Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[G4 becomes Esquire Network in April]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/11/g4-becomes-esquire-network-in-april/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/11/g4-becomes-esquire-network-in-april/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/11/g4-becomes-esquire-network-in-april/#comments G4 to be announced as Esquire Network todayThe G4 television network stops being G4 on April 22, and with that, likely stops being something we cover. As reported late last year, Owner NBCUniversal will rebrand the formerly gaming-and-Cops-rerun channel as The Esquire Network, named after the magazine.

The Esquire Network is described as "an upscale Bravo for men," as NBC cable executive Bonnie Hammer imagines it. It will attempt to appeal to sophisticated audiences with shows like "Knife Fight," about chefs competing with each other, and "The Getaway," a celebrity travel show.

Nowhere among the list of programming is anything about video games. "Realistically, guys who are into gaming are not necessarily watching television," Hammer told the New York Times. Maybe not on cable networks, anyway.

JoystiqG4 becomes Esquire Network in April originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>esquireesquire-networkg4g4tvtvMon, 11 Feb 2013 09:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Report: G4 to become the Esquire channel]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/08/report-g4-to-become-the-esquire-channel/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/08/report-g4-to-become-the-esquire-channel/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/08/report-g4-to-become-the-esquire-channel/#comments Report G4 to become the Esquire channelCable network G4 will be rebranded as the Esquire channel, acquiring the magazine's name and branding sometime in the early part of next year, The Hollywood Reporter, uhm, reports. The deal has been finalized between G4-owner NBCUniversal and Esquire-owner Hearst Corporation, according to The Hollywood Reporter's sources, and production of new content aimed at a "metrosexual" male audience is said to be underway.

While the channel's new content will feature some gaming-oriented material, subjects such as fashion, cooking and travel will also be covered in an attempt to capture a more sophisticated male audience. As X-Play and Attack of the Show have already been cancelled, we doubt any of G4's late gaming content will be resurrected in the channel's new form. We are, however, looking forward to finding out how to recreate Nathan Drake's designer look for an off-the-rack price.

JoystiqReport: G4 to become the Esquire channel originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 08 Dec 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>attack-of-the-showcableentertainmentEsquireEsquire-channelG4G4TVHearst-CorporationNBCUniversaltelevisionx-playSat, 08 Dec 2012 22:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Klosterman responds to "critic" critics]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/11/klosterman-responds-to-critic-critics/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/11/klosterman-responds-to-critic-critics/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/11/klosterman-responds-to-critic-critics/#commentsFiled under:

Pop-culture writer Chuck Klosterman didn't earn many followers when he criticized gaming critics for not filling in the deified shoes of rock-critic turned cultural messiah, Lester Bangs. The response from the gaming community sounded something like, "He's dead and they've buried his shoes."

Critics like Wired News' Clive Thompson made short shrift of Klosterman's Esquire piece, basically saying that there's plenty of intelligent discussion going on, it's just not going on in the pages of Esquire magazine.

Klosterman, a little bruised perhaps, pulled himself up and sat back down again with Gamespot's Rich Brown to explain his critique. He said, "I think that people were confused by my piece. What they seemed to think that I was saying is that no one is doing good video game criticism. And that's not really the point, I wasn't making that argument. What I was saying is that there seems to be no dominant person writing about video games in a way that transcends the insular culture of gaming. In other words there's no one writing about video games who is of interest to people who aren't actively playing them."

The reason there is no Lester Bangs of gaming is similar to the reason there is no Lester Bangs of music or Pauline Kael of movies anymore. People don't want serious criticism, they want service journalism: how many stars?; how many thumbs-up? In his own way, Klosterman is right, he's just not an informed critic. He reveals as much with, "I know people who are more engaged with it than I am, and when I say 'it,' I mean the Internet."

Follow the debate:
Read - The Lester Bangs of Video Games (Esquire)
Read - Why No Lester Bangs of Gaming? (Wired News ... or Game Girl Advance or John Scalzi)
Read - Chuck Klosterman answers critics (Gamespot)

JoystiqKlosterman responds to "critic" critics originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 Jul 2006 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Chuck KlostermanChuckKlostermanEsquireLester BangsLesterBangsTue, 11 Jul 2006 19:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Wherefore art thou Lester Bangs of gaming?]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/19/wherefore-art-thou-lester-bangs-of-gaming/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/19/wherefore-art-thou-lester-bangs-of-gaming/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/19/wherefore-art-thou-lester-bangs-of-gaming/#commentsFiled under:

Chuck Klosterman, a contributing writer for Esquire and regular columnist for SPIN Magazine, has written a fascinating and frustrating feature for the former inquiring as to the whereabouts of "The Lester Bangs of Video Games." Klosterman wants to know why there is no video game analog to film-critics like Pauline Kael or music-critics like Lester Bangs, and explains why he suspects there never will be.

He asks Steven Johnson, whose Everything Bad is Good for You Klosterman calls "one of the only mainstream books that comes remotely close to the kind of gaming criticism I just described," about the dilemma. Johnson responds, "Video games generally have narratives and some kind of character development, but-almost without exception-these are the least interesting things about them. Gamers don't play because they're drawn into the story line; they play because there's something intoxicating about the mix of exploring an environment and solving problems. The stories are an afterthought." He also talks with MIT's Henry Jenkins who says, "Game designers are asking themselves questions about how a game should look and what it should do, but not about what the game is supposed to mean."

What's refreshing about Klosterman's take is that he's willing to acknowledge the importance and potential of video games (unlike other critics who've issued similar  dictums) while also noting and understanding the shortcomings. What's frustrating are the ommissions; some would be heirs to this throne do come to mind and -- curiously enough -- some even appear on Something Awful's list of the five worst game reviews. Do gamers want anything more than a shopping guide out of their reviews? Do game designers even mean anything with the games they make?

So we're all on the same page, before you start commenting on the column, be sure to read it first!

[Update: for some rebuttals, check out Game Girl Advance, John Scalzi, and Clive Thompson.]

JoystiqWherefore art thou Lester Bangs of gaming? originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 19 Jun 2006 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>EsquireGame journalistsGameJournalistsHenry JenkinsHenryJenkinsJournalismLester BangsLesterBangsPressMon, 19 Jun 2006 19:28:00 EST