PXG (partially found Jetix UK video game magazine show; 2005-2008)

Title card for PXG.

Status: Partially Found

PXG was a children's video-game magazine show created by Prism Entertainment^[1] for Jetix UK and covered "reviews, hints, tips and cheats".^[2] The show covered video games from the main 3 consoles of the time: PlayStation, Xbox and GameCube (later Wii), hence the name "PXG". Originally, the show was broadcast as interstitials in between programs on Jetix usually only lasting 2 minutes, as well as a long-form magazine show which compiled these interstitials into one on Fridays (typically 30 minutes). The program was directed by Andrew Forgham (2005-2006) and Matt Cuttle (2006-2008) and hosted by Kentaro Suyama, as well as being accompanied by a CGI disembodied-head assistant called Game Girl, who was voiced by Haruka Kuroda, the same voice actor who is well known as the VA of Noodle in Gorillaz.^[3]

Format

The format of the show revolved around a 4-day schedule, which the segments were then rebroadcast on the Friday edition of PXG:

Big in Japan: Originally broadcast on Mondays, this covered the latest and greatest in video games in Japan, most notably including new console releases or arcades at the time. This was moved to Wednesday during the second season, due to the reshift in UK focus.^[4]

Mobile Madness: This was broadcast on Tuesday, which had a focus on handheld devices and consoles. This usually had the format of discussing accessories for the devices, whilst also featuring game reviews of handheld games. This format was untouched in the second season.

Konsole Kids: Usually broadcast on a Wednesday, this would revolve around reviews of console games from the main 3 consoles at the time, which were the PlayStation 2/3, Original Xbox and 360 and GameCube/Wii. In the first season, this was in the format of a game show but in the second season, it changed to basically only cover game consoles and the games associated with them. This would be moved to Monday, during the second season.

Easy PC: Broadcast on Thursdays, this format consisted of a PC game review whilst in the second half it covered online games available to play for free. This format is eerily similar to Gamezville's segment which showcased the same format of games accessible online. This format would move to Fridays, replacing the original 'PXG Friday' format.

Top of the Chops: This was a format that was originally aired on Fridays. This segment would specifically talk about five popular games at the time and give answers to the questions given throughout the week, likely through the 2 minute interstitials. When the segment was moved to Thursday, the format would now only focus on one game per week on any particular console.

PXG Friday: This was a combined version of the previous segments combining into a half an hour show, which had originally contained the Top of the Chops segment before being moved to Thursdays and Easy PC taking its place. As well as the previous segments, it also contained previews of upcoming video games and video game related jokes, as well as occasional photos of people dressing up as their favourite video game characters during the segment.

Although the main show was mainly left untouched aside from a few format changes, in the second season the show would feature user-generated content and podcasts from Jetix viewers. The main reason for this slight format change was to "give kids a greater sense of ownership of the show."^[5] Unfortunately, in the second season Game Girl was removed completely from the show, but a promotion on kids magazine Sky Kids still featured the character predominantly.^[6]

Sponsorships

Despite the show covering a wide variety of consoles, in the summer of 2005, Nintendo signed a deal with Jetix to broadcast coverage of the "All-Stars" Tour, which scoured across the country within different venues allowing attendees to meet Nintendo characters and play the newest Nintendo releases at that time. Because Jetix was the "tour's media partner", it meant that it intended to "broadcast five shows on its PXG weekly games programme." Not much information can be found upon this, as it is very lucratively scarce, but shows how there was interest in using PXG as a promotional vehicle for video game companies.^[7]

Broadcast

The show would air between adverts during the first two years of Jetix UK, as each interstitial would last 2 minutes beginning from 12th February 2005, with the interstitials being rebroadcast on the half-hour Friday slot. Given that Jetix would later have enough to repeat PXG, the 2-minute interstitials ended from the 30th June 2005, leaving PXG in a permanent 30 minute slot through repeats of previous interstitials as well as new content throughout the year. PXG continued to be broadcast in 30 minute slots from July 1st 2005 through to March 17th 2008.

Availability/Search

Although this show was broadcast on Jetix UK, episodes and information regarding the show are rare to find on the internet and only a few clips and promotions can easily be found online. The Prism Media Production website does not mention anything regarding this lost show, although archived versions of the Prism website display information regarding the show. Footage of the show's intro or other clips are hard to locate on YouTube or any other streaming site. It is also rumored that the production company, unfortunately, closed as Google states the company as "permanently closed". It is unknown if anyone taped episodes of any series, since PXG was produced around the time UK set-top boxes such as Sky+ were relevant, so any episodes recorded on those hard drives could be lost to time.

On 16th June 2020, a clip was posted onto YouTube in 50fps and in 1080p HD listed below of the show celebrating PlayStation's 10th Anniversary. When the uploader, Alvaskins, was questioned as to where he got the footage, he stated it was from one of his old showreels. However, upon questioning whether or not the uploader had more footage, he unfortunately told user Allanbuzzy that he doubts there were "any tapes of the show even left at some old Jetix warehouse." When another user asked a similar question, the same uploader stated "I don't think so but if I find anything I'll put it up.", however a year onwards as of 2021, he has yet to find any more footage of the show.