Insert Coin

Recently Comcast added a few channels to their bare-bones service (for free?), including G4 TV--devoted solely to video games! This made me happy.

Sometimes it borders on a Home Shopping Network clone, but it still retains some allure for those inclined toward the modern golden calf--electronic games.

Sometimes I miss the irony and cynicism that could be produced by having hosts that were around to appreciate the "crash" circa 1983. These talking heads would also talk fondly of the days when "quarters were essentially thrown on the ground" at arcades, as Joe used to say.

I guess today's households are just a series of cubicles, with the occupants vacantly staring at monitors of some sort, pushing buttons (on controllers, remote controls, keyboards).

I think it would be amusing to have a show on G4 that asks viewers to set aside a day when they don't play games at all (to honor the crash in the 80s). It would be a day of rest--to let your retinas heal a bit, and allow your fingers to uncurl out of the "controller claw" position.

Play a fun game at home--look for a book to read (is it possible some homes have none?)

The show could detail the other belief systems of the world, such as
"board gamers" and "role-players". There could be a story on the cult
of "virtual reality"--why aren't we all wearing immersive headsets in
2005? Conspiracy? What about all the programmers who aren't
receiving funds from the exchange of ROMs from extinct games?
The parallel to MP3s and their corresponding musicians seems
relevant.

Cynicism could be cool again. It is different from satire or
"mocking", which seems like the path most taken these days.