Readers, the editorial staff and I would like to apologize for the terrible radio silence that has lasted since the last Hebdo last July. Without wanting to go into the details of an internal turmoil that is not necessarily exciting, this recovery should not have been so late – in theory. The practice, as you can imagine, is always much more complicated. Take our word for it that the will to do things GOOD takes precedence over any clumsy haste. Our primary desire is to deliver to our subscribers a broadcast quality – and good things always take a little longer.
The first season of Gamekult l’Hebdo was, for all the good feedback we received over the course of its fifteen issues, room for improvement on many points. I’m not talking about my assertive verb (or my position on Control, which will not budge), possible language tics or even abundant body hair. No, our frustrations focused, among other things, on the very structure of the show: too stilted, too scripted, too predictable for simplicity. One of the challenges of this season 2 is to shake up this whole structure a little.
It begins with the arrival of a new presenter in the person of Max Cagnard, whose face and name may be familiar to you. This former LeStream (“they say Chat Machine”) accompanies us in this in-depth overhaul, in addition to bringing a timbre of voice to vibrate the most frigid ears. This change was necessary in our eyes to start again on new bases – which does not prevent us from paying tribute to the talent, expertise and sympathy of our former host Fred Moulin, whose television experience was infinitely valuable to us in our early days. We cannot be too grateful to him for participating in the (re)launch of Gamekult’s weekly format.
The objective, therefore, is to cut fat without losing the primary value: looking back on the news and the releases which marked the past week. However, repeating news coverage – always carried out with zeal and humor by Saint-Jarod, but not only that – seems counterproductive to us. To remedy this, these (vital) parts of the Weekly will be shortened: some news treated with attention, the idea being to favor analysis rather than flow at all costs. The same goes for the treatment of the games of the week – from now on, only two games maximum will be highlighted, always with the aim of avoiding taking up time on potentially hotter, more important subjects.
The time saved on these redesigns will make it possible to introduce one of the main new features of this 2.0: the presence of a guest on set. Whether they are active actors or actresses in the industry, fellow journalists or any other representative of the video game industry, their participation in the Hebdo will not only allow you to change your mind a little line-up usual, but also and above all to give voice to personalities who are close to our hearts. Obviously, this show is also in the image of its presenter, and Max’s experience in entertainment will allow the return of the intermission after a (too) long absence.
Finally, who says soft reboot also known as facade renovation. Exit the old (controversial) appearance, the Hebdo will have a new look in its motion, but also in its logistics with a platform generously lent by Les Numériques which, to our great surprise, manages to accommodate our enormous desks without any problem. The schedule does not change: Saturday morning 9 a.m. for posting on the site for subscribers, knowing that the first edition of this season 2 will also be posted for free on YouTube. Come on, one last tease for the road: the next edition will welcome Nicolas Séguier, member of the STJV (Video Game Workers Union) with whom we will return to the recent and complicated news of the industry, hit on all sides by layoff plans.