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Let's remember the G4 Network
- Thread starter Dalek
- Start date
G4 is what happens when a great idea is executed badly. In a way there shows were precursors to what made it big on the internet. X-Play did video reviews before Gametrailers, Icons did video essays before people like the Gaming Historian, Cinematech was video game mashups which you see on Youtube all the time, Filter was was basically Watchmojo Gaming.
Instead of building on that groundwork they began to just chase anything slightly resembling nerds and then onto anything...at all really. I could imagine shows like them inviting eSports players to go against each other, like say Daigo vs Justin Wong in Third Strike Ft10. Or as you said a Let's Play show.
Truth be told the network was doomed for long term success due to the internet, but they likely could have either gradually transfer to an online presence or be like Adult Swim and be a hybrid station, but have the "true experience" being on broadcast.
I really only loved gamespot tv, then it became extended play and then xplay.
Loved Adam and Morgan. A couple of episodes.
Loved Adam and Morgan. A couple of episodes.
I used to really enjoy watching X-Play and even Attack of The Show for a good while. I really liked having a show on games airing several days a week., and X-Play would cover all sorts of stuff I didn't know about. I liked gaming websites but there was a definite allure to a show that would be delivered consistently on a frequent schedule, when special articles on big gaming sites were more infrequent and inconsistent in their release.
It felt like a definite loss to lose such an solid and consistent game news/review show. Only recently with things like Twitch and Patreon have we gotten a bit more back into super consistent and frequent gaming shows or content, which has had least been some relief.
I'm pretty sad I missed the actual Tech TV days, or even earlier G4. By the time I was into shows like X-Play is was well into the era where you'd have to catch episodes between reruns of Cops and Cheaters, which left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth for a channel I'd hoped would have been far more game/tech focused.
I still think of this ad for their E3 coverage every time it gets up towards the event itself
It felt like a definite loss to lose such an solid and consistent game news/review show. Only recently with things like Twitch and Patreon have we gotten a bit more back into super consistent and frequent gaming shows or content, which has had least been some relief.
I'm pretty sad I missed the actual Tech TV days, or even earlier G4. By the time I was into shows like X-Play is was well into the era where you'd have to catch episodes between reruns of Cops and Cheaters, which left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth for a channel I'd hoped would have been far more game/tech focused.
I still think of this ad for their E3 coverage every time it gets up towards the event itself
As far as original G4 goes, I adored it. Arena was great to watch late at night and I loved Judgment Day, Filter and Cinematech.
I also very much miss Attack of the Show from the later days of G4.
I also very much miss Attack of the Show from the later days of G4.
According to Wikipedia, Morgan is 40, living in LA and married to a 52 year old author. Not sure about Adam.
It's because they weren't getting the viewer count they wanted. They had to put in other shows like Ninja Warrior and cartoons to get a decent amount of viewers. These networks were honestly before their time, because now people love watching video game coverage due to Twitch and Youtube.
Prior to youtube/twitch live streaming E3, G4 was definitely my gateway back then to stay up to date.
Watched a lot of X-Play back then as well. It was actually through them that I learned about Persona 3.
Watched a lot of X-Play back then as well. It was actually through them that I learned about Persona 3.
Also, one of the hardest laughs I've ever had was in the final days of G4.
Keven Pereira had already left Attack of the Show months earlier and the show was being cancelled, while everyone knew the channel was done for. Because of that, none of the remaining crew members at AotS gave a shit and the show was ridiculous insanity for like two months.
The crew members laughing in the background and the fact that they knew no one at corporate was watching or gave a shit what they were airing on the channel made it amazing.
Keven Pereira had already left Attack of the Show months earlier and the show was being cancelled, while everyone knew the channel was done for. Because of that, none of the remaining crew members at AotS gave a shit and the show was ridiculous insanity for like two months.
The crew members laughing in the background and the fact that they knew no one at corporate was watching or gave a shit what they were airing on the channel made it amazing.
There's a bunch of Attack of the Show episodes available at archive.org
I was on episode #1.734 (which I think aired May 1, 2008) as a guest speaker and spoke to Kevin Pereira and Oliva Munn about the PlayStation 3. I would love to get footage of that somehow. They would allow audience members to live stream in via webcam to talk about certain topics sometimes. It was super fun joining the chat room and having one of the staff choose you to talk about something. I was always super nervous! I appeared a couple of times as non-speaking guest for some Attack of the Show and X-Play stuff. It was pretty easy to do as there weren't a lot of people available to fill in the virtual seats. Sometimes you would get to talk to the hosts during commercial breaks. I remember one particular time when Kevin and Olivia were wearing fat suits and talked to us before getting on camera.
I used to watch the channel everyday and would DVR several of the shows. I miss it. It seems a good chunk of stuff is available online, but I wish it all was.
I was on episode #1.734 (which I think aired May 1, 2008) as a guest speaker and spoke to Kevin Pereira and Oliva Munn about the PlayStation 3. I would love to get footage of that somehow. They would allow audience members to live stream in via webcam to talk about certain topics sometimes. It was super fun joining the chat room and having one of the staff choose you to talk about something. I was always super nervous! I appeared a couple of times as non-speaking guest for some Attack of the Show and X-Play stuff. It was pretty easy to do as there weren't a lot of people available to fill in the virtual seats. Sometimes you would get to talk to the hosts during commercial breaks. I remember one particular time when Kevin and Olivia were wearing fat suits and talked to us before getting on camera.
I used to watch the channel everyday and would DVR several of the shows. I miss it. It seems a good chunk of stuff is available online, but I wish it all was.
I was one of the producers on Cinematech. AMA.
fun fact: for the late night version we all pitched names. I pitched Nocturnal Transmissions and our pervy executive producer took it and renamed it to the more embarrassing name.
was weird to get paid (poorly) to make youtube poops before youtube was a thing
Loved it. Their E3 coverage got me into gaming as hard as I am today.
Plus, Code Monkeys was so good, man.
Plus, Code Monkeys was so good, man.
Apparently he was an asshole or something like that. I believe he and Kevin Rose were at odds. Dont know whats the nature of that is these days
That's a good point. Is there evidence that the shows I listed struggled to get viewers.
Between G4TechTV and Adult Swim, there definitely seems to be a certain "magic" when channels are in periods of "don't give a shit" attitudes.
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Now defunct web television channel. He did reviews there for a while.
OP
OP
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G4_(U.S._TV_channel)#Loss_of_DirecTV_carriage
The section where it says loss of direct tv carriage, if the link doesn't work right. There was more evidence posted on our old site around the time the channel died. It simply wasn't sustainable back then. G4TV existing today on youtube or twitch would have been incredibly successful.
Oh man, Anime Unleashed was pretty cool even if a lot of the stuff they aired weren't particularly coherent adaptations of other material. Serial Experiments Lain was of course the highlight, but Boogiepop was delightful, and I have a soft spot for Silent Mobius specifically even if it became quite clear quite quickly that the anime version was far better
I don't remember much about G4, but the thread did remind me that G4 helped to jumpstart Egoraptor's career via Attack of the Show. He talks about it in this Game Grumps episode (skip to 5:10-ish if the video doesn't start there).
G4 gave the world an amazingly weird and fun variety show 'Unscrewed' starring Martin Sargent, Laura Swisher, and Guy Branum BUT... it also gave the world Olivia Munn. Oy!
When I think of G4, a few noticeable things come to mind.
The first one, that needs to be preserved for future generations, is Adam Sessler's review of Aquaman Battle for Atlantis.
The second thing, a bit more sour than the first, is how Olivia Munn left the network, and Kevin Pereira either never liked her or hated her for leaving.
I remember an interview I can't find now where Kevin was interviewing her boyfriend or something, and basically just kept insulting her through it.
The first one, that needs to be preserved for future generations, is Adam Sessler's review of Aquaman Battle for Atlantis.
The second thing, a bit more sour than the first, is how Olivia Munn left the network, and Kevin Pereira either never liked her or hated her for leaving.
I remember an interview I can't find now where Kevin was interviewing her boyfriend or something, and basically just kept insulting her through it.
Sessler mostly nothing, he started a games consultancy business (ie: mock reviews for AAA publishers) that went nowhere and now works at a small startup making a Hootsuite-but-for-games sentiment-tracking product.
Oh wow! That show was so chill - perfect to just hang out with. What kind of producery stuff did you do on it?
TechTV and G4 were my jam back in the day. Was my primary source for gaming news aside from magazines (we didn't have very good internet back then), part of me still misses it. Once the Cops and Cheaters reruns started to happen I trailed off and eventually moved on. Cinematech was my jam and now I am going to binge watch the clip above from it. RIP Screensavers and TechTV, you didn't deserve your fate. Thanks for the nostalgia OP.
Yeah, her career started taking off and she kind of abruptly disappeared before her contract was up (she had landed a part on Whitney and the Daily Show).
You're probably talking about Brett Rattner. That shit was awkward even then.
Geez, somehow the very early 2000s have aged worse than the 90s. The hair, the clothes. Ugh. It didn't remember it being that bad.
The early years of each decade still contain remnants of the previous one. Look no further than the 80s to early 90s. It takes fashion marketers a while to catch up to new trends and then you finally see the massive change afterwards.
TechTV gave us Unscrewed. G4 cancelled it when they took over.
My thoughts as well! In college my channel was basically locked to TechTV. When I heard that G4 was buying the channel I was worried about what would happen to the shows I enjoyed so much, but open to seeing what G4 did. They absolutely ruined it. The programming became so juvenile, it was just unwatchable. Screen Savers was a great tech show, and I honestly don't even know what AOTS was. So disappointing.
The only thing that gets close in my opinion is Easy Allies. EZA gives me those old vibes. I wish there was a youtube channel that reviewed games and could recreate X-Plays ham and cheese style humor and writing while also maintaining an intellectual stance on their critical analysis. EZA's echoes the review tone and deliverence but lacks much of the sillier jokes. God I miss G4Tech TV
I didn't want to see this thread. I loved TechTV and G4 so much. It hurts. I loved the E3 coverage. We got to see the press conferences on TV live. X Play was great. The Japanese game shows were fun. Screen Savers was awesome. Damn. I'm in pain again.