Joystiq

Report: Pac-Man reality series in development

Andrew Yoon — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:30:00 EST

Certainly, this must be one of the signs of our inevitable doom. According to Deadline Hollywood, Merv Griffin Entertainment is planning video game-themed reality series where contestants compete in a series of loosely game-related challenges for a chance to win a job as a video game tester. Just kidding! Unfortunately, that just makes too much sense. No, the company supposedly plans on adapting Pac-Man as a reality series. Wait, what?

"The idea we have is to take what Pac-Man is and bring it to life, to bring what is essentially the world's biggest game of tag to television," Merv Griffin's Roy Bank told Deadline, presumably while wiping some brownie crumbs off his face. The pitch, inspired by ABC's Wipeout, comes in time for the mascot's 30th anniversary. At least there's some reason behind this madness.

We can only assume that the end result will look exactly like this fan-made movie adaptation. And if Pac-Man: The Reality Series manages to find an audience, who knows what other game franchises we'll see adapted for the TV screen? Cho Aniki, perhaps?

Report: Pac-Man reality series in development originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interview: Will 'Cyrus' Powers, winner of The Tester

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST

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.

Continue reading Interview: Will 'Cyrus' Powers, winner of The Tester

Interview: Will 'Cyrus' Powers, winner of The Tester originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'The Tester' contestants should probably have read this account first

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST

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' contestants should probably have read this account first originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'The Tester' reality series debuts on PSN Feb. 18

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:03:00 EST

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.

'The Tester' reality series debuts on PSN Feb. 18 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warner Bros. releasing Bachelor and Bachelorette games

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:55:00 EST

Listen, guys. Warner Bros. Interactive is going to need a ton of money if it wants to provide marketing support for Scribblenauts when it comes out this September. Without these ads, the game may not sell well, which could injure our chances of ever getting future 'nauts titles. To ensure that we never encounter such a terrible future, we have an unpleasant task we must entrust you with: You need to go pre-order the recently announced video game adaptations of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette that WBI is publishing.

We know -- you've been holding out for a video game adaptation of Rock of Love Bus. However, with Hell's Kitchen developer Ludia Inc. in charge of development, this pair of titles will ... okay, they're going to be awful. Still, you guys owe us. Remember that incident in Little Tokyo we helped you out of? Yeah, you do. Better get moving -- Gamestop's only open 'til nine.

Warner Bros. releasing Bachelor and Bachelorette games originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WCG Ultimate Gamer reality show hits SciFi Channel March 10

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:20:00 EST

If you've found yourself looking for new mediums of entertainment since the heartbreaking season finale of The Bachelor, a new program on SciFi Channel might tickle your reality programming fancy. WCG Ultimate Gamer, the first episode of which airs Tuesday, March 10, will follow 12 gaming enthusiasts as they "embark on an intense and emotional journey" for a prize of $100,000, some Samsung products and the right to represent the titular World Cyber Games league at gaming events across the globe. We anticipate they'll learn a bit about themselves along the way. That's the best prize of all, really.

Contestants will compete in popular video games (Rock Band 2 is the focus for episode one) and -- wait for it -- "real-life challenges inspired by best-selling game titles." As much as we wish they'd leave that particular enterprise in more capable hands, we'll probably check it out. We could ostensibly watch reruns of Rock of Love: Charm School to satisfy our debilitating reality TV addiction, but, well, we already know how that one ends.

WCG Ultimate Gamer reality show hits SciFi Channel March 10 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reality TV: 'Legendary' rockers perform Rock Band 2 for upcoming show

James Ransom-Wiley — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm

There's some reality to the Rock Band show casting call that popped up on Craigslist this week after all. We've received confirmation from a reliable tip of an event featuring some "Legendary Rock Royalty" playing ... Rock Band 2 for an "upcoming TV show taping." If you're in the Los Angeles area, you're welcome to check it out:

Where: The Viper Room
When: Monday, September 15 -- free admittance from 7pm to 7:45pm (doors close at 7:45pm sharp)
What else: Must be 21 or older. Email "rockbandshow [at] yahoo [dawt] com" to get on the list. Space is limited!

(We know, we know, it sounds mad sketchy, but it's legit. The organizers are simply keeping a tight lid on the full details. Just be sure to tell someone where you're headed Monday night, you know, in case you disappear or something ... It's totally worth the risk just to get on TV, right?)

[Image credit: eric dickman]

Reality TV: 'Legendary' rockers perform Rock Band 2 for upcoming show originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Smash Bros. champion cracks the world of reality TV

Chris Greenhough — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:22:00 EST

Filed under: News

Fans of reality TV show Survivor who also read Nintendo blogs will be pleased to hear that gamers are getting some representation for the show's seventeenth season, Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden.

22-year-old Ken Hoang will be one of the eighteen contestants when the series begins on September 25th, and he's there for one very good reason: he can totally kick the world's ass at Super Smash Bros. Melee. Yeah, even yours. A professional gamer by trade, Ken has earned over $50,000 from playing Melee, which (according to his Survivor profile at CBS) he's used to help pay his family's mortgage. Whaddaguy!

The message to take from this: don't let anybody tell you gaming can't take you anywhere in life. Unless you play, say, Mario Kart Wii as well as we do. Then, seriously, it's time to look for a real job.

[Via Joystiq]

Smash Bros. champion cracks the world of reality TV originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survivor adds top Smash Bros. player to line-up

Justin McElroy — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:45:00 EST

Filed under: Culture

You probably don't think that being really excellent at video games is a marketable skill outside of pro gaming, but Ken Hoang has found one other field it can help you get a leg up in: The lucrative "not dying on an island" industry. The pro gamer (one of the nation's top Smash Bros. players) has been added to the cast of the 17th season of Survivor.

Why would a spindly thumb jockey think he could hang with the beefy cast? Ken recently told Entertainment Weekly: "Gaming will help me because I do well under pressure. ... I'm the underdog, I think all the fans will root for me to win. I would root for myself if I was watching TV."

Note to Ken: If you're watching yourself on Survivor and you root against yourself, you've probably got some pretty serious stuff to work through.

Survivor adds top Smash Bros. player to line-up originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: EA bringing stars of "The Hills" to video game

Kyle Orland — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Hacks, PC

If you recognize the above pictured pair as reality TV stars (and not just goobers at a Halloween party), then you should stop reading this post right now and just go read US Magazine or something. If you don't recognize them, we'll explain that Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, stars of MTV's The Hills, let slip recently that they're collaborating with EA on a video game version of their, like, totally drama-filled lives.

Not many details were spilled on what Pratt called the "top-secret" game, but he did mention to US Magazine that the game would let players work against the popular pair if they want to. "You can even torture me," Pratt said in a quote sure to excite reality-TV-haters everywhere.

Pratt expects the game to come out in two versions -- "the adult version and the one for minors" -- around Christmas 2009. And really, if you can't trust reality TV stars for your video game release dates, who can you trust?

Rumor: EA bringing stars of "The Hills" to video game originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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