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What Does The Cancellation Of X-Play And AOTS Mean For G4?
When the network first launched in 2002, I was a huge fan of G4. My first memory from the channel actually took place outside of any of its shows. It was a young channel, and when it wasn’t able to sell all of its 30-second advertising slots, it would show snippets of gameplay. I remember seeing an unedited 30 seconds of straight gameplay of Maximo for PlayStation 2 in the middle of a handful of commercials. This was before the proliferation of high-speed internet and video streaming, so to see straight gameplay without a controller in my hand was weirdly exciting.
I also recall an episode of the since canceled show Filter that did a top 10 list of the best jobs in the video game industry. Way up high was “video game journalist.” That was the first time I got a sense of what exactly someone in my current position does, and it sounded like the kind of career I needed to pursue.
In G4's early days, everyone just seemed incredibly passionate. The shows were duct-taped together with tiny budgets, so the quality was tied directly to how interested the assorted hosts were in delivering the content. All that seemed to fall aside quickly though, and in only a few years it seemed like it was a different network. I will surf by the station from time to time, and I swear all it plays are Cops and Cheaters reruns.
Now that Attack of the Show and X-Play will be gone once 2013 begins, what will happen to the network? Will it continue to appeal to gamers? Or will it continue to distance itself further and further from its original roots?
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