Word has come down from the television gods that the last vestige of G4’s true gaming programming is in trouble. It appears that X-Play has handed the pink slip to at least a dozen people, though the only confirmation of the firings was G4’s games editorial manager Abbie Heppe who Twittered about it, but has since taken it down. The show itself also appears to be cutting back a bit as it won’t be airing as often during the week.
It was just recently that X-Play launched itself into a full hour format and started to focus a bit more on humor and opinion. At the time we were told the move was made because the network wanted the show to be expanded, but now it seems more likely they were trying to draw in more viewers. Evidently the gaming shows on the network weren’t getting much viewership and this is clearly a result of that. Hopefully the show stays on as it is one of the few original gaming programs out there on cable television.
Update: G4 got in touch with us and filled us in on the whole story stating, “G4 is returning Attack of the Show and X-Play to their former production schedules and, starting March 2nd, Attack of the Show will air 4 originals per week and X-Play 3 originals per week. While the company does not comment on personnel matters, we can confirm that producing fewer episodes has resulted in a decrease in staff. Savings resulting from this move will go directly towards producing more original programming in 2009. This is not a budget cut. G4 remains dedicated to these core franchises.”
