More Video Game Content Coming To TV (Yawn)

Posted by Matt Little , Aug, 2009 @ 7:01 am

gx_tv

I swear I wanted one of these so bad when I was younger I sweat blood.

G4 has had a stranglehold on video game-centric TV content for the past few years. We saw it swell to a 24 hour game channel, then shrink down to 2-3 hours of original gaming programming a day, which is where the marketplace seems to be happy to have it. There haven’t been many other outlets to turn to for gaming information on the tube…(ellipsis for dramatic effect) UNTIL NOW!

Peter Einstein, former head of MTV Europe (the channel where people want to see more European videos played), and Showtime Arabia (uhm, !!!), now heads up Ginx TV, which he hopes to be “the only 24/7 gaming outlet” on the tube. They launched their first show on Bravo last week, called Game Face, according to MCV. According to their website, Ginx wants to be Europe’s answer to what G4 was.

AHEM.

I hope this works, but I don’t have high hopes. Yes, the gaming industry is an untapped juggernaut when it comes to ad revenue and television dollars. HOWEVER, gaming itself is a semi-passive activity, leaving the fun and excitement of gaming in the hands of the people actually playing. No one wants to watch someone else play video games, which is why this hasn’t worked before. The people that do are a minority niche market. I don’t like saying that, but if it weren’t true, G4 wouldn’t be making attempts to be Spike TV for nerds, and instead still be a, y’know, 24 hour gaming network. Ginx wants to reach out to the casual gamers, people that aren’t super hardcore, but enjoy playing. These are the same people that DON’T WANT TO WATCH OTHER PEOPLE PLAY VIDEO GAMES. My girlfriend loves Animal Crossing, The Sims franchise, Mario games, and the Wii Sports games. By definition, you can call her a casual gamer; someone willing to spend money on a game they find interesting, but not someone who is down-by-law to wake up at 6:00 am just to download the demo for Arkham Asylum. You know what happens when I’m taking up the TV with a game while she’s in the room? She either leaves the room, or lets her attention drift to some other activity.

“Oh Matt, that’s ONE example! In your own apartment.”

Yes I know, but I believe this example is representative of a much larger theme. How often do casual gamers or even people that love you actively sit around and watch you deal damage to hordes of villainous scum? How long can you keep a non-hardcore someone’s attention on your game while not actually playing? Because these are the people with the super spending power, the people that have the dollars coveted by advertisers and networks. The people that this channel is supposed to reach out to.

Why would they sit around watching someone else play a game, when they can just go out and get to play for themselves?

I don’t want this endeavor to fail; I’d be happy to be wrong on this one. But I’m not optimistic.

Tags: casual gamers, g4, gaming, gaming tv, ginx, hardcore gamers, peter einstein, tv