G4 TV Gaming Network Set To Return In 2021 After Shutting Down In 2014: "We Never Stopped Playing"
While many have likely all but forgotten it, G4 hinted at a return on Friday for the gaming TV network after reviving old social media accounts and posting a cryptic video with the message of “we never stopped playing” and “2021.” The one-minute teaser was released across G4’s social accounts from Twitter to Facebook, including some of G4TV’s old programs like Attack of the Show.
As part of an IGN livestream for the Comic-Con@Home event, the short clip featured a slow journey through a warehouse littered with gaming references that ends on a TV displaying a game of Pong with high scores before ending on the old G4 logo. What exactly a G4 return in 2021 will ultimately look like remains to be seen, but it appears the network has plans to renew the brand after shutting down way back in 2014. The G4TV website was similarly updated shortly after the teaser was released.
According to industry insider and reporter Rod “Slasher” Breslau, “G4TV is making a come back from Comcast who still own the property, led by Spectacor Gaming President Tucker Roberts who oversees Comcast's esports orgs T1, T1 LoL, and the Philadelphia Fusion OWL team. Tucker is also the son of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.”
The posts across G4’s social accounts have since received tens of thousands of likes, comments and other forms of engagement, ranging from genuine excitement to confusion or dismissal. Since the video went live late last week, the internet has been eager to speculate on the news of a possible G4 return, with numerous users sharing their favorite moments of the network from its heyday.
So far, the brand appears to have revived the YouTube accounts for G4, Attack of the Show and X-Play, which is unsurprising since those are the channel’s most well-known programs. Former G4 stars and hosts have also been tight-lipped about any information regarding the reboot, although Morgan Webb, Adam Sessler, Kevin Pereira, Sara Underwood and Olivia Munn have each posted about it on their Twitter accounts since last week.
On Reddit, news of G4’s return was also widely shared across the platform on multiple subreddits, including /r/g4tv, which doubled in members overnight.
With the modern gaming industry getting it’s entertainment almost exclusively online, especially through streaming platforms like Twitch or YouTube, the likelihood of G4 returning to cable as a more traditional television network is doubtful, so the channel’s big comeback will probably take place online. Nevertheless, only time will tell as 2021 approaches what the future will look like for G4’s revival.
Share Pin
Sai
I never got to really watch G4. I had basic cable. But I was aware of them. It was around the time they changed their name to G4Tech or something. I might have watched only twice somewhere.
Fatty Bunter
There's only a couple ways G4 can do this revival right, and an assload of ways they can do it wrong.
Do they go into streaming? Do they do video essays? Esports? Tech news roundups? There's a ton of options.
I'm interested to see what their focus is going to be. I assume they'll have a website so they'll kind of be an IGN/Polygon competitor, but in order to get their old fans interested they're going to need at least a few of the old guard returning for content. New fans would probably find them through positive word of mouth. Otherwise, they're dead in the water. The people that really care for the old days of the station are few in number, and getting up there in years.
On top of all this, a huge part of the appeal of the station, at least to me, was the just-one-tier-above UHF station appearance of all the stuff they did in the early days. Like those small adverts during commercial breaks like early to mid era Cartoon Network had. Those are a huge part of my memories from G4, and that charm will be lost without some creative maneuvering during videos
Fatty Bunter
Like with this "world record" for SSX.
Who the hell is this French guy? Where did he come from, and why is he rambling about stupid shit while talking about his hi-score? It's goofy stuff like this that made the channel cool to watch. You felt like any random person (like you) might get featured on tv if you did something cool enough while playing games. The way the internet works now I'm not sure you can harness that feeling in the same way.
G4 had a real opportunity to be ahead of the curve when it came to streaming and online gaming in general, but the execs were too old or stupid to understand the potential. They transitioned from something unique to a worse version of Spike TV, and never recovered.
I think recreating the old G4 now is a pipe dream, honestly. Too many pre-existing personalities and companies competing for attention. But I hope it's not. I want random celebrities to say "G4TV. TV…for gamers" at unrelated events, or skits where monkeys throw shit at Adam Sessler again. I've wanted G4 to be back for a long time. I just wonder if they can recapture that feeling again.
TheOtherRightSide
Interesting, they were ahead of their time.. or rather execs were late to understating the appeal. I'm more curious how they'll comeback, but looking forward to it either way!
Krazy-Chibi
I liked Cinematech. it helped me find a bunch of different games to play back in the early 2000's
Most people I know liked it better when it was Tech TV.
Mistress Fortune
For me G4 was at its best during the sixth console generation and the first couple of years into the seventh gen. It was in the late part of the 00s the channel began to lose my interest because they didn't have many shows on there I liked anymore, and quite simply it was easier for me to get gaming news and footage from YouTube and whatnot thanks to high speed internet being more readily available than it was when the channel first started.
If anything that's the biggest concern: how will G4 manage to win back their old audience or gain a new one when gaming content like what G4 was best known for back in the day is more readily available on sites like YouTube or Twitch?