Line #35 YMMV/XPlay


1	* AdaptationDisplacement: Not very many people are aware of the two shows that came before ''X-Play'' were ''[=GameSpot=] TV'' (1998-2001; ZDTV and [[Creator/TechTV TechTV]]) and ''Extended Play'' (2001-2003; [=TechTV=]), let alone the fact that ''X-Play'' started out as a [=TechTV=] show in San Francisco for over a year from 2003 to 2004. Thus, most people are only familiar with the G4 episodes in Los Angeles.
2	* AwardSnub: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' in the "Deathmatch: Best of 2011" awards. ''Skyward Sword'' wasn't nominated for the show's Game of the Year award in 2011. This upset a lot of fans of the series, and they went on to make their voices heard in the "Video Game Deathmatch" which would be voted on by the fans. It went on to win the entire tournament, beating ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' in the final round. Adam Sessler and Blair Herter went on to say at the end of the video announcing the winner that ''Skyward Sword'' only won because of angry Creator/{{Nintendo}} fanboys who were upset that they didn't nominate it for a Game of the Year award.
3	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: 1000th episode surprise guest Creator/RipTaylor.
4	* BrokenBase: Just about anytime they reviewed a JRPG or video game based off of an anime. Reviews ''were'' littered with jokes at the expense of the clichés. They did give ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' a 5 out of 5 and name it their Game of the Year, however.
5	* CondemnedByHistory: In TheNew20s, it seems that social media users and other game journalists now view the show as a symbol of everything wrong with 2000's gaming culture: between the humor that tried too hard to come off as edgy, the constant FanHater moments, and the bashing of Japanese media that crossed the line into straight-up racism (including {{Yellowface}}), it's now becoming harder and harder to admit to ever being a fan, with the few who ''are'' open about it finding the show to not even have the NostalgiaFilter on its side. The failed revival and the various controversies that spawned (see OvershadowedByControversy below) did not help matters.
6	* EnsembleDarkhorse: When the show used to have sketches, the breakout characters were Canadian Guy, Screaming Intern, Ratty, Johnny X-Treme, Roger The Stan Lee Experience, and Shirtless Intern.
7	** No love for the [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom Drunk Link]] character? Not even for the ''other'' interns themselves?
8	** Or Crazy "[[Literature/SilenceOfTheLambs I'm going to make me a woman suit!]]" Adam?
9	** Or the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 Merchant]]?
10	** Or VideoGame/SplinterCell: Special Agent Bob and Secret Agent Steve.
11	* FanNickname: The first three G4 episodes have been referred to by some fans as The Transitional Trilogy due to the [[NoBudget budget]] and the new set used for the rest of the episodes not being built yet.
12	* FandomRivalry: With ''Series/JudgementDay'', another review show that ran on G4. Both sides would argue which show is funnier or has a better review format and they can be pretty heated.
13	* FranchiseOriginalSin:
14	** As CondemnedByHistory and OvershadowedByControversy can attest to, a lot of what the short-lived revival has been criticized for doing was also present in the original series. Many who didn't like it back then would put up with it due to having next to no competition to turn to, while others actually found it pretty entertaining, but by the time of the revival, people criticized it for, among other things, being everything wrong with the original show without the redeeming qualities that at least made it bearable.
15	** Even within the original run, the show wasn't immune to this; the skits were seen as amusing and were helped by being at least somewhat relevant to the game being reviewed, or at least the general theme of the episode, but over time, the shift to other genres were being seen as increasingly distant from the subject of video games entirely.
16	* HarsherInHindsight:
17	** The show did April Fools' episodes that involved format changes, and other things that fans in general would fear, like the time Adam and Morgan did the show from the ''Tech Live'' newsdesk, or the time Adam "left" to host a show called ''Meet the Sess'', and Morgan tried to go through a few replacements. In 2008, the show ''did'' eventually change formats, much to the fandom's dismay, Adam would abruptly leave in 2012, and the show would die shortly afterward.
18	** The shows seeming dislike of the JRPG genre is extremely difficult to look at as anything funny or entertaining like it tried to present due to many Japanese developers speaking up years later about how uncomfortable the negative stigma placed on the term JRPG became, and how that stigma played a role in many of the design choices made by Japanese developers in response to the negativity. The fact the show was one of the loudest sources of said opinion makes it worse.
19	** Adam Sessler's departure from the original show was seen as the moment where it completed its SeasonalRot, and his return was being treated as a selling point for the revival. However, to say he's become a rather controversial figure, ''especially'' after the revival, would be putting it lightly, with many who used to be his fans admitting they've lost respect for the man.
20	* HilariousInHindsight:
21	** Early on, Adam and Morgan would bash the hell out of Los Angeles quite often, especially Morgan, who hated the city she grew up in so much, she was ''quite'' open about her resentment towards it on this show and her old show ''The Screen Savers''. Fast forward to late 2004, and both Adam and Morgan eventually moved to Los Angeles to continue hosting the program. While Adam moved back to San Francisco in 2012, Morgan has since stayed in Los Angeles.
22	** One of Adam's characters was a Rip Taylor look-a-like named Shad Grimgravy. On the 1000th episode in 2010, Rip Taylor actually made an appearance.
23	** The first episode produced after moving to Los Angeles was shot in Adam's Apartment in around August 2004. In December 2020, Adam came back to reviewing with a review of the glitch-fest ''Cyberpunk 2077'' in his home.
24	** Many Xbox and Microsoft fanboys/fangirls who used to love Xplay now hate the new Xplay, as it is less likely to put Xbox exclusive games on a perfect pedestal and it is far more likely to give [=PlayStation=] exclusive games a 5 out of 5.
25	** In contrast, the [=PlayStation=] fans who nearly universally hated the old Xplay no longer hate the new Xplay, due to it being far more lenient and lax towards [=PlayStation=] exclusive games in general.
26	* MisBlamed: Many have blamed Frosk's ReasonYouSuckSpeech for being primarily, if not solely, responsible for the revived G4 being cancelled after less than a year. [[BrokenBase Heavy debates on the matter aside]], there have been reports that the revived G4 wasn't exactly doing well in numbers even before she made her speech, making it unlikely she was the primary or sole cause of the shutdown.
27	* OneSceneWonder: The interns.
28	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: When ''Extended Play'' first aired, there was little to nothing like it, and this carried on when the show became ''X-Play''. But with the advent of Website/YouTube and many reviewers coming in its wake, many have come to feel that the show has aged poorly. It's at best seen as a relic of a bygone age, with many reviewers not only having filled the void, but arguably ''surpassing'' ''X-Play'' in quality.
29	* OvershadowedByControversy:
30	** Frosk's ReasonYouSuckSpeech given to certain members of the audience (namely, the ones sending her and other female staff sexist harassment) would come to overshadow the relaunch of ''X-Play'', and, by extension, the G4 revival itself. Many took issue with her comments, and a months-long online harassment campaign against her ensued that got so bad that even ''searching'' for either ''X-Play'' or G4 would pull up numerous complaints against Frosk, which ruined G4's search engine optimization. This eventually led to Frosk departing from the network several weeks before the whole channel folded, as well as her leaving the gaming industry for good.
31	** Clips from older episodes of ''X-Play'' began to circulate across social media early in 2023 showing some ''very'' racist language used against Japanese games reviewed on the show, including jaw-dropping bits with Morgan Webb claiming Japan only became civilized ''after being nuked'' and later saying “[[YellowPeril I fear for the day that zany bean-curd-loving race finally rules over us]]”. Adam Sessler defended these bits on social media, making wild claims [[https://twitter.com/AdamSessler/status/1632078967216959489 that overly-defensive consumers,]] [[https://twitter.com/AdamSessler/status/1632121484167757829 the alt-right and gamer culture]] were why he was being attacked, earning widespread condemnation including from [[https://twitter.com/LukePlunkett/status/1632188975107694592 Kotaku's Luke Plunkett]] and [[https://twitter.com/awildjessichu/status/1632083927610585088 Gamespot's Jessica Howards]] while tarnishing the show's legacy along with Sessler himself.
32	* SeasonalRot:
33	** Around 2006, give-or-take, many have complained that the show dropped in quality when they became over-reliant on sketches, became more-and-more of [[FanHater fan haters]], and started having a bias against Sony and to a lesser extent Nintendo games while praising anything made by Microsoft. [[EpilepticTrees This led some to believe]] that the writers were on Microsoft's payroll.
34	** The rot became more evident once G4 [[NetworkDecay got rid of almost all of its original video game and tech based programing]] save for ''X-Play'' and ''Attack of the Show!''. Stuff like ''Cheat!'', which was originally its own show, became a segment on ''X-Play'' and the show itself became less focused on reviews and comedy and more on sneak peeks, interviews, E3 buzz, and various other things. It all felt like everything video gaming was cramped into this one show, making it feel cluttered. Once Adam was fired, it completed the rot and practically signaled the show's imminent demise.
35	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The fandom reaction to the 2008 retool. Of course, making a video game review show into something else entirely would naturally tend to ruffle up some feathers here and there.
36	* ValuesDissonance: The show is basically a time capsule of everything that was ''wrong'' with gamer culture in the 2000s. From surprisingly racist comments whenever talking about Japanese developed games/Japanese people in general, to over sexualization and inappropriate comments directed towards female characters (both regarding the games and actual members of the staff), to mocking of the mentally disabled... The show can be a rather extreme cultural whiplash today.
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Context YMMV / XPlay