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Joystiq auditions for The Tester Season 3
Much to the delight of Hal Sparks and unemployed Q-list celebrities across the globe, Sony's semi-reality show, The Tester, is returning for a third season. This year, contestants will vie for a production job at Santa Monica Studios. Rather than make snide comments from the shadows, your buddies at Joystiq are putting it all on the line and auditioning for the shows themselves. See our audition tapes after the break and wish us luck!
PSN director: The Tester is a 'foundation for something much bigger'
"I hope five years from now we'll be winning Emmys for quality shows," PlayStation Network director Susan Panico said to Joystiq, imagining programming on the level of HBO's Entourage or The Sopranos. She was speaking sincerely about the platform's vision for original content. PSN might be synonymous with gaming, but going forward, Panico hopes it will also be recognized for its original video programming, which currently includes Pulse, Qore and The Tester, a reality competition show about winning a job as a PlayStation game tester, recently renewed for a second season. "I look at what HBO has done over several years, where they started just offering movies and went into the original production business," Panico said, revealing high aspirations for PSN's original content. "By no means am I putting The Tester with The Sopranos and what have you," she clarified, "but if you want to make yourself the go-to destination for content, you need to provide content that people can't get anywhere else." "We look at original programming and The Tester as the foundation for building out something much bigger."
The Tester Season 2: Handicapping the cast
No, no, not Nancy Kerrigan-esque lead pipe handicapping (though we may wish we had that kind of power by the time all is said and done). No, we're laying down odds on The Tester's second season cast members, who will fight to continue the legacy of first season champ Will "Cyrus" Powers and take a job as a QA tester at PlayStation. The contestants have apparently chosen to ignore the desperate, Morse-coded messages Cyrus continually taps out on the desk he's chained to at Sony; begging for either sustenance or the sweet release of death. So ... let's get started, shall we?
Seen@E3: Will 'Cyrus' Powers, happy to be a Tester
Remember Will "Cyrus" Powers, winner of the PSN reality series, The Tester? He appeared at the E3 PlayStation.Blog meetup (in addition to surprise guest Hideo Kojima) and we talked about how life is as a video game tester. With realistic expectations of a not-so-glamorous job, Powers felt welcomed by SCEA and even teased about some initiation rituals. Powers did make it clear that he doesn't intend to stop at being a tester, looking to rise the corporate ladder. With the support of a surprising number of fans (check Twitter!), he might just be able to do it.
TT Games production chief: Kids are the best video game testers
[Image: Kidperez] Forget Will "Cyrus" Powers. If you really want to know if your game has what it takes, you need to turn to an eight-year-old, according to TT Games production chief Jonathan Smith. "They are the most efficient quality filter," he said in the new issue of Official Nintendo Magazine. "They get to it quicker than anybody else, because they'll just say if something doesn't work. The smallest things could ruin something, and they'll get bored and move on." ... OK, so here's the pitch: "The Tester 2.0: Lil' Wage Slaves." It'll be just like the first one, only it's all eight-year-olds. There will be none of the awkward sexual advances by the more backwards contestants but (and we're adamant about this) twice the drinking. *ring ring* "Hello? What's that, Mark Burnett, producer of reality show hits like Survivor and The Apprentice? You say you're retiring because you've heard there's a new kid in town whose big ideas are taking Hollywood by storm? Well, that's very flattering, thank you. Have your desk empty by the end of business." [Via CVG]
Interview: Will 'Cyrus' Powers, winner of The Tester
Here's something you haven't seen on The Tester, Sony's PSN-exclusive reality series: winning contestant Will Powers (aka Cyrus) receiving a novelty $5,000 check. We had a chance to chat with the next PlayStation game tester, who talked about his aspirations and why he decided to pursue such a difficult challenge for an entry-level job in the games industry. Joystiq: What was life like at The Tester behind the scenes, when the cameras weren't rolling? Will Powers: When we were awake, they were always rolling. It's just a matter of what made it into the final cut or not. Essentially, the dynamic of the house, everyone was really competitive. They set us up with a couple of PlayStation 3 systems and multiplayer games, and an air hockey table. It didn't matter what we were doing. We were always competing at something, which was kind of ironic. When we had down time from actual challenges within the competition, we were still competing.
PSN Thursday: The Tester finale
It's the season finale of The Tester! How excited are you? OMG, omg, omg, totally can't wait to watch that guy, that other guy and that girl compete to get ... the thing that they are trying to win. Yeah, it's going to be awesome. (If anyone watched the series, how was it?) PSP owners should go ahead and enjoy another heaping helping of new comics. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Direct2Drive indie award finalists named, threatened with Chobot lick
Aside from a spot on Sony's The Tester, we can't imagine a contest in the game industry with a much more ominous prize than Direct2Drive's Vision Award winner. Aside from the $10,000 bounty, apparently the trophy will be presented onstage at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival by IGN's one and only lick-happy reporter, Jessica Chobot. We've listed all five of the games up for the Vision Award after the break -- a list that includes Hello Games' Joe Danger and Edmund McMillen's Super Meat Boy. The awards presentation will be held during GDC 2010, specifically taking place on Thursday, March 11. We here at Joystiq would like to wish all the contestants luck. Also, you might wanna bring a towel. Just in case, ya know?
PSN Thursday: Tester some Yakuza 3
It's time for Sony's big PSN series premiere. Yep, The Tester is now available to download for free on your PSP and PS3. We promised SCEA's Chris Morell not to make fun of it here, so let's move on to the good stuff. Notably, there are three PSone classics, in addition to downloadable demos of Yakuza 3 and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. Some major DLC lands today as well, for Resident Evil 5, Assassin's Creed II, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
'The Tester' contestants should probably have read this account first
Ever since Sony first announced its game industry reality show for PSN named The Tester back in 2009, we've been a bit wary of the idea. Can you really blame us? The show pits various personalities against each other in a variety of challenges, all with the end goal of becoming an entry-level game tester -- a job often viewed in the game industry as less than pleasant. And ex-tester Matthew Burns seems to agree with us in his lengthy account of the life of a tester, detailing long hours of monotonous game playing paired with "an often grimly bureaucratic process," that can sometimes lead to subpar products. While offering plenty of gripes with the job, we should point out that he prefaces his complaints with the open admission that "entry-level game testing would not be found near the top of a list of the world's most demanding livelihoods," also repeatedly noting its importance in the development of good games. That said, we can't help but wonder how Sony's reality show winner is going to feel when the reality of their "prize" sets in. [Thanks Matthew!]
'The Tester' reality series debuts on PSN Feb. 18
Sony's PlayStation Network-exclusive reality series "The Tester" will begin February 18th. The competition will have the above real gamers vying for a chance to win a glamorous testing job at PlayStation. Until April 8th, the PlayStation Store (for PSP and PS3) will update every Thursday with new -- and free -- episodes of the series. Should "The Tester" successfully sidestep traditional employee recruitment and take off, don't be surprised if Sony announces "Who Wants to be Our Janitor?" next season.
Meet the Testers, cast of PSN reality show
With a host that's "crazy for RPG" and a model, plus guest appearances by the "legendary" David Jaffe, upcoming PSN reality show, The Tester, has already locked up the celebs. But what about the unknowns -- those everyday, real folk -- vying for an entry-level job in the industry? Today, we're introduced to these eleven strangers, picked to work for Sony, to test games and have their lives taped, to hopefully get smashed and hook up and puke and then start some real drama if the video editors are any good, 'cause, boy, game testing is really kinda boring and ... hey, did we mention there's still an unannounced celebrity that's gonna show up? Stay tuned! [Via PlayStation.Blog]
Sony seeks participants for PSN reality show, 'The Tester'
Sony has announced an open casting call for a new reality series, created specifically for PlayStation Network, dubbed "The Tester." Participants will run a gauntlet of elimination challenges, with the aim of outshining their fellow competitors in the fields of "mental prowess, dexterity and video game knowledge." The winner will, of course, receive "every gamer's dream job" and become "The Tester," who is a tester of PlayStation games.Those looking to put this wacky and mildly voyeuristic job interview on their resumes are encouraged to submit their details and a short video to Sony's official website. To be considered, you must be older than 21, a resident of the United States and have an unflappable desire to tell someone that they need to tighten up the graphics on level three. The series, which will eventually comprise eight HD episodes, will debut this winter on PSN -- at an unannounced price. How's that for reality?
