Forum - View topicNEWS: Gaming, Technology TV Channel G4 Shuts Down
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CastMember1991
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This relaunch happened a year ago... not even a year ago... and it's already history. Throw in the fact that people mainly get their gaming news on their own consoles (I read the newsfeeds of my Switch now), and those controversial comments made by one of their hosts attacking gamers and nerds (and no, I'm not going into this whole "woke" thing) and this thing is a colossal mishap.
Last edited by CastMember1991 on Mon Oct 17, 2022 12:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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BadNewsBlues
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We do? I get my gaming news from my phone and when I had access to one a traditional computer.
Having said that though those comments had little to do with the money issues and it’s flailing viewership. |
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CastMember1991
Posts: 859 |
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I forgot about that. I meant to say either on their consoles or on a traditional computer through certain websites like IGN.
They definitely didn't help, though. I'm just stating facts. It's perfectly clear that the main reason G4 is shutting down is because of the serious financial problems it faced. Baiting fringe websites like BoundingIntoComics.com into attacking them certainly didn't do them any favors. |
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Greed1914
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The comeback was on shaky ground to start when youtubers were already providing what G4 used to with less resources. Then it took long enough to get officially going that people kind of forgot. Throw in the relatively large staff and the decision to also try to add cable back in and it seems like some executives thought nostalgia would carry it without realizing the audience moved on.
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CastMember1991
Posts: 859 |
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Boom! Another great point. Just because a particular brand like G4 has nostalgia built in, that doesn't necessarily guarantee success. Again, I also point to brands like IGN catering to gamers in new ways. |
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Tenbyakugon
 Posts: 793 Location: Ohio, United States |
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I’m not even sure I would call this a long shot even. They attempted to make a network relevant after people forgot about it 15 years prior.
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DRosencraft
Posts: 666 |
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There were so many problems with this attempted relaunch. For one, advertising as absolutely abysmal. The only reason I even knew they had returned last year is that I happened to see them on the channel list with a cable provider. The fact that what online ads they had were seemingly aimed at Twitch and YouTube outlets where the viewers are far more likely to already be entrenched with that streamer didn't help any.
When you consider how the network originally ended, it made little sense to revitalize the entire network, rather than just the two shows that defined it. The original G4 had AOTS and XPlay, and the rest of the airtime was devoted to reruns of Ninja Warrior or some other stuff that seemed completely disconnected from video gaming. Even though they once had an anime block that actually turned me on to some of my favorite anime, that was gone before their end too. You then bring back the entire network and you don't even have any new content aside from bland coverage of random video game tournaments and stale rehashes of the same AOTS and XPlay. It was a poorly thought out, poorly executed, waste of time and money - which unironically is exactly how it ended the last time. |
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2445 Location: Germany |
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G4 arrived too early and returned too late.
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Greed1914
Posts: 4478 |
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Yep. I thought it maybe would have a chance if it was G4, but online now, and then they also wanted to add cable too. To me, that says that somebody calling the shots was stuck in a legacy media mindset. This announcement says 45 people were let go. If that is in addition to the prior layoffs, then G4 had 60+ people working on it. Youtube channels I watch for news/reviews are oftentimes the person in front of the camera and maybe an editor. Even before the network shut down the first time, a lot of the audience that I'm sure they counted on to come back out of nostalgia had left. G4 had dropped the 'nerd' content in favor endless reruns of Cops and Cheaters. I understand that is the sort of thing a business does to try to keep going a bit longer, but it also sends the audience a message that they aren't enough. It started as a network that catered to a niche and ended as one that focused on nobody. Last edited by Greed1914 on Mon Oct 17, 2022 10:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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DankyKang
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G4 was already outdated by the time they took over TechTV. Internet made them obsolete. The only reason to watch them were for Morgan Webb, Olivia Munn, and some of the funnier skits like Roger the Stan Lee Experience and Yu-Gi-Oh Gang.
Also it's always a bad move to pull the "If you don't like it, don't watch it. Peace" dunk. Because it will always come back to bite you. |
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Aresef
Posts: 914 Location: MD |
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The people who want to scapegoat Frosk aren't making any good-faith points. It's the "get woke, go broke" nonsense that blames efforts at inclusivity when the overarching enterprise fails.
I liked G4 (and TechTV) back in the day. I liked the new iteration, even though I didn't tune into the streams as often as I should have. I think there was a miscalculation in how much the rest of the internet was already doing what G4 was trying to do. They hired some people from the streaming world but the Ninjas and the Pokimanes of the world have their own built-in loyal fanbase. And the people they wanted to bring on as guests were costing them tens of thousands of dollars a day, according to WaPo. And the studio programming could have been supplemented by other things. There was an effort made to make EP Daily part of G4 but that didn't happen. I'm not saying they should have had Cops reruns but you look back at the old G4 and TechTV library and there was variety there--Icons, Fresh Gear, Code Monkeys, Call for Help, Anime Unleashed. |
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CastMember1991
Posts: 859 |
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I gotta agree with you on the Frosk thing, Yes, her little rant was wildly inappropriate, and probably alienated a lot of people - and I especially wasn't very happy about it. But like I said before, it's not the reason why G4 failed. It's all because of Twitch and YouTube being better sources for e-sports livestreams, as well as IGN and newsfeeds on consoles for gaming news. |
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Romuska
 Subscriber Posts: 802 |
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Do me a favor and define the term “woke” for me and how it in any way applies to G4’s closure. |
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HylianPanda
Posts: 3 |
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It's very apparent that a few of the more outspoken G4 hosts were very open with left leaning politics. Is that what killed G4? No, not in the slightest but it put some people off. To that extent when your hosts are putting out their political stance on things you are bound to alienate people. Weather you agree with their stance or not, people were here for video games, not political rambling. Reboot G4 didn't know what it was. Anyone who actually watched the current versions of X-Play or Attack of the Show can tell you they missed the mark. X-Play for expample, didn't have the fun review format with light sketch segments, instead it was like 90% long form interviews and discussions. That's not X-Play, it's a podcast. While this put people off as well this isn't what killed it either. When G4 first relaunched with the web stuff and the Gus Johnson skits I was very hopeful but they went all out and went back on cable.and bought a studio and spent all that money when a simple web show version of X-Play and AOTS on a shoe strong budget would have been great. They didn't properly manage their funds and went all out and failed. All the drama and issues didn't help but none of them killed G4, the mismanaging of the IP and the overzealous spending did. All of this is to say that the reason they failed is they were hemorrhoraging money. They were hemorrhoraging money because they thought they were bigger than they were and they failed. They have more competition and their nostalgia doesn't outweigh their spending and overzealous programming direction. They made a lot of new shoes, a lot of creators were brought in, a lot of experiments and they did not hit. It's kinda sad to see it happen and a shame to see it go but this venture waa just not the move. |
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CatSword
 Posts: 1489 |
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I honestly think they should have brought back TechTV for a broader programming appeal. Also you could get the syndication rights to The IT Crowd for an easy draw and no one could say anything about it.
Oh, and Anime Unleashed, of course. |
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