History Series / XPlay

In 2021, ''X-Play'' was relaunched (''without'' the dash, now it's just Xplay), along with the entire G4 network. Adam Sessler returned as host, along with Froskurinn (former [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends LEC]] personality and ''Boosted'' host), Jirard Khalil of ''WebVideo/TheCompletionist'', and WebVideo/TheBlackHokage.

In 2021, ''X-Play'' was relaunched (''without'' the dash, now it's just Xplay), along with the entire G4 network. Adam Sessler returned as host, along with Froskurinn (former [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends LEC]] personality and ''Boosted'' host), Jirard Khalil of ''WebVideo/TheCompletionist'', and Corey Smallwood, also known as WebVideo/TheBlackHokage.

In 2021, ''X-Play'' was relaunched, along with the entire G4 network. Adam Sessler returned as host, along with Froskurinn (former [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends LEC]] personality and ''Boosted'' host), Jirard Khalil of ''WebVideo/TheCompletionist'', and Corey Smallwood, also known as WebVideo/TheBlackHokage.

Full episodes of the show can be found now by clicking the [[https://archive.org/details/g4-xplay links]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoBvgILc1f5lN0QLAaqPm1oQXpBXpHN_c here.]]

The show started in 1998 on ZDTV as ''[=GameSpot=] TV''; Adam Sessler co-hosted the show with Lauren Fielder, then, a year later in 1999, Fielder left, and he hosted solo for a while, before being paired up with Kate Botello in 2000. When ZDTV rebranded itself as [=TechTV=] in 2001, the show became ''Extended Play''; after Botello left the show in 2002, Sessler returned to hosting solo. [=TechTV=] filmed much of the show at San Francisco's Metreon arcade until 2003, when the show became ''X-Play'', Morgan Webb came aboard to co-host, and the show received a brand new studio. The change to ''X-Play'' also marked the beginning of the show's focus on game-related sketch comedy alongside its reviews.

After G4 purchased [=TechTV=] in 2004, it retained ''X-Play'' on the newly-merged [=G4TechTV=] network. Even though G4 basically left the show intact (a fate far better than all of [=TechTV=]'s other shows and most of G4's shows received) the show's focus shifted on a frequent basis for the next few years as G4 began to go through a serious case of NetworkDecay. The show eventually ended up as a half-hour version of what G4 was before the [=TechTV=] merger: it ran down the latest gaming news stories, showed previews and reviews for the latest games, aired interviews with different industry personalities, and even ran a hints segment called "Cheat!"[[note]]Pre-merger, ''Cheat!'' was the actual name of a half-hour G4 show that was a show dedicated to cheat codes and walkthroughs; Think Website/{{GameFAQs}} on TV. Full episodes can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoBvgILc1f5km4h6Y2MvvlxZZJ3lT5vJk here.]][[/note]] The sketch comedy also disappeared, for the most part, but this had more to do with the show's former head comedy writer, comedienne/[[JustForFun/OneOfUs comic nerd]] Blair Butler, becoming an on-air personality for G4.

On April 26, 2012, [[http://kotaku.com/5905119/adam-sessler-out-at-g4 Sessler abruptly left G4.]] Blair Herter took his place as host.

On October 26, 2012, G4 announced that it would cancel both ''X-Play'' and ''Attack of the Show!'' at the end of the year before undergoing its Esquire makeover. The show ended on January 23, 2013 alongside ''Attack of the Show!'' with a finale that had been taped a month before.

The first episode of ''X-Play'' was chosen to [[BookEnds end G4's final broadcasting day on December 31, 2014]], followed by a game of ''VideoGame/{{Pong}}'' played to completion, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIaPvsrUG8w acting as the network's Game Over.]]

As a nice little shout out to the show though, Adam and Morgan reunited at E3 twice, in 2015 and again in 2016 to host the pre-show to the Bethesda press events. They also reunited with other G4 personalities in Thanksgiving 2020 for ''A Very Special G4 Reunion Special''.

** In the 2008 April Fools' Day episode, they did a "re-review" of ''VideoGame/CrisisCoreFinalFantasyVII''. They basically took the original review and dubbed over their criticisms with a StrawFan blindly praising it and giving it a 6 out of 5.

!! "It's Game Time!":

!! "It's Game Time!:

!! ''X-Play'' contains examples of the following tropes:

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The review of ''Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home'' that aired on November 12, 2003 featured the G4TV logo on the top-right corner at one point. Comcast would buy out TechTV six months later. Some copies of the game came with a bonus "Backyard Wrestling Music & Mayhem DVD". It's possible that G4 produced some content for it. G4 produced content for other games of the era as well.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The review of ''Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home'' that aired on November 12, 2003 featured the G4TV logo on the top-right corner at one point. Some copies of the game came with a bonus "Backyard Wrestling Music & Mayhem DVD". It's possible that G4 produced some content for it. G4 produced content for other games of the era as well.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The review of ''Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home'' featured the G4TV logo on the top-right corner.

As a nice little shout out to the show though, Adam and Morgan reunited at E3 twice, in 2015 and again in 2016 to host the pre-show to the Bethesda press events.

* TheMusical: Two actually. The first was a tribute to the viewers of the show called ''On the X-Play Board...'' which made fun of viewer reaction to the scores certain games receive and their responses on the G4 message boards. The second was a full episode musical about Sessler and Webb [[DealWithTheDevil getting an offer]] to make their own video game which of course turned out to be a disaster. It's actually pretty funny. The irony is that they ''already'' had their own video game on the ''X-Play'' page. It was a side scrolling beat 'em up where Webb uses her fists as a weapon, Sessler uses Slippy the Fish as his weapon.

** Sessler (about ''Aquaman''): "You '''swim. And you fight. You swim some more. And you fight.''' That's it. There's not one interesting aspect about this game. Reminds me of another superhero game, the infamous ''Superman 64'' on the N64. Looks like the Man of Steel's got a buddy."

Originally, the show was a television version of [=GameSpot=], with the ratings for each of the games duplicating that of the website, and the person who wrote the review on the website equivalent. When ZDTV became [=TechTV=], and the show became ''Extended Play'', the game reviews and previews were written by the shows' staff and on-air talent. On top of that, the [=GameSpot=] rating system was replaced with a 1-5 rating system, with 1 = "Poor", 2 = "Fair", 3 = "Good", 4 = "Great", and 5 = "Perfect".

On April 26, 2012, [[http://kotaku.com/5905119/adam-sessler-out-at-g4 Sessler abruptly left G4]]. Blair Herter took his place as host.

The first episode of ''X-Play'' was chosen to [[BookEnds end G4's final broadcasting day on December 31, 2014]], followed by a game of ''VideoGame/{{Pong}}'' played to completion, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIaPvsrUG8w acting as the network's Game Over]].

After G4 purchased [=TechTV=] in 2004, it retained ''X-Play'' on the newly-merged [=G4TechTV=] network. Even though G4 basically left the show intact (a fate far better than all of [=TechTV=]'s other shows and most of G4's shows received) the show's focus shifted on a frequent basis for the next few years as G4 began to go through a serious case of NetworkDecay. The show eventually ended up as a half-hour version of what G4 was before the [=TechTV=] merger: it ran down the latest gaming news stories, showed previews and reviews for the latest games, aired interviews with different industry personalities, and even ran a hints segment called "Cheat!" [[note]] Pre-merger, Cheat was the actual name of a half-hour G4 show that was a show dedicated to cheat codes and walkthroughs; Think Website/{{GameFAQs}} on TV. Full episodes can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoBvgILc1f5km4h6Y2MvvlxZZJ3lT5vJk here.]][[/note]] The sketch comedy also disappeared, for the most part, but this had more to do with the show's former head comedy writer, comedienne/[[JustForFun/OneOfUs comic nerd]] Blair Butler, becoming an on-air personality for G4.

Full Episodes of the show can be found now by clicking the [[https://archive.org/details/g4-xplay links]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoBvgILc1f5lN0QLAaqPm1oQXpBXpHN_c here.]]

After G4 purchased [=TechTV=] in 2004, it retained ''X-Play'' on the newly-merged [=G4TechTV=] network. Even though G4 basically left the show intact (a fate far better than all of [=TechTV=]'s other shows and most of G4's shows received) the show's focus shifted on a frequent basis for the next few years as G4 began to go through a serious case of NetworkDecay. The show eventually ended up as a half-hour version of what G4 was before the [=TechTV=] merger: it ran down the latest gaming news stories, showed previews and reviews for the latest games, aired interviews with different industry personalities, and even ran a hints segment called "Cheat!" [[note]] Pre-merger, Cheat was the actual name of a half-hour G4 show that was about hints, tips and cheats for video games. Think GameFAQs on TV. Full episodes can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoBvgILc1f5km4h6Y2MvvlxZZJ3lT5vJk here.]][[/note]] The sketch comedy also disappeared, for the most part, but this had more to do with the show's former head comedy writer, comedienne/[[JustForFun/OneOfUs comic nerd]] Blair Butler, becoming an on-air personality for G4.

After G4 purchased [=TechTV=] in 2004, it retained ''X-Play'' on the newly-merged [=G4TechTV=] network. Even though G4 basically left the show intact (a fate far better than all of [=TechTV=]'s other shows and most of G4's shows received) the show's focus shifted on a frequent basis for the next few years as G4 began to go through a serious case of NetworkDecay. The show eventually ended up as a half-hour version of what G4 was before the [=TechTV=] merger: it ran down the latest gaming news stories, showed previews and reviews for the latest games, aired interviews with different industry personalities, and even ran a hints segment called "Cheat." [[note]] Pre-merger, Cheat was the actual name of a half-hour G4 show that was about exposing ways to cheat in video games.[[/note]] The sketch comedy also disappeared, for the most part, but this had more to do with the show's former head comedy writer, comedienne/[[JustForFun/OneOfUs comic nerd]] Blair Butler, becoming an on-air personality for G4.

Full Episodes of the show can be found now by clicking [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoBvgILc1f5lN0QLAaqPm1oQXpBXpHN_c here.]]

As a nice little shout out to the show though, Adam and Morgan reunited at 2015 and 2016 E3 to host the Bethesda conference.

After G4 purchased [=TechTV=] in 2004, it retained ''X-Play'' on the newly-merged [=G4TechTV=] network. Even though G4 basically left the show intact (a fate far better than all of [=TechTV=]'s other shows and most of G4's shows received) the show's focus shifted on a frequent basis for the next few years as G4 began to go through a serious case of NetworkDecay. The show eventually ended up as a half-hour version of what G4 was before the [=TechTV=] merger: it ran down the latest gaming news stories, showed previews and reviews for the latest games, aired interviews with different industry personalities, and even ran a hints segment called "Cheat." [[note]] Pre-merger, Cheat was the actual name of a half-hour G4 show that was about exposing ways to cheat in video games.[[/note]] The sketch comedy also disappeared, for the most part, but this had more to do with the show's former head comedy writer, comedienne/[[OneOfUs comic nerd]] Blair Butler, becoming an on-air personality for G4.

''X-Play'', the end result of what happens when a SketchComedy show meets a video game review program, became the only show to survive the [[Creator/TechTV [=TechTV=]]]/[[Creator/G4TV G4]] merger intact, one of the last original shows on the network (alongside ''Series/AttackOfTheShow'' and ''Series/AmericanNinjaWarrior'', the latter of which moved to Creator/{{NBC}}), and one of the highest-rated programs on G4 until its end.

The show started in 1998 on ZDTV as ''[=GameSpot=] TV''; Adam Sessler co-hosted the show with Lauren Fielder, then, a year later in 1999, Fielder left, and he hosted solo for a while, before being paired up with Kate Botello in 2000. When ZDTV became [=TechTV=] in 2001, the show became ''Extended Play''; after Botello left the show in 2002, Sessler hosted the show by himself. [=TechTV=] filmed much of the show at San Francisco's Metreon arcade until 2003, when the show became ''X-Play'', Morgan Webb came aboard to co-host, and the show received a brand new studio. The change to ''X-Play'' also marked the beginning of the show's focus on game-related sketch comedy alongside its reviews.

Originally, the show was a television version of [=GameSpot=], with the ratings for each of the games duplicating that of the website, and the person who wrote the review on the website equivalent. When ZDTV became [=TechTV=], and the show became ''Extended Play'', the game reviews and previews were now written by the shows' staff, and on-air talent. On top of that, the [=GameSpot=] rating system was replaced with a 1-5 rating system, with 1 = "Poor", 2 = "Fair", 3 = "Good", 4 = "Great", and 5 = "Perfect".

After G4 purchased [=TechTV=] in 2004, it retained ''X-Play'', and even though G4 basically left the show intact, a fate far better than all of [=TechTV=]'s shows and most of G4's shows received, the show's focus shifted on a frequent basis for the next few years as G4 went through a severe case of NetworkDecay. The show eventually ended up as a half-hour version of what G4 was before the merger: it ran down the latest gaming news stories, showed previews and reviews for the latest games, aired interviews with different industry personalities, and even ran a hints segment called "Cheat" (which itself used to be a half-hour show on the same network). The sketch comedy also disappeared, for the most part, but had more to do with the show's former head comedy writer, comedienne/[[OneOfUs comic nerd]] Blair Butler, becoming an on-air personality for G4.

On April 26, 2012, [[http://kotaku.com/5905119/adam-sessler-out-at-g4 Sessler abruptly left G4]], so Blair Herter took his place.

* BiasSteamroller: Several, which included:
## [[RolePlayingGame RPGs]], mostly [[EasternRPG [=JRPGs=]]].
## {{Anime}}.
## UsefulNotes/WorldWarII games.
## Licensed games.
## [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Games related to a certain sidescrolling blue bomber]].
## {{Escort Mission}}s.
## {{Minigame}}s.
## A well known hatred for the [[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors different]] ''[[VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors Warriors]]'' [[VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi series]].
## Although they later reconciled with the franchise, they were extremely critical towards ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' after his downfall during the mid 2000s.

* BrokeTheRatingScale

## Although they have since reconciled with the franchise, they were extremely critical towards ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' following his downfall during the mid 2000s.
* BrokeTheRatingScale: They refused to rate ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'' among others, because their rating scale didn't feature a 0. They then gave the ''[[VideoGame/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T. the Extra Terrestrial]]'' game a ceremonial zero.

** Herter, the very self-aware third wheel.

As a nice little shout out to the show though, Adam and Morgan reunited at 2015 and 2016 E3 to host the Bethesdia conference.