X-Play extends to one hour in December
X-Play went to a daily half-hour format earlier this year, seeing host Adam Sessler take the managing editor position of the stalwart show. Say what you will about X-Play, but the show has survived every iteration of its network over the last decade -- even when its title didn't.
[Via BD]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:54AM
Sigh. what happened the xplay I used to love? The xplay that had good reviews and was actually funny? I WANT THAT X-PLAY BACK!!! DAMN YOU G4, DAMN YOU AND YOUR SHITTY PROGRAMING!!!
Erluti @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:55AM
LOL!
X-Play funny!
Back in the day when it was Gamespot it merely "didn't suck".
Tiptup300 @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:55AM
Disembodied voice.
AADAM SESLER AND MOOOOOOORGAN WEB!
deaftly @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:21PM
Yeah, I miss drunk Link.
Pip @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:36PM
X-Play now is alright, but it was a lot better as Extended play. As it is, they don't have enough content for a 30 minute show, they keep filling it with dumb cheat segments that no one cares about, and tips from some Halo champion that no one cares about, and even though some of the Will Wright stuff is interesting, it mostly has no place on a video game show.
Their reviews are also late, and are usually shown after the game has already been released. We need to see the reviews BEFORE the games come out so we can make up out minds. THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT OF REVIEWS.
Basically they need to CUT a lot of their programming out, and refine it. Not extend it. It wont even be watchable at an hour long...
Anonymous @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:32PM
X-play was always shit.
Zach S @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:08PM
God, it's not even watchable now!
G4 doesn't need to get rid of programming, they need to add more ORIGINAL shows... that don't suck. All they have are random Japanese shows, coverage of cons that no one cares about, and thousands of "2.0" replays whose ugliness and squint-factor make me want to gouge my eyes out with a toothpick.
Master Bruce @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:54AM
Why?
theturtle363 @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:42AM
why are you stealing my identity is the real question.
DarkNessBear @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:26PM
Whatever. You guys are such losers. It's just cool to hate. G4 has shaped up really well recently. And the channel is amazing. They cover every gaming event really nicely and Xplay is a good visualization of whats going on in the industry.
Gamers just bitch about everything.
theturtle363 @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:15PM
Batmen are not losers
Erluti @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:54AM
Because 1/2 hour isn't quite long enough to make you regret being a gamer.
Luke @ Sep 3rd 2008 1:36AM
Bring back Vectorman.
LordChimp @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:56AM
I really hate how my cable company changed G4 to a station that I have to pay extra for about a month ago. I don't want to pay extra but I do miss the station.
343 Guilty Fart @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:22PM
You've got Comcast too, eh?
Fenix @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:01AM
30 more minutes of Morgan Webb? Yes please!
On a side note, Adam just give it up buddy. Shave it off already. All the cool kids are doing it!
MC Double Def DP @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:01AM
This show is great when I absolutely can not find anything else to watch.
arkweld @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:03AM
the only reason X-play has survived is because if G4 had dumped X-Play they would have been breaking the terms of cable carriage that came with the TechTV merger. That of G4 being a channel about "video games." G4TV drove every other gaming and tech related show into the dirt. Without X-Play they would have probably been fined a hefty price by the FCC for becoming Spike 2.0 for kids.
G4 is a waste of space. Sessler is wasted on it.
Saeth @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:37AM
Uhh, you do realize X-play is one of their most watched shows? Right under Cops and Cheaters
They're not just hanging onto them just because of some legal BS.
arkweld @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:57AM
of course it is. Because it's one of the only things on the channel that's left from when G4 was about video game and tech. It gets viewers that used to watch TechTV and switch off as soon as the credits roll.
Cable and sat companies agreed to carry G4 on the basis that it was about tech and video games. If they could not justify that their schedule fell into the category they were breaking their agreement. Why do you think when they started showing other stuff like Star Trek and Japanese game shows that the network had to come up with lame PR about how they really do relate to videogames?
Bad Mojo @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:05AM
YAY! More time for lame sketches with stupid recurring characters.
I gave up on this show a while back. Initially, I liked Morgan, but her snarky, over-thought reviews proves she more interested in showing off her vocabulary skills than gaming knowledge.
They're trying to make a more game focused comeback, but I feel like they're just going to use the extra time for more crap.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:11AM
Meh I actually liked the recurring characters, and the sketches. As corny as they were, they were pretty hilarious.
Now xplay is just Attack of the Show.
jimmygotsmack @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:06AM
That's 30 minutes they are taking away from my cops or ninja warrior reruns!!!!
SoulBlade @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:46PM
ninja warrior ftw
j.howlett @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:10AM
why not just bring back electric playground to tv. air the duty free tv stuff less.
Obie @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:10AM
The revenge of MORGAN MANJAW!
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=218
jimmygotsmack @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:21AM
Heh heh, she did have butterface..... She probably still does, but Hollywood style make-up is really amazing stuff.
Obie @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:34AM
Morgan is not bad-looking by any means, but when compared to Olivia Munn, she does not stack up that well. ;)
riggs @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:19PM
i would olivia her munn...uhh yeah.
Question Marc @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:11AM
I don't see why everyone has to rant about X-Play. They review video games along with having different types of showcases, they have passionate staff that are actually gamers, and they are proof that the video game industry deserves the same respect as other media genres. At least we have a television network thats trying to market themselves to us (gamers) as a real audience.
I rather have X-Play than have nothing game-related on t.v. at all.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:12AM
I'd agree with you if we were talking about X-play 2-3years ago.
beans @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:24AM
that would be nice and all if they were unbiased about the games...it's flawed to have a reviewer who automatically hates a title because it's not a genre he enjoys...that and he goes all gay for a raccoon bandit...how can you trust anything he says?
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:29AM
@beans.
You do realize there is no such thing as an unbiased review right?
Saeth @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:45AM
@beans
Believe it or not... Reviews are the reviewers opinion. You're either going to get someone who doesn't like X genre or someone that really loves said genre and gives it a insta high score.
GD86 @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:48PM
@ Beans
Now not to rain your your parade, but the X-play staff for the most part isn't doing the reviews. They have freelancers who do the reviews and the staff does the translation of it into a video segment. This ain't to say they don't do the reviews, or even that they farm out the big reviews to someone else.
It's just you know if it's a JRPG that gets a low score it isn't because Adam Sesslar hates it directly, even though his voice may be the one you are hearing on the screen.
Question Marc @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:15AM
oh and Morgan Webb is hot and a gamer so I'm not quite sure why there's so much hate towards her. Seriously, I don't get it.
beans @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:24AM
because she's considered "hot" when she's really not...unless you like your women to be broad shouldered and to look like men.
Duke @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:19AM
I guess I'm a minority now, because I don't hate the show. Its the only game related thing other than Code Monkey's on that station, which is very sad. Also, I like Sessler. He's passionate about gaming, and is more interesting than a lot of the other people that station has put in the front.
StuScotsLazyEye @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:23AM
People watch this channel?
Fenix @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:11PM
They do, they really really do! :)
dark_inchworm @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:29AM
Morgan is doable, but not very entertaining.
Adam is intolerable.
The skits are garbage.
The reviews are crap.
Or, well... that's what I remember, anyway. I haven't actually tuned into this channel since early '07 at the latest.
Saeth @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:40AM
The reviews are rather good when you compare them to 90% of the garbage that's displayed on MetaCritic.
They were one of the only ones to speak out on Crisis Core.
Although I lost respect for them with their Too Human review.. They looked over quite a bit of its problems and made it seem like a godsend.
Duke @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:03PM
Yeah, that Too Human review kinda shocked me. Though I have not seen some of the tech issues that I read in the reviews.
Saeth @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:43AM
I think making Xplay 1 hour is great thing for them. I can't stand watching the current 30 minute show because they just try to cram so much stuff into one sitting and skim over a bunch of news and interviews.
theturtle363 @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:46AM
It would be a lot better if they didnt dumb as down as much, 2-3 years ago there would only be 1 or 2 poop jokes, now the whole damn show is filled with them. I still like Adam Sessler, because whenever they have live events he's always nervous and excited and stuttering because he really cares about the games and isnt some paid actress floozy like Olivia or Kristin
animeman_59 @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:03PM
G4 sucks. I want my TechTV back!
What the hell is COPS! doing on a gaming channel?
G4 is nothing but an embarassing parody of gaming culture.
KillerBee @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:11PM
What person watches this garbage show and demands that it be twice as long? They already add a shitload of filler to make it to 30 minutes. Imagine how poorly written "comedy" skits there are going to be now.
Lonzz_Wu-Tang_Thermodynamics @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:12PM
I find Ms. Web to be very pretty despite all of the nitpicking BS that some people love to do. If you had a famous, beautiful and rich girl makes eyes for you would you turn her down because her shoulders are 3 inches wider than some anorexic super model that all women are supposed to look like?
Dave @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:15PM
I give this news a two. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . out of five.
Fenix @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:56PM
Well played good sir, well played indeed.