X-Play


X-Play was a TV program about video games that ran between July 4, 1998, and January 23, 2013. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States, G4 Canada in Canada, FUEL TV in Australia, Ego in Israel, GXT in Italy, MTV Россия in Russia, Solar Sports in the Philippines and Adult Swim in Latin America.
The show in its final incarnation was hosted by Morgan Webb and Blair Herter, with Kristin Adams and Jessica Chobot serving as special correspondents/co-hosts. Adam Sessler was the original host of the program; he previously co-hosted with Lauren Fielder and Kate Botello.
X-Play began on the ZDTV network in 1998 as GameSpot TV, where Sessler co-hosted with Fielder for the show's first year, then co-hosted with Botello up through 2002.
The show assumed the previously rejected Extended Play moniker in 2001 after ZDTV changed to TechTV and the partnership with Ziff Davis' GameSpot ended. Botello left in early 2002, and Sessler hosted the show by himself up until April 2003, when Webb joined the cast and the show was renamed X-Play.

History

GameSpot TV, Extended Play, and X-Play all originated in San Francisco, California. Throughout the course of the show's history, it has gone through numerous changes, in more than just name.

''GameSpot TV''

In the days of GameSpot TV, the show was filmed on a simple ZDTV studio set consisting of faux-brick walls, randomly positioned TV monitors, and functioning Gauntlet Legends and arcade game cabinets. For the occasional special episode, filming would move off-site to another location, such as the Sony Metreon arcade, and numerous game conventions such as the Classic Gaming Expo and E3. Each episode would start off with Game News, where Sessler or Fielder would give a brief overview of top news stories featured on the GameSpot website. Game reviews were run in a segment known as The Grill, Spotlight showcased special content such as interviews with industry leaders, and Game Breakers featured strategy guides and hints for recently released games. New episodes would debut on weekend mornings at 10:00 a.m. EST. Botello became Sessler's new co-host on April 29, 2000, and towards the end, the 10-point grading system was changed to a 5-point system.

''Extended Play''

When GameSpot TV converted to Extended Play on February 17, 2001, the show moved entirely to the Metreon, and took on a very simple style and format. Filming consisted of co-hosts Sessler and Botello and a small single camera crew; the show featured strictly game reviews and game hints. New episodes debuted once a week at 9:00 p.m. EST. Like GameSpot TV, certain special episodes would be filmed elsewhere. In August 2002, the series became a daily program with a mix of repeats and first-run episodes airing Monday-Friday at 4:00 p.m. EST, with Friday episodes remaining in the 9:00 p.m. timeslot. After the departure of Botello on March 29, 2002, Sessler continued to host at the Metreon by himself, until the change to X-Play in April 2003.

''X-Play'' San Francisco

When X-Play debuted on April 28, 2003
the show moved back to the TechTV studios from the Metreon, and Morgan Webb came on board as co-host, leaving her previous hosting duties on TechTV's The Screen Savers and Call for Help. X-Play had a larger scale than that of Extended Play, but it still maintained an extremely simple and spartan style. Filming was done in TechTV's Studio A, home to the sets of Call For Help, Fresh Gear, and TechLive. The filming setup was increased to three cameras; a main floor camera, a Jibcam for high angle shots, and a black-and-white handheld DV camera, which would be cut to suddenly and intermittently throughout episodes.
X-Play's primary set consisted of a single couch, coffee table and television positioned in the middle of the large studio floor, but hosts Sessler and Webb would migrate around various areas of the studio, normally not even going to their actual set until the end of the program. Each episode would typically conclude with Sessler and Webb playing one of the consoles on the TV. The show's format consisted primarily of game reviews and previews, with an occasional game-related sketch thrown in for comedic value.
The Disembodied Voice was also introduced to the show at this phase in its history. This unseen announcer would begin each episode with an often over-the-top introduction to which the hosts usually responded or commented.
Unlike its predecessors, X-Play had more of an edge, containing some adult language and more mature subject matter. As a result, it was paired in a programming block with the network's other new show, Unscrewed with Martin Sargent. X-Play originally ran five nights a week at 11:30 p.m. EST, but it was moved up to 11:00 EST soon after. X-Play aired four brand new episodes for their first two weeks, but would ultimately air three new episodes a week for the majority of the show's remainder on TechTV.
Many of the episodes created during this time period aired on the G4 Rewind block of retro programming in 2008; the first episode would end up being the last show on the channel itself before it officially shut down on December 31, 2014.

''X-Play'' Los Angeles

purchased TechTV in May 2004 and merged it with its G4 network, necessitating a move for X-Play's base of operations from San Francisco to G4's Santa Monica studios.
The new set designed for the show resembled a lounge—or rumpus room - where the hosts could sit around while discussing their latest reviews.
While originally maintaining its late-night time slot, new episodes were eventually moved to 4:00 p.m. EST in the afternoons starting on April 10, 2006. This changed to 3:00 p.m. EST on September 5, 2006, before X-Play returned to prime-time on November 6 of the same year, to an 8:00 p.m. EST timeslot.
On March 4, 2007, it was announced that the G4 Studios in Santa Monica would close on April 15. Production of G4 programs was relocated to the Studios of the E! Television Network situated elsewhere in the Los Angeles area. As a consequence, there were new sets designed for X-Play, and many G4 employees involved in production were laid off.
The E! Building's set was smaller than the Santa Monica studio, thus some aspects of the studio had to be shrunk down. The X-Play logo was retro-fitted to sit above the stage on the right-hand side of the set, with curtains surrounding the entirety of the space to create a sense of intimacy; a large flat-screen monitor was also placed in the background, and several small decorative glass balls were strategically placed around various spots on the floor. During video-game analysis and viewer mail segments, Sessler and Webb would sit in orange recliner chairs as they debated over the issue at hand.

''X-Play'' Expands

On January 14, 2008, the G4 network commenced with a complete overhaul to the show's entire format, branding the move as X-Play "jumping to the next level".
Both Adam and Morgan have stated that this new format represents "the type of show that they've always wanted X-Play to be", whereby a strict focus on game reviews was replaced with a broader range of topics relating to the video-game field.
The set was once again refurbished to coincide with the change, as the studio now has blue-tinged walls covered with several flat-screen monitors, and a giant orange X-Play logo covering the floor. In addition, G4 took advantage of the new set and show format by expanding X-Play's schedule in order to air new episodes five days a week.
However, economic factors forced G4 to contract X-Play's schedule back down to only three original episodes per week, starting on March 2, 2009; in addition, the show's timeslot was moved out of prime-time to 6:30 p.m. EST and a number of X-Play staff members were laid off.

''X-Play XL''

In December 2008, the show aired X-Large one-hour episodes every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. According to G4 television president Neil Tiles, this was an experimental change with the possibility of having all episodes run 60 minutes long sometime in the future where new segments were incorporated to see if X-Play could "go deeper than the current half hour show allows." Tiles also stated that the writers will be looking to add "more comedy" back into the program "as requested."

1,000th episode

On February 1, 2010 X-Play aired its 1,000th episode; to commemorate this television milestone, G4TV featured a containing favorite episodes of the series, leading up to the premiere of the actual new episode.

Changes in 2012

In April 2012, it was announced that Sessler would no longer be part of the G4TV network. This happened to coincide with the latest re-design of the X-Play set, which made its debut on the June 18th episode and featured giant white-tinged flatscreen monitors positioned behind the hosts, as well as the addition of a studio audience. Also, there is an area of the studio with two large reclining chairs and a glass table, used as a place to interview featured guests.

Series finale

On October 26, 2012, it was reported that the show would cease production after 2012; the one-hour series finale aired January 23, 2013. X-Play aired its final episode with an hour-long tribute to the show's history on January 23, 2013. During the broadcast, the hosts announced that the network would be auctioning off X-Play memorabilia via eBay, and that all proceeds from the winning bids would be donated to Child's Play at . The three items auctioned off were a seven-foot statue, a signed copy of the script for the final episode, and a Halo 4 Limited Edition Xbox 360 console bundle signed by the X-Play staff.
After a montage of scenes from the show's history to close out the broadcast, the remaining cast and crew thanked the viewers, as well as the developers for making the games that made the show possible. The closing credits then ran in the style of a 1980s-era video game, with an 8-bit version of the logo and the phrase "CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have completed X-Play" written in an 8-bit font and set to chiptune music. Once the credits were complete, the words "GAME OVER" appeared on screen along with an Xbox Live "Achievement Unlocked: 100G - Mission Complete" badge, with the G4 Media copyright box shown in the bottom left corner.
When G4 ceased broadcasting on December 31, 2014, the last program broadcast at 11:30pm EST was the first episode of X-Play.
Following the end of the series, Webb and Sessler have continued to work together on occasion, despite both no longer being involved in video game journalism. In 2016, the pair hosted the pre-show for Bethesda Softworks' press conference at E3 in 2016.

Reviews

There have been 2,705 games reviewed on X-Play; for most of the show's run, reviews were designated by a five-point rating scale, based on such factors as graphics, sound, gameplay, and playability.

Original ratings scale

On X-Play's original TechTV homepage, the ratings system was broken down in the following way:
The first game to receive a perfect "5 out of 5" rating was Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell during the November 20th episode..
The first game to receive a "1 out of 5" rating was Infogrames' 2003 racer Humvee Assault, during the May 29th episode.

2007 ratings primer

In a 2007 episode billed as a "primer on our scoring system", Adam and Morgan further elaborated on their ratings scale:
During this episode, the hosts also explained why they use a 5-point ratings system, rather than a 10- or even 100-point scale:

2011 ratings primer

On the January 24th episode, Adam and Morgan gave an in response to confusion spawned by aggregator review sites like Metacritic. To that end, the X-Play review scale was broken down in the following manner:
1 out of 5
2 out of 5
3 out of 5
  • Not bad, not great
  • Technically competent
  • Often lacking in ambition
  • Mainly rushed sequels and functional licensed games
4 out of 5
  • Good game with good ideas
  • Accomplishes most goals
  • Minor flaws hurt playability
  • Games that might not be for everyone
5 out of 5'
During the 2012 season premiere, the "half star" was introduced to the X-Play ratings system, with that they felt a change towards a "more granular ratings scale will help distinguish the great games from the really great games from the really really great games." They also believed that over the years it had gotten "a little too easy to score the coveted 5 out of 5," and that the change will make such an accomplishment "more of a rarity"; it also means that the lowest score a game can achieve is now a "point-5 out of 5."
In addition, the review scale was again broken down to make the show's criteria clear to the viewing audience:
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
  • Decent game
  • Nothing special, nothing awful
  • Example Given: Dead Island
2 stars
1 star
The hosts concluded this explanation with the following caveat:
The first game to receive a half-star in its rating was ' during the February 13th episode.
The first game to receive the lowest possible rating was during the July 2nd episode.
During the April 8 edition of "", Adam implied that the introduction of the half-star rating was actually pushed through by G4 executives without his knowledge; he stated that he "came back in 2013 to find out that we had moved to a half-star system as well, it was all at the behest of one very very large publisher who said that wouldn't be taken seriously unless we were listed on Metacritic."

Sketches and segments

Various recurring segments and comedy skits have been used throughout the show's history by the X-Play writers.

''Gaming Update/The Feed: Gaming Edition''

The Gaming Update originally began in 2007 as a short segment which recapped the top three or four news items of the day, and would often air before leading out to commercial. When X-Play relaunched with their new format in 2008, the segment developed into a two- to three-minute piece running at the start of each show, narrated by either Adam or Morgan, then continued via a news ticker at the bottom of the screen throughout the rest of the episode.

''Video Viewer Mail/X-Play Inbox''

Adam and Morgan would often read selected correspondence from the program's viewers at the end of every episode. These messages from the fans could be questions about the current state of the videogame
industry, requests for recommendations on the best games to buy, or hate mail from viewers who felt that X-Play did not give certain games a "fair" rating.
On November 6, 2006, X-Play gave their Viewer Mail segment a high-tech face-lift, by renaming it Video Viewer Mail. While previous correspondence was held via the written word or e-mail, the producers added the
ability for viewers to also record short clips of themselves asking questions with a webcam or video recorder; people who had their viewer mail appear on air often would receive a free gift, such as a game or T-shirt
provided by Jinx.com.
In early 2011, this segment was again rebranded as simply The X-Play Inbox, with the practice of featuring video clips sent in from viewers seemingly dropped altogether.

''Face Time''

This segment featured the hosts conducting an interview with a personality from the gaming community either in studio or via satellite. It continued the X-Play tradition of having famous names on their show, including non-gaming celebrities such as Adam West, David Duchovny, John Cleese, Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie, Carmen Electra, Ben Stiller, Andrew W.K., Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Quentin Richardson, Jet Li, Vin Diesel, Janina Gavankar, and Kumail Nanjiani.

''X-List''

A top-five list compiled by the X-Play writers that have to do with video games.

''Cheat!''

The Cheat! concept originally existed as a half-hour television program airing on the G4 network; however, in 2008 the show's host - Kristin Adams - moved over to the X-Play staff and Cheat! was re-created
as a single segment where she provided cheat codes and/or secrets for currently released games to the viewing audience.

''Spoiler Theater''

In this segment, Adam and Morgan showcased and spoiled the endings of current-generation games that had been on the market for some time. Past games that have been given the Spoiler Theater treatment include Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Devil May Cry, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and .
There was also an occasional segment called Insignificant Spoiler Theater, which featured the endings of games that either exhibited very little in the way of plot or were based on movies where the storylines are already well-known.

''X-Play Investigates''

This segment began during the TechTV era as a parody of investigative news programs; X-Play would delve into such "hard-hitting" issues as the effects of E-rated games on America's youth, just what the "cool" people were into, the horrors of animal testing for video-game quality control, and why certain intellectual property - like the TV show American Chopper - deserved to have their own video games.
However, this segment has recently taken on a more serious tone, with the show tackling subjects without the sole intent of creating comedy skits. Examples include a look at the portrayal of sex in video games, the prevalence of "achievement whores", and an inspection of the life of competitive gamer Steve Wiebe.

''Best Of Awards''

X-Play would dedicate an entire show to the best games released over the preceding twelve months; awards were handed out in several categories, such as "Most Original Game" and "Best Handheld Game", but the most prestigious - and most hotly debated - is "Game of the Year":
The polar opposite of X-Play's yearly "Best Of" special, The Golden Mullet Awards were used to showcase the reviewers' picks for worst video games of the past year. The name is a twisted "homage" to the Aquaman character from the poorly reviewed 2003 game , who sported a blonde polygonal mullet hairstyle.

''The X-Play Challenge''

In this segment, the hosts would have a celebrity guest conduct a speedrun through "World 1-1" of the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES. Their times were then placed on the leaderboard :
For the holiday season, X-Play aired gift guide episodes that recommends video games to viewers for Christmas.

Themes

Recurring characters

X-Play has amassed a large group of fictional characters that will appear from time to time, often to bring some humor during game reviews.

Interns

X-Play has its own cast of interns, who will sometimes appear as characters on the show. When appearing on camera, they are commonly outfitted in a white undershirt with the word INTERN scrawled across the chest in black Sharpie.
Their roles are not relegated to simply being on-screen comic relief, as the interns are accountable for much of the game footage used during reviews/previews. X-Play interns also play a role in other behind-the-scenes work on the show's set; some of the former interns have eventually been hired full-time within the G4 company itself. Examples include Leticia Caparaz, Jason Frankovitz, Albert Iskander, Gene Yraola, Eric Acasio and Emily Mollenkopf.
A near-complete list of interns who have worked on the show follows:
The Screaming Intern was actually not a true intern, but instead was an editorial coordinator for the show.

Guest appearances

When X-Play was still a part of TechTV, personalities from other shows on the network would often make guest appearances. This continued after the merger with G4, with names like Kevin Pereira, Tina Wood, and Julie Stoffer.
X-Play has also had pseudo-celebrities who are not affiliated with G4 appear on the show.

Hatred

There have been several gaming titles/genres/trends over the years which the hosts have displayed an exaggerated sense of "hatred" towards. These include:
For comedic purposes, the X-Play writers have portrayed the show as an exceedingly violent working environment; interns are often depicted as suffering from sexual harassment and physical abuse at the hands of the hosts.
This violent dynamic has also manifested itself within the interactions between the hosts themselves.

Online content

The producers of X-Play have used a number of internet-driven initiatives to engage the show's technologically savvy audience.

''The X-Play Boards''

The show's hosts have often been the subject of numerous negative comments through the show's official message board. The vitriol spewed forth on the forums has become so well-documented that the X-Play staff even produced a music video dedicated to the message board's denizens entitled On the X-Play Boards.
The song was written and performed by Marque Phahee and the Bling Dongs, featuring the X-Play After School Choir. It is also supposed to be the lead track from the X-Play: The Musical motion picture soundtrack.

Chat

When X-Play was still a part of TechTV, the show would host an online chat every Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. EST. After the merger with G4, X-Play's official IRC chat room was re-designed by Philippe Detournay and Raphael Seeqmuller using the PJIRC chat client.
On November 6, 2006, the G4 network integrated X-Play's chat feature into the actual broadcast of each new episode. Using an idea similar to their production of , a window covering the bottom half of the screen would pop up during reviews and display messages typed out by G4 users on X-Play's in real-time. The presentation of the X-Play chat function was later redesigned for the show's 2008 reformatting, so that chat messages would display on the left-hand side of the screen during a review.

Twitter

The interactive chat feature was abandoned in late 2009, in order to take advantage of the increasing popularity of the micro-blogging site Twitter. The show's producers now present X-Play viewers with a question relevant to the day's news/reviews via their , then display the resulting answers during that night's episode through a scrolling ticker on the bottom portion of the screen.
Starting the week of June 13, the show began the practice of having their on-air personalities live-tweeting during reruns of the show airing on Thursdays and Fridays.

''X-Play: The Online Game''

X-Play: The Online Game is a short Flash game created by the San Francisco-based company Orange Design.
The brief intro sequence begins in the fictitious X-Play Labs, where Morgan is about to put the finishing touches on the X-Play online game. An excited Adam asks if the game can have "fudge zombies and stealthy ninjas and drunken pirates and radioactive Dik-diks", then haphazardly presses a large red button which "digitizes physical matter and materializes digital matter"; this causes all of the bad guys from the X-Play video game to escape.
Once the game begins, players can choose from big-headed versions of either Adam or Morgan, and battle their way through a few continuously repeating levels of action. Controls consist of the arrow keys for movement, the "A" key to punch, and the "S" key to kick.
The game is no longer available on , but a mirror site can be found via Orange Design's .

''Hyperactive''

Culled from the theory that many viewers of TechTV both watched the network while using the internet, was launched in 2004.
Designed to be used as a combination trivia game and chat room which would run concurrently with the 11 PM weeknight block of X-Play and Unscrewed with Martin Sargent, participants could compete against one another by answering questions relating to, and revolving around, video games, pop-culture and host references from episodes that were currently airing. Leaderboards were synchronized with the episodes as they aired, often showcasing the names of the 10 highest scoring contestants as the show came back from each commercial break.
After the merger of TechTV and G4TV, Hyperactive was abandoned.

''Daily Video Podcast''

On November 11, 2005, G4 started offering X-Play segments for free in podcast form via their and the iTunes Store, giving viewers the opportunity to watch segments on-demand with their computers and portable devices. These podcasts have since become available through other podcatcher software as well.

''X-Play Weekly''

On August 14, 2008, a special weekly wrap-up show called X-Play Weekly was made available for download on the , allowing Xbox 360 owners to view highlights from the previous week's episodes for 160 Microsoft Points.
Beginning the week of June 15, 2009, X-Play Weekly was also made available for download through the PlayStation Network, also at $2 per weekly program.

''Feedback''

In September 2009, G4TV.com rebranded its Feed Nightcap vodcast with the new title . This weekly segment was hosted by Adam Sessler and features a rotating panel of co-hosts drawn from X-Play's editorial staff with the occasional guest from the gaming industry. The show's stated goal is to deliver "intelligent, informative, and very very humorous discussion about games" by reviewing current news stories as well as answering viewer questions, and is filmed via a roundtable format in G4's audio recording studio. Even though the show could be considered an extension of the AOTS brand, all of the content for the program is drawn from and presented by X-Play staff.

Book

On October 22, 2004, TechTV published the book The X-Play Insider's Guide to Gaming: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Video Games From G4techTV's Brutally Honest Experts. Written by Marc Saltzman and weighing in at a hefty 468 pages, the book contains game reviews, cheat codes, and Q&A sessions with the cast and crew. Adam and Morgan even went on a nationwide book-signing tour to help promote their literary endeavor.
Copies of the book can be found everywhere from the Brooklyn Public Library to the University of Hong Kong.