Jimmy Fallon: Gaming's Entryway to Prime Time

Originally posted on D-Pad.co.uk

Jimmy Fallon isn't well-known outside the United States, but it's a name gamers should familiarize themselves with; he's one of us.

Last week, Fallon began his tenure as host of The Tonight Show on NBC with a ridiculously star-laden opening. Fallon took over from long-running host Jay Leno.

Fallon fronted the eponymous Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for five years; the show followed the Tonight Show in the less desirable timeslot of 0.30 am. Fallon targeted a younger demographic via social media integration and, of course, video games. Fallon himself is a gamer and is passionate about the genre; he frequently referenced video games on Late Night (including this zinger at Nintendo) and would bring on developers for live game demonstrations. It was hard for Fallon to hide his glee in these segments. Fallon's enthusiasm is a stark contrast to fellow talk show host Conan O'Brien, who absentmindedly tries his hand at video games in a segment on his show titled Clueless Gamer.

The Tonight Show is an institution; it's been on the air since 1954 and historically garners an older audience than Late Night along with a higher level of celebrity – President Obama has been a frequent guest of the programme.

NBC (the American network that broadcasts Late Night) may tell Fallon to 'class up' his show. In 2009, NBC gave The Tonight Show to the Clueless Gamer himself, Conan O'Brien. After a tumultuous saga, NBC forced O'Brien to quit the show after seven months; NBC subsequently gave The Tonight Show back to former host Jay Leno. NBC argued that Conan failed to attract the valuable older demographic that the elder Leno garnered. However, Fallon has gone on record stating that he's "not going to change anything" and that his Tonight Show will be "the same show" as Late Night.

There have been minor gaming reveals on Late Night; Ubisoft demoed a new section from Watch Dogs on the show. Publishers could conceivably use The Tonight Show platform for higher profile reveals; unveiling the newest Far Cry on NBC will garner tons of mainstream attention.

It remains to be seen whether that will be the case and if Fallon will be allowed to bring on Cliffy B instead of Jennifer Garner. It would be a massive coup for gaming to see Jay Z clutching a PS4 controller on America's #1 talk show.

Video Games on TV

In December, two high profile shows on video games were broadcast.

First was Charlie Brooker's How Videogames Changed The World. Channel 4 promoted the show heavily and granted the programme a 9 pm prime time slot. Despite the hype, the programme was a let down; the show adopted the tired countdown + talking head format and was painfully dull. HVCGTW was aimed at those with a passing interest in video games; the show didn't provide gamers with much enlightening information.

At times, the programme came across as desperate in its attempt to sell the general public on video games significance. The last 'game' featured on the list was Twitter. Brooker drew a parallel between video games and the social networking site. He made a convincing argument but including the website as an example of video games influence was an insult to the many real video games deserving of a place on the list. The show repeatedly claimed that video games were mainstream. If they were, then this one-off programme wouldn't have been necessary.

While Brooker's programme was aimed at non-gamers, VGX was squarely aimed at those who choose to spend a Saturday night playing Dota 2. VGX was the successor to the Video Game Awards (VGA's), the Emmy's; they weren't. The VGA's selling point was the show's "World Exclusives." Previous year's VGA's unveiled such blockbusters games as Mass Effect 3 and Batman Arkham City. This year's redesigned VGX did away with the award show tropes; gone were the C-list celebrities and irrelevant presentations, the focus of the show was the game reveals. VGX broadcasted live - and commercial-free - on Spike TV in the US and streamed worldwide.

A+ idea. F- execution

The show plodded (badly), the "World Exclusives" weren't as significant as previous years, and the show suffered from many production errors. The decision to abandon the large amphitheatre for an empty studio may have been cost-effective, but it resulted in a drab and awkward atmosphere.

While all of those involved in How Videogames Changed The World were fans of the genre, the co-host of VGX, actor Joel McHale couldn't be anything but. McHale's response to the lousy script and shoddy production was to behave like a disinterested snob.

Many have lamented the lack of video games programmes on mainstream television. After these two embarrassments, the only involvement TV should have with video games is through an HDMI port.