G4 Canceling X-Play, Attack of the Show. Gaming Programming Nixed, Source Says

Kotaku:G4—the network once known as the go-to destination for video game-friendly programming—is ending its gaming programming. The network is informing its employees in meetings today.

[NYC_Gamer]

R.I.P G4TV

[nrvalleytime]

and good luck to everyone who might lose their jobs because of the news.

[MAJ0R]

Hopefully they will find jobs at real gaming places. Tech TV was the original channel before it became G4TV and was bought out by people who only care about money. Definitely sucks...

[darthv72]

ZDTV or TechTV before it merged to become G4.

Personaly, after the merge is when i felt things went downhill. I understand the difference in generations that watch the various programs but the attitudes on programs like AOTS was very unprofessional as compared to a show like ScreenSavers.

I liked X-Play but you just started seeing more and more commercials and less of the actual show content. When they did away with Icons was a big loss for me anyway.

You never like to read about people losing their jobs but their drastic changes in programing and the lack of professionalism is what hurt them.

[EVILDEAD360]

Gamers didnt support those shows anyways. There is no unity in gaming anymore. If there was ever an article about that station it was always negative responses that ruled the day.

It was inevitable that the ratings would plummet. Because the average gamer never knew when to actually catch the shows the liked. It was always repeats of 'Ninja' etc. As a whole gaming is divisive. No one even cared about Adam until he left. People whined about Kevin until he left. Everyone whined about the females on there as well.

Name a gaming site on the internet and it's the same thing. It's crazy that not ONE show or ONE format could last in this day and age for gaming.

Which was telling when MS and the industry went with Spike over G4 for many of the big events..namely the VGAs and E3 for MS.

Always thought it was a great concept as a channel. Too bad there was never enough content to make G4 must watch television all the time.

Evil

[scotchmouth]

They probably need more time slots for episodes of cops

[pixelsword]

I didn't like those shows, watched them for a little while, but stopped.

[Blacktric]

G4 will only air Mountain Dew, Doritos, Halo and Call Of Duty commercials from now on.

[darthv72]

yeah the concept was good. Although I think what happened was the attempt to be young and hip with the new G4 was the turn off for many. The immature antics were detracting from the seriousness of the content. Or at least the attempt to be serious when it came to guests that were on to discuss new projects.

I liked the old ZDTV/TechTV. AudioFile, Icons, ScreenSavers and the early Xplay where they showed more gameplay instead of trying to be sarcastic (oops, not trying, they were).

It was like, management came to adam and morgan and said they needed to up their rudness and sarcasm levels.

The addition of non gaming or tech related programming didnt help. Although, i did enjoy ninja warrior once in a while.

[JoySticksFTW]

"They probably need more time slots for episodes of cops"

Don't forget Cheaters

Aw, HufandPuf down below beat me to it :)

But I used to love Icons and Portal

[Persistantthug]

I never really hear any real complaints about them.

[greenpowerz]

G4TV shows died because they didn't pay attention to the change in gamer pop culture.

Nerds, gamers and techies have changed and adults(hosts) acting like loser kids from the 90's turned people off.

Nerds, gamers and techies are much more mainstream as being smart has become the new cool and or norm vs (nerdom)

Their behaviour is patronizing to people watching.

Too many ways of getting the info/news/opinions from alternate sources to keep slapstick shows alive. The shows never matured/grew-up.

The slow down in game releases is effecting things as well.

Their style is a relic of the past and doesnt really fit today's audience. Nerds/gamers/techies go to the gym, go clubing, go on dates, and are metro sexual now and have blended into the mainstreme.

Nerds/gamers/techies have moved towards the mainstreme and the mainstreme has moved towards the demos mentioned above.

[SilentNegotiator]

@EvilDead

Actually, no one supported it because it sucked.
They were out of touch.

Not because of a lack of unity of gamers.

[zeeshan]

COPS/CHEATERS TV it is then. Oh and lets not forget LOST/HEROES re-runs. Wow! This is like the END of G4TV isn't it? At least to us gamers!

One good thing that I can see coming out of this is at least I won't have to watch and listen to Sara Underwood! I mean, that woman is soooo annoying!

[Dee_91]

well g4tv been dead to me since dtv and g4 couldnt come to an agreement.i guess all we have now is my avy.... goodtimes

[subtenko]

Shoulda never changed from G4 Tech Tv. They were at their prime back then with shows like Judgement day, the humor added was somewhat like a Mega64-esq feel. They had really interesting people there who are all doing different things now.

People like Chris Pirillo, so many funny and awesome moments,lol. Plus it was back in the 90's right? The 90's were a one of a kind time no doubt.

[Arcanine]

Thats that's what you get for putting on stupid police shows

[SilentNegotiator]

....and hello 24/7 Cops and Cheaters network.

[gintoki777]

don't understand how one can watch - _ -

[Blasphemy]

Called it! I said this when Kevin Pereira left that the show would be cancelled soon. That guy was Attack of the show without him what do you have?

[MEsoJD]

G4 and tech tv have been dead for a long time.

[Syntax-Error]

Everyone blaming the programming, the shows, the hosts, the gaming community and YOU'RE ALL WRONG! I knew this was happening back in April because my sister in law works as the wardrobe designer for AOTS and X-PLAY. Morgan Webb was even at her wedding. I asked her about Sessler leaving and she said they didnt renew his contract because they are changing the entire channel. They have a new CEO and he doesn't like the format. He wants a more Lifestyle type channel instead. He said that station isn't making money in it's current format and he doesn't want to continue any of the programming. He's starting from scratch. Quit speculating because only one person can change an entire station and drop it's top rated shows.

[BELIE7ER]

The infomation you gave was helpful but the insult was not.

[TheDivine]

The problem isnt that gaming and tech shows cant have an audience its that their shows suck/sucked. I want real previews, good reviews not by immature fake gamers who are 40ish and act 12. Show cool tech stuff, movie news, exc. Cops, cheaters, campus pd, and ninja crap isnt going to get ratings. Theirs a huge audience of people like us they just went after the 12 year olds instead. Show the history of gaming, go back and do a full hour on why FF rocks or just on how FF7 made a huge impact. show hidden gems like Okami and interview the developers. That indy game movie did well and g4 could have also but one 30 minute show that gives a couple crappy reviews on popular titles without going into depth isnt what i want and i think most agree with me. AOTS is alright but it isnt done well enough and its too forced to be funny most of the time. Sucks for the employees but all the personalities will easily find work and production peeps can work on the new stuff hopefully. It does need to change as its a dead fish right now, anythings better imo.

[Dee_91]

lmao... i like how he said every one is wrong and blaiming the wrong thing then go on to blaim basically the same thing he said wasnt to blaim.
obvious tween is obvious

[Flewid638]

The information you gave sounds like what everyone has already been saying on this thread.

The shows aren't good, so the CEO is changing them.

What are you telling us that hasn't been already said?

[DeadlyFire]

I never expected GTTV to outpace G4TV. Wow.

So they will be renaming that channel to Japanese game show TV soon right?

[gintoki777]

I rather watch Japanese game shows than Cops and cheaters

[synce]

RIP? G4 died many years ago

[Wagz22]

G4TV has unfortunately been life support for a while.

[nrvalleytime]

Sad day. I used to really enjoy watching those shows - hope that everyone involved lands safely in other jobs.

[Xenial]

G4 was dying anyway; after Adam Sessler & Kevin Preira left, it went down-hill.

[marioPSUC]

Its been dying since they re-branded it G4tv and took away so many of their good shows except for AOTS and Xplay, the deathblow was when Kevin and Adam left.

[Silly Mammo]

So is G4 going to just be a network of reality show reruns? Not exactly gripping television

[lashes2ashes]

No worse. It is being rebranded to be like spike tv, this macho men tv shit is so stupid luckily girls know all men are not like what spike tv thinks we are. The rumor is they are going to partner with maxim or esquire and call it Gmen tv.

[attilayavuzer]

That whole macho, Spike TV, man-cave thing went out of style in 2010.

[Eldyraen]

Agreed. If that last part is true though its just sad.

[pixelsword]

With the words "man-cave" being thrown around, I wonder what the "G" in "Gmen TV" stands for.

[Human Analog]

@ Pixelsword.... The "G" is for 'gina.

[BlackPrince 42]

It's supposed to merge with Esquire magazine or something and become a men's TV network.

It's going to be called G4Men.

[camel_toad]

G4TV is going to be renamed COPS.

[AzaziL]

That's all TV has become, every single channel is being filled with Reality garbage, even the educational channels have become nothing more than watching pawn shops, people driving trucks, and honey boo boo.

It's a disgrace and it all feels like it's being shoved down our collective throats. I honestly wouldn't order cable tv if I moved on my own, it's a complete waste of money.

[3-4-5]

Kevin knew. And so it finally happens.

[oONinjavitiSOo]

You are correct. He was even talking about it somewhat on "The Joe Rogan experience" podcast.

[Eazy-Eman]

That's a damn shame. I still remember when Kevin Pereira(I know typo) was doing his last attack of the show episode they were making fun of him in trying to get another decent job...looks like kevin got the last laugh.

[AnotherProGamer]

Cops followed by a marathon of Cops.

[TheGameHuntah]

LMAO

[Hufandpuf]

and cheaters.

[Stay-Toasty]

And don't forget Quantam Leap.

[TENTONGUN]

g4 sucks, i hate cops in general, and i hate watching them on tv. the old g4 before the merger with tech tv was an all video games channel 24/7. its was pretty cool then. anyone remember? anyways, big wigs are dipshits

[RmanX1000]

i had DirecTV so i stopped getting G4 awhile ago, so its good to know their scheduling didnt change at all. I miss my 22 and a half hours of Cheaters and Cops. /sarcasm

[TooTall19]

Those 2 shows were the only thing I watched on G4.

[Conzul]

Yeah, they made the place alright. Now the only thing similar is IGN :-(

[modesign]

if you wiki adam sessler, his occupation is unemployeed. haha that sucks, how embarrassing.

[BlackPrince 42]

He actually left G4 many months back.

He's probably still unemployed because of contract language that says he can't be on another network for some arbitrary period of time.

I think he saw what was coming and got the hell out.

[cl1983]

He's doing independent contract work for different companies.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Yes, so funny and embarrassing. What a model citizen you are.

[pixelsword]

I just can't laugh at someone being unemployed.

I just can't.

[barb_wire]

Wiki's out of date.. cause Adam and Kevin are on SyFy channels' Viral Video Showdown as Judge/Presenter. Air's Oct 30th.

[FamilyGuy]

Adam was a tv for years, I'm sure he's made plenty of money and saved more than enough in that time to take a loooooong vacation from working.

[SilentNegotiator]

LOL, I know it's just a typo, but "Adam was a TV for years" made me laugh.

[FamilyGuy]

Oops lol
on*

[BlaqMagiq24]

Wow youre a douche.

[BlackPrince 42]

Ahem.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[FarCryLover182]

Now we know why Kevin and Adam left. Well especially Adam since his contract was about to be up and they must have told him that there would be no point in renewing his contract.

[Plagasx]

The final Nail in the coffin. I had really good times with G4.

I enjoyed AOTS and X-Play in the early years but it went downhill.

RIP G4!

[ConstipatedGorilla]

I have Sirius and have always wondered why there is no Tech/Game channel. I think it would be awesome. A lot cheaper to run for sure. No visuals of course, but it would be cool to just have a talk forum on air.

[jagstatboy]

That sucks. I really enjoyed X-Play. And Attack was good for eye candy. Dang it!

[smashcrashbash]

I knew it was going down when they stopped showing 'Movies that don't suck' and just showed any movie whether it sucked or not.

[wingman32x]

Even though I haven't watched either in a while, this is very sad news for me. I remember the gold mine of gaming content and awesome shows just after the merger.

Xplay, AOTS, Judgement Day, Electronic Playground, Icons, Arena, Cinematech, Cheat, and a few others I can't remember the names to.

The channel was so great at one point. It's a shame it had to slowly implode the way it did.

RIP XPlay and AOTS. They were the two remaining pillars holding up the channels name. The destruction is now complete.

[RandomGamer]

Well here in Canada we still have Reviews on the Run and Electric Playground,I wonder will they be canceled here.... man tho I remember how great it use to be.

[Yodagamer]

So i guess i'm watching my e3 coverage else where next year, it's such a shame i enjoyed them in their prime

[gatormatt80]

That's exactly what I was thinking too.They were the go to channel for E3 coverage. For that whole week they aired pretty much nothing but E3 coverage, which was frigging awesome. The convenience of all the E3 conferences, except for MS, on one channel in HD was the best. I hope maybe Spike will now start to cover and air all of E3 like G4 did, including all of the conferences. If not I guess I'll be watching more online live streams.

[Yodagamer]

I believe spike did last year, i know they had the conferences since it was the only way to watch it on directv.

[ApolloTheBoss]

Poor Morgan, Sarah and all the other G4 employees. Hope they find better jobs.

[specialguest]

She's married to multi-millionair Rob Reid who was the sole founder of listen.com which later launched Rhapsody. The guy also gave a speech in TED which is where only successful industry leaders are invited to speak at. I'm sure with his influence in the industry, he could easily help her find another gig.

[ApolloTheBoss]

Wow really? Did not know that.

[josephayal]

gaming is dying

[Conzul]

No, it's just that gaming *media* repeatedly dies.
Mostly due to gamers themselves, in that they are incurable bitches. I myself am one such bitch ;]

[WeskerChildReborned]

Well now G4 is officially dead.

[Rivitur]

Only thing I watched was x-play, Aots, and Bomb Squad Afghanistan. Only thing videogame related on TV now would probably gametrailertv on spike.

[tweet75]

wont miss it the only time i watched it was when E3 in its entriety was broadcast on the channel.

[wastedcells]

Damn this sucks... Let's start a new gaming channel!

[scotchmouth]

Twitch.tv

[ssj3goku87]

Gxstream.co

[slazer101]

How about G-spot. A place for men to come.

[FragMnTagM]

I see what you did there.

[optimus]

There's already a g-spot show or channel by gamespot.com on youtube...matter of fact there are a bunch of gaming channels and shows on youtube, maybe that was a factor that lead to g4 going in a different direction...

I loved it when it was techTV and before that zdtv...for me, it went down hill ever since comcast bought it and switched it to g4.

[Th3 Chr0nic]

May as well cancel the entire network. all they have left is Ninja Warrior and they have watered that down so much its not the same anymore.

[black911]

Gaming is Dead what do you expect.

[Swiggins]

Not sure if serious...

[StreetsofRage]

the raiders are dead.

[Rivitur]

Watch out now the ghost of Mr. Davis is coming for you. : o

[Orionsangel]

I know a lot of people on the Internet hate or resent X-play and AOTS. Most never got over the demise of TechTV and blame G4, but I enjoyed those shows. Especially AOTS. It was my 7pm comfort show. When there's nothing on. I mean, let's be honest. How many game and geek related shows our on daily TV? GametrailersTV? That's on once a week and it airs at a pretty late time. So not too many. TV is sorely lacking these types of shows. I'm gonna miss G4.

How cool would it be, and take notes G4 writers. If when the last episode of AOTS started- It began with host Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn, acting as if nothing happened. Until they realize something is different. Something is wrong. Time has somehow been altered. That's assuming that both host wanna return and do that bit, but it would be a classic way to go out.

[Dunpeal]

G4Men = Gay 4 Men

cool rebranding guys!!!

[A7XEric]

So G4 went from being a channel that had literally only gaming related shows to having none. I so wish that bullcrap tech tv merger never happened.

[XboxInnovation]

So now 24-7 reruns of Quantam Leap and Cops? Sick...

G4 would be great if it dedicated it's entire network to gaming/electronics in the way ESPN does to sports.

[NJShadow]

Were you around for the TechTV days? That was pure tech heaven right there. Probably my favorite channel of all time... and then the TechTV/G4 merger happened. >.<

[tiffac008]

I really enjoyed TechTV. That was just gaming, tech and not trying to be hip or anything like that.

I miss the good old days~

[Blax]

I sure do miss classic G4 when it first started out. I could watch shows like Arena, Portal, Cinematech, and Filter all day. Hell, Arena and Portal are what got me into PC gaming. Rest in piece, indeed.

[yocdub]

Kevin and Adam's new show on SYFY.

http://www.syfy.com/viralvi...

[FragMnTagM]

Wow that sucks.

[ajax17]

Who cares. As long as they can be themselves on the show.

[FragMnTagM]

Well I don't think that Sessler would want to do that kind of show, he probably took it because the money was better than X-Play.

It just doesn't seem like him.

Pereira on the other hand, would fit pretty well there as he talked about similar stuff on AOTS.

[morkendo23]

GAWD!!! they went from bad to worst hosting G4 X-Play, ATTACK OF THE SHOW to viewing nutjob viral video where guest try to win 5,000.00 lame.

rather watch CHEATERS!!!

[jakmckratos]

Yesssss.. more Cops and Cheaters!

..said no one.

[xseven]

Just what the industry needed... more re-runs of COPS

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Well there goes my one reason for watching G4. Xplay while not the show it was...was still the best gaming option on TV.

[BlaqMagiq24]

I'm surprised those shows lasted this long without Adam and Kevin. G4 pretty much died when they left. The only remotely good show left was Ninja Warrior which I hope lands a new home.

Now G4 is going to be a "game/electronics channel" without the games and electronics, just like MTV being a music channel with next to no music on it.

[Crazay]

Looks like I can now save $15 per month on the channel package that gives me this channel. It's really too bad because I quite enjoyed those shows. I had a feeling something was up when Adam, Olivia and Kevin all left within a short span of time of one another. Good luck to all who lost their job on this absolutely bogus decision by G4.

On a side note, this is someone else's opportunity to pick up that ball and run with it to make other shows similar with the same people.

[silkrevolver]

Now I can watch COPS at any given time!

[swishersweets20031]

well i guess i wont be watching G4 channel anymore

[ZigZagLagger]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[NJShadow]

If there was ever a reason for Morgan Webb to jump over to Revision3... now's the time. I think Morgan still tried to retain some of the common sense that came with the TechTV era, so it might actually be a plus if she heads over.

[KMCROC]

Seeing as how the only crap on g4 is cops,campus pd & that rip off of ninja warrior. is there any way to get g4 taken off my cable or dish package.seeing how it now useless like fox.

[titans9999]

Ah we'll, I have been living without G4 since DirecTV dropped em....thank God we still have Gametrailers on Spike...us gamers need a true gaming show 24 hours a day, and only about games, and people playing games! Until then, I will stck to YouTube and the "lets pay" videos

[Fel08]

G4 is officially the MTV of gaming

[Trago1337]

i had some good times with TechTV back in the day, Anime Unleashed was EPIC, Arena was great, Cinematech was awesome, G4 Icons taught me a lot about gaming history, Cheat was cool, AOTS was so much fun everyday...'till Kevin left, X play was on the TOP of my list when it came to reviews...well, them and IGN back then.

I truly hope we get a proper channel for gamers and tech heads.

[VitaOwner]

Attack of the Show was at it's best when Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira were the hosts. I watched it every day when they were on the air. Even when Olivia left, Kevin still made it awesome. When they both left, the show died.

[BudMcMuffin2go]

I agree 200% with you on that one. that was back in the good G4 days, come to think of it i think adam sessler has left as well, he was so funny

[byeldell34]

i haven't watch g4 in about two years..i just watch E3 and that just about it..aots and x-play was there flagship shows now its cops......

[tdinc]

good let it rot.....G4 was garbage COmcrap killed Techtv

Long live techtv!!!

[byeldell34]

yeah i miss Techtv

[BudMcMuffin2go]

OMG This is so sad, i have been watching both these shows since the beginning what a bunch of BBBBSSSSS ;(

[BALLARD32]

Nooooo!

[ZeekQuattro]

In truth they kind of stopped focusing on games years ago. Many is the time I would switch to G4 at various times of the day and find movies, Star Trek, Cheaters, Cops, Ninja Warrior and various other none gamer programming. I stopped watching years ago after shows like Arena, Icons, Cinematech, Filter, and Judgement Day/Electric Playground were cancelled. When they took the focus away from gaming I saw no reason to watch what was essentially Spike Lite. Spike is good but that was besides the point.

[ZILLA]

right after olivia munn left AOTS.she was smart super hot and funny.miss her 8(

[iNFAMOUZ1]

i wouldnt say super hot...

[PurpHerbison]

I hate to be one of those guys, but G4 has been dead for a long time now. But I believe... 9-10 years ago it was absolutely amazing and filled with all kinds of gaming related programs.

[ajax17]

DUDE WTF!!!!!!!!! X-Play and AOTS are the only reasons to watch G4! I certainly don't watch G4 for COPS reruns!

[tunaks1]

on the plus side, more cops!

[megamanX2]

Does anyone really care about this? you have to actually pay money to watch that channel now, and it wasn't even worth it when it was free.

[iNFAMOUZ1]

attack of the show was gay, and cheesy, but x play will always be dear to my heart, r.i.p g4tv.

[rulakir]

G4 started to suck when they started having crap not related to gaming. I mean, what kind of bull crap is that? I hope in the future some kind of real gaming channel will pop up. X-play, however was a good show.

[posthero01]

I knew this would come well after Olivia Munn's departure and right after Adam's departure. After Kevin left it then became obvious to every 1 that G4 was going through some serious changes, in my opinion G4 has already changed.

[EverydayGuy]

Good thing I don't watch T.V

[MasterD919]

Poor X-play...I really hope that they get picked up online or at Spike or something.

G4 is now done and I refuse to take part in whatever makeover they have in store for their network. Especially since they are wiping their hands clean of the gaming portion (which was the only reason I watched now).

Won't miss the new AOTS, but man was I a huge fan of when KP and Olivia Munn were hosting. Candace wasn't a good fit, and they had to bring in a playboy model just to keep fans occupied.

Good luck not losing to Spike G4 2.0...Clearly, 9 hours of Campus PD and a weekend straight of Ninja Warrior was not a good fit. It really didn't seem that hard to fix the network, but wiping it clean shows how pathetic of a network it really is. I'm hoping it continues to fail after this. A GQ/Esquire network? LOL are we targeting metrosexual men here? WTF are they thinking?

[AuToFiRE]

This is what happens when you privatize an industry.

[STEWIE_PLAY_PS4]

Probably If come E3 2013 what happen no G4?

[drifter86]

I blame them for not getting a deal with directv as most people have that service. I used to watch religiously and for the last 2 years I have not watched it since I don't get it. Sorry to see this end as those shows are dear to my heart.

[CloudyAero]

I miss the old X-play!
Don't forget the show "Cheat!"
Those were my early teen years :(
Staying up late to watch all the E3 content.
Plus the release for Halo 3 in NYC, that was epic.

[Double_O_Revan]

I guess SpikeTV will be the only station to cover E3 on TV next year. And their coverage sucks.

[STEWIE_PLAY_PS4]

Yea well, SpikeTV still will apper on E3 2013 then G4 end happened E3 not apper E3 show? i don't see how if E3 G4 come back show to next year E3? G4 gone E3 show?

[fr00ty-wizenhymer]

I've said my fair share of negative things about X-Play, but it's sad to see it go. I have some great memories with G4.

[fr00ty-wizenhymer]

I wonder if G4 will still air "Movies That Don't Suck"

[caliman87]

Eliminating key players.... just a bunch of actors. ala Sessler(a passionate gamer)

screensavers was educational to help people with computers.....gone

Just lame programming now.

only amc channel and sports keep me from cancelling

[Blade Runner]

I think many here are missing the point. Regardless if you like or dislike AOTS or X-play. The gaming commuity loosing these shows is not good for anyone. MS, Sony, Nintendo and of course the fans. This was one of the only mainstream stations that could provide an outlet for such material.

The shows will be missed.

[Vortex3D]

I only tune into G4 channel because of the gaming shows. Good luck to them since I have no more reason to tune to the channel anymore. Should rename the G4 channel to PC (pointless channel).

[gano]

thank god.
they disrepected the tech, so you know they didn't care for games.
it was not a good show. at all.
thats nice when people show "compassion" for people laid off.
but they deserved it, and if u show garbage u get canned.