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Sessler speaks about X-Play format shift
Love it or hate it, GameSpot TV Extended Play X-Play remains the golden child of the Comcast-owned G4 network. Since the channel's rebirth in 2004, the program has kept its position as the highest rated show on G4 -- beating out reruns of Cops and Cheaters by what we can only assume is a narrow margin. Despite X-Play's pseudo-success, the show will see a major format change come mid-January. Joystiq's own Kyle Orland got a chance to talk to Adam Sessler, X-Play's host of ten years (and G4's recently appointed Managing Editor, Games Editorial) about the show's makeover. According to the Sess, the show will now air five days a week, focusing its attention on gaming news in addition to its usual reviews and feature segments. This doesn't mean the show is ditching its hit-or-often-miss sense of humor: "The tone of the show isn't going to be some grave, severe thing, because at the end of the day this is video games," Sessler said.Sessler goes on to defend G4's somewhat lackluster programming lineup, saying he would rather "see a network with a lot of fresh content that's not always consistent on one topic rather than the same three hours repeated ad nauseum." We agree that it would be difficult to come up with an entire day's worth of programming based on video games, but perhaps they could find something a tad more relevant with which to fill those grim interims than syndicated episodes of The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.
PSA: Morgan Minute on advertising
We've discussed the potential benefits of in-game advertising before, but you know, we just don't seem to be seeing the benefits. Ads keep popping up in more and more games -- hell, we've even got spyware built into games to target us more efficiently with ads -- but where are the benefits? Games continue to sneak in more advertising, particularly from a few major publishing houses, but the cost of games continues to be the same. Don't even try to pull that buggery development cost reduction malarky. Plenty of publishers that don't use adware, spyware and basic in-game advertising have titles that cost exactly the same as the publishers who do use advertising models -- that makes no sense. Maybe if the message comes from G4's Morgan Webb, with great hair, make-up and a sloping v-neck shirt, it will emblazon the message upon the gamer masses, "Remember kids, if you watch ads, you should get free stuff!"
