Archive for February, 2009

GDC 09: Two Talks AnnouncedNo Comments

blog_gdc09Last week it was announced that I’ll be part of two keynote talks at this year’s Game Developers Conference in March.  In both cases I’ll be interviewing noted figures in the game business.

First, at Dean Takahashi’s GamesBeat conference I’ll sit down for a fireside chat with Seamus Blackley, head of the Games Department at CAA.  Seamus and his department represent some of the biggest game developers including Tim Schafer, Will Wright, Ken Levine and many others.  All the Hollywood agencies have tried to “figure out” the games business, but CAA, unquestionably, has had the most success.  Seamus and I will be having a “fireside chat” at the conference during lunch on March 24th.

Then at GDC proper I am honored to be a part of the keynote of the Game Career seminar.  I’ll be interviewing Emil Pagliarulo, lead designer of Fallout 3 — one of the best games of 2008.  Emil, a former game journalist, will tell us about the multi-year odyssey of Fallout 3’s development and explain his unique careeer path in the gaming business.  Since GDC is, at its heart, a conference for developers and a job fair, I’m excited to help the audience learn what it takes to build one of the most decorated games in recent memory.

If you have any questions to ask Seamus or Emil, leave them in the comments.

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GTTV Exclusive on Infamous, Metal Gear TouchNo Comments

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This week’s GameTrailers TV is now live. We headed up to Sucker Punch in Seattle for a look at Infamous, a PS3 exclusive due out later this Spring. Also look for exclusive trailers on Metal Gear Solid Touch (for iPhone), Eat Lead, Singularity (from Raven Software), and an early look at new costumes set to debut in Street Fighter IV.

[GameTrailers TV Episode 203]

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Champions of Gaming on SpikeNo Comments

blog_championsofgamingCan Steve, a 52-year-old gamer from Australia take down Tiger Woods at his own game? That’s one of the questions we answer when Spike broadcasts the Gillette/EA SPORTS CHAMPIONS OF GAMING Finals on Wednesday, February 18. The show features sports legends such as Woods, Derek Jeter, Reggie Bush, Denny Hamlin, and Orlando Magic All-Star Jameer Nelson. That “pro team” has a daunting challenge ahead of them when they face off against the 5 best gamers in Madden, NBA Live, FIFA, NASCAR, and of course Tiger Woods.

CHAMPIONS OF GAMING is yet another video game special that we’re airing on Spike, and I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts. I’ve never been a big believer that “competitive gaming” will work on television, but this is the first idea that I thought could potentially translate to mainstream TV. Why? The focus of the show is about the drama that developers when pro gamers have to face off against their sports heroes. It’s amazing to see pro athletes – who normally have to answer to no one – go up against players who are geniuses at the video game version of sports these athletes dominate in real life. And some of these players are cocky about their skills. Our Madden NFL Champion is so confident he can beat Reggie Bush that he picks the worst team in the history of the NFL, the Detroit Lions, during the tournament. And then he says he’s going to beat Reggie by at least a touchdown!

So while this show may feel like it’s about “competitive gaming,” It boils down to a really interesting social experiment between gamers and celebrity athletes. Let me know what you think of the show when it airs, Wednesday at 11:30 PM on Spike. This is just the first of many video game specials I’ll be creating with Spike in 2009.

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DICE Panel on Game JournalismNo Comments

blog_dicelogo1On Friday I’ll be in Las Vegas for the annual DICE Summit, which I guess amounts to the “TED” or “D” conference for gaming. While I always attend every year, this year I’ve been asked to speak on a panel about “game journalism.” As of late I’ve avoided immersing myself into many of these discussions (like this one on Slate, or this symposium) because, dare I say, I would rather see folks doing more to change the state of journalism than lamenting it 10,000 words at a time. And I’ve been especially weary of talking about it at DICE, where a few years ago the “game journalism” panel included one editor of a single-platform magazine stating that their job was (to paraphrase) be a “cheerleader for their platform, and to make the reader feel good about owning that system.”

But this discussion should be an interesting one. It’s going to be moderated by Ted Price from Insomniac Games, who is one of the nicest guys in the business. (But he promises me there will be lots of drama and intrigue on our panel!). And I’ll be joined by some of my favorite peers, including Blog.Newsweek.com/Levelup’s N’Gai Croal, USA Today’s Mike Snider, and Seth “Schizzel” Schissel.

Instead of talking about the STATE of game journalism, maybe we should talk about WHAT game journalism even is in the wake of Neo-Gaf, The Wii, and MetaCritic. Why that’s a great name for a panel isn’t it! (For the record I can’t take credit). Does a game journalist even matter anymore? Sometimes I feel like the enthusiast magazines end up being nothing more than a mechanism for screenshot delivery, and today it’s still hard to get mainstream publications to write intelligently about the business.

(more…)

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Bonus Round On Resident Evil 5No Comments

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We’ve posted the first Bonus Round episode of 2009 on GT.  This one is all about Resident Evil 5. Check it out on GameTrailers.

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New Deal With Spike2 Comments

SpikeTV

As you may have read, yes, I’m happy to confirm that I’ve signed a new multi-year deal with Spike TV. This means you’ll be seeing lots more of GTTV and Bonus Round in the years to come, as well as a series of videogame specials and of course the Video Game Awards.

I joined Spike back in the Fall of 2005, and I am proud of all the work we’ve done both on-air and online at GameTrailers. At a time when other TV networks and print publications are scaling back support of gaming, Spike continues to invest more and more in the category. Soon we will be talking more about what that means.

You can read the full press release here.

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  • Good news! More GTTV to come and all the exclusives it is known for. Keep up the good work, Geoff. More»
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