Скачать или смотреть Gamezville (2003) - partial episode

So who remembers Gamezville? It was Sky One's video game programme during the PS2/Xbox/GC generation that ran for only two series but somehow managed to rack up 192 episodes in that time. Presented by Jamie "Jay" Atiko and Darren "Daz" Malcolm, it featured contestants taking on each other in a grudge match for the chance to win a certificate, plus news, reviews, tips, cheats, and more.

Gamezville has always had a poor reputation in terms of ignoring what gamers of the day wanted and simply trying to capitalise on what still remains an underrepresented pastime in the mass media. And while that's definitely not an entirely unfair summation, I offer the following alternative opinion: they actually got most of the ingredients right, but they were too bent on making it cool and down with da kidz to execute it properly.

To put it another way, replace everyone with adults, and this could have been the closest we'd ever get to the fabled 'Video Game Top Gear' we're still all waiting for on national telly.

It's possible I'm letting Gamezville off the hook a bit easily, but if I were tasked with making a sensible and grown-up yet fun show on the subject, I'd have challenges, I'd have reviews and previews, I'd have latest news and rumours, I'd have features going behind the scenes at a developer, I'd have a retro segment... Like I say, all the ingredients are there, and I honestly don't know how they managed to snatch such a defeat from the jaws of victory.

All of which said, I still enjoyed watching this, and it stands as a good snapshot of the technology of the era, especially with the relatively new online and mobile scenes quickly gaining popularity. In fact, it probably works far better as a time capsule than it did as a current topical show back then. I've got no real issue with Jay and Daz who did their level best with what they'd been served up; the Guru, on the other hand, is nowhere near as endearing or enduring a character as Patrick Moore's GamesMaster or even Nam Rood. Just a handful of 50-50 decisions going the other way and this could have been the start of something big for gamers, but no. And still we wait.

I'm struggling with the broadcast date on this one. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 came out in August 2003, which is the same month Gamezville started, so this could be a very early episode indeed. Over to you in the comments.

Many thanks to ‪@David315842‬ for sending me this tape.

(If you're a copyright holder and have any objections, please feel free to contact me. Alternatively, I haven't monetised the video, so you're welcome to do so, and that way everybody wins.)