I would like to actually learn about an underdog. I want to hear about some games I've never heard about before. There are hundreds of indie games released each year that are actually fun to play, but that channel only featured the top %5 of the game market. They just don't explore the entire gaming industry.
No, it is not apparent. G4 has never, ever, actually tried to have a gaming oriented show that treated the source material honestly. Arena was a program where two teams competed in multiple games to see who won. The format was 5v5, but instead of having pro teams or even people who knew eachother, it was simply whoever came to the studio that day. On top of that, the gameplay footage was shown in 30 second clips with simply a summary of who did what and what the score is.
G4 is the first (and hopefully the last) channel that refused to actually show raw, uncut footage of the thing that it was geared around. Imagine a football channel that never showed a whole football game, but simply highlights and nothing else. Imagine a golf channel that never showed anyone actually playing golf, just fast cuts of people swinging at the ball, and it dropping in the hole. Imagine a cooking channel that didn't show any cooking because "that's too boring", and instead showed the person talking about cooking, and a quick 30 second montage of them making a pie or cake.
The reality is, G4 never, not once, took a gamble on showing people playing a videogame. I'd like to watch some good Counter Strike players play a map (and not the idiotic highlight videos that get released either), or watch any relatively skilled competitors go at it, really. Imagine if you could leave it on the in the background while you're doing something. Or, when a popular new game comes out, they run you through the first few hours so you can see some of the gameplay tips you can use down the line. I figured at least once, they would try airing just people playing videogames at 3am or something, in lieu of one of their paid programming/informercial slots. They never did.
People will watch fishing, cooking, billiards, poker, sports, fake courtrooms, eating bugs, fake reality shows, and home redecorating. To say that gaming is somehow more boring than these things and no one would want to watch it is pure crap. Movie files that show people playing games, being distributed on the internet, are simply too large because of the high resolution and the way that they compress poorly. TV is the perfect format for this (and some might argue, HDTV to really appreciate what's going on) and yet no one even tries.
G4 was a terrible channel that tried to be MTV without first establishing credibility. MTV started as a music video channel (that no longer shows music videos) but at least it had a 5-10 year period where that was how it made its money. G4 never actually tried making programming that showed, in context, people actually playing a videogame and that might engage the viewer. The cost of such content would have been very cheap, and if instead of focusing on trying to be like MTV, G4 could have easily been MTV - but the MTV of old, the one that was a favorite of bands and fans alike, not 14 year old girls.
G4 never tried to treat gamers, or its audience, with respect and simply show people playing games. And for that, it failed, and it deserved to.
Gamergod Writes: "it is apparent that gamers would rather play games than watch TV shows about gaming"
No, it is not apparent. G4 has never, ever, actually tried to have a gaming oriented show that treated the source material honestly. Arena was a program where two teams competed in multiple games to see who won. The format was 5v5, but instead of having pro teams or even people who knew eachother, it was simply whoever came to the studio that day. On top of that, the gameplay footage was shown in 30 second clips with simply a summary of who did what and what the score is.
G4 is the first (and hopefully the last) channel that refused to actually show raw, uncut footage of the thing that it was geared around. Imagine a football channel that never showed a whole football game, but simply highlights and nothing else. Imagine a golf channel that never showed anyone actually playing golf, just fast cuts of people swinging at the ball, and it dropping in the hole. Imagine a cooking channel that didn't show any cooking because "that's too boring", and instead showed the person talking about cooking, and a quick 30 second montage of them making a pie or cake.
The reality is, G4 never, not once, took a gamble on showing people playing a videogame. I'd like to watch some good Counter Strike players play a map (and not the idiotic highlight videos that get released either), or watch any relatively skilled competitors go at it, really. Imagine if you could leave it on the in the background while you're doing something. Or, when a popular new game comes out, they run you through the first few hours so you can see some of the gameplay tips you can use down the line. I figured at least once, they would try airing just people playing videogames at 3am or something, in lieu of one of their paid programming/informercial slots. They never did.
People will watch fishing, cooking, billiards, poker, sports, fake courtrooms, eating bugs, fake reality shows, and home redecorating. To say that gaming is somehow more boring than these things and no one would want to watch it is pure crap. Movie files that show people playing games, being distributed on the internet, are simply too large because of the high resolution and the way that they compress poorly. TV is the perfect format for this (and some might argue, HDTV to really appreciate what's going on) and yet no one even tries.
G4 was a terrible channel that tried to be MTV without first establishing credibility. MTV started as a music video channel (that no longer shows music videos) but at least it had a 5-10 year period where that was how it made its money. G4 never actually tried making programming that showed, in context, people actually playing a videogame and that might engage the viewer. The cost of such content would have been very cheap, and if instead of focusing on trying to be like MTV, G4 could have easily been MTV - but the MTV of old, the one that was a favorite of bands and fans alike, not 14 year old girls.
G4 never tried to treat gamers, or its audience, with respect and simply show people playing games. And for that, it failed, and it deserved to.
1. Observing game servers live with (witty) commentary.
2. League play from top game leagues. The ESPN of gaming.
3. Interviews with Game Developers. Um HELLO. This was a slam dunk.
4. Highlight films from invitational LAN PARTY tournaments.
5. Um... get cuter girls talking about games.
The M stands for Marketing. MTV sells a lifestyle and they're really good at it. Come to think of it, Slashdot's parent company sells a lifestyle too.
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