About X-Play

Current Hosts

Adam Sessler Adam Sessler graduated from from UCLA with a degree in english literature. Before coming to ZDTV in 1998, Sessler had several sints as an actor and worked as a credit auditor. Sessler now not only is a host of X-Play but is also a writer and senior segment producer. In 2009, Sessler was promoted to the head of gaming editorials at G4 and also hosts a web-only series called “Sessler’s Soapbox.”

Morgan Webb Graduating from UC Berkley in 2000, Morgan Webb worked as a web administrator before being hired on to TechTV in 2001 and worked on other TechTV shows such as The Screen Savers, Call for Help and eventually moved on to co-host X-Play with Sessler in ’03. On top of her work at G4, Webb wrote a monthly gaming column for FHM up until the magazine shut down in early 2007. Webb is married to Rhapsody developer Rob Reid.

History

X-Play, the longest running show on G4, had it’s start on TechTV (then ZDTV) back in 1998 as “GameSpot TV.” Originally hosted by Adam Sessler and Lauren Fielder, GameSpot TV was a general gaming show that featured news and interviews in addition to reviews, but the show was not as centered on reviews as it is today. A year later, Ziff Davis ended their relationship with the network and the show had to be renamed to “Extended Play,” and was then hosted by Sessler and Kate Bottello and was filmed at Metreon, a mall in San Fransisco.

After Botello left, Sessler continued solo until 2003 when the show was rebranded and renamed “X-Play.” With the new name Morgan Webb joined on as a host and the show became a little more edgy, incorporating more humor, sketches and now classic X-Play memes like the disembodied voice that introed every episode as well as more mature themes and language. The show moved to a late night slot with TechTV cohort Unscrewed. The show also began airing interactive contests called “X-Play Hyperactive” that allowed viewers to compete online while the episodes aired for prizes such as iPods, games and various gadgets.

In 2004, Comcast acquired TechTV and merged it with G4. Although G4 already had a video game review show (Judgement Day), X-Play survived and the crew was relocated to G4′s studios in LA. X-Play remained mostly unchanged, save for an increase in skits and jaded sarcasm. X-Play also began airing more specials such as “X-Play’s Best Games Ever” as well as random theme episodes including a musical episode written in part by Johnathan Mann, aka GameJew. The show also took over “G-Phoria,” G4′s annual gaming award show that’s winners are decided upon by viewers.

2006 saw the addition of Video Viewer Mail at the end of every episode, a segment Attack of the Show also used at the time. In 2007, X-Play added on-screen IRC chat, which displayed selected comments from the X-Play chat room. Later, the interactivity was expanded and X-Play 2.0 debuted, which featured the chat along with trivia, game facts and random rankings from Xbox Live (2.0 interactivity was retired in 2008). The show also moved, with the rest of G4, to share space with E! Networks’ studios in April of 2007 on a much smaller set and shares with Attack of the Show.

In early 2008 the show underwent a transformation and expanded to include gaming previews, news and various other segments. The show begin airing five days a week (up from three). The show also became much more “professional,” bringing in a much brighter, sleek set, in-studio guests and a much smaller emphasis on humor and sketches.

In early 2009, G4 announced downsizing measures, which hit X-Play the hardest, slashing the staff and cutting their weekly episode count from five back to three. The show is now in it’s seventh year.