<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px 13px 13px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=499><TBODY><TR><TD class=gy12>GamePlay HD Focuses on Gamers
With the next-gen consoles, there been no lack of talk about HD. Whether its HD TVs, HD DVD formats or HD compatibility, HD has been all over the news. But what about HD game programing on TVs? John Gaudiosi talks to Greg Moyer (right) and takes a closer look at Gameplay HD...
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=gy12>Gameplay HD has made a big splash in the videogame TV business, just as G4, the first cable channel to focus entirely on games, has been consistently moving away from gaming programming. Greg Moyer, the CEO of Voom HD Networks, which runs the Gameplay HD channel as part of its suite of 15 HD channels, said that next generation consoles open up unique opportunities for HD gaming programming.
"With the introduction of games being produced in HD, there is a home theater, cinematic quality to watching this coverage that is extraordinarily impactful and not unlike the pleasure people get when they watch sports events telecast in high definition," said Moyer.
The sports analogy especially makes sense when you look at the executive in charge of Gameplay HD. Mark DeAngelis, vice president of programming and development, VOOM HD Networks, also runs sports channels Rush HD and WorldSports.
Launched on February 1, Gameplay HD has been in production for about eight months and on the air for six of those months. The channel currently has seven original series that focus on games and is providing extensive coverage of the burgeoning pro gaming circuit.
"We're adding to our inventory every month and we're getting much more aggressive about this tournament coverage," said Moyer, who wants Gameplay HD to become the home of professional videogame tournaments.
The channel has inked deals with a number of key pro gaming tournaments, including the World Series of Videogames and the Global Gaming League. In addition, a new GameCaster-branded show will launch that allows gamers to compete in front of a live audience. Gameplay HD is also working with Microsoft, NcSoft and Blizzard to turn Xbox Live and massively multiplayer online gaming tournaments into original programming.
"What's really unique about this is it's all in high definition and it's all on TV," said Moyer. "A lot of gaming information has been on the Web, but what we're actually bringing is more of a home theater feeling to the gaming world in high definition with 5.1 surround sound. That's the value add we can deliver being an HD TV channel."
Moyer said that programming in HD opens up unique opportunities for his network. He used music as a good example of how standard definition TV has evolved. The only way to watch a full music concert today is in HD. The music channels like MTV have moved away from concerts and away from music videos to focus on reality shows inspired by music sensibilities.
"We found that with several of our Voom HD channels we have been able to take experiences that have been on other cable channels in the past and reinvent them," said Moyer. "In a sense, G4 is taking that same migration from games and into the psychographic of the gamer and programming that makes sense to that demographic."
Moyer added, "If we focus on the purity of the gaming experience and put high-class TV production values to the covering of tournaments, we can almost resurrect an idea that was tried and mildly abandoned by G4, in this case. Our intent is to go back to the purity of the gaming experience and capture that."
Through its partnership with Cnet-owned Gamespot.com and Microsoft's Xbox Live, Gameplay HD has the potential to reach beyond the satellite audience.
"Gameplay HD came into existence primarily because of our satellite service, but we are in active negotiations about how we can expand our presence online," said Moyer. "Some of our production partners already have extensive online presence. It's certainly our intent to find gamers wherever they live and to have our coverage and content available to them in a convenient way."
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With the next-gen consoles, there been no lack of talk about HD. Whether its HD TVs, HD DVD formats or HD compatibility, HD has been all over the news. But what about HD game programing on TVs? John Gaudiosi talks to Greg Moyer (right) and takes a closer look at Gameplay HD...
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=gy12>Gameplay HD has made a big splash in the videogame TV business, just as G4, the first cable channel to focus entirely on games, has been consistently moving away from gaming programming. Greg Moyer, the CEO of Voom HD Networks, which runs the Gameplay HD channel as part of its suite of 15 HD channels, said that next generation consoles open up unique opportunities for HD gaming programming.
"With the introduction of games being produced in HD, there is a home theater, cinematic quality to watching this coverage that is extraordinarily impactful and not unlike the pleasure people get when they watch sports events telecast in high definition," said Moyer.
The sports analogy especially makes sense when you look at the executive in charge of Gameplay HD. Mark DeAngelis, vice president of programming and development, VOOM HD Networks, also runs sports channels Rush HD and WorldSports.
Launched on February 1, Gameplay HD has been in production for about eight months and on the air for six of those months. The channel currently has seven original series that focus on games and is providing extensive coverage of the burgeoning pro gaming circuit.
"We're adding to our inventory every month and we're getting much more aggressive about this tournament coverage," said Moyer, who wants Gameplay HD to become the home of professional videogame tournaments.
The channel has inked deals with a number of key pro gaming tournaments, including the World Series of Videogames and the Global Gaming League. In addition, a new GameCaster-branded show will launch that allows gamers to compete in front of a live audience. Gameplay HD is also working with Microsoft, NcSoft and Blizzard to turn Xbox Live and massively multiplayer online gaming tournaments into original programming.
"What's really unique about this is it's all in high definition and it's all on TV," said Moyer. "A lot of gaming information has been on the Web, but what we're actually bringing is more of a home theater feeling to the gaming world in high definition with 5.1 surround sound. That's the value add we can deliver being an HD TV channel."
Moyer said that programming in HD opens up unique opportunities for his network. He used music as a good example of how standard definition TV has evolved. The only way to watch a full music concert today is in HD. The music channels like MTV have moved away from concerts and away from music videos to focus on reality shows inspired by music sensibilities.
"We found that with several of our Voom HD channels we have been able to take experiences that have been on other cable channels in the past and reinvent them," said Moyer. "In a sense, G4 is taking that same migration from games and into the psychographic of the gamer and programming that makes sense to that demographic."
Moyer added, "If we focus on the purity of the gaming experience and put high-class TV production values to the covering of tournaments, we can almost resurrect an idea that was tried and mildly abandoned by G4, in this case. Our intent is to go back to the purity of the gaming experience and capture that."
Through its partnership with Cnet-owned Gamespot.com and Microsoft's Xbox Live, Gameplay HD has the potential to reach beyond the satellite audience.
"Gameplay HD came into existence primarily because of our satellite service, but we are in active negotiations about how we can expand our presence online," said Moyer. "Some of our production partners already have extensive online presence. It's certainly our intent to find gamers wherever they live and to have our coverage and content available to them in a convenient way."
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