4Player Network
| File:4PlayerNetworkLogo.png | |
Type of site | Gaming Blog, Live Broadcast, Podcast, Forum |
|---|---|
| Created by | Brad Simons, David Liao, Nick Henderson, Travis Granger |
| Website | http://www.4playernetwork.com |
| Alexa rank |  636,994 (February 2015[update]) |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional (free) |
| Launched | April 2, 2008 (January 11, 2007 in audio form) |
| Current status | Active |
4Player Network (formerly 4Player Podcast, often shortened to 4Player) is a multiple award-winning weekly podcast in addition to a daily live broadcast and website about video games; based out of Austin, Texas.[1] The four founding members of the podcast are Brad Simons, David Liao, Nick Henderson and Travis Granger.
History[edit]
4Player Network began as a podcast (and later, a blog) entitled East Vs West Working Title.[2] The first podcast occurred on January 11, 2007, featuring Brad and David discussing the game Twilight Princess.[3] Nick joined the podcast in April 2007.[3] Following this, the first postings on the blog were recorded in June 2007.[4] In Fall 2007, Travis joined the podcast as the fourth member.[3] Shortly thereafter, the podcast changed its name from the East Vs West moniker to 4Player Podcast. Despite this, the East Vs West blog was still in use.
Beginning their shift into live gaming in February 2008, 4Player broadcast themselves playing video games on Justin TV.[1] Success was found in these live broadcasts, and on April 2, 2008, 4Player replaced their old blog with a new one.[5] On July 2, 2009, 4Player created a new website and forum.[6] On December 12, 2009, the 4Player Podcast won a Podcast Award after their nomination into the Gaming category.[7] The following year, 4Player found success again by winning the 2010 Gaming Podcast Award. Vying to continue their winning streak, 4Player found itself being nominated in two categories for the 2011 Podcast Awards. One nomination in the Gaming category and another in the People's Choice category. 4Player continued their winning streak by securing the Gaming category award for the third year in a row, as well as claiming their first People's Choice Award.[8]
In October 2011, they participated in the Extra Life Charity event for Texas Children's Hospital. The group streamed themselves playing video games live from The Galleria in Houston, Texas. After 24 hours 4Player successfully gathered over $4,000 for the hospital.[9] In September 2014, the group held a four way contest to see who could beat Super Mario 64 the fastest. Throughout the night donations were taken to raise the number of stars necessary for the contestants to collect. Over $1,500 was raised for Texas Children's Hospital.
As of 2015, 4Player Network has over 40 million views on their TwitchTV channel and over 100 million video views on YouTube.[10] The group's most popular video is titled "GTA4 - Scooter Brothers!!" and was uploaded to a fan account in May 2008. It has garnered over 6 million views as of 2015. Rockstar Games included a reference to the video in Grand Theft Auto V in which one of the main characters quotes the clip.
4Player Podcast became 4Player Network in October 2012. The name change accompanied the opening of the new website with various additional and improved features.[11]
Overview[edit]
4Player Network has various different content streams. These include multiple podcasts, a live video stream and written articles.
Live broadcast[edit]
The live broadcast is a streaming video feed and chat that features 4Player Network staff and contributors playing video games and recording podcasts. There is a broadcast every day of the week; a day has not been missed in over three years.
The website[edit]
The site contains daily posts pertaining to video games and its revolving subculture. Often there will be opinion pieces written on various topics such as reviews and moral choices in gaming. The website also hosts the forum, where members can discuss the site, games and beyond. As well as the forum, members can also post community blogs on the site. Occasionally a community blog may be featured on the main page.
Podcasts[edit]
Previously there were several podcasts on 4Player Network, however all have now ceased besides the main 4Player Podcast.
4Player Podcast[edit]
The 4Player Podcast is the main podcast featuring Brad Simons and Nick Henderson as well as a revolving set of guests, discussing various topics related to video games. The current cast will first introduce themselves and then share their thoughts and impressions on what they have been playing the past week. The podcast then covers the news, typically compiled by the forum members, from the past week. The topic can be selected by the players or by community via the mail bag or suggestion thread. Then the Community Segment covers what games will be on the live broadcast this week and goes over any events in the community. Nolan Hedstrom hosts his own mini-segment, known as Chatter for the Week. Two listeners send in their top 5 games of all time, their shameful secret, and their greatest gaming achievement. Whoever the members of the podcast believe has the better overall list wins. The podcast wraps up with the 4Player Minute. Although usually more than a minute long, each player states the following: a shameful secret (something they did recently that they are ashamed of), sweaty palms (something that they are worried about), hype (something that they are excited about), and "Fuck You Of the Week," where they choose one particular person, company, game, etc. which is worthy of a "Fuck You," for whatever the reason may be. The typical length of this podcast is around two hours long. It can be seen recorded live on their broadcast page. The podcast is made available for audio download two to three days later.
Staff[edit]
- Nick Henderson - Podcast Host / Editor / Front End Developer
- Brad Simons - Podcaster / Broadcast Manager
- Nolan Hedstrom - Podcaster / Community Manager
- Kris Guthridge - Podcaster / Broadcaster
- Chris Davis - Video Feature Producer
Contributors[edit]
- Zack Wheat - Content Producer
- Carlos Ottino - Roger Ebert of Video Games
- Ed Mitchell - Back End Developer
- George Denison - Content Producer
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 4player Podcast's Profile - Austin, TX - Justin.tv
- ↑ http://www.eastvswestworkingtitle.blogspot.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Podcast Archive
- ↑ Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!
- ↑ The new site.
- ↑ Welcome to the New Site!
- ↑ http://www.podcastawards.com/
- ↑ "Podcast Award Winners 2005-2014". Podcast Awards. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ http://4playernetwork.com/blog/2011/10/extra-life-marathon-starts-now/
- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/user/4PlayerPodcast/
- ↑ [1]
External links[edit]
This article "4Player Network" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
