G4 now plugged into gaming!

The off beat television network G4 has recently launched a new show called Xplay. The show is aired weeknights at 6:30 and 8PM ET. Xplay truly steps into the next generation of TV. The show is dedicated to the video games industry and provides videogame reviews, previews, and news. It is likely that TV executives are wising up to the now broad appeal of the videogame business. Such a strategy only make sense when many major video game titles often outperform sales of Blockbuster movies.

Xplay's game reviews are particularly good as they provide an in depth analysis into the drawbacks of certain videogame titles. For example, a review of Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2, the critic states that one downside of the game is the fact that there is a draw distance of only 20 feet. A draw distance is the distance at which other NPC render on the screen. The relatively weak draw distance within the game is particularly perplexing since the game runs on the technologically advanced PlayStation 3 system. As a result of the poor character rending distance, enemy fighters seem to pop onto the screen out of nowhere. The Xplay reviewers gave the game only one star as a result of these drawbacks. Such a show could provide meaningful insight into the gaming industry for casual and core gamers alike. The show seems to indicate a growing trend within the industry in which product convergence (fusing of gaming and TV) is becoming more common.