SpikeTV, the network that formerly advertised itself as TV for Men, seems to be taking aim at the network that formerly advertised itself as TV 4 Gamers.

Spike announced the promotion of ex-G4TV.com host and gaming journalist guru Geoff Keighley to an executive position at Spike which would allow Spike to grow their gaming content on their channel, including more game-specific launch specials, weekly wrap up style shows and the expansion of the VGA's, which are becoming "more gamer oriented and less Hollywood."

"This executive promotion allows me to be more strategic in what I do," added Keighley. "What we want to do here is that we have this cohesive unit and a 365 day coverage and now I have all the resources of MTV to promote these games in the biggest way possible. That's what excites me, and I give a lot of credit to Spike and their commitment on video games."

Keighley will continue to host the weekly GameTrailers TV which airs late Friday nights in addition to his new job.

"I say this to gamers reading this: please support this content and let us know what you want to see! We want to be the network for game related content and we can't do it without you guys!"

A very interesting move indeed, could this signal a shift by Spike to become a gaming-oriented network? What could be more interesting is G4's reaction to a much bigger network moving in on their territory.

Either way, congrats to Geoff who is quickly becoming "kind of a big deal!"

Thanks to forum member Tiki for finding this story! Click here to read the full story at GameDaily, then click here to discuss this story in our forums.

-KnuxSonic

-KnuxSonic

Today, forum member IrishCommander brought us some good news, in that the Electronic Playground's site has been remodeled and includes FULL STREAMING EPISODES!

The new format is very similar to the old weekly EP format, however it now includes comic/movie news. Sadly, still no Tallarico.

Check out the episodes on EP's site, elecplay.com!

-KnuxSonic

I'm not saying anything... I'm not saying anything... I'm not saying anything...

From the post on TheFeed:

The Pumphreys are strategic in their passion for dismantling things. For each challenge, they join forces with a team of experts in material science and engineering to review the object of their destruction from every possible angle before taking it apart, using physics and know-how to determine the most effective approach. The duo also enjoys a little friendly competition throughout the challenges such as who can break out of a jail cell the fastest and which Pumphrey makes a better bouncer based on who can most successfully destroy a bar.

I will not judge something before I see it, I will not judge something before I see it... I will not...

Click here to see the full article.

-KnuxSonic

You expect the episodes to be stripped of all Wii and PS3 content, though, as I doubt Microsoft would approve of news/reviews from "heathen" systems appearing on their online service.

Check out the full press release, by clicking the link below.

-KnuxSonic

Some hap-hap-happenings are going on in the world of G4-fandom, if there is such a thing. Let's start with forum member Onoma digging up G4's ratings report.

Out of 65 million subscribers G4...
-Averages 98,000 viewers throughout the day
-Averages 124,000 viewers during prime time

While that sounds pretty bad, it's not the worst. Out of the 70 cable networks in this ratings report, G4 ranked #50.

The other quasi-big story, is that of G4 president Neal Tiles actually CALLING an angry forum user and explaining to them why G4 is the way it is. Neal explained, basically, the same thing he posted months ago during his original Open Source post, which is that G4's gaming shows need to see higher ratings before they can spend more money on more of them. Neal also posted most of what they talked about on the forums. You can read through the whole post, but here's the big details:

-Judgment Day was eliminated partly due to it's similarities to X-Play
-One of the hosts of G4TV.com admitted that the show lasted longer than they expected, ratings were apparently very low and production was expensive
-X-Play was changed because it wasn't getting as much growth as the rest of the network, since the switch X-Play's ratings have gone up 20%
-In the past 3 years, G4's ratings have doubled, while their subscriber base (homes they're in) has only gone up 15%

There's lots of other stuff that's been restated from before, about how COPS/Cheaters allow funding for the likes of X-Play/AOTS and how forum posts do not have more power than ratings, but it's a good read nonetheless.

The biggest point that Neal makes is that if gamers want more gaming TV content, then it is in their best interest to support the gaming content that is currently on G4. In my own opinion, the problem is that most gamers already have negative ideas about G4 ("The channel that killed TechTV," "The gaming channel that shows COPS all day," "They canceled my favorite shows," "They ruined the Halo 3 trailer," etc.) and trying to get everyone to shake those preconceived notions is going to be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

The best way to help out? Tell your friends about X-Play, AOTS and G4 Rewind. Post bulletins on your Myspaces, notes on your Facebooks and Twitter about it. Tell people what time those shows are on (9AM for Rewind, 7PM-8:30PM for AOTS & X-Play) and give them a reason to watch. Maybe X-Play showed a cool demo or maybe AOTS is giving away some schwag. You know your friends best, so have it appeal to them. Vote with your remotes, that's the only way we're going to make some headway.

-KnuxSonic

Last June, we mentioned that Electric Playground's Victor Lucas said there was a big announcement concerning the next season of EP coming. Today Lucas spilled the beans, announcing "EP Daily," a new show that will air weekdays in news magazine format. EP Daily, like the newer incarnation of X-Play, will expand to cover daily news, previews, interviews, on-location segments and broaden to cover tech, internet, movies, comics, music, sports, and animation in addition to it's gaming coverage.

Lucas also said the regular Electronic Playground will continue on as a once-a-week wrap up style show and "EP Canada" will begin in the fall, which will highlight Canadian game makers.

By this point, you're probably expecting me to say "All of this is exclusive to G4TechTV Canada viewers at this time." And you would be right... well... partly.

G4 USA has posted that they will air "highlights" of everything EP does on G4tv.com and through G4's on-demand portal (in HD, even). However at this time, it appears none of this will make it's way to G4's on-air channel. If you WOULD like to see EP on G4 USA, head over to the EP boards on G4's site and let them know.

Click here to read Victor Lucas' entire post.

Thanks to forum member Tiki for finding the announcement.

-KnuxSonic

I received some good news from G4 today, in that G4 Rewind's expiration date of August has been extended to at least September. G4 is also working on clearing some more episodes to air during the block.

Thank you all getting up early and watching, we really appreciate it and I hope you'll keep on watching throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall! Don't forget to join us in chat, at chat.g4tv.com!

-KnuxSonic

The Peter Serafinowicz Show - A sort of sketch comedy show which originally airs on the BBC.
Freaky - A paranormal children's show from New Zealand, described as "The Twilight Zone" for kids.

Strangely enough, these are airing on Sunday, August 3rd at 12:30AM, not part of Duty Free TV, it appears. Super Big Product Fun Show is also making a return after they air.

Thanks to Rewind forum member mplante for his supreme schedule digging skills.

-KnuxSonic

GameTrailers TV E3 Special - Saturday @ 12AM EST
GTTV goes one-on-one with Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime, Sony's Jack Tretton, and Microsoft's John Schappert straight from E3 2008 to find out the big three's big plans for the coming year. Plus, Amanda MacKay takes viewers down to the showroom floor for up-close looks at this year's hottest titles.

All of that and more is heading your way at the special time of midnight on SPIKE, but if you miss the show on-air you can also catch it online and in high-definition anytime at GameTrailers.com and on Xbox Live Marketplace.

G4 - E3 '08 Live Marathon - Saturday @ 9AM EST
Catch an unprecedented 8 hours of (previously) live coverage from all three days on the show floor at E3 2008. Hands on demos, interviews, trailers and floor reports included from highly anticipated games such as Resident Evil 5, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Mirror's Edge, inFamous, Resistance 2 and more!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to lay down for awhile.

-KnuxSonic

In case you were too wrapped up in E3 to notice, G4 aired the first of four 90 minute Championship Gaming Series specials today, which featured the Carolina Core taking the North American title. Core will go on to the international finals, starting Saturday.

Here's the schedule for the next three specials:

World Quarterfinals - Saturday 7/19 @ 10PM EST
World Semifinals - Saturday 7/26 @ 10PM EST
World Final - Saturday 8/2 @ 10PM EST

If you're a fan of Arena or sports or video games in general, check them out.

www.theCGS.com
g4tv.com/CGS

-KnuxSonic

In case you are living under a rock, I'd like to kindly remind you that next week is E3, the expo formerly known for being totally awesome but now more known for being... totally okay.

G4, as always, is covering the event in grand fashion, including live commercial free feeds of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo's press conferences as well as over 17 hours of live coverage from the show floor. All the press cons will also be streamed online for those who don't have G4 or won't be near a TV.

You can view the entire E3 08 schedule here.

What games are you looking forward too? Personally, I can't wait to see Beyond Good & Evil 2, Mirror's Edge, UNO: Armageddon Edition and The Oranger Box.

-KnuxSonic