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Are you bummed that you'll be stuck at home over the next week, far away from the action and excitement of the 2009 Game Developers Conference? Fret not -- we've got your back as far as GDC-related news is concerned, but if you want to see footage of the glitzy, glamorous Game Developers Choice Awards (which will take place this Wednesday), you can fulfill your peculiar desire by flipping your teevee-box to G4, where X-Play will be airing the ceremony in its entirety.

Bizarrely, they'll be broadcasting the event on April 10, more than two weeks after the awards will be handed out. The program might be a bit too tardy to be worth watching, but since we'll have told you all the winners by that point, you could easily score a few bucks from some unaware acquaintances in a GDCA prediction pool.

At least that's what Mr. Diesel, owner of Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena co-developer Tigon Studios, told G4TV's X-Play this week. When asked if his studio's upcoming remake of 2004's Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay will feature online multiplayer, he had this to say: "Big props to the whole team working on this because we were well into production in the game and I begged for some multiplayer component on this and everyone rose to the occasion and created something really compelling."

And we must say, between the recently released Riddick demo on Xbox Live and Diesel's starring role in Wheelman, the actor turned development studio owner has been making quite a name for himself in the video game industry. Now all we need is a Vin Diesel/50 Cent mashup full of ulaks and exploding ramps. We can dream, can't we?

G4's X-Play and Attack of the Show have been hit by cuts and layoffs. Following up on information given to us by reliable sources -- that the network's two flagship shows have been hit by reductions -- a G4 representative sent us a statement confirming much of the information.

X-Play, which upped its production schedule back in December, will now be reduced to three original episodes per week. Attack of the Show will now air four original episodes per week. Both shows will scale down starting March 2. Although G4 would not comment on "personnel matters," it could confirm that fewer episodes did result in a staff reduction. Cost saving will go into "more original programming in 2009." The network was clear to state that "this is not a budget cut" and G4 "remains dedicated to these core franchises." As always, if you were affected by the layoffs or have more information, please feel free to contact us.

Miss the inFamous footage on X-Play last night? You can watch the full 12 minute video after the break and see Sucker Punch's Nate Fox talk through a section of the game. The video actually raises our excitement for the game, though there's still a lot of the game that's a real unknown quantity and it seems that they're saving a lot of stuff for us to discover as we play. Though Fox does start talking a little more about morality choices and power upgrades in this video. We're looking forward to more upcoming information that is revealed between now and the game's release in Spring.

[Update: YouTube has pulled the video.]

If you don't spend your whole day watching G4TV -- perhaps because you don't like watching reruns of Heroes with big chat windows covering half the screen -- you probably missed X-Play's exclusive preview of The Conduit. Luckily, some dude with a YouTube account did not! The segment features a bit of introduction to the story (something about government secret agent), as well as Sega's Josh Morton extolling, and demonstrating, the first-person shooter's Wii controls.

Most important, though, is the fact that X-Play's segment is composed almost entirely of gameplay footage, which is vaguely ironic. Why is it that most game trailers do their best to avoid long shots of actual in-game footage, and yet a non-publisher-produced TV show is loaded with it?


[Via Nintendo Everything]

The moment you've all been anxiously anticipating is finally here! The winners of X-Play's "Best of 2008" awards have finally been announced -- though perhaps a bit prematurely, as Calvin Tucker's Redneck Jamboree won't be hitting store shelves 'til next week. Fable 2 took the gold in the "Game of the Year" category, beating out Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Left 4 Dead and Resistance 2.

X-Play made some solid choices for the winners of other categories -- The World Ends With You took home "Best Handheld Game", Rock Band 2 clinched the "Best Music/Rhythm Game" category, MGS4 won "Best Action/Adventure Game", and Fallout 3 beat out Fable 2 in the "Best RPG" category. So, for those playing along at home, Fable 2 is the best game that came out this year -- but not the best RPG. Can someone whip up a Venn diagram to try and explain this one to us?

G4 television president Neil Tiles has announced on the company's website that video game infotainment program X-Play will become an hour long during December. The growth spurt can apparently be blamed on all the holiday releases and titles coming in 2009. If the show succeeds in its extended play format, it may find the change permanent next year.

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]

We say it's a game for people who enjoy awesome games. But, hey, we're just some internet blog. Although, when you think about it, being on a TV network that nobody watches might be better than being an internet blog that nobody reads.

But, we digress. Any favorable exposure for No More Heroes is certainly welcome, because we're absolutely sure that every person that owns a Wii console also needs to own this game. In fact, we still have nightmares about how mixed the game sales were.

Head past the break for the video.

This interview is from X-Play and it is by Adam Sessler (who some will decry has a bias against Sony, but all things considered, he knows what he's talking about). Guerrilla Games spokesperson Steven Ter Heide talks a bit about Killzone 2 -- not a lot of information is really new, but if you've been confused about the hype surrounding the game or missed out on some informative bits, this interview may catch you up to the rest of the crowd.

[via PS3Forums]

LucasArts producer Dan Wasson stopped by G4's X-Play show to demonstrate the Duel Mode and Wii controls for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed -- in an empty movie theatre, no less -- and, while it's no Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the game certainly has its charms.

Using the force, or unleashing it, as LucasArts suggests you do, to throw everything you can at your opponent while TIE fighters float around you is a scene we have no problem taking part in. All we need to know now is whether or not we'll still be able to play the game with the Wii Light Sword attachment to further immerse ourselves in the Star Wars Kid experience. Jump past the break for video from the preview!

If you can't wait until Wednesdays to get your Zero Punctuation fix, G4's X-Play will begin showing "previews" of Yahtzee's adventures in game-review land every Tuesday beginning February 12 before the "uncut" reviews are posted on The Escapist the following day.

Basically, G4 will probably be showing a watered-down (i.e. censored) version of the profanity-laden reviews before The Escapist gives us our quality fix the following day. Although its nice that G4 is presumably giving Mr. Croshaw some extra cash to spend on hookers with genetic anomalies, perhaps X-Play (and its revamped format) could come up with something original to grab viewers instead of riding The Escapist's coattails? But, this is clearly a win-win for both sides.

In his first television appearance since his controversial firing, Jeff Gerstmann will appear at 8 p.m. tonight on G4's recently redesigned news show X-Play. According to a G4 press notice, Gerstmann will be discussing innovation (or the lack thereof) in Japanese gaming and will also "field questions regarding his previous position with Gamespot, as well as his current and future endeavors."

For those who've missed Gerstmann's calming presence on On The Spot, this will provide a great opportunity to see the big guy back in action. For everyone else, er ... there's another story right below this one!

Just a quick reminder for those of you about to settle down on the couch, eager to rest your weary bones from a hard day in the mines. If you're looking for something to watch, and network reruns ain't cutting it, check out tonight's X-Play (it's got a whole new format, remember?) for a look at actual gameplay from Radical Entertainment's mutant-takes-Manhattan sandbox game, Prototype. They've sent along a short teaser, tucked away after the break, or catch the real deal at 8PM ET/PT.

Did you see that guy get squished by a helicopter? Yeah, gross ...

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.

As the start of a week-long series on women in the game industry, MTV Multiplayer has a revealing Q&A with Morgan Webb, the curvier half of the hosting duo behind G4's X-Play. While the interview covers a lot of topics, perhaps the most persistent running theme is Webb's ambivalence about her status as a successful, visible female game journalist.

On the one hand, Webb says, "it used to really bother me that men ... would assume that I don't really know what I'm talking about or would know less than a man on the topic." On the other hand, though, Webb acknowledges "I wouldn't be where I am if I were a man, to be honest. I wouldn't be on the show. I wouldn't be writing columns for FHM. I wouldn't be considered just like a rare and interesting... specimen or whatever, if I weren't a woman. So I am where I am because I'm a woman and that's just the way it is."

While Webb is a big booster for the game industry, she says she doesn't necessarily see herself as a spokesperson for 'girl gaming.' "I don't think the world will necessarily be a better place if I get lots of young woman to play video games," she said. "If a woman wants to play video games, more power to her ... but I have a lot of girlfriends who couldn't care less about video games ... and I don't think their lives are missing anything for that."

The lengthy full interview is packed with more of Webb's thoughts on forum trolls, posing for Maxim and the effects of being both one of gaming's most prominent women and a minor TV celebrity. Take a few minutes and give it a read.