The Summer of gaming reveals is coming to a boil with the Xbox Games Showcase and more digital events just around the corner. From big franchises sequels being teased to the return of a few familiar faces, there’s a lot of news to keep people busy until the next generation of gaming consoles release. Speaking of familiar faces, one name has just returned to the ring.
Remember G4TV? Remember watching X-Play reviews and Attack of The Show? The nostalgia of the late ’90s early 2000s-era gaming and tech journalism holds a special place in many fans’ hearts. For others, it was a reminder of outdated and cringe cultural aspects of gaming. However, you feel about G4TV, it was an early contender in trying to provide a centralized outlet for all things gaming and tech, until its end in 2014. Now, the iconic channel announced at San Diego Comic Con@home that it will return in 2021.
“Rise From Your Grave!”
Well, it turns out G4TV is back. In a surprising Tweet, G4TV released a small teaser with the caption, “We never stopped playing.” The teaser is a tongue in cheek reference to the sign off bumper, after G4TV’s supposed final broadcast in 2014, which showed a game of pong being played until the screen zoomed out and faded out like an old CRT being turned off. The teaser then ends with the year 2021, with no other information seemingly available. Whether this is a full-fledged return of the TV network or a new project that will use the G4TV name is still unknown.
Mixed Reaction
Fan reaction from the teaser seems to be reasonably positive, with a lot of people poking fun at what G4TV content used to promote. Many fans were seemingly ecstatic to get the chance to relive the glory of G4TV gaming coverage. Former hosts of X-Play Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb seemed surprised even to see the G4TV Twitter accounts active, and caught off guard just like many other fans around the web.
Despite the rush of nostalgia, a lot of other reactions chimed in to remember the good ol’ times of G4TV’s questionable content choices. Twitter user @CooperCooperco quickly remembered the weird decision the network made to have many of their hosts lick gaming peripherals, alongside other unnecessarily sexualized acts that objectified any woman on the network. That’s gaming culture, baby! While the gaming news, reviews, and community engagement were great - shout out to Mr.Sark’s Halo challenges - there were a lot of questionable choices that made the network feel like SpikeTV lite.
How Will G4TV Adapt and Survive?
Assuming this teaser from G4TV is a full-scale return of the former gaming network, is it a smart move? The consumption of gaming media has changed drastically since the heyday of G4TV thanks to the proliferation of social media, numerous gaming outlets, independent channels on YouTube, and steps that push away from centralized networks. Many gamers have moved away from centralized gaming news when they have access to hundreds of thousands of content creators and outlets to choose from.
Look at GameTrailers, a giant in the gaming industry, that unfortunately fell by the wayside and shut down in 2016. GameTrailers did its best to adapt to the changing landscape of gaming media from having podcasts, original shows from community creators, but it still unfortunately, shut down. GameTrailers went all-in on online content and did not manage to survive. G4TVs old model of focusing on broadcast will not last. G4TV needs to prioritize original and digital content. Ditch the TV aspect. There’s no guarantee that going all-in on digital will be a success, look at Mixer, it sounded alright on paper, then collapsed.
Do gamers need an advocate on TV anymore? G4TV was one of the earlier outlets trying to push gaming further into the mainstream, as well as give space for geeks and nerds. It is safe to say geek and nerd culture is the furthest thing from fringe anymore, and it is everywhere. Long gone are the days of niche forums to discuss gaming and set up LAN parties. You can’t escape nerd culture; it’s almost suffocating at times. There also was a disconnect from networks that pivoted to gamers and their core audience with programming. In the past gaming-centric TV seemed to go above in beyond in the worst of ways. SpikeTV’s game awards were a great example of this disconnect. While G4TV was not as bad as SpikeTV, it had its moments creating content that many gamers loved, like their E3 coverage. However, there definitely was cringe content aired at the time, and it probably has not aged well since.
G4TV needs to find a way to truly stand out from the countless gaming outlets that all do the same thing to not fall back into obscurity. Something unique that does not involve showing 48 hours of COPS and Cheaters reruns. G4TV’s return is marred by fan nostalgia. As much as people love to remember old hosts of the show, they have moved on in their careers. The likelihood of these figures returning to host shows might be slim, with a better chance of a few cameos. Similar to GameTrailers, G4TV had many of its alumni move on to start their solo careers or work with other notable companies in the gaming industry.
Without familiar names returning for permanent roles, will fans even care about G4TV? If the network returns only in name, it becomes somewhat of a pointless venture. This is all under the assumption we see the return of the network, and this is no miscommunication. Time will reveal if G4TV can reclaim its spot as a significant outlet for gaming news. Could G4TV poach some big names to push its name back into relevancy? Imagine they get Dr.Disrespect? Who knows, but this return is interesting.
NEXT: Rockstar Games Says GTA And Red Dead Redemption 2 Updates Coming Soon
